Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Another Mountain Mulie Hunting Trip -long story + a few pics (56K warning)

Well, started off a little slow but ended up being a successful year and as usual, we all had a great time (my favorite year so far). Big fierce country, long hikes, weather, good company....all the makings for a legendary trip. This was our second year in this area.

Last year there was only 3 of us and we hunted out of base camp most of the time making for long hikes in the morning to get to the good spots. We spike camped for a couple days in a 4 man NF tent, then got snowed out of the area so we went to a different unit to hunt the rest of the week. We left because we were in the bottom of a big valley and getting out in the snow was "exciting" with only 6 inches on the ground and more was coming.

This year, we were 5 strong and put much more time into planning and preparation (including getting in shape) so we could stay regardless of the weather that came through. It was fun shopping this year to say the least. I definitely became more of a gear freak and went a little crazy this year....kept telling myself "Well, I won't have to buy anything for a long time" and as the trip came closer, all of the stuff on my "maybe list" was easily justified one way or another, I'm sure you can relate.

We were on a tight timeline to get spike camp up and ready to hunt opening morning at our goal location. We drove for what seemed like months, when we finally arrived we slept in the trucks for a couple hours (oh so comfortable), got up when daylight broke, loaded up the quads and quad trailers (I know I know, conversation for another thread), drove in 14 miles partly on semi nasty trails, setup basecamp (wall tent, cut fire wood, setup cots/bags, etc...), packed in another 4 to 5 miles with about 50 lbs each, and setup spike camp....all in a day, just in time for the snow to start coming down. Everyone is beat down from the effort and hits the sack early.

So a storm comes in overnight and opening morning is pretty nasty. Wind, about 5 inches of snow, highs stayed in the low 20's, and worst of all, visibility is less than 100 yards. We were up early and trekked out into the nastiness. My buddy did happen to see a couple 4 points (Western 4 points....otherwise known as 8 points or 10 points if counting eye guards) walk about 60 yards in front of him (unnoticed), but it was the first day and neither was a "first day" buck for him at that point. Come mid morning, the rest of us haven't seen [bleep] but fog and snow so we get on the radios and everybody is saying "what are you thinking?" but nobody wants to admit how bad it sucks and what they really want is to get out of this crap and back down to basecamp. The weather radio (Garmin rino 530's are wonderful) said it's going to get worse. So someone mentions base camp in a round about way and all of the sudden with no hesitation, everyone else is on board.

So we button up spike camp and make sure that all of the pegs are used on the Kifaru 8-man because 45-50 mph winds are coming with snow. We put all of our stuff we are leaving behind in the big black garbage bags (pads, bags, food, etc...) incase the tent blows away, our stuff won't be blown all over the hillside. We were somewhat protected, but we were on a ridge line and the wind was sure to be bad. We pull the stove pipe off of the stove and lay it down at an angle in the tent to reduce any wind drag before finally heading down to base camp with fingers crossed.

(I know, only the first day, enough reading already, where's the pics?) Patience. I'll speed it up.

So we go down and hunt out of basecamp for a couple days, it's cold (low teens at night, low 20's during day) and wind is just crazy. All of the old burnt trees are crashing day and night...many times not far from where we're standing. So every time a gust comes, I'm watching trees and getting ready to jump for it. Not many deer spotted, they seemed to be hunkered down good for the next couple days and we were excited for the weather to let up so we could get back up to spike camp.

After a couple of rowdy days in base camp, the beer supply was reduced heavily (that's OK, more at the trucks). Base camp kind of became the happy, we're huntin', party, sleep-in in the mornings spot and spike camp was for getting serious. It was nice to have both as sometimes it's nice to let loose and not be 100% serious the entire time. The wind finally died down a little after a couple days and snow was reduced to blowing ice. It was still cold but we got back up to spike camp to get back into the good stuff.

