COOSEFAN Report post Posted March 12, 2009 Shortpants, being the die-hard coues fanatic that he is, talked me into an overnight backpack trip in his favorite unit. I thought he was crazy because it is just weird to head south at this time of year when I should have been headin' north where the elk are! Our goal was to locate hidden springs that he had only seen on a map and see if we could find better routes into his "hunny holes". My goal was only to not get bit by any rattlesnakes or scorpions and I prayed all day that I wouldn't have another "CLOSE ENCOUNTER" with a freakin' GIANT spider in my tent like last time! We used Shorty's "Fat Boy Chariot", as I like to call it, to get us to our starting point. Then we loaded up and proceeded into our first destination which according to maps wasn't very far, but we had to cross multiple canyons which took all the fun out of it as each canyon got increasingly deeper! We finally reached camp and from there we could see our objective actually existed and was full of water...not really a surprise, there is water everywhere! We didn't glass a whole bunch, just enjoyed being out in Coues country with it's overwhelming appeal and found our hidden springs in the process! Quite a few deer were seen but no big bucks were found. We did hike around a bunch looking for sheds and like usual we found none but Shorty did find an old skull so we weren't skunked on the trip! I almost hate shed hunting for coues, it's gotta be one of the hardest things to find........but that's what makes em' so special right! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
az4life Report post Posted March 12, 2009 Cool deal. Getting out this time of year likely prevented anyone trailing you into that honey hole too! Nice Pics, how was the weather. Looks like you went in pretty light. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted March 12, 2009 Excellent! Sounds like a good time. Nice find on that head. it sure can be depressing though when those "not so far on the map" hikes turn into deeper canyons than you expected! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Scott Report post Posted March 12, 2009 Nice photos! Looks like neat country! Talk about Die hard coues deer hunters backpacking in March. I am impressed by the effort. A+ guys Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted March 12, 2009 Thanks Jim for sharing How did old pugey boy do keeping up with slim shorts Looks like you guys had a nice trip into some beautiful country. Did you find a better route out? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted March 13, 2009 Thanks for the reply's! The weather was perfect and it was awesome as usual to get away from the beaten path and it's definitely nice to get out there with very few other folks around. Shorty has A LOT of history in this area but has always wanted to find a few hidden springs and check out access from different angles so that was our goal with this trip. We likely may never go to this spot again but we now know how to get there and what advantages it has. We didn't find a better route out, so we just beelined it back to the "Fat Boy Chariot" straight accross all the ridges. Shorty is an animal but I didn't do too bad, I kept up with him, what helped was that I made sure that my pack was lighter to make up for my shorter legs and fatter belly! Great to see ya on here Jay and thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted March 13, 2009 In other words, you made him carry all the beverages Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted March 13, 2009 One has to watch out when hiking with Jim, as he is good at stuffing assorted items suchs as oh, I dont know... ROCKS into the other persons pack! Looks like a fun time, and not a bad skull! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NRS Report post Posted March 13, 2009 So how big were the bass in that little pond in your photo's?? :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted March 13, 2009 Way to go Fellas! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willhunt4coues Report post Posted March 13, 2009 Thats sounds like a relaxing time in the hills. Thanks for sharing and great find. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZantlerhead Report post Posted March 13, 2009 Nice to know others are looney enough about sheds to go on overnight backcountry pack trips for um . The head is a consolation prize . In my experiences it can take 3 days to " crack the code" in an area for sheds. sometimes not. But don't rule out the area just because of 1 shedless trip. There could be a ridge loaded with bone just around the bend . Nice coues country! Die hard shed hunting there. A+ for effort Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimmer Negamanee Report post Posted March 14, 2009 Beautiful country! Also, what kind of backpacking tents do you use? Those look handy for keeping you dry and keeping the scorpions out of your bedroll. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Archer Report post Posted March 14, 2009 Thats cool man. good job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted March 14, 2009 So how big were the bass in that little pond in your photo's?? :D Yes, I am curious about this too!!! Looks big enough to hold some fish and back in the country enough that it doesn't get fished.... Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
