Sorry I've been slow with a story. I still haven't made it home, having stopped off for some hunting in Wyoming on the way. I don't have much time for a story, so I'll just post an email that my outfitter, Ed Toribio sent out a few days ago. I'll try to post some more photos of the hunt soon. Thanks for all the congrats.
Rain and fog in Misty Fiords
Hello All,
I hope your fall weather is better than we've been having in SE Alaska. A lot of rain and low clouds have made for wet camping and poor visibility. Terry (Oak) traveled from Colorado at the end of September to join me on a Misty Fiords goat hunt. We were fortunate to have decent day on October 1st for our flight into the Monument with Ryan McCue of RdM Alaska Seaplane Tours. I left Charlie Ratzat and Kyle Berg at the lake with Terry to help set up base camp while Ryan and I flew back to town for a 2nd load of equipment. I was also in the process of supplying a 2nd camp in a nearby lake for my partner Todd Walton. Todd and assistant guide Mark Chambers had been setting up a base camp for two more goat hunters scheduled to arrive later in the day. The father and son team of Dan & Josh West flew out with me on October 2nd and were excited to learn that Todd had a couple of good Billies located for them. The weather was deteriorating, however and would play a big part in their hunt.
I'm getting sidetracked, so back to Terry and his hunt. With everybody in place, I joined Terry and the boys who had been ferrying backpacks loaded with spike camp supplies across the lake. We made our assault on the mountain despite the poor weather. It turned out that the mountain assaulted us and a nasty band of cliffs nearly prevented our ascent. We barely snuck through on a slippery piece of ground that afforded the only pass to the upper slopes. Ryan had been right when he said my proposed route looked pretty tough. With rain pouring down and water running an inch deep all over the ground, our prospects were dismal for finding a dry campsite. We were nearly at the top of the mountain when Charlie found a bench with suitable ground to pitch a couple of tents. It had taken us 5 hours to climb 2000 feet. A short reprieve from the rain allowed us to set up spike camp and rig a kitchen fly. High winds with gusts to 50 mph came as predicted along with torrential rains that lasted throughout the night. It felt good to be secure in our sleeping bags and tents.
We woke to the sound of rain and zero visibility the next morning. We delayed our breakfast and coffee until nearly noon. Early in the afternoon, the rain let up and the clouds started to lift. As soon as the mountain above became visible, we made a dash for the top. We had just reached the summit ridge when Charlie spotted the first goats less than 400 yards away. It was a nursery group, including a very long horned nanny with two kids. A two year old billy was bedded nearby. We had a spot of sun as we glassed for the big billy that shared this mountain. I knew that he often used the low ridge on the far end of the mountain, but hoped he might move up to the nice basin on top. We returned to camp just before dark and had a nice fire under the stars to dry out our wet clothes. We turned in hoping the weather would last.
Day 4 of the adventure started out clear as we hoped, so we started early to hunt for the big billy. Kyle spotted the first goat of the day, a lone billy bedded on the skyline nearly a mile away. We put the scope on him and were disappointed o see that he was another young billy, probably 2 or 3 years old. As we moved up to our previous glassing position, Kyle spotted the nursery group on the same ridge moving our way. They seemed to be heading to their favorite feeing slope and soon the lone billy joined them. As they disappeared from view we decided to get closer, mindful of the wind that blowing dangerously close to their position. Trying to cross the open basin, using the small finger ridges for cover, I spotted another lone billy on the skyline. We got pinned down for a few minutes and agreed that this billy looked noticeably larger than the other two that accompanied the nursery group. Soon he disappeared over the ridge and we continued our stalk. It was just a stroke of luck that he appeared for that short time and we had been in position to see him. As we closed the range, the nursery group showed up again on the same ridge, bedded down and chewing their cud, evidently having just finished breakfast. The wind was a constant issue, blowing very close to the direction of the goats. We hoped that the nursery group might move off so that we could cross the deep gully that separated us from the big billy. As if on cue, the old nanny got up and had obviously winded us. She and the others moved quickly over the mountain and thankfully in the opposite direction from the billy. We didn't waste any time crossing the gully and were soon standing in the same spot the big billy had been just before he disappeared.
Terry had his rifle in hand, but I had neglected to have him chamber a round. I considered having everyone remove their packs to sneak along the brushy ridge. Instead, I just kept going with everyone following, wondering how far the goat might have traveled. It had been more than an hour since we had seen him disappear. Visibility was limited to just 20 or 30 yards and we weaved between small knobs covered in brush. We had gone just a short ways when Terry spotted the goat bedded less than 30 yards away. He was lying behind some brush just a little lower than us and I hurriedly instructed Terry to shoot him as soon as possible. Terry excitedly chambered a round and prepared to shoot. Terry could not see the horns very well and only a strip of his back and neck. I could see the head and horns clearly and knew immediately that this was the kind of goat we were looking for. His horns appeared long and very heavy. Soon the goat stood up and Terry dropped him in his tracks with a shot to the spine. The goat rolled down the hill just a little ways and came to rest on a little ledge. We hurried down the hill and Terry finished him off. We were all pretty surprised at how quickly the events had transpired. It was obvious that Terry had just killed an exceptional goat. The body was big with excellent hair and the horns looked to be well over ten inches and very heavy although one horn was broomed a little. They were the heaviest horns I had ever seen and carried the mass well up the horn. I suspected he would score very well.
