Colorado G13 Mountain Goat hunt

[LopeHunter]

Will take 3 or 4 sessions to get the hunt typed up. Here we go.

I was back visiting family in the Midwest to spring turkey hunt in early May when Colorado updated point totals so I could see I had drawn a mountain goat tag. I had no idea which unit or season since my notes on what unit I had applied for were back home in the NW. I am a non-resident and had 3 + 8 points when drew.

I was fortunate to hunt once previously for mountain goats and had taken a nice billy in Alaska and after that hunt considered retiring from hunts in steep stuff. I am now 5 years older and on the backside of 50.

Flew home after the Midwest visit and dug out my notes. Saw my first choice in the notes. As is sometimes the case, I had called an audible as filled out the actual application so when Colorado released the official results I discovered I had actually drawn G13, second season.

Time to get to work. I have never weighed more and was 15 pounds above my weight from the prior goat hunt and have less muscle, too

I am a member of Huntin' Fool. That helps me to figure out where to apply and also where to avoid as many of you also understand the impact of herd mentality and yo-yo draw odds. I am able to request a list of prior hunters when I draw a tag. I got the list sent to me.

I reviewed the harvest location reports at CO F&G website but the GPS information varies between two standards so I gave up plotting this information onto Google Earth and ordered a G13 map which showed harvest location for the past several years. I would later find out that the goat kill locations shift between season 1 and 2. Clusters of kills can thus be misleading depending on which season you hunt. Tricky tricky.

My brother has killed 3 bighorns and has a wall tent. He signed up for helping me glass on this hunt. A business associate of his also wanted to see what mountain hunting was like and had never hiked above 2K' elevation or rolling hills as a Texas native.

I started making calls. Got in contact with 3 very helpful prior hunters. Found 2 more helpful prior hunters by searching hunting forums for prior G13 hunts.

Became apparent that the weather could be 70F and dry or might be freezing with over a foot of snow and high winds. I selected the 2nd season so the hair would be longer.

In my discussion with prior hunters I identified two locations where could place a wall tent and be close enough to hunt goats without having to spend overnight up on a mountain ridge. One location was in the Missouri Mountain quadrant on the east side of the Continental Divide while the other was along Lincoln Creek Road on the west side.

If my brother would not be able to make the hunt due to schedule conflict then I would stay in Leadville at a motel and hunt the eastern portions including Missouri Mountain. I would activate my satellite phone. Otherwise, Lincoln Gulch would be our camp and not activate the phone since would be 3 of us and unlikely all 3 of us would be hurt.

The dates were selected. I would hunt the middle of the 2nd season but had a hard stop date of September 29 at sunset. September 30 is end of a sales quarter. I had a high school reunion I helped plan that was the last weekend of the season. My discussion with prior hunters was if had decent weather then this should be over in two days.

I would use this hunt to drive my wife's car from our home in the NW to our vacation home in Arizona where the car would remain. That meant a fun drive in a roadster but most of my gear would need to be sent ahead to my brother to drive to the hunt from the Midwest. I could get my pack, my rifle, ammo and Day 1 clothes in the roadster. And our dog. I would pick up my wife at the Salt Lake City airport at the end of driving Day 1 and she would drive on Day 2 to Aspen and drop me at Lincoln Creek intersection with 82.

Wires got crossed and my wife understood I would be dropped back in Aspen no later than Noon on the 29th. My bad, I am sure. She was 30 minutes from calling S&R when we got cell phone coverage a few miles from Aspen at 3pm on the 29th. New rule: My satellite phone goes on all future hunts that lack cell phone coverage.

I decided now was the time to upgrade my scope. I would take my .338 Win Mag but would switch out my trusty 6x Fixed for a Tactical scope. Found a demo model on sale and mounted to my rifle. Was shooting small groups at 100, 200 and 300 yards at about sea level on a 70F day. This little tidbit factors in later when am at 12K' elevation and is 40F with a steep angle.

Began working out and the pounds were not melting off as usually do each summer and fall as hike with a weighted pack and do elliptical. I was creating muscle so the few pounds I lost mostly showed up in a smaller waist. I could not train for the elevation, though, and had some issues breathing as slept on a sheep hunt at 11K' elevation 2 years prior. I read up on tips for managing elevation effects and as mid September arrived the road trip was locked in.

A goat hunter fell in the neighboring unit and passed away about this time. I kept from mentioning that to my wife. The Alaska goat hunt years before had a couple of near fatal situations so she had already reminded me I had declared no more steep stuff once before and yet here I was returning to places where smart, safe people get hurt, too.

