Post by: Nate p on July 25, 2024, 09:00:03 PM
I am new to the forum as a member and have decided I should probably post something myself and hopefully contribute a little to the HW community by sharing my sons Mt Whittier bull hunt story.
So i put my 14 year old son in for Norway pass and Mt whittier in 2023. He drew whittier Bull with only 6 points!!!! Now i have lived in SW Washington my entire life but have never stepped foot in the unit so i knew i had some work to do. I had friends who had drew Norway pass before and received a ton of info from those guys to get me started. Did a ton of looking on OnX maps and came up with a good game plan for a July scouting trip.
July 3rd rolled around and we found ourselves at the coldwater boat launch getting ready for our first scouting trip up. The walk around the edge of the lake was great with very little elevation change. This changes quikly! as we start up the valley we realize what big country it is. we work our way all the way to upper end of the Unit and by the time we get there its already getting extremely hot. We decided to turn back after realizing the elk were tucked into the thick alders this time of day especially in this heat. By the time we get back to the trailhead we were beat and ready to head home.
Well busy life got the best of us. between sports for two kids and a strong salmon fishing addiction we didnt make it back up again until 2 days before opening day. We cut some miles off the hike by borrowing a good friends drift boat and using an electric motor to get us to the end of coldwater lake. We set off to set up camp from the boat at around 9:30 and didnt make it to camp until 5. My son had a rough time with his heavy pack so i let him hang back until i was able to come back to get his gear. Weather was great but we knew rain was expected later that evening so we took the opportunity to do some glassing. We found a small herd of cows and a small 5x5 right away but saw no more elk in the next hour so we headed back to set up camp. The wind started to pickup drasticly and was blowing about 40 mph when we started to set up the tend. we used a sawtooth tent and it was quite the task to setup properly in these conditions but after multiple attempts we prevailed. We tucked into the tent just as it started to downpour and gust so bad i was sure we would loose the tent.
That 1st night was rough, Very little sleep with the rain and gusts of gail force wind. I kept thinking how horrible it would be to have the tent just blow away in the middle of this storm. Right at dailight the rain stopped and wind died down. As we exited the tent we were greated by 4 mountain goats on the ridge behind camp. What amazing country to be able to hunt in! We got to our glassing point and couldnt see anything due to the thick blanket of fog coating the vally. After waitng for an hour for fog to lift the rain and wind started back up again so we headed back to camp and hunkered down. Well it didnt let up all day and after checking multiple times the fog never budged either.So much for scouting the day before LOL.
Right before dark the rest of our hunt crew showed up after coming in from the opposite side. they were soaked to the underwear and shivering bad so we helped them set up tents and got them warm. while we set up the tents we were told of all the elk they saw on the other side of the unit. We talked it over and decided to stick to our origonal plan and hunt the side we were already on opening morning. Well after hearing the storys of all the elk seen my son got ancy and asked if we could relocate so we could be on the other side first thing in the morning. i told him this was a poor choice with the weather and risking all of our gear getting wet so i told him if the storm lifted we would pick up and head back down.
Guess what, 10 PM the rain stopped and i was awoken by the equivalent of a kid on xmas eve. Can we go, Can we go! he asked. Well its your hunt so lets do it i said. We got out and let ther rest of the crew know our plan. unsuprisingly we didnt get anyone wanting to join us on a late night hike through the backcountry so we made a plan for them to meet us the next morning. As we headed down the hill the rain and wind started again but worse yet the fog was like swimming in milk. After dropped some elevation the wind died down and rain let up spairing us the misery of being wet the next morning. We made it back to the boat at 1am and set up our tent and hit the sack.
