We've been in Alaska for two days now and still have yet to hunt. First day was getting the gear together and getting to the camp. The guide had set up a wall tent on the island we are to hunt a couple of days before we arrived but he put it on 'the other side' of the river. He did this because we needed to be over on that side to be able to glass and then make the hike up the mountains. So we take his aluminum boat from Sitka across the bay to Baranof Island. And here comes the rain. I mean it's pouring! It rained so hard that there's no way to get across the river because it's now a raging torrent of water. So we stayed last nite in someone's makeshift camp (they're suppose to be illegal but it sure was nice to have). It rained like crazy last nite. We had to rush to cut wood for the fire which, by the way, flamed out at 2AM. Wake up for the third time this morning and now it's snowing - a lot. It was snowing so hard that it sounded like something smashing the roof with the clumps of snow coming off the trees and hitting the roof. The mountain tops, which didn't have much the day before are now covered.

Did I mention we are suppose to be mountain goat hunting??

Then around 10 AM it starts hailing. Then thundering. Now more rain. Throw in some more hail. It's friggin cold and I'm already soaked! I thought the weather in Texas was goofy. We get on some four wheelers and make the 40 minute ride to check and see if we can make it to the other side where the wall tent is. Forget it. The river is still raging.

On the way my buddy's back pack came off the four wheeler right where one of the waterfall runoffs meets the river. Last we see of it it's floating down the river. He's pissed. It's got his ammo, license, binos, spotting scope, etc. in it. An hour and a half search is made. No luck. So, the executive decision is made to come back into town cause he needs to have his license replaced and of course some ammo. No arguement from me. A chance to thaw, a decent meal and a warm bed sound good.

That has been first two days. We still have 5 more to go. Not sure what will be more difficult to deal with - my buddy's new attitude, the rain and cold or facing the reality of just how steep the mountains here actually are.

Will keep you posted. Pray for me...

I will not say it...I just won't. We'll talk when you get back. Keep your head up and don't give up. Remember this is our idea of fun and vacation!

Bluefin,
Hang in there. I had a $hitty bear hunt earlier this month myself but that's huntin. It's full of highs and lows and lots of adversity...those are the things that make it so memorable. Your situation could be worse...a couple nights ago I spoke with a guide friend who told me he managed to ensure his three clients all got bears out of Cold Bay earlier this month. Unfortunately, they spent the first 11 days of the season in a hotel room cause the wind was too bad to fly. At least your gettin out and about and hopefully the weather will soon cooperate to give you some hunting opportunities and a chance for your buddy's attitude to improve. Good huntin!

Sep

....Bluefin ....WELCOME TO SOUTHEAST!! ..Your in Nakwasina arn,t you...Mayby Katlian,..,.,.,,,Keep your eyes ,ears and nose peeled for the punks in the brown fur coats......Always carry the essentials well secured to your person !!!!!!!!!!. specially your boolits.....I bet your glassing Annahootz.....If the ceiling lifts ....Be careful,, Have fun ...I,ll be praying for you....Those old camps hid in the brush will save your life !!!!

Good Luck Bluefin,
The last time I was in SE, I didn't realize how lucky I was to not have a flying delay due to rain. I was told that my flight into the bush was the last plane out of Ketchikan due to rain that day. I'm going back a little later in the year next year, and I'm being prepped in almost evey email I have with my guide to expect BAD weather! And to think, some guys get their goat on a cushy boat hunt......where's the fun in that?
Don

These are excellent posts. I had a similar trip once as described by the OP. The thing I remember most distinctly was the rapid changes in weather and how that affected the mood of the party. It really punctuated the inter-relationship between nature and the human condition.

When you guys tag out on Mucho Grande, it will make it all the more memorable. Good luck!

Sorry to hear about the weather -- I hope it is clearing up for you.

If you are on the 'Net I consider that a bad sign!

There's an old saying, If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes it'll change'. Sometimes it'll get better, often it'll get worse!

Finally had a day without hail, rain and sleet. Darn cold though but was told that is what helped the streams to lower. I have to tell you, this has been the toughest thing I've personally had to deal with. Little heat, bad meals, crummy weather.

Each day we've had to make a five mile walk in waders just to get to the area where we can start glassing for goats. Mind you, not up the mountain, just getting to the right area. That five miles was EACH way through rocks, flowing streams (with slippery rocks) which we all fell in and those darned little alder trees that grow three feet from each other which we all got face slapped with their branches. That was all one way and just to get to the base of the mountains.

Well, this one day we finally got some good weather and could take the four wheelers through the streams which allowed us to ride straight thru to the mountain base. We saw a number of tracks and decided to go for it as the next day was suppose to be pretty bad (45 mph winds). So we start our climb. There are these plants called Devil's Claws that are like our little cactus back home. Grab one and you'll get a hand full of little thorns. I grabbed a bunch of them! lol Oh well. After about two and half hours we finally reach the crest of the knob (that's what the guide referred to it as). There are tracks everywhere but no goats.

We make a plan and that is my buddy and the guide will circle around and see if they can't scare some goats up while I stay put and see if one doesn't come out of the trees. Sounded good to me b/c we had made a heck of a climb and I was worn out. That was until my temp came down from all that climbing and I started freezing.

