Ron G. Report post Posted March 25, 2009 It is springtime again, and that means several things, warmer weather, fishing, turkey season, shed season, and oh yeah, spring bear season! Once again, CMC, Packer, and I headed out to some Arizona backcountry in search of Yogi. This was the third annual trip that the three of us have done. All three trips have been backcountry backpacking bear hunts. The last two years we headed down south. In 2007, Chris drew the tag and got his bear. In 2008, Aaron had drawn a spring bear tag. Although he didn’t get a bear that spring, he got one in the fall. This year, with a change in the regulations, several units had over the counter spring bear tags. It was decided I would be the ‘shooter’ this year and I would get the opportunity to pack the rifle. Not to spoil the story early, but even though I didn’t get a bear, it was an enjoyable and memorable trip into some awesome, seldom traveled country. Even though we didn’t even see a bear (or any fresh sign), we saw lots of wildlife and the hunt almost turned more into a backcountry shed hunt, as sheds were more prevalent than the bears seemed to be… I’ll try to keep this short winded and let the pictures tell the story as much as possible. Almost anyone who’s hunted with me knows I like to take a lot of pictures, and this trip was no different. Aaron also snapped many pictures and as usual, Chris will post up some video when time permits. Due to time constraints (mainly mine) we decided to pack in a couple of days prior to the season to check the country out and do some glassing and try to locate a bear and keep an eye on him until the season started on March 20th. If we crossed paths with a lion before bear season started, that would work also, as we also all carried lion tags. Day 1: Spirits were high as we loaded up the packs and hit the trail we were hoping the recent above average highs would have some bears out of their dens and moving about. Our plan was to start high and work our way down low. We had spent the early part of the day shuttling vehicles, so we got a somewhat late start. Up high we still encountered some snow. Not much, but enough that we were confident there would be abundant water sources. We stopped a couple of times to glass and were fortunate enough to get a quick glance of our first band of sheep before they moved over a ridge top. Spotting some lion scrapes, droppings, and tracks, made us feel optimistic about our chances of seeing a lion. Putting in a short day we made camp and made plans for the next day. Some last light glassing showed some mule deer bedded and feeding on the north side of a parallel ridge. As in previous trips, we carried everything we’d need on our backs. Chris and Aaron slept in their OR bivy sacks, and I used a Big Agnes SL1 single man tent. Chris and Aaron carried their Badlands 4500 packs. I used my older Arc’Teryx Bora 80 pack. We all used lightweight sleeping bags, lightweight sleeping pads, and other lightweight gear. In order to be fairly close to accessible water, our first nights camp was pretty tight quarters. Chris found out the first night that subconsciously in order to save weight he’d accidently left a days worth of food out of his pack. Aaron was kind enough to share some Ramen noodles he’d brought for the first night. All the other nights we all had double serving Mountain House freeze dried meals. Breakfasts consisted of oatmeal and lunches were predominantly bagels with peanut butter and honey spread out on them. Day 2: The second day found Chris afflicted with some stomach issues. We still carried through with our plan of hiking down the ridge we were camped off of and spent the day glassing from the many vantage points. Our first stop… Some of the beautiful country… Aaron glassing… Me glassing… Taking it in… Some deer on an adjoining ridge… The first shed… Glassing… Sheep… Picture time… Day 3: Opening day of bear season was finally upon us. We loaded up and with camp on our backs we worked our from calling position to glassing position and so on until we worked our way down to where we planned to camp the next night. This is where Aaron found his first (of many) sheds and it really started off the shed hunting bug. We set up camp and then hiked back up the main drainage to do some more calling, glassing, and shed hunting. In all, the day turned out much better for shed hunting than bear hunting. It was still an awesome day with deer and sheep being spotted throughout the day, even if the calling didn’t produce for us. First calling stand… Glassing… Deer below us… Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron G. Report post Posted March 25, 2009 More sheep… On the trail… First good find… Photo op… Lion track… Chris’s monster… 2nd of the day for Chris… Meeting back up with Aaron after taking separate ridges down to the bottom… The day’s collection… Day 4: Day 4 found us packing up once again and hitting the ‘trail’. We hiked up out of the bottom on one of the near vertical ridges leading to another main ridge above the bottom we spent the previous night in. We (mainly Aaron) were loaded down with