Idaho Mountain Goat - When Dreams Don’t Do Reality Justice

[Duncan]

Awesome story! will be waiting for more.    

[KSCATTRAPR]

This is great, I've enjoyed reading every bit so far, can't wait to hear the rest!

[steve helstowski]

Great stuff! What an adventure!

[DarkTimber]

We both went back to the same glassing points that morning hoping something had moved back into one of the drainages. A fierce wind hit me in the face from my position, Mark was shielded by the side of the mountain. By 10:00 I’d seen nothing but elk. I walked across the ridge partly to see if Mark had seen anything but mostly to warm up a bit. Mark wasn’t there so I assumed he’d either moved further down the ridge for a better view or went back to camp for some food. Suddenly something caught my eye cresting the saddle exactly where our tent had been 2 days before.

I ran back to the other side where I’d been glassing, grabbed my spotting scope and ran back over. When I got is set up and focused on the goats I could see it was the same 2 nannies and kids from day one. A few minutes later the billy I’d come so close to getting a shot at crested the saddle behind them. My excitement immediately spiked. I watched them through the scope until the bedded in nearly the exact same spot I’d stalked them earlier the billy bedded behind the group and was in the best stalking position.

 

 

Not long after they bedded Mark came down the ridge. It didn’t take us long to decide they were our best option. Hell, they were our only option. I wasn’t looking forward to climbing back out of the basin and side hilling around the ridge again and knew it would take me several hours to reach them. They were 1.3 miles as the crow flies from us, my route would make it more like 2.5 miles. Still, I was excited to see goats again and with bad weather coming and the goats in such a good position I was ready to give it a try.

[DarkTimber]

We started walking down the ridge back toward camp and hadn’t gone 20 yards when Mark looked toward the mountainside the big billy had been on the first day, the same one I’d been glassing all morning, and said “is that a goat” pointing 2 drainages over from where the billy had originally been. I put my binoculars on the spot but it was just a light colored rock shining in the sun. “Nope”, but then something caught my eye in my left field of view. I pulled the binoculars over and there he was, standing in the middle of another wide open rock field about ½ a mile from where we’d seen him the first time and 1-1/2 horizontal miles from where we stood. There was no mistaking him.

My plans changed instantly. I set up the scope and started watching him. Willing him to get out of the rock slide before bedding down.

Zoomed in at 30 power
 

Zoomed in at 45 power with 3x zoom on my camera
 

The billy finally made it into some trees and I breathed a sigh of relief, I may still have a shot at a stalk. He stayed on his feet for 2 more hours, slowly feeding along in the trees. I didn’t dare take my eye off the scope for fear I’d miss seeing him bed down. Finally, at 12:30 I saw him extend out his front feet and start raking the ground. “He’s pawing out his bed” I said. Then he flopped down at the base of a small spruce. He was barely visible through the scope. I left the scope on him and directed Mark exactly where he was so he could keep an eye on him while I planned a stalk.

When I took my eye away from the scope and looked at it with my naked eye, I realized just how far away he really was. I’d have to climb down the mountain we were sitting on, cross a creek and climb a near vertical chute to get above him. My path would be at least 2 miles, but I was pumped.

I studied the terrain carefully through my binoculars planning my route. Once I crossed the creek at the base of the mountain there were two chutes up the mountain he was on. The second chute would put me in the best position. I’d climb it until I hit a vertical cliff about 7/8 of the way up the mountain. From there I’d sidehill over against the base of the cliffs until I got to a small cluster of dead trees on a point. Once there he should be 75-100 yards below and to the right of the dead trees. Or at least that’s how it looked from 1-1/2 miles away. Simple enough!

[DarkTimber]

I set off down the mountain, gobbling up the down hill portion with what felt like a race horse's pace. Once I reached the creek things slowed substantially. The base of the chute was covered in downed trees from an avalanche the previous winter and crawling through it took some time. Once I broke free from the tangle of trees I hit the near vertical portion of the chute it was much steeper than it had looked from my glassing pad. There was a small dry ditch where the rain waters ran down the middle of the chute that I used as a staircase to climb. Portions required digging my trekking pole in and pushing myself up, other times I had to hold my trekking pole and bow in the same hand and use my free hand to pull myself up using the rocks above. The entire time I climbed I could feel the stiff wind hitting my back. I knew the thermals would carry my scent up the chute and with the goat being over the lip from me he wouldn’t be able to smell me. Things were looking good.

