Saturday afternoon my wife and I went looking for yogi, and it was a spot I hadn’t seen in awhile so I felt a little bad walking my wife all over getting a lay of the land, lots of gained elevation over several miles, but she’s a trooper.
After seeing the layout we had a good plan to sit on this big pretty canyon with good green up. We walked up to the north ridge and I quickly glassed up a bear in the bottom.
I thought it was going to be too small but we circled around to get closer, and relocate the bear which we did, and then there was another smaller one... sow and yearling. We watched them feed and peel stumps, then moved on.
I saw another cut in the distance, so we got to the south side of the one we were in and glassed the next canyon, beautiful but nobody home.
We moved on, and that last cut wasn’t as nice, so we turned around. We got back to that last good looking canyon, I had my wife rest as I glassed again... surprised I didn’t see anything, but we moved on.
We walk about 50 yds and open up the part of the canyon below us, I peek down... bear! It’s a good one too, obviously a mature boar.
It knows we are there but it’s not blowing out. I tell my wife it’s a big bear and ask her if I should shoot it, of course she says yes. I drop my pack and set my rifle up and get on him, and he started moving again. He walks up and poses perfect for a shot, I click the safety off, and get ready to shoot.
I start rolling through the reality of shooting, my tired wife will be stuck on the mountain late, then I’ll have to get her home and hike 4 miles back in and finish the pack, and we have to leave town at 6am.... the biggest downside though, my bear tag is gone, with over 6 weeks left and nothing but time to hunt.
I look up to my wife with her fingers in her ears and tell her I’m not going to shoot.
It was a really fun night, and we saw 3 bear which is really good for this country, one was a dandy that I would be stoked to put my tag on... and I get to keep hunting.
Filling spring bear tags is bittersweet, I love hunting them. We are just heading back from over east today, so I will be back in the woods tomorrow, and don’t think I will be able to pass another big boar (didn’t think I would be able to the other night haha)
Now I know that bear is there to hunt, rather than happening onto it, and it’s a beautiful place to look for bear.
Hoping to take our daughter tomorrow as well, she will like it.