Has anyone on here hunted around Ross Lake, especially on the west side of the lake? I'm very familiar with the difficulty of access to that side of the lake. Last summer I paddled up Diablo to the portage trail and then hiked my kayak up to Ross (too cheap to pay the truck), and then went 5 miles up Ross and then back all in one day. Anyway, some areas around the west side look like they could be holding some quality deer, and with the difficulty of access my hope is they'd see little if any pressure.
Part of my interest in the west side is that between Big Beaver and Little Beaver Creeks there are no trails so hikers simply won't be around. There is a trail that goes up most of the east side of the lake. Although it won't see much traffic in October there's still bound to be some. Plus that is easier access than the west side which means more hunters.
If anyone has spent enough time around there to know if it's worth hunting I'd love to get some intel. Feel free to PM if you don't want it visible to the public. I'll offer some steaks to anyone that gives me intel that helps with getting a deer. However it will probably be next year before I can hunt up there. And I'll keep any intel private that you want kept private.
I might head up there over the weekend of the 4th if I can get a campsite.
Also, I know there's a lot of bears and successful bear hunters on the east side especially near Desolation Peak. But does anyone know about the prevalence of bear on the west side? I probably won't make a dedicated trip up there for bear, but as a target of opportunity they have a ton of appeal. Also, if I were to go scouting during August or September would it be a good to take the rifle in case I saw a bear, or would that be a waste of weight to drag around? Also cougar?