The next morning we decided to sleep in a bit and leave camp just before dailight vs trying to hike up in the dark. We had a bull screaming a couple hundred yards away from camp and that really got us motivated to get up and hunt. We set off and afer about two hours of hiking we rounded a corner to see 3 bulls at 50 yds. two small 5x5's and a stud 5x5 that was a shooter in our books only problem was they were on the wrong side of the trail and had us pinned. we set up the rifle and waited for them to walk across the trail but unfortunantly the headed the wrong direction. I told my son that we didnt bust the elk they just walked off and we could potentially call them over the trail later that evening. Plan was to get to a good vantage point and glass until mid afternoon. after that we weould head to a spot overlooking where the first group of bulls were and try to coax them over. As we sat down to take a break we spotted a dozen cows about 600 yds away. We watched herd for about ten min when seemingly out of nowhere a bull apeared. He decided this was the bull he wanted to go after so we took off to close some distance. We aproached a rocky outcropping and ranged the bull again, 380yds. He laid out prone and after taking a few moments to calm his nerves i heard the 300 rip and the bull dropped instantly. After a couple leg kicks the bull was done.
as we aproached the elk we saw a problem. the hill he was on was extemely steep and he had his top forks burried deep in the ash with his body pinning him down. Took us all we had to get the antlers free and when we did he slid down the hill another 100 ft and rested perfectly next to a blowdown. I called the crew on the radio and told them to head up with the pack frames because we got a bull down!
The pack out was tough. took us until 11 at night to get it all back to the boat but we all slept great that night. we woke up to the lake looking like glass and the sun shining through blue skys.
This hunt was absolutely amazing and i was already dreaming of the day i would finally draw a special hunt permit. Well after 27 years of putting in i finally drew a tag in 2024 and it was Norway Pass! That is until WDFW sent me an email. saying the screwed up and my draw results may have changed. My heart sunk, i scrambled to login as fast as i could and much to my suprise my hunt had changed. I no longer had Norway pass but instead i now had my 1st choice hunt, Mt Whittier!!!! I cant wait to be back up rifle in hand and tag in pocket. For now all i can do is put on the miles scouting and hope for some great hunting in october again with my Friends and Family.
Hope this wasnt a super boring read as i am not an author by any stretch of the imagination but i did want to share something with the group. I will try to upload some photos of my sons elk and hopefully come October i will have another story to share!
Post by: Nate p on July 25, 2024, 09:03:31 PM
Post by: Nate p on July 25, 2024, 09:04:57 PM
Post by: Nate p on July 25, 2024, 09:05:47 PM
Post by: Nate p on July 25, 2024, 09:07:45 PM
Post by: Nate p on July 25, 2024, 09:09:09 PM
Post by: Nate p on July 25, 2024, 09:11:06 PM
Post by: Irish_hunter93 on July 26, 2024, 12:59:25 AM
Post by: zwickeyman on July 26, 2024, 05:14:28 AM
Post by: jstone on July 26, 2024, 07:16:38 AM
Post by: millerwheeler on July 26, 2024, 07:27:37 AM
Post by: Mtnwalker on July 26, 2024, 07:57:32 AM
Post by: Magnum_Willys on July 26, 2024, 08:03:45 AM
Post by: JakeLand on July 26, 2024, 08:15:07 AM
Post by: hunterednate on July 26, 2024, 10:17:39 AM
Post by: elkboy on July 26, 2024, 11:37:07 AM
Post by: Caseknife on July 26, 2024, 11:44:37 AM
Post by: jstone on July 26, 2024, 01:39:43 PM
Post by: Falcon on July 27, 2024, 08:06:02 AM
Post by: Griff1981 on August 22, 2024, 05:47:33 PM
Post by: Seabeckian on August 27, 2024, 10:54:40 PM
Post by: Nate p on August 28, 2024, 05:41:05 AM
Post by: Seabeckian on August 28, 2024, 08:28:25 AM
You are correct I have the October Rifle tag. Congrats on drawing the quality tag!! That will be a fun hunt for sure. hopefully you get a little cooler weather for your hunt. Wonder if the original tag holder turned it back in after taking a closer look at the unit and realizing how difficult it would be. Make sure to let us all know the hunt goes and good luck!!
Thanks Nate! I wasn’t given a reason why I got the second draw on it. I do suspect the same thing. For sure not a tag to put in for if you don’t know how challenging it is. I wish I had more than 6 weeks notice to pull it off, but still stoked to pull a quality tag. Good luck, looking forward to seeing your success.
