2012 Solo Goat Hunt

[luke moffat]

Looks like a great but very tough hunt. You hung in there and brought out a goat to show for your battle wounds and broken equipment. Looks like some nasty alders/foliage. I hate those brown (salmon berry?) stalks. They seem to have a knack for wanting to poke ya in the eye. Thanks for sharing and congrats on your very nice billy, that'll be a hunt to remember for sure!!!

 

[slvrslngr]

Well done!

 

[Brandon Pattison]

SB scopes are real nice. Whatcha think of the new Leupold tacticals?

 

[rubberfist]

SB scopes are real nice. Whatcha think of the new Leupold tacticals?

I can't really say because I haven't played with them much. Also, I'm a dealer for S&B which makes me very biased!

 

[bowuntr]

That was cool. Thanks and congrats. Ed F

 

[JasonWi]

Great story and I really enjoyed the variety of photos you took. Congrats on the great goat.

When you have time can you tell us what equipment you used?

 

[rubberfist]

When you have time can you tell us what equipment you used?

I love to talk gear...

Base Layer: all merino wool (mixture of Smartwool, Kuiu, First Lite and Icebreaker), briefs, long-johns, t-shirt & a couple 3/4 zip long sleeve shirts of different weights...I've experimented with all kinds of synthetics and there is nothing that compares to quality merino.

Mid Layer: Arc'Teryx fleece jacket that has been discontinued but it's like the Strato, Sitka Timberline pants (I like the integrated knee pads), and Kuiu Attack pants as a backup. While I'm not a fan of fleece, the Arc'Teryx has performed exceptionally well for my body type (I sweat a ton, and it seems to provide warmth while breathing reasonably), even when wet.

Outer Layer: Kuiu Chugach jacket, Kuiu Chugach pants...I'm big on being waterproof below the waist and wore the pants pretty much non-stop...even after I had to duct tape them. The picture of the ass-ripped out of those pants isn't a mark against Kuiu - I'm brutal on my gear. I've looked at a number of different wind/waterproof shells and the Chugach offers the best overall value thusfar.

Insulation: North Face down vest...I sweat a lot and catch a chill quickly. The moment I stop working, I throw on my insulation with the Chugach jacket over top. I'm looking to upgrade the vest to a light alpine down jacket for next year - I'm all ears to suggestions.

Head: Sitka Jetstream beanie (windproof) and a Kuiu ballcap.

Socks: Smartwool PhD...I wear these things everyday. I love them. I'm so easy at Christmas: "Smartwool PhD socks...get me socks..." I haven't had a blister on my feet in over four years and I attribute this to these socks and my boots.

Boots: Kenetrek Mountain Extreme...I've taken sh*t over these boots from a few friends who seem to think or have heard that "Kenetrek's fall apart...". These boots have been through four solid seasons of hard mountain hunting and have yet to leak or otherwise let me down. I will be getting something else for goat hunting (will keep them for other mountain hunts), because the Kenetrek's are not fully crampon compatible and I will no longer goat hunt without wearing crampons.

Gaiter: Sitka Stormfront...Three seasons on these and they are still in excellent shape, even after wearing crampons (which tends to shred gaiters).

Crampons: Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro...the only crampons I could find on short notice that fit my big feet (size 13). They worked well on my goat hunt (when I wore them), however on the next goat hunt, my buddy wore them and the ratchet system broke. Currently researching a good moutain boot and crampon combo.

Pack: Mystery Ranch Nice frame with 7500 bag...on it's fifth hard season and although it smells of sheep and goat, it's otherwise perfect.

Gadgets: SPOT transmitter (there is no viable excuse not to pack one of these), Garmin Colorado (soon to be replaced with a Montana), iPhone and Sony HD camcorder.

Cooking/Emergency/Misc: Jetboil, titanium spork, parafin wax firestarter packets, quality first aid kit, Tylenol 3's, extra strength ibuprofen, bug repellant (a wipe on cream rather than a spray), immodium, pepto bismol, polysporin, lip balm, sunscreen, liquid soap, Wet Ones (some sort of hygenic wipe), a few garbage bags, waterproof compression sacs (for anything that I can compress), dry bags (for food and transporting meat), parachute cord, small camp towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, Q-tips, sunglasses, bathroom tissue...there's a reason my friends call me "Princess" when hunting...

