More lessons from the high buck

[yakimanoob]

Hey folks!

I know some folks are still out hunting hard, but my window has closed on the high buck and I'm still holding my tag.  This was my second attempt at this hunt, and while I did explore a new area, I ended up coming back to the main place I was in GPW last year.  Weather was a little worse this year; pressure was a lot lower. 

I did manage to find a nice buck; spotted from about 2mi away (thanks again to @shallowforks for the deal on the spotter), but when I tried to get to him I found out quickly why he chose that spot as his home--I couldn't find a way to him that didn't involve some sketchy Class 2/3 climbing.  I guess I have another 12 months to improve my route-finding skills and figure out how the heck I'd get the meat out if I was able to connect 

Main lessons:
- I need to be less of a wuss about the rain.  I succumbed every morning to the "just sleep in; hunting in this would be no fun" voice of pattering raindrops on my fly. 
- Fog is the literal worst.
- I have GOT to figure out how to keep my feet dry (see other thread).  It wasn't even that cold, but man, wet feet sure do zap your gumption to hike a few miles to a better spot.
- I need to carry (and learn how to use) a tarp for glassing in the rain. 
- I need more practice hiking at night. 
- I need more mountaineering skills. 
- Watching from above as two F-15s practice flying through canyons is THE COOLEST SH*%.   
- There is, still, absolutely, no such thing as a bad trip to the high country! 

Hope you all had a blast this season, and good luck to those still out!

[7mmfan]

You got out and got after it, that's half the battle. Rain when backpack hunting is a real motivation killer. If looking for a good tarp setup, contact Jonathan_S on here, he makes great stuff. I bought a tent and tarp from him this year, used them both this last weekend. Here was my view during the rain.

[Highhuntin]

 

Same here, I had a great solo  trip and considered it a camping hiking scouting trip in a new area  from the get go so was  not disappointed to not tag out, I  learned a few things and some  things I need to improve/upgrade for next year.

[farmin4u_98948]

Rain then sat nite bout midnight it cleared off and FROZE. Putting on frozen boots Sunday.  BRRRRR. Tried a new area this year up Entiat. Lots of Does. Bucks were somewhere else.

[yakimanoob]

Yeah, I was out by Saturday mid-day.  Weather was bad and only getting worse, and I had at the shop at 7:30am Sunday. 

Thinking more about the rain and fog: another big lesson I learned this year is that I need to change my pre-season scouting strategy.  Thus far, I've been focused on finding glassing points and finding legal animals pre-season.  There's obviously a lot of value in that, but I neglected the simple lay-of-the-land scouting.  I'm thinking for next year (and for a new elk spot I want to try in a few weeks) my strategy will be more of a three-pronged approach:

1. Find good season-specific habitat with obvious sign (done mostly e-scouting but verified on foot)
2. Find glassing spots that overlook said habitat
3. Find the quickest and easiest way to get to the area, including, and especially, walking all the nearby trails. 

That third point seemed less important until this trip.  I found my buck Thursday afternoon, then burned most of Friday morning going slow through the fog along an unknown (and unmapped) trail.  If I had bothered to walk that trail on any of my 5 previous trips to the area, I would have know where it went and would have confidently walked it through the dark and/or fog, and would have had a lot more time to try and navigate the cliffs.  Who knows, maybe I could have found a route through them to get to the buck.  But after waiting out the fog close to camp, I ended up with only a couple hours to route-find and by that point it my window was closing too quickly.  Next summer I will for sure take a route-finding-specific trip up there just to make sure I know how to get where I want to go. 

[Watimberghost]

Good stuff Noob. Every trip to the high country is a learning experience. Way to get out there and give it a shot!

[jstone]

You can always go back for modern rifle season and get him

[yakimanoob]

If I had the time available, I'd be all over it. 

[teanawayslayer]

The weather wasn’t ideal this year that’s for sure. We spent 32 hours straight in the tent. More sleet and snow than rain. The place I camp is in the side of the mountain. It’s hard to do anything except lay in the tent. No place for a fire. Once you get wet you cant get the dampness out. 32 hours of that crap and out we went. You may call me soft.