Post by: Elkfever on August 28, 2024, 09:00:43 PM
Question for you guys, with the wet weather on the mtn, were you guys able to get a campfire going or did you use a wood stove in the Sawtooth? Would a shelter with a stove be the ticket on any of the St Helens hunts?
Post by: The G Spot on August 28, 2024, 09:17:23 PM
Post by: Nate p on August 29, 2024, 07:02:27 AM
Post by: The G Spot on August 29, 2024, 07:59:57 AM
Post by: Elkfever on August 29, 2024, 03:11:22 PM
Post by: pianoman9701 on August 29, 2024, 03:15:12 PM
Post by: Nate p on August 30, 2024, 09:50:29 PM
Thanks for all the positive comments and feedback! Really shows what a great community hunt Washington is. My son is blown away how many of you fine folks took the time to read about his hunt.
This year we have my Whittier bull tag, my oldest son drew the blue mnt foothills west tag for white tail, and my youngest son will be hunting for the first time this season at 8 years old. He is holding a doe tag but he said he wants to hold out for a buck until late in the season.
I have done some research on the blue mountain tag and have located the land that is feel free too hunt but we will probably be going in blind for only 4 days. If anyone wants to share some info to help my now 15 year old boy shoot his first branch buck that would greatly appreciated.
Post by: BA Mongor on August 31, 2024, 07:15:30 AM
As far as fires go, I've had no choice but to build a few over the years to stay warm and get dry. The past 10-15 years or so, the amount of people in there is amazing. I never saw a person when heading into Venus and Lower Venus. But my past couple trips in there I've seen multiple people.
There's so many bulls in there! Some of the bulls back there think they're mountain goats. You're going to have a blast. Bring a camera and enjoy the hunt. I've gotta admit that I'm jealous, I've always wanted to hunt bulls in there.
Have Fun & Be Safe...
Post by: jae on August 31, 2024, 07:53:13 AM
Good luck on all the hunts! Looking forward to hearing your stories.
John
Post by: Nate p on October 09, 2024, 08:50:34 PM
Post by: Bowhunter3 on October 09, 2024, 09:36:16 PM
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 04:48:30 PM
We knew we had some wet weather moving in so we decided to get up and set up camp 3 days early on the last day of good weather. We launched our boat at 10:30am and headed off for the adventure ahead with smiling faces and the sun shining. We pulled the boat up on the beach and headed off for our camp spot miles into the backcountry. By the time we arrived it was already very foggy and getting dark so we got set up and hit the sacks pretty fast.
The next morning was very wet weather and socked in so we made breakfast and drank instant coffee pass the time. It was late in the afternoon before the fog started to get a little thinner so we headed off for our vantage point t glass. After the fog cleared I spotted a small herd of elk so I got my spotter on them and knew one stood above the rest. He was a very symmetrical 6x6 and had everything I could hope for in a bull. there were also a few good 5x5 bulls and a goofy looking 4x6 with a forked G3 we named xmas tree. Soon it got dark on us and we headed back to camp.
The next morning was much the same as the previous morning but about an hour before dark the fog blew out and gave us a great view of the unit. We relocated the herd from the previous day and watched them for a while. We then saw another herd emerge with a big 5x5 and a few satellite bulls. They ran down to an area we called the swamp and got a drink. two of the smaller bulls were sparring as the big 5 was keeping a close eye on his girls. We ran out of daylight and made note of were the elk were because tomorrow morning was opening day!. We got back to camp and checked the weather again because we knew there was a chance of snow coming in right at our elevation but didn't expect much. The weather report was better than expected calling for very light dusting at our elevation.
That night I found it difficult to sleep. I had visions of how I thought it would play out in the morning and what I would do if they were further up the canyon and out of range. I woke up around midnight after briefly falling asleep and could hear the sound of the rain pounding my tent. But then I heard something Brush against the side of my tent. What the heck was that!! I thought, then I heard it again. I slowly poked my head out of my mummy back and could see a distinct shadow in the moonlight on the side of the tent. I didn't move I just watched for a moment. then I saw the shadow getting larger and larger like something was aproaching. I smacked my tent and yelled scaring the heck out of my hunting partners in the process but as soon as I hit the tent I realized what was going on, It was snow building up. I opened my tent and could see at least 3 inches of snow built up already and it was snowing hard.
