Well, I'm pretty new to goat hunting but have fallen in love with the pursuit of these beasts in an absolutely breathtaking part of the world. I live in Juneau, AK so I'm one of the lucky ones that can hunt them every year.
The goat in my pic. was my first and was taken last fall. My hunting partner, Chris Fannin (AKA juneaulongbow), and I put a lot of time and effort into researching the terrain with satelite photos and topos. Once we found a place that looked doable (safe), we did some glassing from salt water in our aluminum skiff, scouring the mountainsides for white spots durring the summer before season started. We located a large band of around twenty and figured that would be a good place to start. We blazed a trail to 2000ft where we stashed some provisions including a large tarp, 1 gal camp gas, canned food and nylon cord in a dry bag tied way up in a tree (we made two trips). That would be our camp once season started in late fall. All that to say, we put a lot of effort into making it a successful hunt way ahead of time.
All the rumors you may have heard about what a physically demanding sport it is, are true. We did our share of sweating up the mountain. As far as dangerous? Yes, but take a good dose of common sense with you and you'll be fine. The mountians of Southeast Alaska can be down right slick. I'm taking crampons from now on, snow or no snow. Some of my friends use ice axes for pulling themselves up hill and they double as walking sticks when comming back down, especially with a heavy load. Wool, fleece and Gore Tex are the rule. Don't skimp on quality gear. Some really like the plastic boots (Koflach) but I haven't tried them yet. I've got a pair of super rigid Meindles that are good. Those are some of the basics.
Based on my experience, goats have very good eye sight. Sound and scent control are not nearly as critical. Get above them and come down on them, they are less weary about things uphill (it still pays to be sneaky). Once they have you spotted from up above (say within a few hundred yards) they won't take their eyes off of you. Seldom do they bolt, but when they do they either walk away or slowly trott to another location. I've yet to see one run very fast. Before the snow hits they are usually pretty easy to spot. Often it's like spotting a golf balls on the green. The trick is getting to them.
I took my goat near Lynn Canal north of Juneau (look on the map). There are goats on nearly all the peaks in the area. Unfortunaly, you need a guide in Alaska unless you have a family member who lives here to take you. There are a lot of outfitters in BC but make sure you check out the guides here in southeast too. I think we have some of the BEST goat hunting opportunities around!! Also, you don't need to worry about drawing a tag here like you would in Colorado or Idaho.
Topic: Mountain Goat Hunting (Read 5007 times)
