High Cascades Hunt

[washingtonhunter121]

Want to start slowly into hunting the high hunt in september. Not expecting anything for great info just would like to know if anybody has good maps of what is open for that early high cascades/olympic hunt. Want to do 3 scouting/camp trips in august and have not been able to research much due to coaching select baseball. Thanks for any help

[washingtonhunter121]

I dont expect to be successful for a few years just need a starting point is all.

[crazysccrmd]

The hunting regs say what areas are open, which from memory are all the Wilderness Areas in the Cascades and Olympics. Forest Service topo maps cover some of those areas and show the boundaries between the national forest land and the wilderness areas. Google Earth works fairly well to view the satellite imagery and has a topographic feature that works well enough. Just pick the wilderness area you want to hunt, and start looking at access into it and areas that look good on topo/imagery and then go check them out.

http://fsgeodata.fs.fed.us/rastergateway/states-regions/states_zoom.php?stateID=wa

[washingtonhunter121]

thanks for your help. I know the regs said the areas just was wanting a good map to get an idea besides just saying wilderness areas. Never done it before and I absolutely do not want to be in the wrong place!

[Rodney107]

Were u looking at doing your hunt.  U can get green trail maps of the area u want to enter

[cvandervort]

I know the first time in one of those areas can make you a bit paranoid about being in the "right area"...
But my suggestion is:
1) pick one of the open areas (I personally hunt the ALW)
2) pick a map
3) Do a google earth fly-over so you know what you're dealing with, terrain-wise
4) Find an access point (trailhead, dead-end FS road, etc)
5) Start hiking

Good luck, can't wait to hear about it!

[muleracks]

 cvandervort's 5 steps are spot on.  One other thing to consider is your comfort level in the Wilderness.  You might want to locate a good looking basin that is off the trail system.  Hike the trail several miles then head off trail into the basin you want to hunt.  Using Google Earth and a USGS 7.5 minute  or Green Trails 15 minute map you can locate some good spots to scout in August or early September.

[washingtonhunter121]

Thanks for the suggestions. Looking forward to a couple overnight camp trips in august up in the wilderness. Should be fun and tiresome!

[RadSav]

Some good information for you so far.  I would warn that if you chose to hunt the edges of a wilderness area many of the maps are flat out wrong on boundaries.  I stopped some guys a few years back who thought they could road hunt the ALW   They showed me their map and sure enough it said they could   Not sure exactly which map it was, but I'd hate to have you get busted following a distributed map.  Each gamie these days has an accurate digital boundary map in his/her vehicle.  Most will give you details if you politely ask.  I asked a gamie last turkey season on an Indian Res boundary that I knew my map was wrong.  After checking my license, tag and whether my gun was loaded the fella was very polite and helpful.  I've even heard of guys going to our local WDFW office with their maps and have had someone verify the boundaries for accuracy.

[huntnnw]

It should be 100% the responsibilty of WDFW to be able to provide accurate maps from their office of any unit with all boundaries! If you want sportsman to follow laws and provide regs and season you need to provide accurate materials

[Colville]

Some observations from many poorly spent years on the high hunt.

High.  If you aren't you're just camping with guns.  Early/Late/All day.  Get someplace you can see a lot, a lot of HIGH. Get there while it's still too low a light to really glass anything.  The only buck I've killed on the high hunt was spotted at 2:30.  They'll move mid day to change positions and more so if the weather is cold.  If the country looks deery and if you have no competition in the basin of your choice, don't assume failing to pick out a deer one day means you have to move, they may well be there, they can be infuriatingly nocturnal and damn hard to pick out in their beds.  Especially if the weather is warm and sunny.

If there's zero pucker factor where you are hunting/glassing, you probably aren't in good country yet.  As bone would point out, the mature big deer are way up and live where there are more rocks than trees.

If you're not in shape, forget it.  The penalty to get to most of the even short hikes with a full pack outfit requires stamina. All the more after you begin to lose sleep compared to home. If you don't go off trail for a fair distance, same thing. You can ignore major drainage heads with trails leading to them. Between horse camps, outfitters and the others like you they are pressured. 

Pay attention to water.  Not for the deer so much as for you.  It weighs a ton and isn't available in every place, either be prepared to ferry water, or be sure to know where a source will be up high. Weight kills. Minimize.

Last, I prefer a partner for safety, for redundancy weight savings and companionship. Chose well.  Nothing you buy is going to be "the" difference maker at first.  You are either getting into very high deer holding country or you aren't. If you aren't, a $5000 rifle/scope/bino/spotter combo won't make you any more successful.

[RadSav]

Pay attention to water.  Not for the deer so much as for you.  It weighs a ton and isn't available in every place, either be prepared to ferry water, or be sure to know where a source will be up high.

Some excellent advise right there

[haugenna]

Some good info above. If the destination is easy to get into you won't be alone. I have been in a few spots with 25-30 people in the same drainage. I call this place east Seattle. I spotted a decent buck once in August my first year and when I went in during season, an outfitter packed in a group about 100 yards from where I spotted the deer. They had a radio going, chainsaw running, and were partying late into the night.

Have a plan B. When opening bell rings it could be a bust.

[washingtonhunter121]

Very good advice thanks guys appreciate. Hoping I can atleast have a decent run at it and feel like im hunting and not just camping!

[JackOfAllTrades]

Once you've picked a spot, hike in several times before season. Get used to the heat! But prepare for the cold/wet.  Read the gear lists in the Back Country threads. Being equiped correctly will make your hunting trips so much better/safer.
 
-Steve