2021 Idaho Deer w Pack Goats

Man look at those sweet new panniers! Good luck and if you get into any sticky situations and need assistance hit me up.
 
Here’s a overview of the first leg of my adventure.
Day 1, arrived just before dark to the trailhead of choice.

Day 2, I got the goats loaded it up, My goal was to make it 5 miles in before 1 o’clock and set up camp. I achieved a little bit over that, I went in 5.88 miles then set up camp. Pretty uneventful first day, I had a doe and two fawns water about 25 yards from camp at the spring that was there.
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Day 3 consisted of a 1,335 ft elevation climb in 2 miles! 😳😳😳 it took awhile with the goats being out of shape and myself the same lol 😂 great vantage point I glassed from mid morning almost all the way to dark. Only thing I spotted was a small 4 PT, moving fast through the deadfall and rocks a long ways away. The pictures didn’t come out very well do to all the smoke 💨, huge fire 🔥 burning in the Frank not far away. Moved down to a small lake for camp about .90 miles away.
Matt

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Day 4
I glassed all morning till about 9am, didn’t see notta 😡. I made the choice to make the 11 mile trip back to the trailhead, between the Smoke and Full Moon and not much for deer sign I called it! Back now at home with some R&R for the goats and myself after the long ass hike out in 1 day. Hopefully after a couple days I’ll be back at it.
Matt

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Day 5 headed up the mountain again to see what I can find. On the way up I found a few antelope on a small piece of public land. Got to 82 yards a couple times of some Doe’s. Bucks seemed to stay out 95+yards 🤬
Got to the trailhead and ended up meeting a very nice couple that had been packed into that canyon for the first week of the season elk hunt. We talked from 5pm to 12am lol 😂 there may have been a few drinks 🍺 in that time also! Let’s just say I have a couple new friends. I seem to always meet my friends at trailheads 🤣
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Day 6 was getting ready to head up the trail with the goats and say ✌🏻 to my new friends. Headed up the trail, it was already hot at 9am… supposed to be 86, witch is stupid hot for the mountains this time of year! I was told there were a few antelope back in the sage brush basin. After a 2.8 mile climb in there, there was a herd of about 27 antelope with a decent buck in there. They spooked as soon as I crested the ridge to drop into the basin, dang oh well. I went down to where they were bedded and took a nice siesta in the shade with the goats.

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We had a nice break in the shade, low and behold after a 1/2hr. or so while I’m being mister photographer my goat Danner stands up and is intensely looking out behind a tree, there’s an antelope buck standing staring at us, 92 yards out! Took the photo after the fact, this is where he was standing.
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he moved to the right, I figured he was going down to drink. As he was intensely looking for predators I got my bow off my pack, arrow knocked, and started ranging sage. I used some deadfall to get closer. In the meantime he had crossed to creek. I ranged him, 66 yards. Should be a chip shot from all my practicing this summer. I had to navigate a tree to find a shooting lane, drew settled my pin and touched off my release. Everything seemed like slow motion as the arrow darted through the air. Ting….. F bomb, there was a tiny branch I did not see and the arrow harmlessly deflected to the right and low 🤬
Green circle is the opening, red line is where the branch was, blue is where the a antelope was standing.


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Couldn’t move to the left because of deadfall, to the right of tree I had no shot… thought I could fit it in, but that’s what she said too lol 😂
Ended up packing down the drainage and do some exploring, it was still another 3 miles up the drainage to where I was wanting to go, but I had to be home tomorrow evening so I figured I would just chase antelope and head back tomorrow afternoon. I did glass a ton of country with no deer or elk sightings.
Matt

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Day 7, plan was to get up early and get back to the trailhead since it was supposed to be 85 degrees! I got up and while I was packing up camp I had a fawn antelope come hang out with me for a bit, he stayed between 55-70 yards from me till I decided to leave than he got the idea we were not other antelope lol
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Pretty uneventful trip other than the antelope. I did come across a small forky mule deer in velvet on my way back, definitely was tempting. Lots of season left though.
Did I mention it was hot!
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Done with deer hunting for now, onto elk!
Matt
 

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