Wenaha Bear Sucess

[deadyote]

So here is the result from my spring bear hunt.  If you didn't know I was drawn for the wenaha spring bear tag.  My buddy Jake and i hiked in Friday and made it to camp with no light left.  We got camp set up and headed to bed ready to wake up early and go find me a bear.  Well, it dumped rain all night long and neither of us slept much.  I woke up before light to find it still raining and so foggy you couldn't see 50 yards.  So we started a fire and sat around camp for the morning, hoping the rain and fog would pass.

It finally did and we headed out to a spot and started glassing.  We found quite a few elk(1 that is going to be a giant), mountain goats, and one bear that was a really long ways away.  All in all a really good start.  Plus the spring flowers were awesome and every day we were there, they kept getting better.

Day 2 started early again, but the weather was clear and dry.  Unfortunately, it was almost a full moon and most of the animals we already in their beds asleep.  Except for a bear about 9ish in the morning.  I put a stalk on him and if he had come though one more timber patch, i would have had a shot.  He had other plans and never was seen again that morning.

The evening comes around and we aren't seeing squat.  It's really warm, but we stuck it out till almost dark and all we saw were a couple elk miles away.  With the green growing so well in the meadows, we figured there's a chance we could find a bear in the meadowns while hunting back to camp.  The tops of the mountains are these beautiful meadows with some really cool spring flowers.  As were hiking back to camp in the meadows, we see two does.  We watch and try not to spook them because there may be other animals....like bears!! The does walk off and we walk about 100 yards and i spot a bear in the middle of the meadow.  I get into position and take the shot.  He turns and runs downhill and into a patch of timber.  The shot was about 200 yards and i felt very confident with the shot but still had to turn to Jake and ask, "Did i hit him?"  Jake replied with a, "Oh yeah!!" There is 5 minutes left in legal hunting time and we didn't want to rush in and move the bear further down the mountain, so we wait 15 minutes.  Finally we vet up to where the bear was when i shot and find his tracks running away.  No blood, no hair, nothing.  The doubting starts to creep in.  We follow the tracks doen hill and still nothing other than the tracks.  Now at this point it is dark and we are both hunched over with our head lamps looking for anything.  Just before the timber, i spot the first sign of blood and poop.  This guy is crapping as he's running.  Either way its sign to follow.  Then at the timber line we are both a bit worried about dark timber and a possibly wounded bear, so i take the lead and get to the edge and look in with my headlamp.  Guess what i found?  A dead bear 20 yards away laying next to a stump.  We took a few pictures, had a few hugs, and thanked the bear for feeding my family.
 
The hike back to camp was unreal.  With a 98% full moon, we didn't even need our headlamps.  That country is beautiful and i love being up there.  I will say that this weekend was packed with hikers, but they all were friendly and one lady even asked if we got a bear if she could see it.  Unfortunately, being in so far and not needing another bear rug, i decided for thr first time to not take the hide.  It still hurts a bit, but I'm more into the meat than a hide.  I did take some of the claws because my three boys all wanted them, so got to be a cool dad and bring home the boys a trophy!!! 

Huge thanks to Jake for giving me a hand with the hunt and the memories.  The pack out was absolutely brutal.  With a pack full of bear meat, tent, pad, sleeping bag, and some of my other things, I'm guessing it weighed over 125 lbs.  Doing that over 5 miles and dropping 2500 feet did a job on my back and feet.  I regretted shooting the bear while on the way out, but now that the pain is over, I'd do it all over in a blink of an eye. 

Sorry for being long winded, but even this doesn't do the wenaha justice!!!

And if anyone can help me with pics, id appreciate it.  The only way I've figured out how to do it is by lowering the quality if my pics on my phone and i didn't want to do that with this trip. 

[deadyote]

Maybe Jake's pics will work.

[Stalkin Prey]

Congrats, great job sticking with it and getting it done.


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[Woodchuck]

Awesome job, congrats

[jackelope]

Good work and thanks for sharing. That's a good looking bear.

[Machias]

Nice bear, congrats!!!!

[stew pidasso]

I feel like I saw the two of you walking down a small ridge on Friday, odd spot to camp if it was you guys. Obviously worked out for you though. Great job.

[jasnt]

Congrats on a good bear and a great hunt

[Bearbuck]

Congrats, that’s a good looking bear! All the hard work pays off with meat in the freezer.

[deadyote]

 We didn't get into camp until after dark friday night so probably wasn't us.  We didnt see any other hunters, which was a little surprising.  How did you guys do stew?

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

Great job. Love that country!


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[stew pidasso]

We got one on Friday. I'm heading back in this Friday for mine. Beautiful bear man.

[bowhunterforever]

Awesome bear Congrats

[trophyhunt]

Great job, congrats!

[CaNINE]