billrquimby Report post Posted September 9, 2007 Is it just me, or do others also think there are more mule deer running around in units 1 and 27 than there have been for a long time? It wasn't that long ago that I could drive out of my cabin in Greer to look for elk and see only one or two deer per seven or eight trips. This summer it's been rare that I have not seen at least a dozen deer each time I drive the same routes. I saw five forked-horn bucks in one group last week. There's still a long way to go before it's like it was in the 1960s, but it's been a long time since I've seen that many bucks together on this mountain. I'm also seeing a lot of does with twin fawns. I really believe the tree thinning the forest service is doing up here is improving habitat for deer. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jim Report post Posted September 9, 2007 I live in eagar and I do not share your thoughts. I have been wood cutting in the pats knoll area and have not seen a deer in 6 trips so far. I do see the deer around greer however I see those deer year round. Most of the guys I have talked to about archery deer this year have seen very few deer. Some have seen several nice bucks but not as many as they normally do. I hope the winter can add to this rain fall we have had so far and maybe this drought can break and give these deer what they need to really kick start the herds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted September 9, 2007 I live in eagar and I do not share your thoughts. I have been wood cutting in the pats knoll area and have not seen a deer in 6 trips so far. I do see the deer around greer however I see those deer year round. Most of the guys I have talked to about archery deer this year have seen very few deer. Some have seen several nice bucks but not as many as they normally do. I hope the winter can add to this rain fall we have had so far and maybe this drought can break and give these deer what they need to really kick start the herds. Jim, I haven't been up Water Canyon to Pat Knoll this year, but I can tell you deer numbers around Pole Knoll, Iris Springs, Green's Peak, Udall Meadow, the Sawmill, old PS Ranch, etc. sure seem to have been increasing the last couple of years. It's been a while since I've seen a "nice" buck, though. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazy4COUES Report post Posted September 10, 2007 It has to be the archery hunters! dang those guys are killing all the deer. JK, I have to agree, the areas that have deer seem to have a greater number than in the past. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted September 10, 2007 My first vacation in the White Moutains I was 6 months old, and my mom let me get sunburnt something fierce. Been kicking around that country every since, helped my dad build a home up there in the late 70's. Now I spend Christmas up at Alpine, have been for the last 15 years. We drive the roads alot and look for game. Do some hiking looking for antlers now and then. It is a family thing. About 10 years ago it seemed that the elk had just taken over, everywhere we went, elk everywhere and very few deer. Just this past year we saw fewer elk on our drives and remarkably, we saw quite a few deer. I would tend to believe that what we have seen over the last 15 years is a cycle of some sort. Used to see alot of deer, the elk moved in, and then it appears that there might be a swing in favor of the deer. We actually did see a Mexican Gray Wolf one trip, right there by Old Beaverhead Lodge Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted September 10, 2007 I forgot to mention another point of intrest, and those of you who have been fishing and hunting and camping up in the White Mountain area know this is true. In the mid 70's, you almost had to drive up to Reservation Lake, up underneath Baldy to see an elk. Deer on the otherhand you could see down lower, and nice big deer too. I'm not saying that we have come full circle on the deer numbers, but I will say that I think things are on the upswing. At least for that area.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted September 10, 2007 We actually did see a Mexican Gray Wolf one trip, right there by Old Beaverhead Lodge Is that lodge still operating?? -TONY Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted September 10, 2007 No, it fell to a rubble and then a land developer came in and cleaned up the mess. Course, now there are some very expensive looking homes going in just down the meadow from there. The one place is just beautiful, has a barn and stalls for horses, etc. But.....I fear it is just the begining Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted September 10, 2007 No, it fell to a rubble and then a land developer came in and cleaned up the mess. Course, now there are some very expensive looking homes going in just down the meadow from there. The one place is just beautiful, has a barn and stalls for horses, etc. But.....I fear it is just the begining Aaa, OK. I thought that was the case, but your comment almost made it sound as if it still existed. So it got me to wondering. Thanks. -TONY Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted September 10, 2007 Sorry about that , still living in the yesterday, people who drive through there now don't even know that place existed. My dad used to take care of a church campgound over by Buffalo Crossing. Brentwood is the name of the camp. Have driven that old 666 hundreds of times between taking care of that camp and looking for animals. We play animal bingo with the kids, make up a card and then go driving. We have actually located the bighorn sheep in that area over the last few Christmas's there. Man, they are beautiful animals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted September 10, 2007 Sorry about that , still living in the yesterday,... I spent a lot of time up in that area in the 1960s and early 1970s. My first AZ elk permit in the late 1960s was in unit 1. I haven't been around Alpine or Hannagan's Meadow in many, many years. Closest I've been is Big Lake a few years ago, but we got there from the other road off the reservation. These are three pix from Big Lake, circa 1968-69. -TONY Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted September 10, 2007 In the late 60's early 70's we only fished the Little Colorado right there in Greer, we never went lake fishing until the summer my dad started building his summer home there in Alpine. Then, if there weren't any black, black clouds in the sky to the west we would head to Big Lake and fish from the bank on the back side. They have since built a boat dock there and ruined the cove. Anyway, I grew up in southern New Mexico and didn't do any hunting in AZ until the early 80's. We hunted down in the lower part of 27 down by Maple peak and the Smoothing iron. Then I got way off up at Ash Fork and got introduced to unit 10, that changed hunting for me. I became greedy, wanted a bigger buck every season and enjoyed the heck out of trying to find one great big buck to hang and finally got a fairly respectible mulie, nothing record breaking or such, but big in my book. Now I am back in the White Mountain area, I still put in for unit 10 first choice and then 27 second. I love unit 27..... Thanks for the pics, brings back such memories, the old zebco 303......and look...oars for the boat, nice...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazy4COUES Report post Posted September 10, 2007 I enjoyed reading the posts. Just good folks sharing good times, THANKS! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted September 10, 2007 Thanks for the pics, brings back such memories, the old zebco 303......and look...oars for the boat, nice...... I think the reel on my son's pole was a 202. And yes, we all slept in that 8x10 Camel tent back then. He'll turn 43 next month. The one in the boat with me will be 46 next May. This is the younger of the two about two years ago. -TONY This one was on the beach at Point Lobos, Mex. His mother told him not to get too close to the water. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted September 10, 2007 You did your boys right by getting them up there, looks like they are carrying on the tradition. I gotta run, will have more later, thanks Tony. Jeff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