[Pinetar]

The weather wasn’t ideal this year that’s for sure. We spent 32 hours straight in the tent. More sleet and snow than rain. The place I camp is in the side of the mountain. It’s hard to do anything except lay in the tent. No place for a fire. Once you get wet you cant get the dampness out. 32 hours of that crap and out we went. You may call me soft.

You are soft  You asked for it Heath

[teanawayslayer]

The weather wasn’t ideal this year that’s for sure. We spent 32 hours straight in the tent. More sleet and snow than rain. The place I camp is in the side of the mountain. It’s hard to do anything except lay in the tent. No place for a fire. Once you get wet you cant get the dampness out. 32 hours of that crap and out we went. You may call me soft.

That’s ok I left myself wide open.
You are soft  You asked for it Heath

[Utah]

The single best thing about the high hunt any of you can do is to stop talking about the high hunt on line.  un frigging real..   You want to enjoy it for a long time?  Zip it!      Thank me later.

[yakimanoob]

I get where you're coming from, Utah, but it's my view we need more folks out there hunting, not less. 

[7mmfan]

I think the high hunt does a pretty good job of weeding people out on it's own.

[ctwiggs1]

I think the high hunt does a pretty good job of weeding people out on it's own.

Nailed it!

[Highhuntin]

I learned that cutting the handle off of my toothbrush did not make a noticeable difference lol!

[yakimanoob]

I learned that cutting the handle off of my toothbrush did not make a noticeable difference lol!

[Bill W]

I learned that cutting the handle off of my toothbrush did not make a noticeable difference lol!

I never took one.

[farmin4u_98948]

I think the high hunt does a pretty good job of weeding people out on it's own.

Nailed it!

 

[optic2]

I learned to not forget my trekking poles. Found a good spot via google earth but with the weight of my pack and no trekking poles I would have tumbled down the hill into a creek if I tried to get into the spot I wanted to.

[yakimanoob]

Trekking poles are 100% essential items IMHO.  I know some folks don't use them, but I just don't get it. 

[Utah]

I think the high hunt does a pretty good job of weeding people out on it's own.

Nailed it!

 

How long you been doing the high hunt?  I got 14 yrs into it and your dead wrong that the internet hasn't had an effect..  Do all of us and you a favor and shut the heck up.   You wanta talk gear?  experiences?  do it.  but don't include wa high hunt in the conversation. Only a jackwagon would thump his chest on line about something so valuable. 

[7mmfan]

I find it funny that you're so distraught over a couple guys talking about spending hours or days in fog and rain in their tents and not shooting anything. I can think of more important things to worry about. 

Backcountry hunting is a trendy thing to do right now. Tons of guys that want to make a YouTube video or get their next Instagram heroshot. Give it a couple years and most of those guys will give up because they can't hack it. The internet definitely has an effect, but things have a way of balancing themselves out. Wilderness, especially cold wet miserable Washington wilderness does an exceptional job of weeding out the weak. This isn't fight club pal, there are no rules about talking about it.

[Utah]

Call me pal again and i'll hunt you down and dr's will wire your jaw shut!  Enjoy that steak through a straw!   LOl just kidding!      Just trying to help a great thing.  But apparently your more experienced on the subject.  go ahead carry on.......   

[builtfordtough]

I think it's awesome what high buck hunters do and got mad props to them.  I high buck Hunted for 5 or 6 yrs and it beat the hell outta me. Gave up that season for now cuz my kiddos are getting older and frankly i was sick of getting stung by bees. I think Utah comments are complete BS and maybe if he's worried about people chatting online about high buck hunting, then maybe he should go a little bit higher next time to hunt

[Utah]

hahahaha!  brother thats hiliarous!!!!  LMAO!   hahahahahahah!

[Utah]

stung by bees?  omg hahaha!  your hiliarous!  thats a classic!

[7mmfan]

Call me pal again and i'll hunt you down and dr's will wire your jaw shut!  Enjoy that steak through a straw!   LOl just kidding!      Just trying to help a great thing.  But apparently your more experienced on the subject.  go ahead carry on.......

