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Over breakfast we discussed our upcoming hike and the area we were heading to. We had good news and bad news. The good news was that Jack's brother Lloyd was going to join us tomorrow so we can split up. While I was very excited about filming Kent's stalk and shot on a goat, I was more excited about swapping my camera for my bow. While Kent never said anything, I think he was relieved too. It was going to be hard enough for him to kill a goat given the short range limitations of his Black Widow Recurve - having a cameraman tagging along makes it harder. The bad news was, unlike Babine's bowhunting only areas, this particular mountain had a quota and he only had one kill left. That meant I was a cameraman until Lloyd showed up and then Jack and I would have to hike out and head to a different area, leaving Kent and Lloyd behind. I was fine with that. We still have a few days left.
Since I couldn't hunt this mountain I didn't need to pack my bow or any of the stuff associated with it. That lightened up my Mystery Ranch pack considerably and made the grunt up that steep mountain more bearable. When we reached the top we immediately found goats. They were everywhere. We found 10 right off the bat on our hill and 30 more on hillsides within just a few hours hike. There were goats in every direction! This was terrific for Kent, I knew he'd do well here and I was having a great time running around filming some of the nannies and kids that were well within respectable video distance.
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This big nanny popped up within 300 yards of us. It was the first of many goats seen from this mountain. |
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This billy was too small for Kent to shoot, but I was sure having fun shooting him with my video camera. |
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When I peered out over the cliff I was laying on, I spotted this kid just below me. |
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That kid led me to this big nanny who was below me no more than 60 yards. She has enormous horn length - around 10 inches. Nannies with kids are not legal to shoot so I camped on her with my video camera while Jack and Kent continued to look for a nice billy. |
Kent and Jack did not kill a goat today but they did locate a couple big billies on an adjacent mountain. It would require about a four hour hike but it would be worth it. Rifles are legal on this mountain so that is always an option for Kent. Whatever he chooses, Kent is in a great spot. Jack and Lloyd made contact that evening and Lloyd told us he would be here early. This was good news for me, Jack and I could get an early start on our hike into yet another mountain range. But there was bad news too, the break in weather was going to be short-lived. The forecast called for a band of low pressure moving in and staying put for a few days. Not what any of us want to hear.
Fitness for Goat Hunting
Having a lot of fitness-minded people on Bowsite we thought I would share my goals, and final results for my fitness routine prior to this hunt. A week after this hunt was confirmed I jumped on the scale and determined that I needed to lose 40lbs. I looked at P90X, Insanity, and all the other programs out there and I found one that worked incredibly well. It is called jogging every day and stop eating like a Pig (I should market it). My runs started at 2 miles 3x per week and steadily increased to 5 miles 4 times a week. A month before my hunt I was at 6-7 miles per day for 5-6 days a week and typically at a pace around 9 minutes a mile without stopping. I did some occasional lifting and also spent time on a stair master every so often. I did not lose 40lbs like I wanted to, but I did drop 20. While my running met my cardio goals, I failed at the dieting due to an active travel schedule which included lots of business dinners and lots of trips to our new land in NY which is next to a great restaurant with great Prime Rib. In other words, I had no excuse. I failed at my diet goals.
Was the running enough?
Well, yes and no. Dwight Schuh is my fitness idol and has a saying that he'd rather pack 20lbs less fat than have to sacrifice 20lbs of gear or food. I should have had the discipline to lose all 40 prior to this trip. I met half my goal. The running was hugely helpful. While my legs were burning and I would get out of breath on what we called the "death marches" up the mountains - my recovery time was quite short. A quick 5 minute break was all I needed to recharge and get back to the steep grunt. It was still difficult and would have been far easier having lost 40 than 20, but at least my cardio fitness was up to par.
Fitness advice for future goat hunters?
I regret two things. Other than not losing weight I really should have done more mountain training with a heavy pack. While many of the marathon runners on the site may have tremendous endurance and highly efficient cardio metabolisms, you use lots of different muscles when hiking extremely steep terrain with a heavy pack including quadriceps, core, and shoulder/neck muscles. While my home state is relatively flat, I do have small mountains and could have traveled to them for pack/incline training. I never found the time and I wish I had. So here is my advice if you are going on a goat hunt anytime soon:
- Lose all of your fat weight prior to the hunt.
- Dramatically improve your cardio endurance by running, aerobics, biking, or some other exercise which sustains a high but healthy heart rate.
- Train on mountains starting with a light pack and working up to 50-60lbs which is possible during a goat hunt. Remember that it is almost as difficult coming down a steep hillside with a pack as it is going up. Train in both directions.
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This Alpine Bowhunting Adventure is sponsored by these fine companies..
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