keep
Lil-Rokslider
We start up the mt tues evening pushing to get there by dark and we are making great time. Then I slipped on an ice slide and hurt a knee bad, real bad. Finished the hike over the 5th mtn and made it to the camp after 5.5 hr hike and 10+ miles.
So we make it to camp that night and it rains bad and drops to 35-40*. Try to grab a good night sleep but can't get the slip off my mind and how bad it could have been, honestly deadly. At that point it was a bit of a mental challenge and very serious guy check. While mt knee was hurt it was kind of workable since we were only dealing with 2 mtns the next day because of very heavy fog and a shortened day.
Back to the knee, it was fine going up hill, down to the right and sidehilling to the right but left sidehilling or left downhill was brutal to the point of puking.
We climbed to a very tall peak to glass and waited till the fog lifted. From 11-5 we waited in brutal wind mixed with rain, sleet and light snow. Finally at 5ish we got a small clearing and saw 20+ goats 2 ridges overso we waited to see what we could make work.
We couldn't make a play that night so we put them to bed and tried to find a hidden place for the tent ate a mtn house and went to bed somewhat early so we could hit it tomorrow and hope the small stress on the knee would get me by the next day.
Woke up around 5 to heavy fog sow we stayed in camp till 10 as to not bust the goats out from walking into them in the fog. We walked to the ridge we put them to bed on and found nothing so we started hunting the cliffs looking for a billy. The 20 goats were nannies and kids but we were hopeful there was a shootable billy in there so we stayed on them waiting for them to make a mistake.
All day nothing. They bedded up high and would run down to the meadow to eat heather and drink. They went down one time came back up to bed and we looked at all of them and didn't see what we thought would be a shootable billy. We decided to load up and walk all the way back out and give my knee a couple days at the lodge and maybe, if I felt up to it, try another mtn. If that was the case, I was going to the Dr. On the way out they started to move again, I told Jack let's keep on going but he decided to pull the spotter out one more time and this time we saw a decent billy, absolutely shootable based on my knee's condition. So we wait, they drop down again to eat and we bolt uphill (remember my knee is ok for uphill) to a good position that they keep bedding at. We get there and now the goats are moving away so we follow along the ridge the closest we get is 120 yds. They bed. We move to the highest point on the mtn 100 yds away and wait. A nanny sees us and starts to move towards Jack and I wondering what could be above them.
They start closing the distance. Jack is reading off ranges and trying to find the billy. The nannies keep coming and coming. So they came to 20 then 15 then 10 then 5. They slowed up at that point because we had nothing for cover around us. The wind was blowing hard from them to us. The lead nanny cam and tried to smell Jack, she stopped and her nose was 18in from Jack's hand he had raised for protection from her.
Jack sees the billy to the left of the herd and said "the billys on the left, you can shoot him", I said "on the left? Are you sure?". "yup".
I draw my bow from sitting flat on my butt and they all just stand there. The billy is at 15 yds straight on. I try to settle my pin on his chest and my bow won't move, my Nocks from my other arrows are caught on Jack's boot. I said, you need to move your boot, I can't shoot. As he moves his legs all the goats kind of spook as should be expected since they are within 15 yds and one as close as 18in. Jack baaaa's at them. They freeze and look back. The billy, my goat, now is at a hard quarter away. I settle the pin and drop the string. I hit guts on his right side and exited behind right behind the left shoulder. The goats bust out, where's my goat?
It turns out easy to figure out, he's the one with the growing red spot. It's getting real red, real fast and real big. Blood is blowing out his left side. He runs to the cliff and workable his way down and beds. We watch and wait trying to get to a better viewing spot. We finally work around to where we can see him, he's gone! Jack looks at the bottom of the cliff and he jumped. My goat is mine now.
We started down after him but I couldn't make it and still get back to climb that cliff moth my knee before dark so jack went after him. Jack got to my goat, probably 500 ft almost straight down, 800 yds side hilling, Valerie, cleaned and back up in 2 hrs. That guy is a machine.
We get back to the tent right about dark at 10:30.
The next day we get up and start the walk out. My knee did ok till the last downhill and then I was done, goat or no goat that would have been it.
Anyway, I could imagine a better hunt with a more fun guy nor find a place that treats you as well as they do. Jack went above and beyond donkeying me around with a bum knee and I couldn't say enough about him or Babine Guide Outfitters.
