Men who Stare at ......

A few weeks ago, some friends and I ventured over to Kodiak Island for a chance of a lifetime, a combination Blacktailed Deer and Mountain Goat hunt. I have always heard that hunting Mountain Goat is a pretty hard hunt, and I would still agree. We selected what looked to be a promising location from the boat, and we were then dropped off on the beach, where we spotted several goats at the top of a peak. The terrain was steep, climbing 2,700 vertical feet in a little over two hours was difficult, especially given the thick underbrush we had to fight every step of the way. The crisp frozen air bit at our lungs as we progressed up beyond the snow line in pursuit of the goats. Our insulated coats, hats, and gloves quickly only became necessary to keep from becoming chilled when we would stop to rest as we continued to climb in just t-shirts or light jackets. Upon reaching the top of the peak we were climbing, we looked up and could see six or more goats looking down from the upper peaks some distance away. Somewhat discouraged that these might indeed be the very goats we had seen from down below, we continued to cross our peak on the chance that some goats were still at our level. Luckily we came across several goats making for the same high peaks and were able to take them. The hike down started out easily enough, but the afternoon sun had warmed the surface of the rocks and moss enough that our previously firm and stable route up the mountain now became slick and unpredictable, coupled with the extra weight of two goats in our packs we had to take our time to carefully pick our way down the mountain without injury. We managed to make it safely back down, the whole ordeal lasted only 7 hours from beach to mountain and back.

The next day we recuperated with a day of fishing, and then followed with two days of deer hunting. One afternoon while waiting for our boat to pick us up, we were entertained by watching water spouts (the equivalent of a miniature tornado or dust devil on the water). Between the four of us we left with two goats, seven deer, and a couple geese. One more thing to scratch off the bucket list.


Boats in Old Harbor, Alaska on Kodiak Island


Waiting for the illusive Sitka Black tailed Deer


Waterspouts


Halfway Up


Me and My Goat


Downward


Leaving