High Buck...ALW, Glacier Peaks, or.....?

[MadMooner]

Good day all!

Thinking about getting out for the High Buck Hunt this year. It'd be my first. Just cogitating on which wilderness to check out.

Mule deer would be the focus, not looking at any of the Olympic areas.   I'm guessing they all hold a few nice bucks somewhere in there vast expanses.  I'd go for quality over quantity.
 
Anyone want to comment on a favorite wilderness? High country snow pack should be melting off about now, yes? 

[jackelope]

Unfortunately with the crowds lately in regard to the high hunt, you won't likely get a lot of people commenting on where to go. You might spend a little time utilizing the search function in this board and you can probably come up with a good pile of info and formulate a plan on where to start. It's probably one of the most tightly guarded secrets people keep these days in terms of hunting in this state if you ask me.
There's still a bunch of snow up high, especially in the trees.  I've been watching some of the local hiking pages on Facebook, WTA trail reports, etc. for trail info and updates.

[MadMooner]

I kinda figured as much

I've looked at some older threads and have a plan, just haven't decided which wilderness to apply it!

I'm  not worried about crowds. One thing I've noticed out here is most hunters don't want to get out of there truck for long and only a very small percentage of the rest that do bother to venture far from it. I'd bet there are hundreds of thousands of acres that go un-hunted.

Just figured I'd throw it out there and see if anyone wanted to join the conversation.

Thanks for the tip on snow conditions!

[grade-creek-rd]

hmm...44 post since 2007...maybe try the Pasayten...I hear it's pretty good for the High Hunt (obviously I don't hunt the Pasayten)...sorry, I couldn't resist!

Joking aside, check out WTA website...it's a hiker site and they give daily updates on trails and even talk about bears and bucks once in a while...lots of hikers out there during the same timeframe as the High Hunt with lots of road and tail conditions, you can go back several years and look at trip reports and most even have photos!

Grade

[jackelope]

I've probably got more info regarding the high hunt off of nwhikers and similar hiking websites than I have here.
 

[Widgeondeke]

Unfortunately with the crowds lately in regard to the high hunt, you won't likely get a lot of people commenting on where to go. You might spend a little time utilizing the search function in this board and you can probably come up with a good pile of info and formulate a plan on where to start. It's probably one of the most tightly guarded secrets people keep these days in terms of hunting in this state if you ask me.
There's still a bunch of snow up high, especially in the trees.  I've been watching some of the local hiking pages on Facebook, WTA trail reports, etc. for trail info and updates.

I can show you on a map where Jackelope went    
          

JK

[luvmystang67]

Scouting the high hunt is as much fun as actually hunting the high hunt.  Its not super hard though.  If you have an idea of where animals winter... where do you think the bucks go when the weather gets nice?  Hunt those areas and the 5 deer that were sitting on 5 acres are now the same 5 deer on a different 5,000 acres.  Its a tough hunt, but not worth it if you don't earn it.

I'd say you're starting off pretty strong.  Hunting the olympics would probably be a bad choice.  I'm not familiar with any mule deer that winter at the base of that area.  For the others... you should make the same determination and then go explore.

Good luck.  There's a lot of amazing country up there.

[sumpnz]

I'm  not worried about crowds. One thing I've noticed out here is most hunters don't want to get out of there truck for long and only a very small percentage of the rest that do bother to venture far from it. I'd bet there are hundreds of thousands of acres that go un-hunted.

I think you'll be surprised how far into the wilderness you really have to go to be alone. 

When I lived in AZ and took Hunter Safety they said over 90% of hunters never go more than 100 yards from a road.  And that meant one they could drive on, not a road they had to walk or bike in on.  Here in WA I'd put that number 80% tops, probably more like 70-75%.  Public land has gotten so crowded that hunters that care about having a quality hunting experience and a better than 5% success rate put in the effort to get way back in there.  Just a SWAG, but I'd think to get away from 90% of hunters you'd need to be at least 2 miles from any road that allowed motorized vehicles.  To get really alone you're probably talking 10+ miles.

[Branden]

It's going to take a little work to get away from hunters on the high hunt. Especially if you want to hunt alpine basins. There just aren't that many up there that don't already get a few hunters. So for you to find the small percent that get zero pressure your first year that will take some luck.

As for your original question I've scouted all the wilderness/rec areas open for the high hunt that contain mule deer. They all have deer and bear in them. If I was just starting out I would scout the wilderness closest to where I live. Saves time that way.

Good luck,

Branden

[pd]

Because you mentioned Glacier Peak, let me throw in another bit of advice: Find the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) on the map, and the AVOID it.  Late September is still dry enough for the hiking crowd, and the PCT is completely snow free as well.  Stay well away from these trails, as there are a lot of hikers there.

Another thought is to use the PCT to access Chelan county, and then hunt Glacier Peak.  Quite a hike in, but you will be nearly alone.

[grade-creek-rd]

To piggy back on what pd said about the PCT...September is the time frame where the ones who complete the entire trail in one season will be on this section at this time. They start in Southern California/Mexico border and head north to end in Canada and September is the finishing period so the PCT is even busier in Sept than say in August when one might use it for scouting...just an FYI for those that go up mid-week in August and don't see too many people and think, "hey this is a great spot" only to find hikers and trail runners all Sept up there blowing out their hunts and causing arguments (unfortunately a lot of this user group is anti-hunting).

Grade

[Bushcraft]

Just a word of advice to the newbies (and maybe not so newbies) that think "more mileage" is the holy grail answer to getting away from the crowds...it's not.  It's nice to whisper it to others as the answer.  Heck, it's nice to whisper it to yourself.  The former is a lie and the latter is denial. 

