in pursuit of the cliff dwellers

[ozyclint]

hey folks i thought i'd share with you a day hunt/scout i had a couple of weeks ago at a property not far from my home.

i got to the property as it was getting light after the hour drive from home.
my plan for the day was to do some scouting for an upcoming 3 day backpack hunt in october with a mate. i wanted to explore an area the owner says no one has been to for 10 years. i love the sound of that, don't you? the terrain can be rugged but that's just how i like it.

i parked up the ute and made my way upstream along the main river to a ridge that overlooks the confluence of a side creek. my intention was to use this ridge to go up the valley formed by the side creek. this would allow me to go up the valley above the creek and check out some north facing slopes that i wanted to scout, since goats prefer north facing slopes because of the drier more open plan living this aspect provides. the south facing slopes tend to be more heavily vegetated, something the goats seem not to inhabit with the same regularity as the other side of the hill. the less vegetated side of the hill affords them many more vantage points from which to keep an eye on the world. perhaps they just enjoy a view like i do?

anyway after a couple of hours of slow hiking into the backblocks punctuated by spells of listening for the bleat of goats i stumbled into some ultra fresh pig sign. so fresh i went into still hunt mode expecting to hear or bump them at any moment. it wasn't to be though.

content with just having a nice day in the bush, alone checking out country rarely visited by man, the non event with the pigs didn't dampen my enthusiasm to explore.
i forged on stopping often to listen for a bleat of betrayal. none had found my ears so far.

continuing on up the valley i once again found some fresh pig sign. by now it was lunch time so i listened for swine and goats while eating my tuna and biscuits and when i threw my banana peel away i couldn't help but wonder if a pig might find it and have a cheap snack.





fresh pig sign. slow right down time.

 

[ozyclint]

after lunch i decided to go a little further up the valley before decending into the creek and beginning the walk out. i hadn't gone far when i stopped for another listen and heard a buzzing noise. i knew what to look for and here's what i found.

a bee's nest. bumping into things like this are what makes being in the bush so enjoyable. that would be some sweet tasting honey in there.

so it was, i made way way down a steep gully into the creek, by chance at the head of a gorge.
the creek plunged down through the rock on it's journey to the river. being impassable, i had to go around the beginning of the gorge a little before i could drop in. when i did it was like another world. the temperature dropped the vegetation changed dramatically and the sun disappeared. it was a completely different ecosystem. the steep walls of the gorge plunged what lay underneath into deep permenant shade. the creek provided moisture, a pocket of rainforest amongst desert it seemed. i couldn't help but stop awhile and just enjoy being there.





after enjoyment of the scene, progress downstream was in order.
it wasn't long before i sighted the first game animal for the day. some nanny goats feeding on a bench halfway up a cliff face. this one was licking a soak coming out of the cliff face which was no doubt laden with minerals.

 

[ozyclint]

still i left them alone. their position rendered them near unapproachable and today scouting the new area was more the objective than killing. so with that thought i continued on down stream, the jungle giving way to more normal habitat as i went. soon i rounded a bend and had full view of some bluffs and cliffs that i had seen earlier from up on the ridge. a quick glass soon revealed a goat lazing in the sun at the top. by now it was mid afternoon. i decided to make a mad dash up the hillside and see if i could get into range. i love spot and stalk in rough terrain like this. half an hour later i made the summit ridge after gaining about 300m in elevation in about 300m of horizontal travel.
as i snuck down the the start of the cliff a breeze blew in my face, upon which was carried the stench of billy. got to love the smell of billy goats, not because i like the smell but because it reminds me of past experiences and because it also carries the hopes of the near future......


moments after the smell hit my nose the unmistakeable sound of a billy hit my ears and with a couple of more steps he came into view from behind a ledge. strangely it wasn't the same goat i had glassed from the valley floor but as luck would have it he was on his lonesome, giving the 'getting close' part of the deal a little more chance of success.
he stood up and began to sidle the face. thinking he might walk out of my life i followed as hastily as could while trying to minimise any fast movements and noise. luckily he stopped, propped up on a rock looking down the cliff, voicing his presence to those who cared to listen. having seized opportunity to make enough ground to be within my shooting range and nock an arrow while he was preoccupied, i settled in behind a convieniently located cypress. for now at least he was in control of the situation. the black billy began to pace back and forth across the top of the cliff, looking down, looking my way, then looking down again. all the while i tried to reposition my feet for a better stance in case he gave me a shot. again he walked back to where he started always seemingly partially obsured by a tree or a rock. by now i was in a good shooting position i just needed him to stop somewhere at a favourable angle to allow me to shoot. by this time i could tell the billy was thinking that this had gone on long enough. with luck on my side he turned and walked back once again, this time stopping half way.......in front of two trees.
i could see his chest but he couldn't see me, usually the opposite happens. sometimes luck plays it's part. at first the trees put me off but after a few moments of concentration the subconscious said 'go time'. often that is the opposite too. i'm a big believer in listening to my instincts in deciding whether to shoot. sometimes a shot opportunity pops up but things don't feel right and when your in that frame of mind the shot has already missed. instinct decides and i rarely question it. it's too often right to bother.

i don't know if the trees helped me concentrate more or not. i picked a spot, drew my 69#recurve and the arrow was loose when i hit my anchor point. the 980gr arrow flew through the estimated 18m of space that seperated us landing right on the point of concentration. it vanished and i thought it lost forever somewhere distant down the valley. i had helped make up the billy's mind to the depart the scene. he crashed over the cliff and out of sight. i went and collected my pack and then scrambled down and found him and by chance, my arrow.
beside the tree that stopped him from going all the way to the bottom stands a large, long since dead, cypress pine. the resting place of that arrow.
by some slim chance the arrow must have bounced off a rock, glanced the trunk of the tree then lodged in a side branch. a bizarre set of circumstances had saved it from a trip into the abyss to be lost forever. instead it now bears testimony to the fact that a hunter has been there.

here's my sight picture at the shot. the billy was standing a little beyond the line of rocks, facing to the left. his head behind the larger of the two trees and his vitals dead center bewteen them.


you can see here were it hit the trunk then lodged in the branch. out of reach, it remains there, giving meaning to the my name of the location, 'arrow tree cliff'. also, i like it when yellow feathers turn orange.


thanks to a small cypress the meat was saved from a long tumble and being badly bruised.

 

[ozyclint]

time to try out my new pack. packing out some meat is always a good finish to a goat hunt. the back legs, shoulders, backstraps, kidneys and ribs came out with me. unfortunately the liver stayed behind. a victim of the fall he took. the kifaru spike camp with my heavily modified frame has become my ultimate daypack. it carried like i hadn't added any weight at all.
it turned out i was alot further back in than i thought. almost two hours of solid hiking later i made it back the to ute. wet and cold from fording the river a few times under torch light, i was relieved to see the ute again.

yet another rewarding traditional bowhunting adventure.

 

[River Rat]

Enjoyed the story, ozyclint, Thanks for sharing with us !
Congrat's !

 

[Mark]

Excellent story and a great hunt. Beautiful country as well. Thanks for sharing the hunt and the experience. I really enjoyed reading the story.

That's a great view from "arrow tree cliff."

 

[Becca]

What a great story ozyclint! Sounds like quite a rush!!

While the terrain looks challenging, the scenary is spectacular! Thanks for sharing and congrats on the billy!

 

[realunlucky]

Loved the picture and you are a great story teller clint thanks for sharing gets the blood pumping

 

[HUNTMAN]

That was great thanks for posting. HUNT