Upon returning to the tipi, we discovered that our pile of wood inside the tent had grown, the stove pipe was back on the stove, and somebody had been sleeping in my bed (flashbacks of goldie locks and the three bears). Someone, or a couple someones had decided to setup shop in our tent during the storm. I hope it saved their lives (wind chill had to be around 0). They were respectful, didn't eat any food, didn't drink any of our whisky (they should have) and restocked the wood pile with more than they used. Only thing is, they accidentally melted my sleeping pad cover on the stove.

The tent is heavily weighed down with snow and definitely took a beating. The center pole is pushed about 4 inches into the ground due to the weight of the snow. We quickly got camp back into shape and were off hunting. I couldn't believe how well that kifaru tent did in that storm...and the entire time we were there. I'm very very impressed and would recommend it. The 8 man was about perfect for 5 guys, but I wouldn't go more than that, although you could.

Next morning, Troy ends up putting the stock on a nice big 3 point which we spotted at about 850 yards, jumped it from it's bed and knocked it down on the run with one shot.

Kurt shot a nice 3 point in the morning on Wednesday after trying to convince everyone to get the heck out of bed and leaving on his own because we were too slow (a common problem in our camp). Troy and I weren't far behind him and got to him about 15 minutes after we heard his shot. Since Troy had gotten his deer already, he stayed to help Kurt bone it out and take it down to base camp. I end up aiming to hit a spot I've been looking at on google earth, but weather came in and I wasn't going that far up into the nastiness by myself (it got nasty and was about 4 miles from spike camp with some super steep rocky spots on the path to get there). So I hung around, explored some new areas, ended up meeting Mike for a bit and then we split up.

Mike's on his way down to basecamp to get some different boots on (freezing feet are not fun), I spot a two point, and Mike heads down to go take a look and runs into a nice 4 point. He took a shot at 300+ but missed. After scouring the area for any sign of a hit, tracks, blood....nothing, he heads after the two point on his way back to camp. Mike bagged the two point and Kurt and Troy stop to help out as they were on their way up to spike camp (let's just say they were feeling a little tipsy after hanging out at basecamp).

Meanwhile, my brother Mark is passing up a two point overlooking a nice bowl not far from spike camp. He decides to let it go for something bigger and he and I meet up at spike camp to stay one last night and hunt our last day up top before packing up camp and heading down.

So Mark and I plan out a hunt to go in after some deer I spotted the day before from about a mile away. We end up seeing a nice fourpoint at the start of our hike and neither of us could get a shot off before he side hilled it into the brush. I went in after him and Mark ends up going the high route to get around on the point we were originally heading for. There's no sign of the 4 point so I keep side hilling (it looks good in there). Mark gets up around me and starts pushing towards me a little lower than my elevation. We're both converging on the spot we were aiming for when two good 4 points go walking down about 150 yards in front of me. They were trying to sneak out the back door from my brother. I had about 5 seconds to get a shot off and didn't have much time to determine which one was bigger. The first one was heading behind a tree so I put my scope on the second one, pulled the trigger and dropped it. We were both super excited being the last day we had to hunt up top.

We boned it out, got back to spike camp to meet the others who had hiked up to help pack out camp. We got on the radios on our way back and pretended like we hadn't seen anything. We snuck up on them and I hid behind some rocks with the deer head poking out and began making grunt noises. My brother was in tears holding back a laugh. Anyways, a little fun and a good greeting and congrats by the others.

A fun trip to be sure. We met some real nice folks back in there and even helped rescue a sick llama. Good people, good times, good therapy to cure the side effects of the rat-race back home. We all felt like our balls were a little bigger after the trip, a sure indicator of a successful hunting trip. Livin' well.

Sorry for the book (that's the short version). Enjoy the pics.