[DarkTimber]

After 2 hours of climbing I finally reached the cliffs, my first landmark. I collapsed my trekking pole, strapped it to my pack and started side hilling very slowly along the cliffs edge knowing the goat was now within a couple hundred yards. The ground was covered in salad-plate sized loose rocks so I chose my footing carefully. Once I got close to the dead trees the salad-plate rocks changed to loose pea gravel with intermittent patches of bare dirt and only a few larger rocks scattered sporadically. The areas of bare dirt were the quietest and where I tried to plan my steps. As I eased my head over the point at the dead trees I immediately saw the billy, right where I left him and right where he was supposed to be.

The billy was below me and to my right about 80 yards away. I scanned around looking for a way to close the distance undetected. Going straight toward him wasn’t an option. There was about an 8 foot ledge between us that was still out of bow range. If I backtracked about 20 yards and dropped down in elevation about 15 yards below the ledge there was a small rise that would hide me. Just past the rise was a small spruce I could keep between us and use for cover as well. I slowly backed up and keeping a low profile dropped down the hill. Once at the right elevation I dropped my pack and started easing ahead extremely slowly. I knew this wasn’t the time to rush. The loose rocks made quiet footing difficult. From the time I dropped my pack on, I timed my movements only when a gust of wind would pick up. When the wind stopped, I stopped. It probably took me 30 minutes to cover 30 yards and as peaked my head over the rise he was still laying there. He was on his side with his back to me. With the next gust of wind I took one more slow step to give me a clear view.

Unfortunately the size of his body and the slope of the hill had made me misjudge the distance. He was still 45 yards out. I need to gain about 10 more yards to feel comfortable with the shot. There was nothing between me and the goat so once again I backtracked, this time only about 5 yards to get on the other side of the rise. Then I dropped to my butt, laid my bow across my lap and slowly start crab crawling down hill toward the spruce tree. The ground was nothing but pea-gravel now so I inched ahead trying to remain silent, again only moving with the wind. 15 minutes later and I’d gained 9 yards. The small spruce was directly between the goat and I. Still on my butt, I needed to scoot about 3 more feet to the right for a clear shot. With the next large gust I moved my right foot over, then waited for the next to shift my weight and move my left foot. He was now in the clear at 36 yards. I decided this was where it would happen.

[DarkTimber]

With the goat laying on his side with his back to me he still offered no shot and showed no indications of moving. I decided instead of standing for what could be several hours I’d just remain sitting and let him make the next move. I used the time and cover of the wind to slowly grind my heals through the pea gravel and into solid dirt to give me good footing when I finally stood for the shot.


After about 15 minutes of sitting there, the billy rolled up onto his belly, raised his head and looked directly down the hill away from me. His body language told me he was about to stand. With him looking away, I slowly came to my feet. Somehow the goat sensed the movement and snapped his head around and looked directly at me. I didn’t know how he’d react. Maybe he’d blow out of his bed, or stand up and look at me or maybe just stay bedded and try to figure out what I was. But I knew I wasn’t going to find out. He was now on his stomach with his vitals fully exposed and inside my comfort zone. I’d practiced all summer for this shot and dreamed about it for 20 years. The instant our eyes met I hit full draw. All I remember once I hit full draw was thinking “take your time he’s still bedded, you have a couple seconds”. The next thing I knew the most beautiful shot of my life slipped from my fingers and in an instant the arrow smashed into his shoulder and buried over halfway into him, the bright orange fletching contrasting against his white hair. The billy exploded from his bed and ran toward the rock slide we’d first spotted him in. After about 80 yards he stopped and lowered his head then started walking again. I expected him to fall but he stayed on his feet. I watched him go into a group of trees and never come out. I kept my binoculars on the trees for several minutes with no movement then went and grabbed my backpack.

