Late Season Colorado Mountain Goat Hunt

[Matt R]

Life has finally afforded me some time to post a write-up and a few pictures from my late season G4 mountain goat hunt here in Colorado.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in the alpine over the summer and the proximity of G4 to Denver allowed relatively easy access to areas that are typically only able to be experienced after long arduous treks. When considering that I have a wife and 2 small children at home, the ability to conduct scouting trips that only take up a half-day or so when utilizing the Mt. Evans Rd. to gain immediate access to prime habitat that Oreamnos americanus resides in was appreciated by all. I encountered a lot of very nice folks on my hikes and had a good number of inquiries as to what my purpose was when people saw my camo garb and tripod-mounted optics pointed at the sides of mountains. Almost everyone I encountered was respectful to me, even if their lack of enthusiasm for hunting was palpable, and I did my best to reciprocate this respect while striving to ensure they knew how much I respected the creatures that were the focus of my pursuit. I had the pleasure of meeting folks from Texas, Georgia, Idaho and even had a discussion with a professor from California whom I was able to glean information about a passerine (American pipit) that I had been watching with interest over the course of one morning.

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One scouting trip led me into a drainage that hadn't produced a mountain goat, according to CPW statistics, for 5 years. However, after learning about the solitary nature of a mature billy before the rut, I thought this area was worth checking into and may have been overlooked by many hunters due to the lack of recent harvest data. After a good hike up from the trailhead that passed by a grove of bristlecone pine's, featuring specimens that likely predated the signing of our Declaration of Independence, I found myself in a beautiful alpine bowl on an absolutely perfect mid-September morning. After scanning the south horizon I caught the outline of a smaller bighorn ram and hurriedly retrieved my spotter so that I could get a quick shot via digi-scoping. While the ram did disappear for a few minutes over the skyline, he reappeared along with 10 or so of his companions providing ample opportunity for as many pictures as I cared to take. After taking the sheep in, I happened to scan the eastern aspect of the mountainside to my west and was shocked to find approximately 30 more bighorns less than 600 yards away now illuminated by the rising sun. At this moment in this secluded alpine bowl of the Mt. Evans Wilderness, as I was surrounded by the things that mean so much to me, I really thought that I was witnessing perfection (at least on this side of the Big Blackfoot). While I never did see a goat on this trip, this was probably my favorite day scouting and I did encounter what might have been the largest blue grouse in Clear Creek County on my way out (Randy, you might have tried to stone him if you would've been with me).

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[Matt R]

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It became clearer to me as I approached the actual hunt that it may turn into a solo affair as my dad was recovering from a back injury and it appeared that the timing of the hunt was just not jiving with other friends' schedules (Hunting is only allowed on weekdays in this unit due to the large amount of use this area experiences by sightseers and hikers). The Mt. Evans Rd. had closed approximately 2 weeks beforehand but bikes were still allowed to utilize the road and summit Mt. Evans if conditions allowed. After mulling multiple plans with regard to how I would access my chosen hunt area and how I would, hopefully, transport the harvested goat back down the mountain, I came up with the idea of utilizing my bike with a kid's trailer attached to haul my gear up and down the Mt. Evans Rd. with gravity helping mightily on latter portion of my trip (I smiled when I recently heard Ty Stubblefield talk with Randy about using the same set-up to chase Roosevelt Elk). This ad hoc plan all occurred within 48 hours of me leaving for G4 but I was able to locate a bike trailer for sale via Craigslist on Saturday, make a minor repair to it Sunday morning, and then head up to the high country so that I could be ready to hunt first thing Monday morning.

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After running into a CPW employee that I had just talked to a few days before about the hunt and then realizing that he was a long lost friend of sorts, I made my way to the Mt. Evans parking lot at Echo Lake where I was greeted by temperatures in the 50's at 10,600' in late October. As I loaded everything up, I said a general prayer for safety and that this contraption would hold together for me both up and down the mountain. After receiving a few strange looks from people as they saw all my gear and rifle sticking out of a kid's bike trailer, I started pedaling my way up the mountain. I did encounter quite a few people both on foot and bicycles on my way up including a gentleman in his 50's who had just rode his bike up to the summit and was on his way back down. After I hit mile 4 or so, I began a mixture of riding and pushing my way up the mountain with the latter method prevailing the last 5 or so miles. While I did glass on the way up and did, almost literally, run into a herd of bighorns at about mile 8, I was able to get camp set up with just enough daylight left.

