Phelps creek trailhead high country deer

[Troutpounder]

Has anyone ever hunted up near phelps ridge in 244?

[eburgtrapper]

I've done a little bit in that area. I called the forest service today and asked about trails. They said some trails have just recently lost snow and some of the trails around the buck creek fire are still closed til they can assess them from the fire last year.

[Bill W]

I hunted around there years ago.  The area you are asking about is where the old "sheep trail" is.

[Alpine Mojo]

I have a 1987 Washington Atlas and Gazetteer that shows the sheep trail.  Never seen it marked on any other map since.  I would be interested to know what is left of it today.  Does anyone know the history of it?

[Bill W]

when sheep grazing was allowed in the wilderness the sheep were run over the mountain from the Chiwawa drainage to the Phelps Creek drainage.  Used to be a sign on a tree a couple hundred yards uptrail from where Leroy runs into Phelps.

[Knocker of rocks]

when sheep grazing was allowed in the wilderness the sheep were run over the mountain from the Chiwawa drainage to the Phelps Creek drainage.  Used to be a sign on a tree a couple hundred yards uptrail from where Leroy runs into Phelps.

My late dad, then later the entire family spent a lot of time up there starting in 1946 going to the late seventies.  That whole area is plug full of sheep trails everywhere.  Little Giant out of the Chiwawa and into the Napeequa was a gaint sheep route.

My dad said that the route from Buck Creek to Massia Lake was an easy trail at one time because it was a favored grazing area.

[Skyvalhunter]

The deer in that area migrate in and out of that area and has taken a hit. Plenty of hunters in Phelps creek campground every year.

[Bill W]

There can't be any more hunters there than back in the "bambi" years when any buck was legal.   The deer population there is cyclical and varies year to year.  Some years lots of deer and some years not many to be seen.  What I surmised from my 20 years of hunting there was that batch of deer didn't migrate north/south but seemed to go east over the ridge and down by the Lake Chelan shores.

One year towards the end of the bambi years there were 16 bucks shot on opening day.   The first year of three point or better the area was silent. 

[grizzlyadams]

Lots of hunters there every year. I've done my time up at Buck Creek Pass. Icicle Creek Outfitters run drop camps out of that area. Lots if hunters! If you're hiking in. Plan on going at least 15 miles back in which is about 4 miles past the pass, to get away from the other hunters. It's beautiful up there and makes for an awesome trip if there aren't clouds. If there are, you'll be in the fog the whole time. I checked with Icicle Creek just a few days ago.  They are booked up for that area, so plan on a crowd

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[eburgtrapper]

I have a 1987 Washington Atlas and Gazetteer that shows the sheep trail.  Never seen it marked on any other map since.  I would be interested to know what is left of it today.  Does anyone know the history of it?

Alpine Mojo did you get my pm?

[Alpine Mojo]

Yes, I just emailed it to you.

[Knocker of rocks]

I have "Routes and Rocks" (1965) by Roland Tabor and the late Dwight Crowder of the USGS.  It is the go-to source of high routes and ways including sheep trails of the entire GPW.  It has excellent descriptive text and annointed maps.  I could scan and pdf if you wish

[Watimberghost]

That looks like a really cool book Knocker. I'd love to flip through that. I think I saw a used hard copy online for $200. Got to be some really cool info in there

[teanawayslayer]

No deer in that country!   

[MLHSN]

I have "Routes and Rocks" (1965) by Roland Tabor and the late Dwight Crowder of the USGS.  It is the go-to source of high routes and ways including sheep trails of the entire GPW.  It has excellent descriptive text and annointed maps.  I could scan and pdf if you wish

It is online for free. The USGS has a link to the PDF. "East of the Divide" by Chester Marler has a chapter on the sheep trail in that area. "Adventures in the Pacific Northwest" has a little bit on it as well.