In 31 days...on a Friday...Sept. 13th to be exact I depart to Valdez for a boat based goat hunt.

I have no idea why "goat" needed to be on the menu. It just...was. They aren't very pretty...and from all reports they are a bit of a bitch to hunt. They like high and lofty places and the weather is bound to suck. For that matter I haven't even read many reports of hunters raving about the meat...damned if I'm not going to try it with leeks and gravy...

I started training for this about 4 months ago...and picked up the pace steadily. With a month to go I've lost 8# and a 70# pack humped 4 miles 4x a week up 700 feet of gain merely causes me to sweat. I've started adding deep leg lunges up and down hill (4x sets of 20 for now...with pack on. I'll push that to sets of 60 by the 13th...). I do need the walking sticks to stabilize myself on the lunges. I shouldn't be surprised.

I'm actually disappointed I haven't dropped more weight but I'll take an expected 175# (down from 188) as fair.

Truth is, I'm not expecting to carry more than 25-30# up the mountain - all of which means I should be well prepped physically. I went dirt-biking at 10,000 feet last week. I'm happy to say I wasn't winded in spite of picking my 300# bike up several times at altitude. The two guys I was riding with were literally doubled over for long minutes at a time gasping for air. I'll call that a victory...

The rifle's dialed in. Rem M7 AWR 7mm SAUM driving a 140 AB at 3,040. Good enough for sub 2" groups at 200 yards. I topped it with a 6x42 Loop with the LR duplex. Sighted at 200 the hashes are +/- 2" at 400 and 500... I've probably put 200 rounds downrange in practice, 60% of those are from field positions (mostly prone) at 300-500 steel. No paper ranges to print a 300 yard group where I'm at locally...sucks.

The rifle tips in a hair under 7#, scoped and empty.

Folks look at me like I'm a crazy man in my neighborhood, walking around with an old green Arcteryx backpack loaded down with weights and wearing tall insulated hiking boots in the summer. I'm good with that. Builds mental toughness, right?

T minus 31 days...

Did I mention I'm not fond of heights?

Good luck. Goat hunting can be challenging. I have taken 3. It is lots of fun.

with the hill and altitude you have available to train on,you should be fine.

I've been twice. One successful and the other not. They may not seem pretty, but they kind of grow on you. Like the girl next door with braces at 11 and homecoming queen at 18. I'll definitely be going again sometime soon.
Good luck!

Daniel, I couldn't agree more. I keep looking at pictures of some truly epic goats and keep thinking "why am I so drawn these things?".

And I realize it's just plain Alaska. I love that state. This would be my third trip - the first in '09 on motorcycles...the second in '11 for Sitka Blacktail...and now in '13...


The ruggedness and starkness of the state is just magnificent and I miss it every day.





Yeah, I just need to get back there.

Larry,

Thanks for the comments. This should be fun and interesting and I'm really grateful for the training I've been able to get in.

I've gone through my packing list a dozen times. I'm kind of laughing today that my biggest concern is "which books do I want to read". That's a nice place to be.

quote:

Originally posted by rnovi:
Larry,

Thanks for the comments. This should be fun and interesting and I'm really grateful for the training I've been able to get in.

I've gone through my packing list a dozen times. I'm kind of laughing today that my biggest concern is "which books do I want to read". That's a nice place to be.

I leave Friday for AK. I would kill to have hills that size to train on as well as the altitude. It is so flat here that I climbed the same hill on the golf course repeatedly. It is probably 25 feet at its highest point. You are going with a huge advantage.

Be careful. It can be cold, wet and slick that time of the year. I had a bad fall my first goat hunt. Split a finger nail open as well as the finger. I cracked the stock on my rifle.

Robert,

I think you are well prepared on all fronts. Your rifles sounds perfect and your trainig more than adequate. Hopefully you'll get a poke at a black bear also.

Speaking of people's reaction back in the day when I lived in Alaska people would often stop and ask if I needed a ride when training with my pack. The natives were particularly mystified when they learned my pack weighed 85# and I was not carry anything but weight nor was I really going anywhere.

Best of luck and please let me know how it went as soon as you can.

Mark

Goats are AWESOME. All of them!
I have the "Capra fever" worse than any African hunt ever gave me.

Good luck.. I took a nice billy in BC in "11.. still think about that final stalk all the time.

So with 28 days to go I've been obsessing quite spectacuarly about the packing list. I'm spliting this list into two parts: that which will actually be packed and that which will be "extra" on the boat. This will certainly give me greater flexibility in packing for any unexpected needs.

I should note that this will be a guided hunt - so there are some things that I won't particularly need to carry myself (like a spotter)

Expected Temps: 45-60

Worn for the hunt:
Cabelas Meindl Perfect Hunters, SOLE Insoles
Marmot Scree Pants
UA Longsleeve shirt
Light Fleece Camo Shirt
Fleece Vest
Goretex boonie hat
Black Diamond Carbon Cork Trekking Poles
Fingerless wool gloves

The Pack:

Backpack: Arteryx Bora 70 w/small compass/thermo on a zipper
sleeping bag (packed in trashbag): Mtn. Hardware ExtraLam 20
Air matress (tube style w/ repair kit)
Rem. AWR 7mm SAUM w/ 6x42 Leupold
Zeiss 10x32 Victory binoculars
20 rnds ammo (140AB, 3040 fps)
1 liter water bottle
Canon S90 camera
Black Diamond ReVolt headlamp, spare Li-Batts
Buck Mini-Alpha Folder S30v knife (*might change to a Havalon though)
Rifle cleaning kit (pared to 7mm only)
Synth Down Spare Jacket
Leica RF900 Rangefinder (optional - guide should have one)
Toothbrush, Toothpaste, dental floss
Saline Drops (hey, could flush dirt out of my eyes)
Spare Glasses (ultralight frameless)
Comb
Deet
Costco Yellow Rag (cut in 4" squares. 2x)
2" mini-roll of Duct Tape
Leatherman Juice Multi-tool, no sheath
Marmot Precip Rain Jacket
Marmot Precip Rain Pant
Beannie (windproof)
Spare Socks (1x), jockeys (1x)
Wool Thermals
Torx/Allen tools for scope & rifle.
Earplugs
Iphone (GPS & other items)
Large Ziplock Baggies (to pack in)
Small Sewing Kit
Matches, Lighter
Crazy glue
Pen (*to fill out tags, of course!)
WetWipes, TP
Small face towel
100' paracord
Basic first aid, moleskin, blister pads, aspirin, advil, 4x heavy painkillers (for a REALLY bad day).


Food will be part of the guide so I'm not worried about that.

I sitting right at 29# and feeling pretty good about that pack.

Hey, that's my rifle!!! :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Hey, that's my rifle!!! :-)

And it's a mighty FINE rifle at that!

I have to say it's got a couple nicks and dings now and looks like a proper huntin' rig.

T-Minus...SEVEN!

Friday the 13th...I board the 9:00am flight...

WOOHOOO! Getting excited!

Current temps expected between 43-53 degrees. Rain chance: 60%.

Yeah, I'm gonna get wet.

I think I've put more than 250 rounds downrange from 200-500 yards getting ready for this hunt.

I went to the range for the last time before the hunt and fired one group, one shot at 300 steel and one at 400 steel.



200 yard group above: 1.25". The steel rang twice.

I packed it up went home. It's not gonna get any better than that.

7mm SAUM, 140 NAB, 64.5 H4831 and 3,040 fps.

Looks real good Robert. Sounds like you have everything covered. Good luck on your hunt and I look forward to your report.

Elvis...has left the building.