Today has been slow, it took us till probably 9 to catch our limit of salmon and we still have 4 days left.
This place is heaven.
I'll post more pics when I get home and can upload the pics from the camera.
So we make it to camp that night and it rains bad and drops to 35-40*. Try to grab a good night sleep but can't get the slip off my mind and how bad it could have been, honestly deadly. At that point it was a bit of a mental challenge and very serious guy check. While mt knee was hurt it was kind of workable since we were only dealing with 2 mtns the next day because of very heavy fog and a shortened day.
Back to the knee, it was fine going up hill, down to the right and sidehilling to the right but left sidehilling or left downhill was brutal to the point of puking.
We climbed to a very tall peak to glass and waited till the fog lifted. From 11-5 we waited in brutal wind mixed with rain, sleet and light snow. Finally at 5ish we got a small clearing and saw 20+ goats 2 ridges overso we waited to see what we could make work.
We couldn't make a play that night so we put them to bed and tried to find a hidden place for the tent ate a mtn house and went to bed somewhat early so we could hit it tomorrow and hope the small stress on the knee would get me by the next day.
Woke up around 5 to heavy fog sow we stayed in camp till 10 as to not bust the goats out from walking into them in the fog. We walked to the ridge we put them to bed on and found nothing so we started hunting the cliffs looking for a billy. The 20 goats were nannies and kids but we were hopeful there was a shootable billy in there so we stayed on them waiting for them to make a mistake.
All day nothing. They bedded up high and would run down to the meadow to eat heather and drink. They went down one time came back up to bed and we looked at all of them and didn't see what we thought would be a shootable billy. We decided to load up and walk all the way back out and give my knee a couple days at the lodge and maybe, if I felt up to it, try another mtn. If that was the case, I was going to the Dr. On the way out they started to move again, I told Jack let's keep on going but he decided to pull the spotter out one more time and this time we saw a decent billy, absolutely shootable based on my knee's condition. So we wait, they drop down again to eat and we bolt uphill (remember my knee is ok for uphill) to a good position that they keep bedding at. We get there and now the goats are moving away so we follow along the ridge the closest we get is 120 yds. They bed. We move to the highest point on the mtn 100 yds away and wait. A nanny sees us and starts to move towards Jack and I wondering what could be above them.
They start closing the distance. Jack is reading off ranges and trying to find the billy. The nannies keep coming and coming. So they came to 20 then 15 then 10 then 5. They slowed up at that point because we had nothing for cover around us. The wind was blowing hard from them to us. The lead nanny cam and tried to smell Jack, she stopped and her nose was 18in from Jack's hand he had raised for protection from her.
Jack sees the billy to the left of the herd and said "the billys on the left, you can shoot him", I said "on the left? Are you sure?". "yup".
I draw my bow from sitting flat on my butt and they all just stand there. The billy is at 15 yds straight on. I try to settle my pin on his chest and my bow won't move, my Nocks from my other arrows are caught on Jack's boot. I said, you need to move your boot, I can't shoot. As he moves his legs all the goats kind of spook as should be expected since they are within 15 yds and one as close as 18in. Jack baaaa's at them. They freeze and look back. The billy, my goat, now is at a hard quarter away. I settle the pin and drop the string. I hit guts on his right side and exited behind right behind the left shoulder. The goats bust out, where's my goat?
It turns out easy to figure out, he's the one with the growing red spot. It's getting real red, real fast and real big. Blood is blowing out his left side. He runs to the cliff and workable his way down and beds. We watch and wait trying to get to a better viewing spot. We finally work around to where we can see him, he's gone! Jack looks at the bottom of the cliff and he jumped. My goat is mine now.
We started down after him but I couldn't make it and still get back to climb that cliff moth my knee before dark so jack went after him. Jack got to my goat, probably 500 ft almost straight down, 800 yds side hilling, Valerie, cleaned and back up in 2 hrs. That guy is a machine.
We get back to the tent right about dark at 10:30.
The next day we get up and start the walk out. My knee did ok till the last downhill and then I was done, goat or no goat that would have been it.
Anyway, I could imagine a better hunt with a more fun guy nor find a place that treats you as well as they do. Jack went above and beyond donkeying me around with a bum knee and I couldn't say enough about him or Babine Guide Outfitters.
Today has been slow, it took us till probably 9 to catch our limit of salmon and we still have 4 days left.
This place is heaven.
I'll post more pics when I get home and can upload the pics from the camera.
