flinginairos
WKR
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2017
- Location
- WV
WARNING. Long story ahead. Feel free to skip and look at pics if you want
Wow. Where do I even begin on this hunt? It all started with the idea between three buddies to hunt mulies in Wyoming. No idea why we decided on Wyo but when I was asked if I wanted to do it I quickly answered YES! We started getting preference points in hopes of drawing a good unit one day. Fast forward six years and we had accumulated some points but no idea where to go. The idea of a high country hunt had always appealed to me and we started looking into Region G. We really had no gear and no plan so we started getting some stuff together and started training for the demands a hunt like this can dish out. Time slipped away from us and we found ourselves with 8 points going into the draw. We figured now or never it was time to apply! I wasn’t sure if we would draw or not but I ramped up my training, packing weight up and down hills as many times as possible several times a week. My backpacking gear was dialed in and I felt pretty good about the hunt. When the draw came out and I saw the words “successful” it began to get real! I hit the training even harder and so did my buddies. We tweaked and swapped gear and started pouring over maps trying to find some spots to hunt.
Finally after years of waiting it was time to roll out and head West for our first western hunt, first backpack hunt and first time ever chasing mulies.
We had the truck packed and on the road by 12pm Wednesday and drove straight through without issue.
We arrived in Wyoming right at daylight Thursday and I couldn’t help but stare off into the sage brush looking for critters. Tons and tons of antelope and even a moose as we got closer to our area.
Finally, in the distance we could see the Wind River range on the right and the Wyoming range on the left. The closer we got the more surreal it seemed. We got close to the trailhead we had picked and couldn’t help but stop and take several pics along the way. Just absolutely beautiful!
We arrived to the trailhead and saw a couple trucks but nothing bad. We had planned to camp at the trailhead to acclimate to the higher alititude but within 20 minutes we were hiking up the mountain! Lol. We quickly realized we had better find a place to camp and take it easy and not overdue it the first night. We made it half way up and found a nice flat bench on the side of the mountain to set the SeekOutside LBO up.
As dark approached a bull ripped a bugle somewhere on the mountainside. This is what it’s all about!
At daylight we were up and hiking with plans to get to the top and start glassing for some bucks. We made the steep climb and the training definitely helped, but we all ran out of air pretty quick!
Once we hit the top we found a great place to camp and headed out to hopefully find water and some bucks to go after on the opener!
It was early afternoon and hot and dry. We hiked out to the water hole I had marked on the map only to find it was extremely muddy. We glassed a little bit and didn’t see anything so we headed black to camp for a bit.
About 4:00pm we headed black to glass and try to figure out the water situation. As we crested a steep ridge I looked up into a rocky chute and spotted a STUD buck standing 500 yards away! He was just feeding with no clue we were there. As we watched him my buddy looked down and noticed an elk track full of water! A seep right on the side of the mountain was flowing with just enough water to pump our bags full after digging a hole out with a small rock as a shovel and our bare hands. Perfect! Water and a big buck to go after!
Two other smaller bucks joined the big one and we decided to sneak out and glass another area close to camp. Within ten minutes I had spotted another shooter buck! A solid 4x4 with a dark rack.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wow. Where do I even begin on this hunt? It all started with the idea between three buddies to hunt mulies in Wyoming. No idea why we decided on Wyo but when I was asked if I wanted to do it I quickly answered YES! We started getting preference points in hopes of drawing a good unit one day. Fast forward six years and we had accumulated some points but no idea where to go. The idea of a high country hunt had always appealed to me and we started looking into Region G. We really had no gear and no plan so we started getting some stuff together and started training for the demands a hunt like this can dish out. Time slipped away from us and we found ourselves with 8 points going into the draw. We figured now or never it was time to apply! I wasn’t sure if we would draw or not but I ramped up my training, packing weight up and down hills as many times as possible several times a week. My backpacking gear was dialed in and I felt pretty good about the hunt. When the draw came out and I saw the words “successful” it began to get real! I hit the training even harder and so did my buddies. We tweaked and swapped gear and started pouring over maps trying to find some spots to hunt.
Finally after years of waiting it was time to roll out and head West for our first western hunt, first backpack hunt and first time ever chasing mulies.
We had the truck packed and on the road by 12pm Wednesday and drove straight through without issue.
We arrived in Wyoming right at daylight Thursday and I couldn’t help but stare off into the sage brush looking for critters. Tons and tons of antelope and even a moose as we got closer to our area.
Finally, in the distance we could see the Wind River range on the right and the Wyoming range on the left. The closer we got the more surreal it seemed. We got close to the trailhead we had picked and couldn’t help but stop and take several pics along the way. Just absolutely beautiful!
We arrived to the trailhead and saw a couple trucks but nothing bad. We had planned to camp at the trailhead to acclimate to the higher alititude but within 20 minutes we were hiking up the mountain! Lol. We quickly realized we had better find a place to camp and take it easy and not overdue it the first night. We made it half way up and found a nice flat bench on the side of the mountain to set the SeekOutside LBO up.
As dark approached a bull ripped a bugle somewhere on the mountainside. This is what it’s all about!
At daylight we were up and hiking with plans to get to the top and start glassing for some bucks. We made the steep climb and the training definitely helped, but we all ran out of air pretty quick!
Once we hit the top we found a great place to camp and headed out to hopefully find water and some bucks to go after on the opener!
It was early afternoon and hot and dry. We hiked out to the water hole I had marked on the map only to find it was extremely muddy. We glassed a little bit and didn’t see anything so we headed black to camp for a bit.
About 4:00pm we headed black to glass and try to figure out the water situation. As we crested a steep ridge I looked up into a rocky chute and spotted a STUD buck standing 500 yards away! He was just feeding with no clue we were there. As we watched him my buddy looked down and noticed an elk track full of water! A seep right on the side of the mountain was flowing with just enough water to pump our bags full after digging a hole out with a small rock as a shovel and our bare hands. Perfect! Water and a big buck to go after!
Two other smaller bucks joined the big one and we decided to sneak out and glass another area close to camp. Within ten minutes I had spotted another shooter buck! A solid 4x4 with a dark rack.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk