Sheep Hunting September 2012
Kyle and Geno decided to go up after a sheep. Geno had a tag, has been hunting sheep for 5 years now and this is his first harvest! Congrats Geno!!
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Monday, September 24, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
A MUST read for everyone.
This is a blog from the Prois Community written by Kristie Pike. It is a great read and everyone should take a look! Click on the link below:
From the ladies room...of bikinis and babes by Prois' Kristie Pike
From the ladies room...of bikinis and babes by Prois' Kristie Pike
Saturday, September 15, 2012
No Regrets
September 10-12, 2012
After my cousin and I said good bye, I decided to head of to
a different drainage to see if there were any Billy’s back there. This time I
was able to use my quad to cover more ground and save my energy for the hike.
After all morning of not seeing any goats, I decided to go to a look out point
were I could watch three different ridges. After 2 hours and a 20 min cat nap I
noticed something a little different, so I grabbed my spotting scope and took a
look. Bingo! Two goats, three quarters of the way up the mountain, but instead
of going after them I sat back to observe them and make sure they were Billy’s
and weren’t going anywhere. After an hour, both goats stood up out of their
beds and I knew they were mature animals. I land marked a rock I could get to
and my path up to them, then dropped everything but my pack, defender and bow
and was off. On my way up I noticed some fresh bear scat halfway up, but it
looked like the bear was heading off that ridge.
I had finished my dream and it was more than I could
have asked for. This hunt will always remind me, if you’re defeated in the mind,
you’re defeated in the body; live life with NO REGETS
Kyle
To live life with no regrets is no easy task. How many of
you have a dream of a certain animal that you would love to experience pursuing
with your bow? Mine is the majestic mountain goat. This summer I was lucky
enough for two reasons, one was drawing a tag for a goat close to home and two
was making a life change to get into shape to up my odds of harvesting my
dream. So, my journey began by running and lifting weights. With the mountains
in mind and a helpful, loving wife, on cardio days we would drive out to a bush
road. My wife would throw the dogs and I out so we could run 5 to 10 kms (I
think she was laughing at me most of the time) then throw out the targets and do
some shooting.
By the time Sept 9th
came around I was down 30 pounds ,
had done some backpack trips for scouting and was ready. The day before I was
to leave, my cousin called me in a panic to see if I wanted to help him with
his sheep because his partner rolled his ankle and couldn’t go with. Family
first, I was happy to help, he was only going to be out for two days then he
had to go home. So after a 17 km
bike ride up the road closure in the rain we finally got to his little hut and
thank goodness it was there cause it didn’t stop raining for 24 hours. We hunkered
down and lit a fire to dry our gear and got caught up on life.
In the morning we sat there spending our time watching
movies on my Iphone waiting for the rain to quit. At around six pm the rain had quit, but it was too late to make a
move up the mountain. We glassed till dark and had a good night sleep. In the
morning, our gear was dry and we were off, it took three hours of hard hiking
to get up where we would be able to hunt as long as we could. With my cousin
having to go back that day, time was of the essence. Because this area was also
my goat area, I was keeping tabs on all the goats in the area. We found a legal
ram but were unsuccessful on the stock. So after seeing 5 goats and a four and
a half km hike back to camp we packed up and rode our bikes back to the trucks.
After my cousin and I said good bye, I decided to head of to
a different drainage to see if there were any Billy’s back there. This time I
was able to use my quad to cover more ground and save my energy for the hike.
After all morning of not seeing any goats, I decided to go to a look out point
were I could watch three different ridges. After 2 hours and a 20 min cat nap I
noticed something a little different, so I grabbed my spotting scope and took a
look. Bingo! Two goats, three quarters of the way up the mountain, but instead
of going after them I sat back to observe them and make sure they were Billy’s
and weren’t going anywhere. After an hour, both goats stood up out of their
beds and I knew they were mature animals. I land marked a rock I could get to
and my path up to them, then dropped everything but my pack, defender and bow
and was off. On my way up I noticed some fresh bear scat halfway up, but it
looked like the bear was heading off that ridge.
It took 2 hours to get to the bottom of the rock I had picked
from down below. Now it was time to slow down and let my training take over. I
dropped my pack then crawled up to the top of the rock and looked over; to my
surprise the goat was right there. I ranged him at 38 yards . As I was pulling back, the
goat caught movement and looked in disbelief that I was there. But it was too
late, my arrow made a clean pass through and I watched with fulfillment as the
goat ran 150 yard
and fell. On his fall he busted his nose and shattered his front leg, but the
horns were still intact.
