Ethan Ruby

Mountain Goat Quest Part 1: The Hike

Pursuing game in the mountains, for many hunters, is the peak combination of challenging and rewarding. The hunt, demanding in its nature, cannot be replicated in any other form. For this reason, many hunters go every year in pursuit of this awe-inspiring wilderness adventure. This summer I was invited to tag along on such a hunt. A four-day backpack hunt into some rugged country for mountain goats.

With a little over a month to go until the season opener, we started planning. Studying aerial maps of the landscape, we planned a route into where we thought we should be. We spent the next month gaining and testing our gear, trying to check all our boxes.

In the mountains, as I learned the year before; weight and weather are your enemies. Every ounce on your back takes a toll on your body and every item must be taken into consideration. Does its value to the hunt make it worth the weight? The weather only amplifies the misery a heavy pack brings on you. Rain, sleet, and snow can demoralize a hunt; leading to second-guessing and failure all together.

After a failed bid the year before, I was excited to learn a new area and create new chances. With the gear packed, and a plan put in place, we set out north, nervous and excited for what lied ahead. As we made the ascent up the highway, we talked about what a successful trip would look like to us. The conclusion was that making our way into our camping location without fail would equal our success. “Let’s just see something” was the sediment leading into the first morning.

A midnight truck sleep was in order as we reached our location. Six hours later, we were on the trail. Immediately I thought, “What did I get myself into” as my pack dug into my shoulders. Slight panic set in, as we maneuvered our way up a creek. Around the 45 minute mark of our hike, the rocky mountain peaks started to show themselves in the distance.

Now thinking before the hunt, we both figured goats were “easy” to spot. Big white blobs on a mountain face must be easy. Little did we know how wrong that could be. White rocks constantly caught our attention, only to be let down once we got the glass out. Around the hour mark, we spotted a nice rock bluff in the distance, and immediately I knew that the white specs were not rocks. “There's goats!” I loudly proclaimed. We broke out the spotting scope and were enthralled to have spotted a large group of nannies with what appeared to be three billies, all bedded among the rock. Prematurely, the celebration started as we studied the mountain face.

Unbeknownst to us, this was just the start of a trip to remember! Tune in next week for part 2!