For many years, I have been fascinated with the stories describing mountain goat hunts, their habitat and the spectacular scenery of the alpine environment. I have always loved the mountains and have hunted sheep in various ranges in North America, Asia, and Europe.
A majority of the hunting books and videos are about whitetail deer, and most hunters love them, but it is not the stuff most western hunters dream about or the kind of material that intrigues big game hunters the way reading tales and viewing videos about hunting in the mountains does. Mountain hunts are tough but very rewarding, just look through the pages of Huntin’ Fool.
After 18 years of applying in Wyoming for mountain goat, I eventually drew a tag in 2019. Only another sheep tag would have gotten me as excited and thankful as this tag. When I found out about my successful draw, I was on vacation in South America, but I went to work immediately and the preparation began.
In January 2018, I started my fitness and hiking program in anticipation of some priceless and challenging tags. You see, I have been a Huntin’ Fool member since what feels like forever and have applied in 10 western states for premium tags for 24 years. I knew my time was coming to draw some coveted tags. In total, I had logged 750 miles of hiking in the past 18 months, but I was still a bit apprehensive about the difficulty of my goat hunt at the age of 69. After searching the pages of past issues of Huntin’ Fool and consulting with several friends and experts, I followed Robert Hanneman’s suggestion and contacted James (Jimmy) Owens of Lost Creek Outfitters and we discussed the logistics and my physical condition. The date was set to meet at his lodge on October 10th in Cody, Wyoming. During the 18-hour drive to Cody, I?kept thinking of the great fortune to have drawn many once-in-a-lifetime tags already, including four sheep, bison, moose, and other premium tags.
The first day of our hunt, we had low clouds, snow, and low visibility. We scouted close to the lodge and decided to ride in the next day. Our team consisted of Jimmy, BJoe, Cameron, Grant, and me. They prepared 10 horses and mules and off we went to goat country in the North Absaroka Wilderness of the famous Shoshone National Forest. We spotted a couple of ewes and a ram several miles away. When I looked closer, I saw a nice billy feeding close to the sheep. We confirmed it with the spotter, got on the horses, closed the distance by a couple of miles, and started to climb. After a grueling two and a half hours of vertical climbing, we found six or seven females and kids, but the billy had given us the slip. Few places in North America are more beautiful in the fall than high mountain country where air and water are clear and pure.
The following day, another resident goat hunter joined us and our team packed for an extended stay deep inside the wilderness. The camp location had a very interesting history. It is called Buffalo Bill Cody’s Elk Camp. Apparently, some dignitaries have also camped there to hunt elk in the valley in years gone by. After setting up camp, we had a few hours to ride to the base of the mountain and start glassing the peaks for goats. The mountain and its cliffs were so steep that the wind had swept the snow from most of it. Soon, we spotted a lone goat. It was a big billy with a massive body, and he was in an impossible, nasty cliff top.
That afternoon and over the next two and a half days, we tried several times to climb from different ridges to get within shooting distance of this billy. However, every time, we got to the base of some nasty cliffs and could go no further due to impassible cliffs and icy rocks. When we think of sheep habitat, we think of the roughest terrain, which they inhabit, but it is not. That is the second roughest habitat with the goats occupying the parts even the sheep don’t dare traverse.
The weather got worse as the temperatures dropped to single digits and we had no visibility due to snow and low clouds. We moved camp again several miles into the wilderness. At times, we were so cold that only a nice, big fire was able to keep us from freezing. Then, we got a break in the weather and went to a new location where BJoe spotted several goats with a billy in the bunch. That was Gary’s last day of hunting, and after a great stalk, he had his billy. We saw several moose, elk, sheep, and grizzlies. Recent wolf tracks were visible on every trail in every canyon.
We tried several new locations within the wilderness despite bad visibility and extreme cold. This was a very early winter for Wyoming in October. I was frustrated and worried that we would not get a chance at a billy and I would miss my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but we did not slow down or lose momentum.
On the fourteenth day of my hunt, we got a break in the weather again and spotted some goats from several miles away in new country. The next morning, we saddled up at 4 a.m., and using a different drainage, we got to the general area and found them again. We got ready and started to climb at 7:30 a.m., and after a grueling hike, we found them at about 800 yards from where they were the day before. I cannot describe how, but Cameron had managed to get us up some scary and nasty precipitous cliffs and now we were closing the gap between us and the goats. We marched carefully in plain view of the 12-13 goats and slowly crossed the steep, snow-covered slopes. At times, we were using some cliffs and rocks as cover to get even closer. We finally got set up at 335 yards. It was 12:20 p.m. BJoe was behind the spotter, and Cameron was by my side, helping me get set up on our packs. There was only one billy in this bunch. He was behind some stunted trees, and Cameron wanted to make sure that he would be positioned perfectly for my shot and that if I hit him we could recover him. I had the billy in the scope, and I was thinking how blessed I was to be there in that moment. After the shot, the billy dropped in a hole behind some giant boulders and rocks. All of the goats were still standing around, but it was time for a group hug and high fives.
The billy had a magnificent coat and was very symmetrical. He was 9 years old with 5 1/8" bases and 9" long. Goats are truly the masters of the nasty cliff?? I had done it, but I didn’t do it alone. During my 15 days of hunting, I was proud to have been with Jimmy, BJoe, Cameron, and the rest of his team. I was in good hands. Thank you!
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