Opening morning we woke to horrible blizzard conditions and about 5-6 inches of snow. We had to hunker in our tents most of the day checking every so often if the fog had cleared but it never did. This is not what I envisioned for opening day the last 5 months but as is elk hunting things never go as planned. We had 7 days to hunt so we just had to be patient and wait for our window. That night the wind and snow completely stopped and we could see the stars. I knew this meant the next morning may be the opportunity we needed.
That night was cold down in the mid to upper 20's. With our 20 degree bags it was not comfortable at all. we had on our thermals and puff jackets but still had to use hot hands to help get through the night. That morning we had some issues getting our tents open as the zippers had all frozen shut but once we finally got out it was crystal clears we headed to our glassing knob. It didn't take much time to find the herd but bad news, the were way further away and way out of ethical shooting range. On to plan B, well plan b consisted of gaining a bunch of elevation and taking the trail around and making a stalk on the elk once we were on the same side as them. We realized that this was going to be tough. the trail we wanted to take was no good even if the rocks are wet so with snow it was out of the question. second choice was around 9 or 10 miles of breaking trial in the fresh snow but that proved to be difficult and time consuming so on to 3rd choice. head strait into the canyon and loose some elevation and hopefully the snow wasn't as deep.
So we set off into the canyon and down towards a very Nasty little boulder chute that we would use as our pass through the cliff band we were on. once we arrived to the chute it was apparent that plan was not going to work. the boulders were bridged with snow and it was way to steep to do with these conditions. we tried going up and around but kept getting cliffed out at on point or another. the description was made that we would need to revert back to plan 2 or pack up camp and head all the way down and back up the other side. The hike out of that basin was crazy harder some reason. I just didn't feel myself and was lacking energy. I figured I hadn't slopt much and that must be why but by the time we made it back to the glassing knob I was feeling downright horrible. To top things off we looked back to where the herd had last been and they were gone. tracks leading down the valley and into the thick alder canyon.
By the time I made it to my tent I knew I was in trouble. I vomited coming down and felt like the flu was hitting me hard. I knew we had to get out now or I may be too weak the next day to get myself out. We all packed as fast as we could and set off for the boat. We could see bad clouds forming and soon were surrounded by fog and snow flurries . It took me all I had to make it down safe. The trail was not fun at all in the snow and I would vomit every time I took a drink of water from my camel pack. I had to keep my mind occupied because I was so scared I wouldn't make it down on my own therefore putting the rest of my group at risk. But I prevailed, I made it to the boat and was cold and wet. I was so dehydrated I grabbed a gallon jug of water and chugged about 20 oz off of it and just waited for it to come back up but it didn't thankfully. We made it home late that night and I slept so hard that night and woke the next morning feeling much better. other than being sore from the hike and my abs from puking the day before. Wow, there is hope. I had all but given up on my tag thinking I had the flu but now I had a second chance.
I looked at the forecast and it looked bad until the following Tuesday. That would only give me two days to hunt but I had to play it smart. No reason to go up in the snow and rain and watch fog for three days and risk getting sick again. So I made plans with my last available hunting partner Mike too head out mid day Monday to camp at the boat and hike up the last remaining two days to hunt.
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 05:23:56 PM
Tuesday we woke early and headed up the trail. With the moonlight glaring off the cliff faces you almost didn't need a headlamp. the trail was clear of snow the whole way up to where we would set up to glass. As the sun rised you could see snow about 100ft above us on the slopes. About 20 min. of glassing later and I spotted my first two elk of the day. Xmas tree and and pretty dang nice 5x5. Here comes my dilemma, Do I shoot this 5x5 and make sure I don't eat my tag? I really want to give meat to all of my hunting group and this bull is respectable. On the other hand these two bulls would typically hang out within a few hundred yards of the herd that had the 6x6 in it. I knew I had to try for the big bull so I played it off like the bull was just a rag horn to Mike who didn't have a spotting scope only binoculars.