I waited for about an hour and a half and glassed all around. Saw bunches of tracks everywhere but no goats. Then, bingo! Goats. Except they are on the next mountain ridge. About that time the guide and my buddy show up. I show them where I saw a nanny and a kid up on the one ridge and nine more on another ridge. They then tell me why there weren't any goats around. They came across a bear. They spotted it about five hundred yards off and it was just having the best time playing in the snow and rolling around. Needless to say the goats were no where near to be had.

By now it was getting late and we had to get off the mountain and back to camp. We had already decided that because of the incoming weather we would have to make this the last climb and head back into town.

We got down in one piece (lots of sliding which would have been more fun 35 yrs ago) but when you can hardly see what's below you it makes it a little more scarier. We get back to camp and break it down and arrive back in Sitka in the dark. No goat.

Oh well. I survived and did more climbing than I ever thought possible and got to see some beautiful scenery. Nothing like Texas. BTW, I checked the weather back home and it's suppose to be 87 today. LOL

If I could change anything it would be to bring better water proof gear. Cabela's gear just doesn't cut it! If it's not water proof then whatever you're carrying will only weigh that much more. Also, walking in waders blows! Talk about the diaper rash! We all got it bad. No place to shower and those long hikes take a toll on the er, um, equipment.

Would I do it again? Right now, I'd say no chance in hell. Ask me in three weeks and I'll probably say maybe. In two months I'll probably be making plans for next year's goat hunt!!

Well, I really hoped you would get a weather break. Without that, your hunt had little chance of success.

You were still finding the goats up high in the rocks in the bad weather? That's a bit unusual. Still, they must be working their way downhill somewhat.

What is the guide's success rate on goat?

Yukon,

The knob we climbed had tracks all around. We even found one of the bedding areas. The darn bear is what blew it for us. Of course there was no way to tell that a bear had been up there from ground level. We figured a lot of the goats we glassed had probably been on that knob recently.

As far as the guide's success, he said last year he was 6 of 9. So far, we're not treating his ratio very good. But, bear in mind that the weather we were treated to has been awful. It made getting to the hunting area almost impossible and really limited the amount of time we could spend climbing. I don't blame the guide in the least. If had one more day of good weather we could have increased our odds 50%. I truely believe that.

Well, we certainly discussed the weather before you left. With bad weather, the odds were very low.

So, how do you like our Devil's Club? Nice stuff, eh?

The good news back home is that we have a "cold front" blowing in tonight.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck.

....The Devils Club is a wonderfully HORRIBLE plant ..And yet it is one of my favorite smells on earth once I cut it with a chain saw.....You should wait another day or so and most of them will have festered enough to pop out...Quite painfully usually ,,,but it feels so good when they pop out it has been refered to as better than sex ......You kind of , do want to keep a good eye on any that are in a knuckle.. I,ve know guys who nearley lost a finger when they got infected......Down south yall have ,snakes , ticks, scorpions,killer bees . ect ... We got devils club and brown bears,, and lots of mountains to fall off ..and bad weather and hypothermia ect ,ect , ect.. I,m glad you had a great hunt ..in a pretty great part of Alaska ..

quote:

Originally posted by gumboot458:
....The Devils Club is a wonderfully HORRIBLE plant ..And yet it is one of my favorite smells on earth once I cut it with a chain saw.....You should wait another day or so and most of them will have festered enough to pop out...Quite painfully usually ,,,but it feels so good when they pop out it has been refered to as better than sex ......You kind of , do want to keep a good eye on any that are in a knuckle.. I,ve know guys who nearley lost a finger when they got infected......Down south yall have ,snakes , ticks, scorpions,killer bees . ect ... We got devils club and brown bears,, and lots of mountains to fall off ..and bad weather and hypothermia ect ,ect , ect.. I,m glad you had a great hunt ..in a pretty great part of Alaska ..

You may think of a goat / w/brown bear bonus hunt ...Haveing now been in thick brush , with minamum visability do you see why some of us prefer larger than normal calibers..

quote:

Originally posted by gumboot458:
....The Devils Club is a wonderfully HORRIBLE plant ..And yet it is one of my favorite smells on earth once I cut it with a chain saw . . .

On suggestion from one of my Tlinget buddies, I have been making Devil's Club tea as a remedy for my ailments. The jury is still out on it's effectiveness, but it's been stop ' go on the treatments.

This involves harvesting the stalk, scraping off the spines and getting to the cambium layer.

It smells o.k. when still fresh, but boiling up the tea (inside the house) is a bit rank.


<<MM>>

What type of water proof clothing from Cabelas did you have problems with? That type of info is usefull so other that may be looking for rain gear can make better desisions.

devils club and XXX alders - some not too advertised challenges here in Alaska -

scree slopes suck as well

them goats are sure some handsome critters

KMule

........Ya they go thru alot of Devils Club tea in Hoonah .....It works so well I think because it flushes the Hostess powdered sugar dougnuts and fry bread dunked in sugar out of thier system......Or booze ....,., For some things it is better in the spring ,, and for some things you want the young stuff that gets salt spray on it ...I know one guy who had a degenerative bone deasese [sp] and he went on a fast and drank devils club tea ., he way crippled up so he couldn,t walk ....and now he goes hikeing around every where ...and is healthy as a horse ....course he also quit da drinkin........,...I think it probably works ....If I get stove up bad I will probably go to Huna and do the same thing....

bluefin,

You are mean. I would never recommend a non resident go on a goat hunt in coastal Alaska that was not a boat based affair for the obvious reasons you are experiencing. It is more expensive but the success rate is much higher and the accommodations very comfortable.

Good luck to you and I hope you get a big one.

Mark