extra water since we didn’t know about water availability at our next camp. This made the hike up even more enjoyable. While making our way up the ridge, we saw the biggest herd of deer on the trip. I believe Aaron counted 33. Deer… Hiking up… Taking a breather… Making camp… Even before we made it to our next night’s camp, Aaron started picking up more antlers. He even glassed one up on a nearby ridge. We trekked over to it and ate lunch and glassed from the nice view point. After that, we hiked down a ridge and glassed for a while into the bottoms. In the distance, the drainage outlet where the truck was waiting for us could be seen. More bone… Could these two be from the same bull (same side, different years)? Cooking dinner… Where Chris’s truck awaited us (at the base of the far off mountain)… Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron G. Report post Posted March 25, 2009 Nearby vantage point… Day 5: Day 5 started out with Aaron finding yet another mule deer antler, a nice brown 3 pt, not 100 yards from camp. Since we’d walked by that same location at least 3 other times before and hadn’t seen it, it made us wonder if it had been dropped the night before. Before dropping off the ridge into the drainage below, we stopped to glass and enjoy the big country one more time. About 700 yards across from us was a group of sheep. We enjoyed watching some of the young rams in the group butt heads and mess around. There was one lamb that seemed to enjoy picking fights. Aaron strapping on the bone… Sheep… Making our way down… Back at the truck… What was packed out… The rest of the hike out was pretty uneventful. Although we saw plenty of old bear sign from the fall, we never did find any fresh sign or tracks. We figured we had gone in too early in the year, but over all it was an awesome trip. I saw some country I’ve always wanted to check out, but hadn’t gotten the chance to visit yet. I already have a few trails in mind I’d like to check out more. Thanks Aaron and Chris for another great hunt! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted March 25, 2009 That was an awesome write up and great picture taking. You guys must be in pretty good shape. I enjoyed traveling along on your journey and thanks for sharing your story. Much appreciated! TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MuleyMan Report post Posted March 25, 2009 Are you kiddin' me Ron G? Partner..........yours is one of the best posts EVER on this forum............and I go back to.....ummmmmm..........several years past and another forum personality and username. Are you related to Scott Adams...........you both definitely have what it takes! Great pics of great country. Dang, I looked for a while at all of 'em. Elk sheds, bighorns, light loads, smiles, water-in-a-drought, stoves, burrrrrrrrrrs. Thanks. C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted March 25, 2009 Outstanding Gentlemen!! Thanks so much for the great pics and write-up. That's some serious country! I love seeing those CouesWhitetail.com shirts in action!! Great shed finds! That's a lot to add to your pack for the hike out! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ehunt Report post Posted March 25, 2009 wow great story!!!! sounds like an awesome adventure, thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunterdude Report post Posted March 25, 2009 Hey sounds like a great trip. Nice find on all the horns! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted March 25, 2009 I really enjoyed your hunt story and loved all the pictures. Thanks for thinking of us while out in the mountains. Pretty cool, all the game you were able to see, especially the sheep. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrismp51 Report post Posted March 25, 2009 Awesome pics and a great write up! I would love to get out and do some backcountry hiking/hunting. Those sheds make it a huge bonus. Well Done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kilimanjaro Report post Posted March 25, 2009 Very nice Ron!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZP&Y Report post Posted March 25, 2009 RG, Awesome-That's my kind of hunt and pack sytle- lightweight covering lots of ground. It's funny you posted this , I Signed off last night and thought , "boy haven't seen any spring bear hunts on cwt" and when I logged in this morning - your post. Excellent pics and whew talk about BONE FEVER! Thanks for sharing! Doug Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willhunt4coues Report post Posted March 25, 2009 Wow what a story it sounds like you all ejoyed yourselves. Thanks for sharing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cmc Report post Posted March 25, 2009 You guys must be in pretty good shape. TJ Ouch... coffee through the nose BURNS!!!! Now that's funny.... ....addictied to Advil is more suited. cmc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted March 25, 2009 Cool picture story of your trek through some steep and deep country. Did you come across any bear sign at all, or glass up any of the elk? Doug Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
