Post by: high country on September 18, 2008, 08:12:12 AM
I chose to hunt the lake chelan rec area. due to time and $$ I did my scouting by calling up the lake to find out the availability of water, game and lake conditions. the intel I recieved was favorable.
I loaded up and split for 25mile boat launch, a 200mile trip from my place. I pull up expecting to pay $35 for my launch and dock permit, but they forgot to tell me that I would be charged $10 a day to park my truck/trailer there too, $97.00 and I can back into the launch now :yike:
as I hop out of my truck to tie up my boat, I see an oil slick under my truck.........sweet, I puked a seal on my transfer case. that works out pretty well 200 miles from home......oh well, like I told my wife, my truck could get stolen and my boat sink, and I could not see a critter...........I am on vacation! I will have fun.
I made my way up lake to about 10 miles from stehekin landing when another boat flagged me down. they had lost a water pump and were dead in the water, 40 miles from their truck. I offer them a ride, and they asked if I would tow them to stehekin.......what the heck, I need a karma boost. 1 long hour later I hit the landing. they were super grateful and offered me some cash, I said, naw, how bout a couple gallons of fuel........two of the dudes in the boat pull out FAT money clips and start handing me bills.......I would have done it for free, but oh well, fair enough......off to the task at hand.
I tied up and went into the fs/nps building to get my backcountry permits. let me say that when you tell them you are gonna be going off trail and you do know EXACTLT where you are going, they are less than friendly. and when you tell them that you can't give an exact location since you will be hunting and deer are where you find them.........that really gets em' looking funny.
I had planned my assult on the east side of the lake, there was no reliable water except fish creek, which was killer area, and just about one mile and one big climb from the rec area........bummer.
I had planned a seconday area that would be up the valley and "should" have water......
I hopped the shuttle and headed up to the trailhead I wanted. I feel lucky to not have caught on fire from the looks I got from the obama pin wearing group, even the wdfw crowd looked at me in awe (they never said a word) I guess there are a lot of folks who have never seen a rifle. the bus driver was stoked to see me show up with a gun and let me ride for free, he said he too was a hunter, but they have to "act green" in front of the tourists.......what is greener then a self guided high hunt??????????
the next 5 hours were the worst of my life. I fancy myself somewhat of a camel, I can go long periods of time w/o water.....those days are gone. I started my hike at 1100 ft. I found my first water at 4k feet and the next at 5k. folks that was murder. I carried a gallon of water up with me and I was dry by 3500ft. I have never cramped up so bad in my life. I piled up in a rock slide and flat could not move....I could hear the water, I could see the water, but my calves and quads said nope ain't gonna do it.......they did, I slept like a baby...right next to ______creek.
the next day I moved my camp in farther and got into some textbook sweet mule deer country. I was a bit nervous since I had not seen a track or a turd, but the cover was right, the elevation wsa getting there, and the drainage was a huge one and deffinately remote.
over the next few days I glassed some of the most amazing high parks nad rocky out croppings, ecsape routes.......nothing. I bushwacked and bushwacked........not a sign of deer.
I crossed paths with a guy and his son who had come in from hwy 20 and they too had seen nothing.
I could not believe what I was seeing, or not seeing. in the end I never saw a single deer, I did see a band of bighorns, a couple black bears, 2 grouse and no less that 30 miles on my boots and 10,000 on my spotting scope.
I really am not dissapointed though, I did learn that a trip off of the lake is near suicide, and that even though the trip in from the other side looks farther, it is flatter, and I would rather walk 20 flat miles that climb 3k feet, let alone 6k. I also was flat shocked that it could cost me a c-note to be on the lake for a week just in park fees.
on a side note, I did haul my pack rod with me and caught a boat load of fish.