After a very long night that included some heavy wind gusts and listening to the yips from what sounded like at least 5 coyotes that seemed to get progressively closer to my camp during the night, I was greeted by an epic sunrise on the eastern horizon. I subsequently put as many calories into my body as possible and then peaked my head out of the tent to instantly observed a few mountain goats working their way up a rock chute on the far side of Summit Lake. The apparition of goats in this location was not a big surprise to me from past experience in the area and I unsheathed my spotter for further examination. There were what appeared to be 2 adult goats that were likely nannies and what I estimated to be a 1.5 to 2.5 year old goat with them. I will say that in my experience goats are darn tough to identify even when you know what to look for (e.g. urination posture, horn curvature, horn thickness and horn spacing) but after watching them further through my spotter, I was pretty confident that the adult goats were nannies. Although these goats were a tempting opportunity and impetus for an internal evaluation of my hunt goals, I decided to make my way to a lookout over Chicago creek that was essentially in the same direction that a stalk for the aforementioned goats would take and that also afforded an expansive view of the watershed and a sheer face where I had seen numerous goats on a past scouting trip; unfortunately (or fortunately), the sole species of the Oreamnos genus was not spotted.

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[Matt R]

At this point, I had another internal discussion that focused on the opportunity that had presented itself and my desire to get this hunt done in a safe and preferably quick manner. Although I did have a satellite messaging device with me, was in mountain shape for the most part and prepared to hunt for 4 days if need be, I had strong reservations in extending this solo alpine hunt any longer than need be. The decision was made to go and, at the least, get a better look at the quadrupeds in question scaling the mountainside to the southwest of me. At the point I was within 1000 yards or so, I retrieved my spotter again and took another look at the white ghosts that were nonchalantly making their way up the chute towards a flatter basin-like area that existed over the ridge to the west. While no change occurred from my previous conjecture that these goats were nannies, I decided to drop my pack and grab only the essentials in preparation for a stalk.

The goats went out of sight shortly after leaving my last glassing position and I made my way in what really only can be described as a beeline towards their last known location. As I made my way towards the chute, my lungs reminded me that I was at 13,000' and I consequently started dropping gear that was thought to be essential only 10 minutes earlier. While I did mark each "cache" location with my GPS, I discovered to my chagrin later on that a 25' radius of accuracy was not tight enough for me to readily find my smaller items (luckily I later found all items other than a scope lens cover cap). Once I finally arrived at the chute, the only item I was sporting other than a single layer of merino was my 6.5 creedmoor.

I still had not seen the goats reappear and was afraid that they may be in an area that would be off limits for a shot or perhaps over the crest of the ridge by this time; despite these thoughts, I started to make my way up the scree field in a surreptitious manner which, I'm quite certain, really turned out to be not quiet in the least due partly to the unstable terrain. As I climbed to what I would estimate as the 1/3 mark up the chute, a mature mountain goat appeared from what seemed to be out of nowhere about 100 yards up from me on a rock outcropping; I did hesitate for a moment in taking the shot presented to me but quickly decided that this was an opportunity that I should take. After having trouble getting to a stable shooting position standing, and then experiencing not much better luck while taking a kneeling position on the rock I happened to be on, I looked below me and saw a large flat piece of granite that appeared to be a better option. I quickly stepped down to the rock and laid with back flat and rifle resting on my knee. It became quickly obvious to me after looking through my crosshairs that this was a much more stable platform and position to shoot from notwithstanding what I would estimate to be a 65 degree upward shooting angle. As my crosshairs settled just behind the front shoulder, I sent the Barnes 127 LRX on a 2800 fps rope courtesy 42.5 grains of H4350. The deep bark of the creed reverberating off the 50 or so million year-old rock walls surrounding me on that late October morning in Colorado is something that I'll never forget.

Although everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, it was immediately obvious that a follow-up shot was not needed; however, the goat and I were eye to eye for about 2 seconds after the shot and more was exchanged between man and nature that I'll choose to go into here. At first, she fell about 10 or so feet and nearly came to a halt on a rock ledge above me; however, her sliding never completely ceased and what was a gentle slide quickly turned into an epic tumble of this amazing creature for approximately 200 yards that included cartwheels 12' in the air and her coming within 5 or so feet of me on the way down. I want to emphasize that this was not, by any means, enjoyable for me to witness; anytime I take the life of a sentient creature, I want death to come as instantaneous and painless as possible. I know this hunter's paradox is something that many non-hunters just don't understand but I know many folks on this forum have the utmost respect for their quarry and never want an animal to endure undue suffering. As I believe Shane Mahoney said, perhaps those that take an animal's life feel more compelled, because of this decision, than any other group to give something back to that animal and its habitat. I believe he is very likely right and this may be the reason why hunter's really are many species only hope for survival at this point on planet Earth. We need more hunters in our country and across the planet, in general, as many of these people will become stalwart conservationists as they sense the unique fulfillment and completion that nature gifts back after engaging in this intrinsic pursuit.