We congratulated each other and took a few photos. Kyle noticed a bigger bench below that would offer a better place to work on the goat. We lowered him down with a rope and took a few more photos. As we began to skin the animal, the ceiling came down and soon we were immersed in dripping clouds with almost no visibility. We had been very fortunate to see this goat and complete the stalk during the short break in the weather. It was still early in the day and we finished our work with ample time to hike back to camp. Terry and I were thankful for to have the packers to help carry the life-sized skin and heavy meat sacks. The weather continued to deteriorate and was raining hard again by the time we reached camp. We didn't even bother with a fire that night, but wolfed down our dinner and headed for the tents. It rained most of the night, but we didn't care.
I called Marcia to report our success and learned that Todd had and the boys had made it to spike camp, but had been tent bound due to poor visibility. We had been very lucky indeed. The trip down the mountain was pleasantly uneventful. There were a few places that we had to use a rope to lower the packs, but we made the lake in just over 3 hours, much better than trip up had been. Base camp with a wall tent and woodstove was quite comfortable compared to our little spike camp on the hill. We put a tape to Terry's goat and found the long horn to be 11 1/2" with 6 1/4" base. The broomed horn was 10 3/4". Later we scored him at 55 B&C gross and 54 2/8 net. Too bad he had the broken horn. Terry was still very happy with his trophy mountain goat.
The weather improved for our last day in the wilderness and we broke camp with a bit of sunshine and just an occasional shower. Ryan showed up as scheduled and was amazed at the size of Terry's goat horns. I empathized with Todd's party as we flew by their mountain on our way home, and hoped they had located their goats. Todd called in that night to report that he had spotted two big Billies late in the day, but didn't have enough daylight to go get them. Todd's latest report was that they had snow in camp and still had not been able to close the range on the big goats. As I look out the window at rain and clouds, I am hoping that the weatherman is right in his prediction for better weather tomorrow. Todd and the boys are hanging in there and just need a break in the weather.
More on the saga of Todd's hunt later.....
Here are some photos from Terry's rainy hunt.
Enjoy, Ed
Ps, Thanks Again to Charlie and Kyle for all the hard work!
Rain and fog in Misty Fiords
Hello All,
I hope your fall weather is better than we've been having in SE Alaska. A lot of rain and low clouds have made for wet camping and poor visibility. Terry (Oak) traveled from Colorado at the end of September to join me on a Misty Fiords goat hunt. We were fortunate to have decent day on October 1st for our flight into the Monument with Ryan McCue of RdM Alaska Seaplane Tours. I left Charlie Ratzat and Kyle Berg at the lake with Terry to help set up base camp while Ryan and I flew back to town for a 2nd load of equipment. I was also in the process of supplying a 2nd camp in a nearby lake for my partner Todd Walton. Todd and assistant guide Mark Chambers had been setting up a base camp for two more goat hunters scheduled to arrive later in the day. The father and son team of Dan & Josh West flew out with me on October 2nd and were excited to learn that Todd had a couple of good Billies located for them. The weather was deteriorating, however and would play a big part in their hunt.
I'm getting sidetracked, so back to Terry and his hunt. With everybody in place, I joined Terry and the boys who had been ferrying backpacks loaded with spike camp supplies across the lake. We made our assault on the mountain despite the poor weather. It turned out that the mountain assaulted us and a nasty band of cliffs nearly prevented our ascent. We barely snuck through on a slippery piece of ground that afforded the only pass to the upper slopes. Ryan had been right when he said my proposed route looked pretty tough. With rain pouring down and water running an inch deep all over the ground, our prospects were dismal for finding a dry campsite. We were nearly at the top of the mountain when Charlie found a bench with suitable ground to pitch a couple of tents. It had taken us 5 hours to climb 2000 feet. A short reprieve from the rain allowed us to set up spike camp and rig a kitchen fly. High winds with gusts to 50 mph came as predicted along with torrential rains that lasted throughout the night. It felt good to be secure in our sleeping bags and tents.
We woke to the sound of rain and zero visibility the next morning. We delayed our breakfast and coffee until nearly noon. Early in the afternoon, the rain let up and the clouds started to lift. As soon as the mountain above became visible, we made a dash for the top. We had just reached the summit ridge when Charlie spotted the first goats less than 400 yards away. It was a nursery group, including a very long horned nanny with two kids. A two year old billy was bedded nearby. We had a spot of sun as we glassed for the big billy that shared this mountain. I knew that he often used the low ridge on the far end of the mountain, but hoped he might move up to the nice basin on top. We returned to camp just before dark and had a nice fire under the stars to dry out our wet clothes. We turned in hoping the weather would last.