I told Mike I would head down to see if I could get a vantage on the rest of the herd but ultimately I couldn't get eyes on them. as I walked back up to mike he is looking pretty hard at the 5x5. I told him I got a better look at him and he was a pretty good bull and he said that's what he was thinking. I said ok, let's try to get closer. The bull was within range but I really wanted some extra time to look for the 6x6. As we come over the ridge were we planned on setting up the bulls where gone. I told mike we should get on the cliffs behind them with the wind we have and that would give us a way better view of where they went.
We made it to the top of the cliff and peeked over, 3 cows, 4, 6, now 8 cows all feeding on a hillside about 500yds away. there was no wind so this shot was well within my comfort zone so I set the rifle up just incase the bull fed out with them. We waited for about 20 min and watched as all but three cows fed away from us and over the next rise. As I leaned over to mike to discuss our next move we heard a low raspy bugle. I instantly recognized it as being the 6x6. The cows heard the bugle and headed in his direction over the next ridge. Now we got this figured out.
We had to backtrack a ways to get off the cliffs and get to the same elevation as the elk. As we got to the bottom and headed the direction the elk were last seen the odor of elk filler the air. wind still in our face, Its all going perfect. I approach the ridge and dropped my pack and take the rifle out of the holder. I get down on my hands and knees and crawl over the ridge to look up and see three bulls including xmas tree and the 5x5 from earlier. They were about 120 yards away and looking my direction. I slowly lowered down out of sight and signaled to mike they were right here. I knew I should just shoot the 5x5 and be done with it but I figure I have a couple hundred yards if they bust to get them to stop for a shot again before they are out of sight. I have to make sure the herd isn't just a little further than I could see. I belly crawled behind a log out of sight of the bulls and once I got to the other end I slowly came up and saw the cows at about 150yds all bedded down. I raised just slightly more and could see now xmas tree was very aware of me and not looking very excited to see me. I look back at the cows and there he is, The 6x6 is bedded right in the middle of them.
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 05:54:26 PM
We get up to the bull and can't believe it all worked out. He is everything I could have hoped for and he also has a bonus "Devil" eyeguard. What a moment, I sit down next to the animal and take it all in. the goats on the hill behind us, the snow on the peaks by our first camp. Now the work begins.
We boned and caped the bull and hung all but two packs int the biggest tree we could find which wasn't big but was surrounded by other trees to shade the meat. Perfect, We hung it as high as we could and took our packs back to the boat. We got back to camp at 10:30pm and had the best night sleep we had in a while. We were able to get some other friends to go with us the next day to retrieve the remainder of the bull. Only casualty was one meat sack had a small hole presumably from a chipmunk.
This ended up being one of the hardest hunts of my life but in the end those are the most rewarding I have no regrets about what we did or how it all worked out because everything we did played a part in harvesting such a great animal. A special thanks to all who helped me on this hunt including my lovely wife who picked up the slack at home while I went off and played for a week and a half. She also helped me process all of the meat so we could share with all involved. I also met some great guys on here who reached out to me or vis versa and up on the trail scouting this summer.
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 06:07:53 PM
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 06:27:18 PM
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 06:28:06 PM
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 06:30:07 PM
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 06:31:55 PM
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 06:33:36 PM
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 06:35:04 PM
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 06:36:52 PM
Post by: High Climber on October 27, 2024, 06:41:40 PM
Post by: Bob33 on October 27, 2024, 06:47:45 PM
Post by: Bullkllr on October 27, 2024, 06:54:28 PM
Post by: Nate p on October 27, 2024, 07:11:09 PM
Post by: teanawayslayer on October 27, 2024, 07:33:12 PM
Post by: X-Force on October 27, 2024, 09:02:40 PM
Post by: Threewolves on October 28, 2024, 07:35:35 AM
Congratulations, well done!
Sent from my SM-A426U using Tapatalk
Post by: jae on November 06, 2024, 09:42:05 AM
Congratulations on a Beautiful Bull Nate!
John
Post by: blackveltbowhunter on November 06, 2024, 09:44:58 AM
Post by: millerwheeler on November 06, 2024, 10:20:38 AM
Post by: Nate p on November 06, 2024, 11:28:47 AM