Slide Mountain 2024 - Back To Our Roots

SLDMTN

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Jul 30, 2015
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Palmer, AK
I’ve missed reading good hunting stories from folks like Luke and Becca, Stid, Jake (BRWNBR), etc. There’s several more names I could list but it’s why I joined a forum in the first place so many years ago. Not to say mine will be as good as theirs but a few folks will hopefully enjoy it and to them, cheers!

A few years back I made the jump into guiding and have been keeping very busy with it. Starting the 2024 season off, I was guiding for Vast Alaska which is one of my regular outfits that I guide for. Cash Joyce (owner) is one of the best hunters and people you could work for. He puts everything into making sure his clients have a fun, safe and successful hunt. His word of mouth reputation and success percentage speak volumes.

Flying to the Alaska Peninsula, our target was spring brown bear. My clients would be a mother/daughter combo with the daughter as tag holder. These ladies had phenomenal attitudes and turned out to be two of my favorite clients to date.

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Our camp was tucked in a great little side chute that offered a fresh runoff stream only feet from the tents.

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Days were spent perched on our glassing knob with very little walking to keep from spreading our scent around which can deter the big mature bears.

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Each day we experienced a variety of weather with a minimum of rain and high winds at some point. Mornings typically started clear and cold.

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The selection of gear that seemed to work best for us on this trip was chest waders with a rain jacket over top. Layering beneath was a mixed bag for all three of us. The waders made it very convenient for hasty stream crossing maneuvers.

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We saw lots of bear sign around but couldn’t quite get a play on the boar we were after.

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On day 4, things came together. The day started with atrocious weather but early afternoon brought us Mr. Big wandering down the drainage. Hurrying across the valley, we headed him off and caught him napping in some shade up on the hillside. We laid out and got ready for the shot. With all the time in the world, “A” made a fantastic shot from 237 yards.

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We got to work in short order skinning and loading him up for the haul back to camp.

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Once the weather permitted, the Cubs made short work of getting us back to civilization. Waiting for commercial flights had us hanging out for a few days which gave us plenty of time to explore.

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This shack gave you insane vertigo upon entering. Oddly tough to keep your balance, like one of those rooms at a local fair.

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If you’ve made it this far, thanks for following along. Stay tuned, more to come!

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