Day 4 of the adventure started out clear as we hoped, so we started early to hunt for the big billy. Kyle spotted the first goat of the day, a lone billy bedded on the skyline nearly a mile away. We put the scope on him and were disappointed o see that he was another young billy, probably 2 or 3 years old. As we moved up to our previous glassing position, Kyle spotted the nursery group on the same ridge moving our way. They seemed to be heading to their favorite feeing slope and soon the lone billy joined them. As they disappeared from view we decided to get closer, mindful of the wind that blowing dangerously close to their position. Trying to cross the open basin, using the small finger ridges for cover, I spotted another lone billy on the skyline. We got pinned down for a few minutes and agreed that this billy looked noticeably larger than the other two that accompanied the nursery group. Soon he disappeared over the ridge and we continued our stalk. It was just a stroke of luck that he appeared for that short time and we had been in position to see him. As we closed the range, the nursery group showed up again on the same ridge, bedded down and chewing their cud, evidently having just finished breakfast. The wind was a constant issue, blowing very close to the direction of the goats. We hoped that the nursery group might move off so that we could cross the deep gully that separated us from the big billy. As if on cue, the old nanny got up and had obviously winded us. She and the others moved quickly over the mountain and thankfully in the opposite direction from the billy. We didn't waste any time crossing the gully and were soon standing in the same spot the big billy had been just before he disappeared.
Terry had his rifle in hand, but I had neglected to have him chamber a round. I considered having everyone remove their packs to sneak along the brushy ridge. Instead, I just kept going with everyone following, wondering how far the goat might have traveled. It had been more than an hour since we had seen him disappear. Visibility was limited to just 20 or 30 yards and we weaved between small knobs covered in brush. We had gone just a short ways when Terry spotted the goat bedded less than 30 yards away. He was lying behind some brush just a little lower than us and I hurriedly instructed Terry to shoot him as soon as possible. Terry excitedly chambered a round and prepared to shoot. Terry could not see the horns very well and only a strip of his back and neck. I could see the head and horns clearly and knew immediately that this was the kind of goat we were looking for. His horns appeared long and very heavy. Soon the goat stood up and Terry dropped him in his tracks with a shot to the spine. The goat rolled down the hill just a little ways and came to rest on a little ledge. We hurried down the hill and Terry finished him off. We were all pretty surprised at how quickly the events had transpired. It was obvious that Terry had just killed an exceptional goat. The body was big with excellent hair and the horns looked to be well over ten inches and very heavy although one horn was broomed a little. They were the heaviest horns I had ever seen and carried the mass well up the horn. I suspected he would score very well.
We congratulated each other and took a few photos. Kyle noticed a bigger bench below that would offer a better place to work on the goat. We lowered him down with a rope and took a few more photos. As we began to skin the animal, the ceiling came down and soon we were immersed in dripping clouds with almost no visibility. We had been very fortunate to see this goat and complete the stalk during the short break in the weather. It was still early in the day and we finished our work with ample time to hike back to camp. Terry and I were thankful for to have the packers to help carry the life-sized skin and heavy meat sacks. The weather continued to deteriorate and was raining hard again by the time we reached camp. We didn't even bother with a fire that night, but wolfed down our dinner and headed for the tents. It rained most of the night, but we didn't care.
I called Marcia to report our success and learned that Todd had and the boys had made it to spike camp, but had been tent bound due to poor visibility. We had been very lucky indeed. The trip down the mountain was pleasantly uneventful. There were a few places that we had to use a rope to lower the packs, but we made the lake in just over 3 hours, much better than trip up had been. Base camp with a wall tent and woodstove was quite comfortable compared to our little spike camp on the hill. We put a tape to Terry's goat and found the long horn to be 11 1/2" with 6 1/4" base. The broomed horn was 10 3/4". Later we scored him at 55 B&C gross and 54 2/8 net. Too bad he had the broken horn. Terry was still very happy with his trophy mountain goat.
The weather improved for our last day in the wilderness and we broke camp with a bit of sunshine and just an occasional shower. Ryan showed up as scheduled and was amazed at the size of Terry's goat horns. I empathized with Todd's party as we flew by their mountain on our way home, and hoped they had located their goats. Todd called in that night to report that he had spotted two big Billies late in the day, but didn't have enough daylight to go get them. Todd's latest report was that they had snow in camp and still had not been able to close the range on the big goats. As I look out the window at rain and clouds, I am hoping that the weatherman is right in his prediction for better weather tomorrow. Todd and the boys are hanging in there and just need a break in the weather.
More on the saga of Todd's hunt later.....
Here are some photos from Terry's rainy hunt.
Enjoy, Ed
Ps, Thanks Again to Charlie and Kyle for all the hard work!
Great billy!