The 10-day weather forecast was now almost including Day 1 of my hunt. Some rain forecast but temperatures were mostly in the 50Fs.

We did a practice loading of the roadster and culled some items that were not crucial.

My wife flew off for work in California. Lily and I had 2 days before Day 1 of driving. I needed to be at the Salt Lake airport at 6pm and with a one hour time loss driving east and pit stops for Lily the dog, I would be backing out of the garage at 430am local.

Lily takes in the sunset as head to bed and try to sleep knowing the adventure begins in a few hours.

 

[LopeHunter]

The drive over to Utah went perfect.



After a couple hours of rain there were blue skies above and the miles melted away as I drove past wind turbines and listened to a detective novel.

I got to the airport with 20 minutes to spare to pick up my wife and we headed onto Provo for the night.

Slept great and the next morning had waffles at La Quinta before loading my gear back into the roadster and heading onto Aspen. Glenwood Canyon region east of Aspen was scenic and the excitement of heading up in the mountains was starting to hit me. One more detective audio novel helped more miles melt away and soon we were passing through Aspen headed a bit further east to drop me at Lincoln Creek.





The weather forecast was for rain building during my hunt with snow at elevation. There was fresh snow on the higher elevations and the air was crisp. The aspens were in peak color. I switched my gear from the roadster to my brother's truck and began the drive to where we would pitch the wall tent.



Was only a few miles but took over an hour due to a road that was quite rough in spots. We got the wall tent set up as rain began and we drove for a few minutes to locate a place I got shoot my rifle. I shot 3 rounds at 147 yards to make sure the rifle was okay after being in the roadster trunk for a few hundred miles. I hit perfect left to right but was a bit high for the distance. The rain was getting heavier and felt all was good other than being windy, cold and rainy as shot. No alarms went off in my head that was an issue otherwise with my rifle.

 

[LopeHunter]

Cooked up some grub and sorted out gear for in the morning. Another hunter with a goat tag was camped near us and stopped in to say hello. Asked me about my goals and strategies. Mature goat, billy or nanny. He discusses several goats he had seen but was passing on for now since over a week left in the season and his goal was a trophy billy with great horns and good hair length.

He mentioned a billy with very good hair and maybe 7" horns that had been low on the mountain the past few days. Sounded good to me. We went to sleep dreaming of giant beasts the color of winter.

In a pattern that held throughout the hunt, we went to bed with rain and woke up to skies full of stars and few clouds.

 

[LopeHunter]

Day 1 of the hunt:

We woke up to temperatures just above freezing prior to sunrise, loaded up gear under the stars and headed south. Was now legal shooting time but too dark to see hundreds of yards up on the mountain ridges. Continental Divide loomed to our left. Aspen was beyond the Maroon Bells back to our right.

With no snow below 13.5K' elevation, we quickly spotted a goat on the rocky ridge as light built with sunrise and blue skies. Stopped to set up spotting scope and spotted 2 more billies. Then spotted 2 nannies and kids. We were at about 10K; elevation and the goats were from a bit over 12K' to a bit over 13K'. The goat in the center of the picture is what I climbed towards.




The best billy was in a bowl-shaped region of a steep peak that looked like would need a helicopter to reach if shot that billy. The next best billy was the lowest goat of all and he had the best hair. Five minutes looking through our spotting scopes and we were gearing up for a climb. The GPS said we traveled .44 mile over the next hour but we went up almost 2K' in elevation and I think the .44 mile is along the horizon while we were climbing the long side of the triangle.

We stopped at the treeline in some brush and glassed the billy. No doubt, was a shooter in my opinion. I was at a side angle and if if backtracked then could sidehill to be directly beneath the goat and have a shot at less than 200 yards. I have killed several animals at the 50 - 250 yard range so this was going to be a chip shot from a solid rest with a scope shooting perfect left to right. Below is the picture just before I side-hilled to get into position to shoot.




I got into position and waited 5 minutes for my heart rate and breathing to be closer to normal. The billy was looking at me now but not nervous. I took another drink of water. I set up the rifle using the bi-pod, chambered 250 grains of serious goat medicine, settled the crosshairs at center of front shoulders, breath out as gently squeezed.