Base camp in the valley below, spike camp on the ridge just down from the farthest peak (somewhere in Canada or something ;^0)


Getting ready at base camp


The crew at spike camp
Me, my bro, Kurt, Mike, Troy



Spike Camp after the storm


View from spike camp


My bro Mark and Mike pumping some drinking water


Troy doing the mountain episode of Cribs
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/DSCN0069.jpg[/img]

Troy and I were glassing from a high peak. Boots frozen like ski boots, 20 degrees and super windy. Spotted his deer on that far hillside (steeper than it looks)
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/DSCN0081.jpg[/img]

Troys big 3 point
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/DSCN0085.jpg[/img]

Troys tenderloins (his deer) were mighty tasty that night.
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/DSCN0097.jpg[/img]

Me not wanting to fall backwards by looking at the camera.
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/DSCN0121.jpg[/img]

My 4x4
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/DSCN0135-1.jpg[/img]

On the way down to basecamp for the last time
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/DSCN0157-1.jpg[/img]

Towing a sick llama out for about 3 miles
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/DSCN0200.jpg[/img]

The lineup for this trip
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/DSCN0215.jpg[/img]

OK this post is getting too big.

Dang! Sounds like an Everest expedition. Great story and pics. It sounds like a memorable trip with some good friends.

Sounds like a great time in some beautiful country, those are some nice deer too!

AHM,
It's hard to have a better time than y'all had. Hey, I'm curious as to what kind of gear y'all took. If I'm not mistaken, it looks like y'all were wearing Eberlestock packs but were those Kifaru tipi's?

You guys kicked ass!! Awesome!

Any Sitka Gear?

Also wondering about footwear!! A tipi style shelter is in my future. I've been looking at the Ti-Goat stove. Is that a kifaru stove?

Thanks

Awesome hunt! Thanks for sharing.

Wowsa thx for sharing about such a super trip!

Dober

Way to go guys!

Once you've hunted mountain mule deer you're ruined for life.

And thats a understatement!!

Us Washington boyz know how to have the best kind of fun.


btw, that was a great write up I liked your style.

Thanks guys. We had a blast and I am definitely already hooked. Even worse now after pushing a little harder this year and I know we're just getting started compared to some of you.

Inspired by your writeup/trip SU35. Thank you too.

Hi guys, hopefully this isn't too long, but I always find it insightful when people write about gear and have read tons of good info on this site regarding equipment, so here goes.

Not that you asked for a huge gear report, but the subject gets me going and the kids are in bed and the wife is at a work function.

Hey backcuntry, you're right, 2 J104's and a J107 for packs. My other buddies had some cool packs too, but can't recall the brands. I had a J104 last year, sold it to my bro, and got a J107. I was looking at others (MR, Kifaru) but ended up going with the J107. It was better than the J104 with a lot of weight in it. Wish I could try on the MR crew cab with nice frame, but didn't have the chance to and the 107 fell into my lap. Also eyed the badlands 4500 and sitka packs after getting back. Maybe next year I'll try 'em out.

Correct on the Kifaru too. I got the 8 man with large kifaru stove and it performed fabulously. Perfect for five guys and some gear. We could get the stove to go for about 3 + hours which was nice to have while getting to bed and then light it up again in the morning to get up (we took turns on fire duty). Also got the liners for the inside of the tent, which in my opinion, are an absolute must have. Very impressed with the kifaru stuff.

All kinds of other gear too. For me, I went to town this year on gear and hopefully won't need much more in the future if we continue to hunt this same way, although I do have a couple things on my list and maybe a couple things I would change. If you want any more info on anything or how it peformed in this weather, just let me know....I had a fun time shopping for gear and got to try a lot of new stuff out this year....some good, some not as good as expected. A few things I personally was impressed with that were new to me:

-Kifaru tipi - better than expected
-J107 - as good as expected - maybe felt a little heavy sometimes as a day pack, but I got used to it real quick and it carried a heavy load well.
-Swaro 10X42 EL's - Wow, I wanted to glass all day long
-Doubler for binoculars - cool, used 3 times in a week, not sure if they're worth the money and packing around though.
-Leica LRF 1200 - worked great when it was dry. Hard to keep from getting fogged if wearing on the belt in snowing/damp weather. Ranged out to 1280 yards once. Nice to have and the best range finder I have used, but don't know if a range finder is absolutely necessary if trying to minimize weight and (reduce all the [bleep] I have to carry. trying not to have batman's utility belt.)
-Montbell UL SS #1 sleeping bag- by far the most comfortable mummy bag I've tried or owned (I'm a bad sleeper and don't like to be constricted)
-Exped downmat 9 dlx sleeping pad - super comfortable, highly recommended for bad sleepers.
-Black diamond "spot" headlamp - my favorite headlamp, small, lasts a long time, bright on spot and can tone it down for wearing in camp.

