My 17 yo son joined me in Idaho this year. He drew a spring bear tag in WA last year, but he had no success. We spiked out from base camp the first two nights. The first night we went 3 miles to a favorite ridge and set up camp. At 4:00 we saw our first bear of the trip, and his first bear ever, at least that he can remember. It turned out to be a sow with cubs. We watched the. For a while until they disappeared. We moved further up the ridge, but saw nothing else.
The next morning we hunted the ridge again but saw nothing else. About noon we picked up camp and moved another 3 miles deeper in. We did not see any wildlife the afternoon. We picked up first thing and hiked the 6 miles back to base camp. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday morning we woke up at 4:30 and headed out for the day. We hiked in 2 miles and set up for the day at 7:30. It was a toasty day with a day time high of 85 in the shade of my tarp. At 4:00 we spotted a bear across the valley working its way across the hillside. We made a mad dash, although my son said I was moseying, down the hill to get closer. Gavin set up for a shot @ 440 yards. The bear decided to sit in a seep to cool off giving G time to settle in for the shot. At the shot the bear did a roll down the hill and took off running. About an hour later we made it over to the shot site. About a 100 yards down the hill G found some blood. We followed the blood to the bear.
The next day I hunted alone. I found one fresh pile of poo, but saw 6 elk and 3 blue grouse and no bears. Because of a coming weather system we cam out a day early.
Having trouble with pics, will post later
The next morning we hunted the ridge again but saw nothing else. About noon we picked up camp and moved another 3 miles deeper in. We did not see any wildlife the afternoon. We picked up first thing and hiked the 6 miles back to base camp. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday morning we woke up at 4:30 and headed out for the day. We hiked in 2 miles and set up for the day at 7:30. It was a toasty day with a day time high of 85 in the shade of my tarp. At 4:00 we spotted a bear across the valley working its way across the hillside. We made a mad dash, although my son said I was moseying, down the hill to get closer. Gavin set up for a shot @ 440 yards. The bear decided to sit in a seep to cool off giving G time to settle in for the shot. At the shot the bear did a roll down the hill and took off running. About an hour later we made it over to the shot site. About a 100 yards down the hill G found some blood. We followed the blood to the bear.
The next day I hunted alone. I found one fresh pile of poo, but saw 6 elk and 3 blue grouse and no bears. Because of a coming weather system we cam out a day early.
Having trouble with pics, will post later
