N
ntodwild
Guest
Welcome to the Blue Mountains of Washington State. Not gonna make this a long story, just short and to the point. I will let the photos speak for themselves.
As with many other states, spring bear season in Washington had been put on hold because of Covid. As soon as my partner and I got the go we packed up and hit the road (got the hell out of Western Washington & sort of wish we didn't come back). Both of us have families so I suppose we had to come home at some point. Spring Bear Tags in the Blues are a coveted draw in this state and we finally drew a buddy tag this year so we had two tags to fill. On that note neither of us had been to the Blues so all we had was a few months of e-scouting, Basemap, an itch to get out and some weather reports of which were, as we found out later not so reliable. Most of the hunting in the Blues takes place between 4000 & 6000 ft elevation and it was a solid winter in South East Washington. We arrived May 26th and quickly found out that getting around would have to be done via ATV as 70% of the road systems had a minimum of 1.5ft of snow and in many shaded areas, 2ft or more. By the time we left the snow was completely gone. We were either extremely early (hard to believe late May is early) or hitting things at a perfect time. 3 weeks of hunting, 11 bear sightings, 2 real solid plays on our sightings and a ton of well needed outdoor release. An Amazing 3 weeks of hunting!
Enjoy:
A BEAR WE SO APPLY NAMED "THE TANK". We spotted this guy 3 days in a row in a place I called "Not Man Enough". Photo was taken through a spotter at 1200yds. My partner and I both agreed that if we had two other hunters with us he would have been worth going in after. As it is the adolescent bear we did take was a tuff haul in some very steep country.
Typical snow drifts on the forest service access roads.
Some amazing scenery and views from high points.
Home away from home. Our Spike Camp 9 miles away from our basecamp (Travel Trailer) and a difference of about 1000ft elevation. We held out here under some pretty amazing thunder and lightning storms, spent 2-3 days at a time hunting out of this camp and used our basecamp as a place to recharge our human batteries every 3 days or so (showers, hot meal, soft warm bed and of course some liquid courage).
My partner Bob putting in some time behind the glass!
Getting ready to pack up one afternoon and call it quits when I spotted this bear feeding his way up a ridge 600 yards away. My partner Bob stayed on the spotter and walked me into within 80 yards and the rest is history. Young adolescent bear. Not a very big fellow (150lbs or so). As luck would have it this bear turned into a ball, rolled 70 yards down hill from where I hit him and was a .63 mile, 480ft of elevation up a 16% grade to get him to the top of the ridge.
Of course we have many more amazing photos of wildlife, scenery and our 3 week adventures but that is for our own personal enjoyment. Not a bad time for 2 old retired farts who have been hunting together for over 25 years. We had as much or more fun than we have had on any of our hunting adventures (maybe just a little slower
). We only punched one tag but we put in the time for two. Hunted hard for 3 solid weeks. Just what the Dr. ordered for the current times!
As with many other states, spring bear season in Washington had been put on hold because of Covid. As soon as my partner and I got the go we packed up and hit the road (got the hell out of Western Washington & sort of wish we didn't come back). Both of us have families so I suppose we had to come home at some point. Spring Bear Tags in the Blues are a coveted draw in this state and we finally drew a buddy tag this year so we had two tags to fill. On that note neither of us had been to the Blues so all we had was a few months of e-scouting, Basemap, an itch to get out and some weather reports of which were, as we found out later not so reliable. Most of the hunting in the Blues takes place between 4000 & 6000 ft elevation and it was a solid winter in South East Washington. We arrived May 26th and quickly found out that getting around would have to be done via ATV as 70% of the road systems had a minimum of 1.5ft of snow and in many shaded areas, 2ft or more. By the time we left the snow was completely gone. We were either extremely early (hard to believe late May is early) or hitting things at a perfect time. 3 weeks of hunting, 11 bear sightings, 2 real solid plays on our sightings and a ton of well needed outdoor release. An Amazing 3 weeks of hunting!
Enjoy:
A BEAR WE SO APPLY NAMED "THE TANK". We spotted this guy 3 days in a row in a place I called "Not Man Enough". Photo was taken through a spotter at 1200yds. My partner and I both agreed that if we had two other hunters with us he would have been worth going in after. As it is the adolescent bear we did take was a tuff haul in some very steep country.
Typical snow drifts on the forest service access roads.
Some amazing scenery and views from high points.
Home away from home. Our Spike Camp 9 miles away from our basecamp (Travel Trailer) and a difference of about 1000ft elevation. We held out here under some pretty amazing thunder and lightning storms, spent 2-3 days at a time hunting out of this camp and used our basecamp as a place to recharge our human batteries every 3 days or so (showers, hot meal, soft warm bed and of course some liquid courage).
My partner Bob putting in some time behind the glass!
Getting ready to pack up one afternoon and call it quits when I spotted this bear feeding his way up a ridge 600 yards away. My partner Bob stayed on the spotter and walked me into within 80 yards and the rest is history. Young adolescent bear. Not a very big fellow (150lbs or so). As luck would have it this bear turned into a ball, rolled 70 yards down hill from where I hit him and was a .63 mile, 480ft of elevation up a 16% grade to get him to the top of the ridge.
Of course we have many more amazing photos of wildlife, scenery and our 3 week adventures but that is for our own personal enjoyment. Not a bad time for 2 old retired farts who have been hunting together for over 25 years. We had as much or more fun than we have had on any of our hunting adventures (maybe just a little slower
). We only punched one tag but we put in the time for two. Hunted hard for 3 solid weeks. Just what the Dr. ordered for the current times!
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