Lots of snow in my unit--like most of the NW. Waited until the last week to hunt, hoping the snow would melt and provide some feed for the bears. Was still hoping for some higher elevation hunting, but found the paved road into the unit still snowed-in. Pulled in well after dark, with an inch of new snow and 1-2.5 feet of snow surrounding the snow-park. The next day, after talking to the hunters camped there, I moved 5 miles down to camp in a lower spot where there was less snow.
All week I hunted grassy meadows, onion fields, swampy areas with skunk cabbage, and glassed canyons. Tried my hand at calling, but nothing. Only saw one pile of bear scat. Lots of deer and elk, including many bulls with nicely developing brow tines. The snow melted fast as temperatures stayed above freezing at night and hit high 60's in the days. As the snow melted, more areas became accessible, but still nothing. I knew I needed to change something.
Map scouting in areas I had not much considered, reveled a road that would lead to some otherwise inaccessible areas. The roads were rough, sloppy from melting snow, and very lightly traveled on normal years because what would otherwise take 30 minutes would now take 2 hours to traverse. There was always the possibility of running into snow too deep to cross or downed trees too big to cut with my pruning saw, both of which could lead to a long backing down narrow roads to find a turn around spot. Other hunters talked of getting into that otherwise inaccessible area, but they were having a difficult time, including damaging their side-by-sides on what they termed the "pucker trail." I was driving a full-size pickup, so my options were more limited--and slower.
I'd yet to see a bear, so I was more determined to change tactics and areas before my hunt had to end. Half-way up a large canyon my glassing revealed a bear 1.5 miles away in a steep clearing. Seeing no cubs with the bear, I quickly started in that direction. In an hour, I was within about 1/4 mile of where I expected the bear to then be. Over the following hour, I covered approximately another 400 yards, watching wind, and knowing the bear could be anywhere. I could not see the bear and the steep clearing since shortly after I first saw the bear.
In the next half-hour, I was looking for a good calling spot and watching for the bear. The wind was blowing fairly strong up hill, so I wanted to keep the likely areas the bear was in below me. The north-facing slopes were covered in thick timber and brush, the draws, even more so, but the south facing slopes were open Ponderosa stands with grass and little brush underneath. The terrain was still steep with plenty of rimrock. After passing a Ponderosa stand and as the forest grew denser, I decided to back up to the more open Ponderosa stand I had just come through and try calling the bear. I backed up 150 yards or so and set up to call. Within 5 minutes of calling, the bear showed up below me about 60 yards. I had passed where he was at and was fortunate to have backed tracked.
He came in steady, but not in a hurry. I had time to shoot a short, 3-second video before I shot. Easy 40-yard double lung shot. He rolled downhill another 20 yards and was dead in minutes. As the rain fell steady, I dressed him out, and headed out on the 4.8 mile hike back to the truck with the hide and head. I left the meat hanging in a tree to cool. The next morning, I drove an extra hour to get to the top of the canyon so the meat pack was only a mile.
Super happy with the bear. No fat, but still had his winter coat on--since its still winter up there. His stomach was full of grass. Might try making thin, sausage meat snacks with the meat. Or I'll take Travis' advice and can the meat, again.