I will get some pics downloaded soon. right now I gotta go pull my transfer case :(
Post by: WAcoyotehunter on September 18, 2008, 08:20:25 AM
Post by: huntnphool on September 18, 2008, 09:14:41 AM
Post by: Ridgerunner on September 18, 2008, 10:08:20 AM
Post by: high country on September 18, 2008, 11:14:42 AM
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz16%2Fgyonemura%2Fhuntingchelanrecarea012Small.jpg&hash=00f96c4865678e54990c9d4c04058dcedddaf7fe)
but wait!
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz16%2Fgyonemura%2Fhuntingchelanrecarea007Small.jpg&hash=76caa15957cf60a254f0e63379c3a59bde0734f9)
lets see, snickers bar, or.........
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz16%2Fgyonemura%2Fhuntingchelanrecarea023Small.jpg&hash=9cf8fde3b37684f2f5d7c7796d9900e1bb8a8c63)
how I roll.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz16%2Fgyonemura%2Fhuntingchelanrecarea087Small.jpg&hash=92cb4f0ac1a046c643fb5d04279568611e597ee0)
livin' on the road...
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz16%2Fgyonemura%2Fhuntingchelanrecarea044Small.jpg&hash=562da48683a93a8ac23c30676e94a11ce795a147)
Post by: high country on September 18, 2008, 11:18:36 AM
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz16%2Fgyonemura%2Fhuntingchelanrecarea062Small.jpg&hash=009713be68d5ca23815409049815f1e25c4e0b5e)
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz16%2Fgyonemura%2Fhuntingchelanrecarea053Small.jpg&hash=98a19bcc95130cf799eb2e146efe6d5c6496af2d)
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz16%2Fgyonemura%2Fhuntingchelanrecarea083Small.jpg&hash=1a8f192ced6b13ba0a7cd4cdacbe585cd4d0e5d8)
hardly even steep........
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz16%2Fgyonemura%2Fhuntingchelanrecarea077Small.jpg&hash=535a03734760b7ae105afabb05035f006f1034ad)
holy carp this thing was a ride.....
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz16%2Fgyonemura%2Fhuntingchelanrecarea084Small.jpg&hash=ac611c6d9c7baf1f2d81547911f1037b30289cc3)
Post by: high country on September 18, 2008, 11:22:46 AM
Post by: bucklucky on September 18, 2008, 11:25:33 AM
Post by: Ridgerunner on September 18, 2008, 11:57:57 AM
Quote
anyone else have a mouse crawl on their face in the middle of the night........twice! really did not do much foor my good night sleep.
Thats why I sleep in tents, lol.
Great looking country, maybe it was the wolves, cool to see those sheep though, surprised they were that far up the lake. I could have passed on the rattlers too.
Post by: 10Key on September 18, 2008, 01:33:58 PM
Post by: Muleyslyr on September 18, 2008, 02:09:34 PM
Not sure about the wolves, but would definitely say possibly Cats. Can't see em' runnin' all the deer out though. Sounds like a great "vacation" anyway....thanks for the pics!
Post by: klikboom on September 18, 2008, 04:47:50 PM
I feel your pain too man, many miles and no trophies. Great rainbow's they are real beauties, but still not satisfying compared to getting a >3Pt muley.
Post by: sportman1975 on September 18, 2008, 05:10:06 PM
Post by: Sagedawg on September 18, 2008, 06:36:21 PM
Sage
Post by: Redmist on September 18, 2008, 07:57:10 PM
Post by: high country on September 18, 2008, 08:32:58 PM
Congratulations High Country. You accomplished what 99.99% of hunters won't do and about 100% of Greens don't think about. Just the logistics of hunting the Northend is a worry. What did your pack weigh? You have a nice looking operation. That water situation you experienced is especially a problem with the high temps we had. In a more familiar area a hiker can do it in the dark which minimizes fluid loss. Many times we do the entry and exit after dark. Alot of the cramping comes from dehydration and electrolyte loss you probably know. There are some fluid retention "tricking" techniques that runners use and body builders avoid before contests that a person can utilize on these hunts. What elevation were the Rattlesnakes?
the snakes were from 1100 to 2500ft.
my pack weighed about 40 lbs before water, rifle and ammo......so my climb in was about 60lbs, till I hit 3500 then i was about out of water so dock 8-10 lbs. I would have loved to do the trip in in the dark, but I am sure i would have met god. there were MANY times I had to re-stretch my trekking poles after a minimal bobble. not very forgiving terrain, especially solo. as for the cramping, I knew it was gonna happen, I was just hoping I could get to water sooner. the creek was always there, but much of it was a rappel to goet to. I finally crossed it at 4-4.5k twas a welcom sight. if my wifes b-day was not this weekend I would be up in the passy in my "old reliable" hole.
