We got up very early, before dawn and headed up to the high alpine. The weather was windy and cool, with no rain or fog. Perfect. As we approached high elevation we immediately began to see bucks - lots of them. We continued on to check out a spot that Johnnie knew well. Below us were two PY class bucks, the larger one in velve. I decided to stalk them.
I used a brushy hillside to cut the 200 yard distance. I made time quickly in the thickets until I was within 80 yards. One of the bucks was a very nice 3 pt (8 pt eastern count) and the clean one was a 2x3. As I moved in for my final stalk, I ran right into a 3rd buck bedded - he was a dandy as well. He spooked. I watched for the other two bucks but assumed they took off as well. I walked out of the trees to check the next ridge and bumped into the two big racked bucks. Apparently they did not spook and were right around the corner the whole time. I'll practice a little more patience next time.
I met up with Johnnie and Bobby to discuss where to go next. There was another group of deer a couple hundred yards away but that stalk lasted less than 5 minutes. Johnnie had remarked that the deer were excessively spooky, probably because of wolves working this area.
We ate lunch and headed back down the bowl to look for more deer. Bobby spotted a nice 2pt bedded and I put the stalk on him. I moved out of sight for hundreds of yards until I was within 20 yards of the bedded buck. My stalk was perfect and the buck was still bedded and undisturbed. I found a little patch of trees to plant myself in and wait him out. I sat there for forty minutes, knowing that moving on the buck (while he was bedded in the open) was foolish. How long was he going to sit there? Eventually the buck stood up facing me. I readied my bow and held my head low in the brush. The buck began feeding toward me - all right! At just eight yards he gave me an "iffy" quartering-to shot so I passed it up. He appeared to be headed down this grassy chute which would bring him upwind of me and a 5 yard quartering away shot - just what I liked! But as he got closer, a doe got up and headed in the opposite direction. The buck followed her and I never did get my shot. It was a fun stalk though.
By now it was getting late in the day and we had to pack up camp and head home. Johnnie and I needed to catch the 9PM ferry back to Ketchikan or I would miss my early morning flights. There were so many bucks there that I was tempted to miss my flight.
On the way out, we spotted over 20 bucks, most of them PY class and possibly a couple B&C class bucks as well. Johnnie took out his call one last time and gave a pathetic sounding bleat. A doe came running across the valley and up to us - this time I had my camera. Several other deer came out as well, but none as close as her. This valley was just crawling with deer - the likes I had never seen before!
After the doe took off and we headed back to camp, Johnnie spotted a deer a few hundred yards away. It was an enormous blacktail - probably B&C class. The buck was in a great position to stalk, only about fifteen yards from a sharp drop-off and some bushes. The wind was perfect for an approach and I was confident that I could pull off the stalk. Johnnie and Bobby prodded me to miss my flight (they had a few more days before the next hunt). I decided against it. As I climbed the hill, the stalk looked even better, I stopped and pondered it one more time - then decided against it and come back another time. I missed my family.
We got the gear together and began our long hike down to the truck. I said goodbye to Bobby as we dropped him off and wished him well with his budding guiding career. Johnnie and I had dinner and caught our ferry in time to make ketchikan and my plane.
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