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So much for 3rd times the charm! Went back to DG335 again for 3 days. This was the 3rd trip to that area. Took Zodiac across Trail Lake (Moose Pass). Got stuck in the middle of the lake. The previous posters were very accurate. The water depth went from 60 feet to 6 inches right in the middle of the lake! Wish I could've taken a pic with me walking on water. Either way, made it to where I wanted to go. Set up camp. Next day, partly cloudy, beautiful fall day! Climbed up 4000 feet up the south facing slope facing the RR tracks. Many posters said there would be goats there. Nope. I've spent a total of 9 days hunting DG335. I saw a total of 2 goats that were completely inaccessible. F&G may want to think twice about opening the unit up for draw or registration hunt. I've covered miles of this area. Can't find the goats anywhere. I did see 2 black bears sharing the same berry patch as me up around the 4000 foot mark. One was easily 8 foot ! HE WAS FRIGGIN' HUGE ! ! ! I could have easily shot him..but how do I get that bear down the slope by myself. Personally, I would've salvaged the meat, but it was getting late. Unfortunately, I didn't head down the mountain soon enough and got stuck up there after dark. Went down the wrong chute. Fell a couple times. Had a LED headlamp that allowed me to see about 5 feet in front of my face. That's about it. It was slow going coming down. I got off that mountain at 1 am in the morning. Bout 20 degrees by that time. I almost just started a survival fire just to keep warm but I figured I'd give it a try coming down. The key is...I didn't panic! The bear sign was everywhere. It was thick as you can get. Even steeper than that. Good thing I didn't run into any bears in the middle of the night. Would've gotten really ugly! I must have counted over 50 piles of bear scat just on the RR tracks themselves. I also was almost humped by a horny bull moose. On my way out I heard a bull calling and thrashing. I waited by the tracks for him to come out. He charged out about 15 yards from me ! He stood there looking at me. He wasn't happy at all. He wasn't legal. 2 brow tines on one side, missing antler on the other side. BUt he was a BIG BODIED animal. I was wondering if I had to shoot him out of DLP what would I have to do? I sure as heck couldn't begin to cart him 10 miles out to turn into F&G. That was an impossibility. Good thing he decided to turn and walk away. As everybody has said, GOAT hunting should not be done solo. That was as close to death as I've ever been on a hunt. The only thing that kept me alive was not panicking. I've got a pretty cool head (former cop, and former Jarhead). Anybody thinking about putting in for DG335 next year better think twice. I'm awful glad I got the permit, but there are not many goats out there at all. If anybody is looking for Blackies, you are in the right area. East end of Trail Lake. Follow the valley all the way out to Trail Glacier. If you want a Blackie, you'll get one there. I will post pics of my unsuccessful try at goats later on.
Sorry... the only moral to this story was that not every hunt is successful.
Johnny
Sorry... the only moral to this story was that not every hunt is successful.
Johnny
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