-Boots - I used Danner Raptors (400 thinsulate) and I just love danners. Maybe not the lightest, but definitely dependable, love the air bobs, I only have good things to say about these boots. My feet did get cold a few times while sitting, but it was in the teens or low 20's and blowing hard. My boots froze solid like ski boots so I had to get up and move. I usually wore a smartwool sock liner and a thick wool REI or Danner brand sock. Always dry and confident in my footwear combo besides maybe pushing the temps in this weather (a 600 thinsulate or more may have worked better, but my danners were the best I had with me).

-Clothing- I had two main setups for for outer layers and then some different standard high quality base/mid layers to play with. I tried to go with just one setup, but couldn't make a decision between the browning quest gear and the sitka 90 % with outer rain gear...so I ended up keeping both.

1. Browning Quest Jacket and pants - for the type of weather we ran into, I can't imagine anything better for a cold/nasty weather layering system. Excellent gear for colder nasty weather. Thinking it was going to warm up a bit, I ended up switching to my Sitka gear and carrying outer layer rain gear in the pack just in case....a mistake because the weather stayed cooler and I wished I had kept on the Browning gear because I always ended up putting on my outer layers with the sitka gear which put me at 3 lower layers and 4 upper layers...not ideal for me. I'm about 6'1", athletic build and about 215 lbs or so. I got the XL jacket and pants and they were great. (maybe 2XL on the jacket if you like bigger middle layers and have shoulders on the broad side like me. XL was fine though.)

2. Sitka 90% Jacket and Pants, Browning paclight rainjacket (had from last year), and sitka nimbus pants. The sitka gear is excellent gear, very comfortable and the nimbus pants were awesome. I could just pull them over my boots and pants with ease, the stretch was amazing and they were hardly noticeable as an extra outer layer. The 90% gettup was great, but not for the colder weather that we were in. I would start the day with the 90% stuff and the covers in my pack, but always ended up putting the outer layers on as soon as we stayed still for a while. The one thing I didn't really like about the 90% pants was that if it is not dry, you really have to watch where you sit down. If its damp at all, your butt gets cold and a little wet and needs to dry out (which the 90% do dry fast). I got sick of it a little bit. For warmer (above 40) and dryer hunting, I'll pick the Sitka gear no problem, but for the tough stuff in colder, snowy/damp weather, the browning gear... it's just a lot tougher. I got the 2XL pants (both 90% and nimbus) and 2 XL jacket for me. Waist is always big (belt takes care of that), but the rest fits perfectly. I like things a tad baggy for movement and adding layers, but not too baggy.

-New Rifle - Rifle's Inc. Titanium Strata in .270 Wby with a Swaro Z6 2-12X50 scope. Super light, Super Accurate, handled a tough trip no problem and did the job when called upon. Wow.

Ok, getting to be a long post again.....

Great hunt and story. If you're just getting started, the rest of us better look out!

Awesome dude! Congrats on a great hunt. That was a very nice write up and some cool pictures, too.

Looks like an outstanding hunt! Congrats!

Great job guys, and some beautiful deer. Thanks for the pictures.

Carl

Sounds like a great trip and you guys brought home the bacon, congrats!!! I have to agree with you on the 90% jacket, it's not very warm for temps below 40 or so when your not moving. I've been wearing mine for the last 3 weeks and i've been getting a little chilly when i'm not on the move. Works great for early season hunting though.

Great story, photos, and equipment details. Congrats on the bruiser bucks. I'm curious what baselayers you wore. Thanks again.