"Yearling" spot n stalk black bear (Final on 9/21)

chinook907 · August 03, 2009, 11:16:00 PM

It's finally August again and time to climb the hills around here looking for black bears.

Hiked up a local trail that gained me ~2,000', well above the brush, and started glassing for black bears, hoping to find one grazing on this years berry crop.

Nothing spotted so after a bit, headed along the ridgeline I'm on for an hour or two, stopping and glassing here & there, head on a swivel always looking.

Nice day, mid-60's, very warm for here with the sun, pretty sweaty when I'm climbing.

Heres a pic of some of where I'm going.

And looking back over my shoulder, some of where I've been.

chinook907 · August 03, 2009, 11:22:00 PM

Have been seeing a lot of juvenile ptarmigan up high this year when hiking for exercise, season opens for them in about a week, I'll start bringing some blunts then. Pretty decent eating, the young ones especially can be quite good.

Heres a pic of one of them, still in his summer camo (not sure what the ptarmigan call their summer camo pattern, probably something like "can't see me in the rocks" !). We have 3 species here, can't tell for sure if this guy is a rock ptarmigan or willow ptarmigan.

chinook907 · August 03, 2009, 11:29:00 PM

Guess its time to get back to the title of the thread.

Late in the evening I finally spotted a very nice bear, a bit over a mile from me, but could tell right away he was plenty big. Too far to go for as little daylight as I had left, but I've got a plan for next time...

Almost hate to post this but if you zoom in to the middle of the pic, in the white stuff just this side of and near the left end of the thin brush line you'll see a black spot, thats him (don't squint too hard).

chinook907 · August 03, 2009, 11:36:00 PM

Watched him for 10-15 minutes then he moved off into some brush.

Also saw a small bear a few hundred yards from this one, he also moved off after a few minutes (I'll spare you the too-distant photo).

Got to be time to start back, again, looking and glassing along the way but no more bears.

Better throw in a picture of my widow, PSAX in osage, off the side of the trail on the way down.

Game over for now, Take 2 will be late this week.

Big Ed · August 04, 2009, 12:14:00 AM

Cool pics, someday hope to enjoy the Alaska Wilderness

Benny Nganabbarru · August 04, 2009, 03:02:00 AM

Magnificent country! Thanks for sharing your outing! All the best!

Talondale · August 04, 2009, 09:38:00 AM

That fireweed is beautiful and brings back memories. Thanks for sharing.

saltwatertom · August 04, 2009, 12:13:00 PM

Chinook907, what area are you in?

chinook907 · August 04, 2009, 09:02:00 PM

Soldotna.

D. Devall · August 04, 2009, 09:30:00 PM

yup. that pretty much sums it up. moveing to alaska! :D

chinook907 · August 10, 2009, 10:13:00 PM

Gave it another go a few days ago. No shooting, just more sweat & long hikes. Saw 2 bears again, one small one and the other likely the same big one as before. Pic of the little one, he was right at my usual glassing spot, on the move as soon as I saw him. Pretty close, hundred yards away or so.

A short clip of him moving off...

Me on the hill, waiting for a chance...

I'll take another crack at it again later this week. See ya.

Tim

Forrest Creature 1 · August 10, 2009, 11:04:00 PM

The only thing missing from that pic on the mountain was "ME"

thanks for the great pics

NorthernCaliforniaHunter · August 10, 2009, 11:31:00 PM

Stunning! Can't wait to see the bear propping up your bow!

chinook907 · September 21, 2009, 09:23:00 PM

Haven't updated this in awhile. Changed the thread name, original said something about "stew". Changed it to yearling etc, as this is my second fall with a recurve, guess that makes me a yearling (was a newbie last Fall).

Anyway, been burning up a lot of Saturdays, powdered gatorade, granola bars, and bagel sandwiches climbing and stalking bears here, missed one a week ago Saturday under 20 yards, think my fletching hit the boulder I was crouched behind, as I saw my arrow sailing over the bears back, sideways... Live and learn.

But I got back at it again this past Saturday...

chinook907 · September 21, 2009, 09:29:00 PM

Hiked/climbed a couple hours until I got to the base of the slope where I missed a bear last Saturday. Waited and glassed for a few minutes, then there he was again, same bear, fairly close to where he was last week.

Thats him in all his glory, the black spot near the middle.

Pic is misleading, I'm zoomed way in with the camera and theres a lot of cliff & slope below him.

chinook907 · September 21, 2009, 09:33:00 PM

Decided he wasn't stalkable where he was at; poured a quart of gatorade and a sandwich into me as I watched him.

It was early in the day, so I went past him, climbed up and topped out, looking for bears elsewhere.

I'd put him in my pocket for now, maybe later in the day he'd be in a better spot...

chinook907 · September 21, 2009, 09:40:00 PM

Real nice on top, saw a few sheep, including a ewe with just one horn. Wonder what happened to the old gal.

Saw a couple ptarmigan, swapped heads out on one of my arrows and got them both.
How a guy can miss a bear completely but hit a ptarmigan is beyond me.

Here's a pic, I think these are whitetail ptarmigan (honest, its a species), hard for me to tell when they're not completely white yet.
I need to look it up in my bird book.

Thats my new 'sticker that our own Lin Rhea made, it is a beauty, brings me some comfort knowing its on my hip. Works great on game & game birds too.

chinook907 · September 21, 2009, 09:47:00 PM

Well, I was still looking for something larger than a bird but was wasn't seeing anything.

Started heading back the way I came, still on top.

Was about to head down the cut I had hiked up in when I spotted another bear, not real big but ok.

Watched him for a minute or two and he disappeared into the alder.

It was time to start heading down.

chinook907 · September 21, 2009, 09:52:00 PM

As I headed down I decided the wind was right and I had time to sneak & peak, sidehilling, along the hillside I had seen bear #1. I went from one spine to another & peaked... nothing.

Up to the next... nothing.

After 3 or 4 spines I thought, that's as far as I'm going; I had about 3 hours of light left and about 3 hours of hiking to get to the road.

I sat for a moment, drawing on another quart of gatorade, and then, hoo-boy, bear #1 comes over the next spine, above me but heading my way, silhoutted on the spine.

chinook907 · September 21, 2009, 10:10:00 PM

I waited until he was looking the other way; put my water bottle away, fetched up my bow, and slid down the side of my spine that was away from the bear.

I picked a spot up the slope to hike to that would put me even on the slope with the bear, but I would be out of sight as I moved.

They say one secular definition of hope is a quiver full of arrows; I had that.
The wind was right.
I had a good stout bow in my hands.
A great big 'sticker on my hip.
And enough confidence in using all of the above to get me moving upslope.

Game on.