Boom. Zing off the rocks. Well, that did not sound good. Felt like the shot was solid. Was chambering the next round. Crosshairs same place. Goat slowly walking. Boom zing. Goat is now climbing. Boom whap and the goat spun. My rifle carries one in chamber and 3 down so since do not walk around with a round chambered, was time to reach for another round to load. Goat now climbing again. Boom zing. Repeat though by now realized something was very wrong so I aimed 2 feet left, then right, then high. Nine shots. Goat out of sight. Dumbfounded.

I should have insisted my brother or his friend sidehill with me to spot. They could see sine of the impacts on the rocks just above the billy. I should have dialed my scope down from 300 yards due to incline was shooting along. I should have realized that a dialed in rifle at sea level will shoot high at 12K' elevation. The 3 shots last night at the target should have alerted me something was off about the elevation but I thought the issue was me being cold in gusting wind and rain as the last light faded. My errors.

I should have a goat down, though, since never saw the billy cross over the top. Would just have to climb some.

Four hours later we had summited the Continental Divide and not found a drop of blood where the goat was when I shot the 3rd time nor anywhere on the mountainside. We looked in each ravine, along each goat path. Maybe I had hit a pocket of dirt on the 3rd shot in front of the billy and dirt sprayed back at the billy causing it to spin. Below, looking north towards camp along Lincoln Creek Road.



We headed back to the truck.

Felt terrible. Had been a lot of climbing to get into position and I did not seal the deal by dropping the billy with a clean kill. Now we had spent hours on steep terrain as a result. My brother's friend was fighting a headache.

That night in camp after eating some fresh trout, the neighboring hunter returned at sunset and said he saw the billy go over the top from his vantage point on a ridge from behind us to the west. Goat was moving fast at the top and seemed okay but that my 3rd shoot sounded like connected and then that the goat had spun around briefly. On the other side of the Divide was Peek-A-Boo Gulch a bit to the south and Grizzly Lake a bit to the north with McNasser Gulch a bit east of Grizzly.

I reasoned if I connected with the 3rd shot then was high on the goat, perhaps on the hump area around the front shoulder.

Day 2 of the hunt:

Hiked up to Grizzly Lake. My brother's friend announced that as steep as Grizzly was today that compared to yesterday this hike seemed tame. Steep had been redefined. Saw several nannies and kids on the hike. No billies. Never shot on Day 2. Pretty country. Overcast most of the day with some rain and flurries.



Wondered if had hit the billy. If I should notch my tag. Tomorrow would be our last day on the mountain. Had my 3rd shot connected? Only the whap sound then the spin move indicated I maybe connected. The goat moving up and over the top plus no blood indicated a possible miss.

Should we go to Peek-A-Boo in the morning to look for the billy?

Two hours after sunset, the neighboring hunter got back to camp. He said he had big news. VP Biden was on the other side of the Divide viewing the aspens in full glory and security roadblocks were making hunting problematic. He then added he spotted my billy just before sunset. Was positive it was the same billy since he had pictures from scouting earlier in the month. The other hunter had a friend drive over that evening to help for the next few days.

The billly had moved to the ledge in McNasser at some point the past 36 hours. Was wounded high on its back per the other hunter. I had the maps out and we made a plan to be near the ledge at first light. The other hunter was not sure if we would find the billy even with GPS coordinates of the road near the ledge so insisted on driving over with us in the morning.

I deservedly felt terrible. Avoidable situation. Maybe a cougar or bear would find the billy overnight. Rained hard with winds most of that night. Drifted off to sleep at some point for a couple of hours. Stars as awoke.

Day 3 of the hunt:

A couple of hours of rough roads and we were in place. The billy had moved a bit lower on the mountain during the rain storm. The billy was now standing on a nasty ledge. With a lone pine. No sign of injury. The other hunter was positive this was the billy from Day 1 and from sunset last night. Snow greeted us on the ridge tops.



My brother and I began the climb by hiking west up a ravine and then working south below the base of a series of ledges. We were looking for the ledge with the lone pine with some aspens below. His friend's headache was worse.

The other hunter and his friend stayed at the road and watched through spotters.

We spotted a nanny and very young kid at 75 yards in a narrow slot during the side-hilling. Was by far the smallest kid we saw on this hunt. Maybe less than 2 weeks old.

We spotted a ledge with a pine though no billy was in view. We began climbing some loose, nasty rock and in about 20 minutes peeked over the top to see...nothing. No blood. Zilch. We had heard some falling rocks to our south during the climb up the ledge. Now was approaching 50 hours since had shot. Maybe 9 hours left to hunt. We worked off the ledge which was more challenging than the ascent. Here are a couple of shots from the hunt when I stopped to catch my breath on slopes.