Pull out a map and take a long hard look at the basins in the headwaters of all the major drainages applicable in the High Hunt wilderness areas, particularly those with trails that are in them or are within a few miles of them.  Now, take a look at some of the drainages in the GPW for example.  A casual review will come up with White, Indian, Lightning, Thunder, Boulder, Elsey, Napeequa, High Pass, Little Giant, Buck, Chiwawa, Phelps, Rock, Ice, Entiat, Choral, Brushy, Larch, Pomas, Chipmunk, Leroy, Louis, Alpine, Maple, Amber, Papoose, Ibex, Cougar, Cockeye, Twin Lakes, etc.  Not counting the little pocket basins that automatically get covered by proximity, that's only 30 or so basins than can easily be covered by good legs, lungs and optics.

Then, take a moment to reflect on how much of those drainages are serviced by outfitters and people that have their own pack stock.

Then, take a moment to reflect on how much of that is pretty easily accessed by seriously fit backpack hunting guys that think nothing of 15+ mile days.  Then, there is the swarm of bright colored peak baggers and hikers that get out while the getting is good before the weather turns later in the Fall.

Is it any wonder that the furthest reaches of ALL of the 30-odd GPW basins mentioned are covered given the population of hunters and hikers in this state?

Answer: Nope!

Is it any wonder that the furthest reaches of nearly ALL of the far flung basins in all of the applicable High Hunt units are covered given the population of hunters and hikers in this state?

Answer: Nope again!

If you go into this thinking you are going to hike 10, 15, or 20+ miles into your own private honey hole, you have either been lied to or are lying to yourself.  Either way you are likely going to be sadly mistaken and probably wasting not only your time, but also someone else's valuable time. 

[Branden]

My buddy and I decided we were going to get away from everybody and hunt this area without trails etc. One major obstacle after another to get into the drainage. Once in we only went 1.5 miles the first day the brush was so thick. Crawling on hands and knees with a pack with 8 days gear and food sucks. I told him "I doubt anybody has been in here for 10+ years". Next day crossing the creek we come upon a boot print. I was pretty shocked. My buddy got sick and we had to hike out.

Anyway it is pretty hard to get away from people now days. Just not a lot of area for the amount of hunters. You might find a little side basin, or if you like hunting timber you can have miles to yourself. But most of the good alpine areas are hunted fairly hard year after year.

[Motorjosh]

What's wrong with huntin where other people are? Use them to your advantage. Go in and scout and have fun and enjoy the scenery. Killing something is a bonus and that's when the work begins.

[Bushcraft]

I've certainly benefited from having others in the field during general season hunts.  It usually entailed running up the side of a mountain in the pre-dawn hours to sit above a natural game funnel and waiting for the hordes of pumpkin colored hunters below to push them up to me.  It's basically taking advantage of a game drive.

That doesn't happen during the High Hunt simply because a) you usually don't have that many hunters to create a "drive" effect, and b) most guys, if they are smart, are just hunkered down behind glass anyway.

What does happen is that guys that want to give the High Hunt a shot look at a map and mistakenly determine that the farthest, most seemingly impossible basins to get into in terms of mileage, elevation gain/loss, obstacles, etc., is the perfect place to go to get away from other hunters (or worse, they are told that that is a good idea!    )  Then, the day before they manage to get in there (without scouting it once!) and set up their camp in idiotic places, maybe sight in their rifles again just to make sure, and then bumble around aimlessly wondering why there are no deer and why they aren't the only hunters in the area (see my prior post).

So, High buck is different.  Contrary to what some people believe bucks don't just hang out and wander all around a particular home drainage or ridge network.  Instead, they adhere to a home base and they key in on the very best food, water and shelter options available to them.  Sometimes, that can be measured in the area the size of a few football fields or it can literally be as small as the size of baseball infield.  For example, one of the spots I like typically has a small bachelor group that ranges within an area that is about 1,000 vertical feet by 500 yards or so.  Another is a spot where a single buck or two will eat, sleep and drink in a very, very tiny area about the size of a major league baseball infield.   The first is what I generally will look over first, and the second is a fall back spot that I can literally glass most any time of day and check to see if the buck or two is still there).  But NONE of them will be there if idiots come stomping in and blow them out.

Point being is that for some of us, killing isn't a "bonus"...putting meat in the freezer and on our dinner table is the objective.

Having opportunities to do just that evaporate when a band of fools blindly stumble into some "far flung area that no one would possibly ever go".  They just end up blowing the bucks out and down into thick timber for the remainder of the time you've taken off from work is frustrating.  I've watched it happen to other people through my spotting scope and it's happened to me.

We can all hike and scout and enjoy the scenery the rest of the year, but we can only legally harvest a certain time of the year.  If all someone wants to do is take some time off and go on an armed hiking trip and take in the scenery, hey...more power to them.  But there's a ton of scenic places to do that in our state without screwing up other people's hunts and wasting everyone's time.

The bottom line is that if a guy is willing to put the time and energy into pre-season scouting, more power to him if it happens that he ends up targeting the same group of bucks someone else is after.  It's entirely possible they could be scouting alternating weekends, each not seeing another soul and coming to the (usually mistaken) conclusion that they'll have it all to themselves come game-time.  By the time the season rolls around, they'll probably have the bucks patterned pretty well and know where to set up a small unobtrusive bivy-camp someplace out of the way so as to not disturb the animals, and then put a careful, thoughtful stalk on them to seal the deal.  As much as I'd prefer the place all to myself, I can't find fault with a guy that puts in the sweat equity.  Conversely, I have very little patience for fools that pick a distant spot on the map and assume that because it's so far back that they'll have it all to themselves (WRONG!) and then proceed to screw it up for the guys that actually put in the work scouting it all summer.