When I booked my Alaska mountain goat hunt, I knew full well it would be a difficult, physically challenging trip. Hal LaPointe of Far North Adventures in Anchorage, Alaska runs mountain goat hunts in the Puget Bay area of the Prince William Sound. After getting his name from a friend, I called Huntin’ Fool and inquired if they had any knowledge of him. It turned out he was one of their Endorsed Outfitters and runs a quality camp. I contacted Hal and was happy with everything I heard.
Hal prefers two hunters in camp and encouraged me to find a friend to accompany me on the trip. Enter Nathan “Ray” Raymond from San Diego, California. Ray’s wife follows me on Facebook and had been showing him a lot of my hunting photos. Ray had never hunted before but was interested in getting started. After a couple phone conversations, Ray told me he’d like to try a hunting trip, so I mentioned I was looking for someone to accompany me to Alaska and he was all over it. He asked me if I would mind mentoring him to get him started. Always eager to help new hunters get started, I was happy to do so.
I boarded my flight in New Jersey and headed to Anchorage. When I landed, Ray was waiting for me. Hal and assistant guide Billy Michna picked us up, and the following day, we were loading a Beaver floatplane for our journey into the Alaska wilderness. We flew out over the ocean and then gently landed on the picturesque lake where the base camp was. As soon as we settled in, Hal was right behind the spotting scope, surveying the surrounding mountains in search of white gold. It was unusually warm, so there wasn’t much activity during midday. Early mornings and right before dark, white dots would magically appear on the ledges and rocks. Most were up very high and far off.
We had a couple days until opening day, so we continued to glass and enjoy our time in base camp. The water level in the lake was lower than in the past, and this was attracting the black bears down to the shores. Hal was adamant that he would like us to shoot a bear if the opportunity presented itself. He said the goat population was suffering, especially the nannies and kids. One evening, we took the Zodiac and cruised across the lake to explore a low area where bears might be. We walked up the beach and into the woods. As we walked out of the woods back onto the beach, Billy hushed us saying, “Bear!” I tried to get Ray to take the shot, but he wasn’t able to get his rifle ready quick enough. With the bear looking like he was ready to bolt any second, I shouldered my gun and made the shot. It ran only 40 yards and I had my black bear tag filled before ever leaving base camp.
Soon, it was time to head up the mountain to set up spike camp at the top. With rifle in hand and about 35-40 pounds on my back, we began our ascent. Six hours after leaving base camp, we arrived at the top. We set up the tent on the mountaintop in a spot that offered a little protection from the wind. We had a Mountain House dinner and settled in early in preparation for our morning hunt.
At 8:00, we walked out of camp to start our search. Within 50 yards of the tent, Hal announced, “Goat!” I walked up beside him and saw the billy walking a ridge below me, headed in my direction. Hal indicated that he was a good one, and I settled into a rock formation for a shot. I sat watching through my scope as the goat walked from 250 yards to 180 yards, well within my comfort zone. If I knocked him down right there, the retrieval would be rather easy. He was on the edge of an open bowl. He started looking like he was going to go over the side ridge, so Hal whispered, “Take him now.”
I heard the thud of the impact after squeezing the trigger, but rather than drop in the open bowl, he lunged up and over the ridge to the other side. We quickly ran to a point where we might see him come out. That’s when we got a look at what we were in for. The other side of that ridge was a sheer drop-off toward the cliffs above the ocean. The angle of the canyon was approximately 50-60 degrees. We walked the ridgeline down to where we saw him go in and managed to get another look at him in the canyon below. A follow-up shot dropped him, but this was going to be rough.
We tied paracord to a tree and held on with one hand as we scaled down about 75 feet. From there, Hal walked down one side and I walked/slid down the other. He was a little higher than me and yelled that the goat should be right below me. I spotted some white through all the brush, and as I got about 10 feet away, the goat exploded out and went another 100 yards down the canyon. Hal came over, and we made our way to him a second time. This time, my gun was in hand and I put another round in him. We sat waiting for him to expire, but with one last push of will, he threw himself down the canyon again. This time, he was dead when he stopped. We had to tie one of the goat’s legs to a shrub to prevent him from sliding further. It was here that we tried to get some photos, skin off his hide, and cut up the meat. We got it done and loaded our packs.
I couldn’t be happier with the animal I shot. He measured 9 1/2" on both sides. His horns placed him in the top five Hal has taken off the mountain in the past 30 years, and his body size was in the top three. He officially scored 47" B&C.
We got word from below that Ray had taken a twin bear of mine off the beach earlier that day and they were on their way up. They walked into camp at about 8:00. In the morning, it was raining and the fog rolled in, making it impossible for them to hunt. The following morning, Hal and I broke camp, loaded our packs, and started off down the mountain. Ray and Billy set out looking for Ray’s trophy. Later that evening, we got word that Ray had shot a nice goat.
I can’t say enough how much I would recommend Hal and Billy and how truly blessed I feel to have shared this time in what is arguably one of the most beautiful places in the world. Thank you, Dad, for making me a hunter.
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