As I approached the animal, I said a prayer of thanks but was somber too that my dad wasn't with me at this moment as some of the most treasured moments in my life revolve around the moment of first approaching game that we've harvested while together. Despite the dearth of my father in-person, I was able to contact him via cell phone from near the kill site and have a memorable conversation with him.

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The act of cleaning the 6 year-old nanny, including removal of the hide for a future rug, proved to be quite laborious; I tried to, again, utilize gravity in the chute as my friend and got the job done sooner or later. I was quite exhausted by the time I got all the meat and my gear back to camp but the thought of an easy bike ride down buoyed my spirits. With the trailer loaded up I actually had to push the goat chariot up a hill for about a half-mile before heading down the road but reached the apex of this last climb with the sun still slightly above the jagged western horizon. As much as I enjoyed not having to push up anymore hills, the ride down was nothing short of harrowing as I was constantly in fear of a flat tire, failure of an overloaded bike trailer or perhaps worse, failed brakes. I constantly worked the brakes back and forth in an effort to hedge against overheating on the way down and keep my speed in check. As I made it to tree line passing a group of mule deer and then around the final bend to the parking area, I said yet another prayer of thanks. There have been many times after various outdoor adventures when I was thankful to see my parked truck but I'm certain that this instance was the apotheosis of such relief.

In closing, I feel very fortunate to have been able to harvest such a creature on a solo hunt and to not have any incidents on the mountain. I'm also very appreciative of the advice and assistance extended to me both by people close to me and from those whom I have not personally met including multiple individuals from the RMBS.

 

[TRS_Montana]

Great so far, looking forward to more!

 

[LuketheDog]

Great job!

I did the bike+trailer thing once. It was fine on the flats, but on the downhills the heavy trailer became more a hazard than a help, and after it snowed 6"+, the whole rig had to be pushed on the trip out. Since then, we've just ditched the bikes and just pushed/pulled the trailers in on that hunt.

 

[marksjeep]

Excellent write up. Congrats on the goat, and thanks for taking the time to share the story and the pics!

 

[Mudranger1]

when NoHarley reads this story he will be in awe of the usage of such big words! Congrats on getting it done and having a great adventure to remember!

 

[npaden]

Thanks for sharing. Congrats!

 

[bobbydean]

Thanks for the story. Congratulations.

I have never thought of using a bike on a hunt, especially going up and down a mountain.

Way to improvise!

 

[LopeHunter]

Great write up and pictures. I dislike coyotes mostly as they are killing machines in the Midwest where kill a lot of rabbits and quail. If is near the ground, they will attack anything their size or smaller.

Most of the ridges you see in Colorado are the "new" Rocky Mountains as the first set wore down over the millennia. While the first set was worn down, the Appalachian Mountains were eroding and washing all the way to Utah. Then the new Rockies arose. Modern science can compare the sand in the sandstone over in Utah and verify the chemical fingerprint is of the Appalachians. We are merely here for a blink of the eye of Planet Earth's journey.

 

[Oak]

Glad your hunt was a success. Thanks for sharing the story. The goat population is down considerably in that unit, and licenses will be reduced appropriately in 2017.

 

[ashersdad]

Great write up and pictures! Congratulations on your success.

 

[mdhunter]

Great write up! I am glad your adventure was a success.

 

[sneakem]

Congrats on the goat. Thank for sharing!

 

[noharleyyet]

Generous articulate share, well told and shown.

 

[duckhunt]

Awsome hunt

 

[Matt R]

Thanks for all of the kind words as it was my pleasure to share this adventure with you all.

LopeHunter, your insight into the geomorphology of our North American mountain ranges is appreciated and novel to this guy.

Oak, interesting news regarding the G4 mountain goat population although not entirely surprising to me. I'm guessing that I saw 3 to 4 sheep for each goat I observed over the course of the summer and fall while hitting a good deal of the "major areas" where goats have been harvested in years past. My "straw poll" numbers, for whatever they might be worth, are at odds with the most recently published population estimates for sheep and goats in this area (110 & 120 resp.). On a positive note, all young sheep I saw appeared to be in healthy condition; Joe Hutto's Whiskey Mountain research was kept in mind as I spent time watching these amazing creatures.

 

[Oak]

Matt, the post-hunt population estimate for G4 has been halved this year (60). A reason for there appearing to be more sheep in S4 than the population estimate indicates is that the DAU encompasses the units of S3, S4, and S41. There is regular movement of sheep across the boundaries of these three GMU, especially from S3 and S4 to S41 late in the fall. The total population estimate for the DAU is 210. The sheep in the DAU are believed to be fairly healthy, except that this is the only herd in the state where Johne's disease is known to occur. Due to the concern of Johne's spreading to neighboring herds, the population objective in the DAU is more conservative than the habitat could support. The only documented die-offs in the herd attributed to pneumonia were in 1952 and possibly in 1969.

 

[88man]

Great Post.