So my second hunt is in the books. I got the privileged of going in with andrew11 who was a great partner. We did nearly 50 miles and over 10,000 vertical feet. The short version is that we had an epic time together, but no goat yet. We did see 10 and I will be heading back in this week again. Details are found below.
Day One:
Andrew and I went in the Box Canyon Trail Head off the Boulder River south of Big Timber Montana. It was a pleasant day but we knew some weather was likely coming in that night. My pack was heavy at 68#, but I was feeling great. We were not in a hurry as we glassed when we could on the way in. 8.7 miles latter we setup camp near the Columbine Trail intersection. None were found.
Day Two:
Awoke to the anticipated snow. Andrew snapped this shot from his tent of mine. After a brief breakfast we were back on the trail. Made our way to Fish Lake where we paused for lunch which consisted of fresh trout and ramen. I had spoken to a couple of sheep hunters who reported seeing a billy in this area the week before, but we did not find him. Had we found him, we would have had to first determine if he was in 521 or 316, but without seeing him, it didn't matter.
More walking and glassing. An eight-mile day and we set up camp by Wounded Man Lake. After such a tough summer physically I was feeling very happy with how my body was performing. Nothing negative to report for either my legs or lungs. While I wasn't feeling as young as I once was, I was thrilled with where I was at and with how I was doing.
Day Three:
A morning of glassing all that we could see around Wounded Man. Nothing was found so we broke camp to head to Cimmarian Lake.
My maps disagreed with each other as to the presence of a trail. In the end the no trail answer was closer to the truth. What should have been 3.6 miles according to the source that said we had a trail grew as we did 5 even to get there. Lots of deadfall and multiple stream crossings.
Then it happened. My foot slipped into a hole near the end of this trek and down I went with my full pack on to my hip that had suffered from the sciatica this past summer. I felt a distinct, uncomfortable pull in that hip as I landed, bending one of my trekking poles slightly. Man did that suck! Over 20 miles in and now this. I got up and while I could feel the hip some, I didn't feel too bad overall.
To our lake we went finding a place to setup camp and to settle in for the night. I wasn't sure how I would feel in the morning, but the hunt was not over. We did some more fishing and had some success supplementing the food we brought with us. We didn't keep everything we caught, but those we did were very tasty.
Day Four:
I woke up stiff in my hip from my fall. The decision was made to hang near camp and to glass all that we could see completely, and to fish.
Then it happened, Andrew saw a goat! It was far enough away that we weren't sure, but boy did it look like a goat through the spotting scope. Talk about getting excited! It appeared to be bedding down, so we pinpointed its location to keep checking on it. Multiple checks through out the day and we were making plans on how to approach it in the morning. My hip was feeling great now. Then the bubble was burst when the sun moved enough in the afternoon to see that our "goat" was really a well placed and shadowed rock. Oh well, that was fun while it lasted.
The next day was our big push up the mountain. I was confident after all my research that we were in a good area and so hip be damned, it's time to climb! Not an easy situation, but after some ibuprofen and acetaminophen and I was good. Climb and glass, climb and glass. That was our day. Oh but was it worth it. Maybe a 1000 feet below the summit and I found our first real goat. Soon we discerned that we were seeing three nannies and kids. Finally goats! We watched them for some time until they disappeared over the summit.
Back to the climb and before too long Andrew found another goat. We were now only 450-480 yards from this next group which were two more nannies and a kid, depending on the particular animal. Not a shot option even if they were billies at this distance plus a 25-degree angle up and swirling winds. Moreover, we were there for a billy.
Shortly there after a billy was found. And what a beauty! Not the oldest or biggest, but a gorgeous haired out coat. The closest we were to him at this point was 463 yards and similar extenuating conditions. No ethical shot option until we could close the distance.
Decisions, decisions. Go straight up towards him, or go more around the mountain and risk spooking the other goats we had seen and possible spook him too. Up it will be and therefore through a big boulder field. Slowly we progressed up until we were in the area we needed to be. Where the heck did he go?
Andrew and I split up to glass the various drainages that were options for where they may have gone. Nothing.
We did not want to give up the elevation we had acquired so I pulled out an old tent fly that I carry for such an occasion and we setup for the night. We had brought bags and pads so we were going to be comfortable. Our hope was that we would find goats in the morning. Personally, I was hoping to get a shot from our tent.
Day Five:
How does that go? The best laid plans of mice and men? Well no goats in the morning. We glassed all the drainages again, but nothing. Still very grateful for the experience.
Back down a less-steep, but still steep route to our base camp. A lunch of fish and soup and we packed up to begin the walk out. Back to Lake Pinchot up out of the Flood Creek. We made it there and built a big fire which we sat around until latter then any other night reminiscing on the goats and questioning just where did they go?
The question we had for ourselves was if we would walk all the way back to the pickup the next day, or if we would take two days to do it? I thought that one was an option, but neither of us wanted to get back to the truck well after dark and then drive home. So we determined to see when we got to a predetermined location on the route out to decide if it would be one or two days.
Day Six:
Neither of us were moving too fast as we were both okay with the idea of two-day back out. We hit the trail around 10:00 and headed back towards Fish Lake. We would still glass, but only with the binos and not the spotter. None were seen and we were happy with the progress we were making. We hit our benchmark spot well before the 3:00 mark that would have had us stopping for the night so we continued on to the pickup. An average of 2.2 mph out had us there in fine time, having gone around 16.5 miles. We ditched our boots and headed for a beer and a burger at the McLeod Bar. With our bellies full, back to Billings and a hot shower and a warm cozy bed!
Plans for the next trip were already in the works. Horses the next time and another great hunting partner. More to come!