The billy was bedded on the small hump just past the light colored rock in the center of the picture, just to right of the small tree
 

He ran into the trees in the center of this picture just downhill from the small opening. The rock slide beyond is where we first spotted him
 

[DarkTimber]

I was confident in the shot but decided to give him an hour anyway; I probably needed it more than he did. I’m always a pessimist after a shot and don’t like to get my hopes up until I lay my hands on the animal, but deep down I knew I had just killed my mountain goat. Suddenly a lot of emotions hit me all at one time. I just laid back in the rocks and tried to enjoy the moment.

After an hour I messaged my brother letting him know I’d made a great shot and we should have a dead goat. Then I slowly started easing ahead. I didn’t worry about the blood trail, I knew I’d spot his white hair on the open hill side. I hadn’t gone 50 yards before I spotted him.

 

I sat down and looked at his sides through my binoculars to make sure there was no movement. I slowly lowered them from my eyes and just sat there looking down the hill at him in disbelief. I had just killed a mountain goat with my long bow.

I slowly walked down to him and laid my bow across him. I couldn’t believe how big his body was. I ran my fingers through is hair, it was much thicker than I imagined. I messaged my bother letting him know I’d found him and he quickly messaged back saying he was on his way. Then, frankly I didn’t know what to do so I just sat there for a few minutes looking at him.

 

[DarkTimber]

I took a few pictures and notched my tag, but wanted to wait for Mark to see him before I started caping and butchering him. I knew it would take him quite a while to get to me so I ate a quick bite and spent some time getting everything ready to clean him and pack him out. Mark showed up and took a few pictures.

 

 

 

After the pictures we quickly went to work caping him out and boning out the meat.
It took about two hours to finish the work and soon everything was loaded in backpacks ready for the long pack ahead.

 

[Over&Under]

[DarkTimber]

It was 7:00 pm by the time we shouldered the packs. We decided instead of packing back up the mountain to camp then over the next mountain out of the basin, it would be better to drop down the drainage and follow the creek out about 2-1/2 miles to where it crossed a trail. From there we could take the trail another 1-1/2 miles back to the truck. What followed was 4-1/2 hours of bushwhacking and cussing in the dark with heavy packs. I’ll save you those details but you can probably imagine. We stumbled off the trail just after midnight, dumped our packs in the back of the rental car and made the hour and a half drive to the nearest town with a hotel. I’m not sure my head even hit the pillow before I fell asleep.

The next morning we woke up to rain. We ate breakfast at a local restaurant and found a cooler to hang the meat in. Then we headed back to pack back in and get camp out. The rain held off for most of the pack in but once we were about half way to the top of the mountain the snow began to fall and the winds picked up. With empty packs and empty legs we reached camp about 3 hours after leaving the truck. We wasted no time breaking down camp and loading it in our packs as the snow continued to fall. As we climbed out of the basin for the last time and reached the peak, I turned around for one last look. I knew this would likely be the last time I’d see it in my lifetime. The snow and cold wind slammed into my face. It was if the mountains were angry I’d taken one of her prized possessions, I smiled and promised it meant more to me than it ever could to her.

 

[akaboomer]

Outstanding Aaron! Congratulations on making your dream hunt happen successfully. I could almost imagine myself along for the hunt.

Chris

[neargeezer]

Great story and pictures! Thanks for sharing the hunt with us.

[South MS Bowhunter]

I just got back in from a business trip out in Bingen, WA and Hood River, OR.  And this was my first real chance to catch up on Trad Gang, and Wow, what a story!

Being in the mountain the last few days and reading this story has got me pumped  

Great story and a beautiful Goat to boot!

[CRM_95]

What a great story. Congrats and thanks for sharing!!

[Quickblood]

Outstanding!  Thanks for sharing.

[cacciatore]

Congrats, great story and experience. This is what I love to read on TG.

[Buckeye1977]

Great story and awesome animal! I've always been fascinated with goats too. They are a tough animal living in a harsh but beautiful environment. Congrats on your success!

[TIM B]

Your writing skills are excellent as your bowhunting skills!!
Thanks for taking to time to put that all together and congrats on a hard earned accomplishment
Tim B