I never consider my high hunt trips a failure unless I quit. I use the hunt as an excuse for me to visit our states wilderness areas, one by one. I can easily get motivated to hunt, but I just can't see a 10k vertical trip for fun, I would rather eat a twinkie ;)
Post by: timbo on September 18, 2008, 08:57:45 PM
Tim
Post by: Guy on September 18, 2008, 09:06:00 PM
Warm. Very dry. Full or nearly full moon every night... Blah!
Still it was a good trip - despite the lack of deer-type-critters!
Camp:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi87.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk129%2FGuyMiner%2Fhunting%2520photos%2F697d9d0b.jpg&hash=1f2f2874180eca67a75ddf47f68d5ce8664cc004)
Scopin' out the mountain:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi87.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk129%2FGuyMiner%2Fhunting%2520photos%2Fa5bec006.jpg&hash=4ea4920766d1c8c48b1acd3df9af1bf914e9ce18)
Post by: actionshooter on September 18, 2008, 09:11:50 PM
being there is what its about.
Post by: PacificNWhunter on September 18, 2008, 09:17:31 PM
Post by: 300rum on September 18, 2008, 09:27:22 PM
Tell me about that tripod on the spotting scope, where can I check one of those out at?
I have a lite one but it just doesn't extend enough, I would like to be able to sit on my butt and use it instead of having to find a rock or a log or always have to be on the ground.
Post by: Guy on September 18, 2008, 09:36:39 PM
http://www.scopestands.com/
Al Ewing is one of the good guys and has been a big part of rifle shooting for many years.
Regards, Guy
Post by: Buckoholic on September 18, 2008, 09:50:26 PM
Post by: Buckoholic on September 18, 2008, 09:52:48 PM
Post by: high country on September 18, 2008, 09:53:43 PM
Post by: elkaholic on September 19, 2008, 12:41:45 PM
Post by: grizzlygibbs on September 19, 2008, 07:23:47 PM
Post by: Wea300mag on September 20, 2008, 04:51:33 PM
Parking $10 per day
Spending 6 days in the wildernesss and not seeing any deer. . . PRICELESS
Thanks for the recap and pics.
Post by: high country on September 23, 2008, 05:12:25 AM
well mife is gonna kill me. I just went out and bought a megalight, ti cookware and a 3oz. stove. in total I will save about 1.5 lbs and just about no bulk..........I suppose I could have just not ate for a day or two and dropped that much weight but I am addicted.
Post by: DOUBLELUNG on September 23, 2008, 07:23:16 AM
Post by: high country on September 24, 2008, 04:57:38 AM
Post by: Tony 270WSM on September 24, 2008, 07:17:58 AM
Post by: Little Fish on September 24, 2008, 09:45:54 AM
I hiked into the GPW area via Trinity and bushwhacked straight up once inside the wilderness. Tough going especially with all the alders that grow sideways along every stream bed. I didn't have any shot opportunities, but did contemplate a head shot on a 4-point opening morning. I was hoping for a better shot so therefore got none. Scenery was awesome and the hike tested our groups metal. Also got some good ideas for other areas to check next time I hunt that area.
Post by: popeshawnpaul on September 24, 2008, 10:00:39 AM
Post by: high country on September 24, 2008, 05:05:43 PM
the burns are re vegitating well, but the available water is the killer for me.....there is a 3000 ft zone w/o any.....that sux.
Post by: Little Fish on September 25, 2008, 08:59:37 AM