We began side-hilling to the south now confused about where the goat escaped and how. This billy was stronger than seemed apparently.

The other hunter moved his truck to be below us and now was coyote-yipping and waving his hat to the south. We could see nothing on the ledges to our south. Snow pellets were now falling and thick clouds were rolling over the top of the Divide. The air was getting cooler. We began the hike down to the truck knowing in a few hours we would need to pack up camp.

The other hunter climbed up towards us and pointed up the hill to the south, "Your goat is laying dead in that brush." As an aside, radios are legal in Colorado and would have helped make sure I did not climb the wrong ledge. How many ledges have a lone pine in McNasser? Well, no less than 2.

"What?" Made no sense about the billy being dead. I had not shot. We had last seen the goat looking very alert and healthy. We had just left that ledge, we thought. We could not see the billy fall and tumble unfold due to being up against the ledges but the other hunter and his friend could see everything from the roadway through the spotters.

The billy had presumably heard rocks falling as we went up the rotten rock face of the wrong ledge. The billy had leaned forward to glance to the north to try and see us but fell from the ledge, tumbled 4x and was dead.

We climbed back up the mountain. Took about 20 minutes. You could not see the dead goat until were within a few paces. Huge relief. Snow flurries were building so we took pictures. My brother's friend hiked up to us in spite of the headache. Took a few pictures as snowflakes swirled down onto the mountainside. I cloaked the other hunter's face for now. Once have permission, will load the original picture.



Skinned then quartered the goat. Had 2" of snow on the ground as began the hike off the ridge. 8" of snow down at 10K' by time broke camp. Cell phone coverage returned a mile or so before Aspen. Called my spouse and she was relieved since I was overdue by several hours from what she understood was the plan.

I am not sure how many miles hiked during the 3 days on the mountain nor how much elevation climbed and descended. Certainly miles and 100s of feet elevation. Climbed up and onto more than one ledge. Crossed avalanche chutes. Were snowed on. Rained on. Lightning. High winds. Plus some blue skies and bright sun.

I jot notes in a book about each hunt. I write each day of the hunt. What went well and what did not. What could be improved.

Short recap: Elevation matters to ballistics. Radios, where legal, are helpful. Satellite phone along with written instructions for a spouse will avoid anxious hours of wondering if should call S&R. Hunting with family is more memorable than solo hunts. Wall tents in the mountains beats a motel every time.

I was very, very fortunate to find this billy. This hunt should have been over 2 hours into the first day not 50 hours later. My 3rd shot on Day 1 had entered at an severe angle and passed above the lungs yet below the spine. 350 grains of 338 WinMag had not found a way to bring the goat down upon impact. Not the gun's fault. Not the bullet's. Not the goat's.

I checked the billy at F&G in Glenwood Springs with less than 20 minutes left in their workday. Was slightly better than average for the unit. Very good hair. A fresh 3/4" break on one horn will remain that way to be part of the story.

By 5pm, we were driving towards Arizona. Dropped off the hide and horns in Flagstaff around 3am with my taxidermist and reached our home in Arizona after the sun rose. I had been up 26 hours. Flight back home to NW would be in just 14 more hours. I needed sleep and then would bone out the meat, place in the freezer a few hours and then take back home on the flight to process.

72 hours after arrived in Arizona, I was flying back to my high school reunion in the Midwest. Ran the Alumni 5K the next morning on a route that went passed the schools of my youth and my childhood home. Attended the reunion that evening. The prior 10 days had been a blur. Highs. Lows. Family and new friends. Old friends.

 

[T Bone]

such a lovely dog.

Glad it worked out for you.

congrats on the goat.

 

[gwhunter]

Excellent story. I'm glad you were able to finally get your goat.

 

[MT_elk]

Thanks for sharing the story. Congrats on the goat!

 

[Oak]

Crazy story. Glad you were able to find the wounded goat. Congrats!

 

[Zach]

Been waiting to see this posted!

Solid work Lyle! Congrats big time!!

 

[JohnCushman]

Congrats on a great time!! Thanks for the story and pics

 

[huntin24/7]

Congrats, and way to be persistent. That's a nice looking goat.

 

[npaden]

Congrats. Crazy deal on the rifle. Glad it all worked out though!

 

[Gerald Martin]

Congrats on your goat! Big kudos to the other hunter for helping you find it!

 

[----]

Wow, what a crazy hunt and recovery. Definitely sounds like you owe the other hunter some beer on his help.

Way to stay on him and follow through, beautiful Billy.