Hey I get it, I really do. You won't catch me posting online where I was, or even giving vague info that might lead people to believe they know where I was. But if people want to chat about their experience and what they learned, I fully support it. It will educate some of us, and will even dissuade some people who were considering it after reading about all the trials and tribulations they went through.

Also, I like my steak pureed. I don't have to floss afterwards   

[Utah]

 

[farmin4u_98948]

I think the high hunt does a pretty good job of weeding people out on it's own.

Nailed it!

 

How long you been doing the high hunt?  I got 14 yrs into it and your dead wrong that the internet hasn't had an effect..  Do all of us and you a favor and shut the heck up.   You wanta talk gear?  experiences?  do it.  but don't include wa high hunt in the conversation. Only a jackwagon would thump his chest on line about something so valuable.

Public forest.  You are not the first person to go on a high hunt or will you be the last. I encourage people to get out any time of year.  Live in the woods. Love the woods.

[Ridgerunner]

Guys the high hunt has been trendy since Cameron Hanes started penning his stories.  I've hunted it off and on since the early 90's its going to weed out some people, but then there will always be a new crop coming right in behind them to try it out, I don't see the demand or pressure on this hunt going down in the future, especially as newer and lighter gear makes it easier to get into the backcountry, its the guys who were hunting it in the 60' and 70's who probably had it good up there although their gear sucked I'm sure compared to todays standards. I don't believe that we will ever see the high hunt become less popular in this state unless they limit the tag numbers which will never happen. 

[fishngamereaper]

I stopped doing the high hunt around 98-99 when I saw more than one other person in the area I hunted. Before that it was a blissful week alone on the mountain by myself. Oh the good old days.

I would love to do it again with the new gear I have , cut my pack weight in half from back then, but all this talk on HW Im sure its going to be a complete zoo up there now. 

[Bushcraft]

Guys the high hunt has been trendy since Cameron Hanes started penning his stories.  I've hunted it off and on since the early 90's its going to weed out some people, but then there will always be a new crop coming right in behind them to try it out, I don't see the demand or pressure on this hunt going down in the future, especially as newer and lighter gear makes it easier to get into the backcountry, its the guys who were hunting it in the 60' and 70's who probably had it good up there although their gear sucked I'm sure compared to todays standards. I don't believe that we will ever see the high hunt become less popular in this state unless they limit the tag numbers which will never happen.

Faced with a dramatically growing human population and finite deer populations and habitat, I can see WDFW eventually limiting hunters for the High Buck season.  As much as it would pain me to not win the special permit lottery and be prohibited from hunting it any year I wanted to, in some respects I could see going along with putting a lid on the number of hunters.

It is not particularly hard to kill a buck if one puts the work in.  With some sweat equity and today's longer range rifles, hanging your tag on a legal buck is pretty much a foregone conclusion.  High Buck has turned into a damn foot-race zoo with idiots that can't hunt for themselves and are dependent on others unethically using radios to walk them in on animals.  So much so that I simply opted to go to Idaho this year...and saw zero people in the backcountry...and was glad for it. 

[boneaddict]

Guys the high hunt has been trendy since Cameron Hanes started penning his stories.  I've hunted it off and on since the early 90's its going to weed out some people, but then there will always be a new crop coming right in behind them to try it out, I don't see the demand or pressure on this hunt going down in the future, especially as newer and lighter gear makes it easier to get into the backcountry, its the guys who were hunting it in the 60' and 70's who probably had it good up there although their gear sucked I'm sure compared to todays standards. I don't believe that we will ever see the high hunt become less popular in this state unless they limit the tag numbers which will never happen.

Spot on, adding that especially with sites like this and the internet contributing greatly to it.

[Highhuntin]

I saw more people then deer on the high hunt, it was steep wet and nasty!! I cant wait to go camping up there again next year!! maybe same place or somewhere new, I have done the high hunt 5 times and have yet to harvest, I  have explored some spectacular areas and enjoyed each trip and scouting trips. 

[Alpine Mojo]

I saw more people then deer on the high hunt

That says a lot more about where you went then who all was out there.