Food: This is what we've been using for a little while, it provides a balanced intake of food, and tastes good enough that after several days of it you don't want to stab yourself in the face.
1 x Starbucks instant coffee
2 x Myoplex or Lebrada high protein meal replacement shake mix
3 x Gu Energy gels (1 peanut butter, 1 espresso love, and 1 roctane blend of any flavour)
2 x Gu and/or Stinger energy chews
1 x chocolate bar (Mars, Snickers, Eat More, Cadbury Fruit & Nut and/or Wundabar hold up well - you want a bar that won't crumble and that is edible if it gets melty or smooshed)
1 x high carbohydrate bar (such as a Cliff or LaraBar)
1 x high protein bar (many brands to choose from such as Powerbar, Stinger or Cliff)
1 x Sunrype Fruit Plus Veggie or Fruit & Fiber bar
1 x 80 to 100g package of beef Jerky
1/2 cup of trail mix (typically a 50/50 fruit and nut blend with chocolate M&M's added)
2 x Stinger Waffle (these things weigh only 30 grams, have 160 calories, are wafer thin and taste great, especially with Gu peanut butter gel on them)
2 x Nuun or Stinger electrolyte tablets
1 x Mountain House double portion meal for dinner
Each daily ration provides over 3,100 calories, weighs around 1.5 pounds, at a cost of about $35.

Tent: Stephenson's Warmlite 3 person tent.

Sleeping bag: Stephenson's Warmlite Triple-Bag.

Knives: Havalon scalpel for skinning and Swingblade for heavy work.

Defense: bear spray, Rossi Ranch-hand in 44mag (we can't pack handguns in Canada and this is the smallest we can legally use).

Hunting weapons:

Bow: Bowtech Destroyer 350 @ 74lbs, Tommy Hogg dial sight, Slick-trick 1" standard 100g broadheads and G5 Montec 100g broadheads...I prefer bow-kills but my sightbox got buggered up so I had to resort to the rifle.

Rifles:

Blaser R8 Jaeger in 300win mag, with a Swarovski Z6 2.5-15x56 scope with ballistic turret, shooting Federal 180g trophy bonded tip...rifle is now deceased (stock/receiver cracked and barrel bent).

Accuracy International AW folder in 338 lapua magnum, with a Schmidt Bender PMII 12-50x56, shooting 250g handloads.

That pretty much rounds it out.

 

[red]

Great story, pics and gear review..... have a look at Kahtoola Aluminum crampons. They are light weight and really strong. I have a pair I use with my Scarpa Liskamm boots and they work great. No more falling on my ass while up in the steep stuff.

 

[Yellowknife]

Outer Layer: Kuiu Chugach jacket, Kuiu Chugach pants...I'm big on being waterproof below the waist and wore the pants pretty much non-stop...even after I had to duct tape them. The picture of the ass-ripped out of those pants isn't a mark against Kuiu - I'm brutal on my gear. I've looked at a number of different wind/waterproof shells and the Chugach offers the best overall value thusfar.

Insulation: North Face down vest...I sweat a lot and catch a chill quickly. The moment I stop working, I throw on my insulation with the Chugach jacket over top. I'm looking to upgrade the vest to a light alpine down jacket for next year - I'm all ears to suggestions.

Boots: Kenetrek Mountain Extreme...I've taken sh*t over these boots from a few friends who seem to think or have heard that "Kenetrek's fall apart...". These boots have been through four solid seasons of hard mountain hunting and have yet to leak or otherwise let me down. I will be getting something else for goat hunting (will keep them for other mountain hunts), because the Kenetrek's are not fully crampon compatible and I will no longer goat hunt without wearing crampons.

Gaiter: Sitka Stormfront...Three seasons on these and they are still in excellent shape, even after wearing crampons (which tends to shred gaiters).

Looks like a solid gear list to me. Thanks for sharing. If you got two years out of a pair of Chugach pants with that kind of use, I consider that not bad for lightweight W/B fabric. Better than I've done with either Marmot or Sitka so far.

I'm a big fan of my primaloft gear over down, but with what appears to be the explosion of waterproof down tech coming down the pike, I expect you will have some pretty sweet jacket options before next season. I'm waiting for the Mountain Hardwear versions to drop, as I know they have a long history of excellent down products.

I've failed two pair of Kenetreks in the last three years, so I'm not going back to the Extreme for rugged use, but man I loved the way they fit my feet! I suspect it's a "depends on how you use them" thing though. The last several years I've sheep hunted areas with lots of sharp shale, which is really rough on leather boots of all brands. Switched to the Mountain Guide after this season, and hoping it will hold up better for me. They are crampon compatible and super stiff, so if you like the fit of what you have you might consider trying them.

I picked up a set of the Sitka gaiters about a year ago and have been using them heavily ever since. I do have one patch on the left one, and they look pretty rough, but all the seams are holding up thus far. Sounds like I should expect a couple more good years out of them. The strap system is pretty slick.

Yk