Washington High Buck

[2001precision]

So the spot you scouted was over ten miles from trailhead and it got blown up first thing by a bunch of hunters? That is insane, as is packing a deer out 20 miles.

Well I hope I don’t give away too much information, as it seems that’s kind of frowned upon.
Camp was actually somewhere between 14.5-15.5 miles back on the scout trip. My track read 15.5 but I made some small detours after jumping game, getting water and such. It could be half a mile or a mile shorter than what I made. It was almost all trail.
We didn’t make it in first thing for opener on the 15th, our plan was to wait for the pressure to die down. That didn’t work, lol. Part of the issue on the high hunt is all the outfitters that run a business packing people in. 10 horse trailers, minimum. Can’t out hike the horses, and it’s degrading dodging horse crap all the way in. We hiked in on the 20th at noon, and pushed well past dark. Coming up on my previous campsite, we saw other hunters based up right about where we planned on camping. We had a chat the next day, and they told up about the horse camps that push 10-12 miles further than what we did. I didn’t let them know about my target buck from August (spotted only about a mile from the trail/camp) but they didn’t need any advice. They were pushing the basin later that day, almost exactly where I had video of the giant bedded in August. I knew he was long gone.
One thing I’ve learned, is that Washington High Buck hunters have no limit on the trail. You won’t escape them 5,10,15 or 20 miles deep. You won’t get past the horses/outfitters either. Pushing a few miles off the trail is mandatory for some isolation, and to consistently find mature deer.

 

[ianpadron]

So the spot you scouted was over ten miles from trailhead and it got blown up first thing by a bunch of hunters? That is insane, as is packing a deer out 20 miles.

I packed one out 15.2 my last season in WA with a buddy. Scale verified 107 pound pack. Not fun but makes for a helluva story. Felt like a human railroad spike the last few miles

 

[D L]

No success, only hunted high buck two seasons. 2023 season the area we were in got blown out by a 100 mile wilderness race. 2024 season we saw some deer but only one buck and he wasn’t legal. Did see a young bull moose and heard some wolves overnight the first night in. Also saw a ton of orange, the trailhead was packed when we arrived.