Because I knew this was grizzly country, and I was alone, I took
a couple pictures and started to field dress my hard earned prize. It didn’t
take long but just as I finished de-boning the quarters I had a feeling I
should look behind me. This was going to suck. She winded the kill, was the
first thing that came to mind as I seen a young grizzly heading my way across
the hill looking for lunch. My second thought was, grab the gun. At about a hundred
yards I fired my first shot at the ground in front of her, a second at eighty
and the third shot she was at sixty. I hit a rock at her feet which exploded
and caused her to stop then go around a small ridge. So, with the grizzly on
the hill, I grabbed all the meat, threw it in my pack, strapped my bow down and
started down the hill back to my quad. What should have taken me just over an
hour to do, I did in forty min. But there’s nothing like a little motivation
strapped to your back to put some life to your step.
Kyle
Friday, September 14, 2012
Kyles Gear List & Shared Items
Kyles Gear (highlighted is shared gear)
Clothing
* Rivers West Pant
* Kryptek Alaois field shirt
* Kryptek Alaois field pant
* Kryptek Hooded shirt
* Columbia soft shell jacket
* Cabelas Ultra-pack Synthetic down Jacket
* Under armour vest
* RedHead rain jacket
* Beanie
Boots
* Scarpa
* Mendels
Weapons
* Bowtech Destroyer 340
* Snuffer 125gr broadheads
* Weatherby 7mm Mag
* 160 Accubonds
* Carbon Express Arrows
Accessories
* Stove
* Havalara Knives
* Mag light flashlight
* Penz Headlamp
* First aid kit
Optics
* Leupold Binos
* Bushnell Spotting Scope
* Leupold rifle scope
* Nikon Rangefinder
Pack
* Eberlestock J104
* 3.0L Platypus bladder
Sleep System
* MEC sleeping bag -12
* MEC Kelvin Summer pump pad
* Exped Aries Mesh 2person tent
Clothing
* Rivers West Pant
* Kryptek Alaois field shirt
* Kryptek Alaois field pant
* Kryptek Hooded shirt
* Columbia soft shell jacket
* Cabelas Ultra-pack Synthetic down Jacket
* Under armour vest
* RedHead rain jacket
* Beanie
Boots
* Scarpa
* Mendels
Weapons
* Bowtech Destroyer 340
* Snuffer 125gr broadheads
* Weatherby 7mm Mag
* 160 Accubonds
* Carbon Express Arrows
Accessories
* Stove
* Havalara Knives
* Mag light flashlight
* Penz Headlamp
* First aid kit
Optics
* Leupold Binos
* Bushnell Spotting Scope
* Leupold rifle scope
* Nikon Rangefinder
Pack
* Eberlestock J104
* 3.0L Platypus bladder
Sleep System
* MEC sleeping bag -12
* MEC Kelvin Summer pump pad
* Exped Aries Mesh 2person tent
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
SPOT
So while I am sitting here, relaxing, wondering if Kyle has gotten anything yet on his hunting trip (he's been gone since Monday morning) my phone beeps to show a message from him saying he's OK.
I know a lot of people know what a SPOT device is, but there are lots that still don't. My parents for one, had never heard of it. They do a lot of quading (especially my dad and brother) and they often go off on their own. So I introduced my Mom to SPOT. Showed her the unit we have and the messages you can send. Around here they are a great thing, we don't have a lot of cell phone coverage due to the amount of mountains that surround us.
It gives me piece of mind that he is alright alone in the mountains and with the custom message button he can tell me if he shoots anything. The battery life is very good on it, if you have the tracker on, it will drain it a little faster.
There is another device out called the SPOT Connect. It connects to your phone by bluetooth so you can update on social networks and send out text messages. I worked for Bell as a sales consultant for 5 years and I would not recommend it if you plan on being out for more then a night. Bluetooth drains your phones battery fairly quickly.
Highly recommend the SPOT even if your not a hunter. Outdoor enthusiasts, fisherman, camping, road trips, 4x4ing and travellers all would benefit from this device!
I know a lot of people know what a SPOT device is, but there are lots that still don't. My parents for one, had never heard of it. They do a lot of quading (especially my dad and brother) and they often go off on their own. So I introduced my Mom to SPOT. Showed her the unit we have and the messages you can send. Around here they are a great thing, we don't have a lot of cell phone coverage due to the amount of mountains that surround us.
It gives me piece of mind that he is alright alone in the mountains and with the custom message button he can tell me if he shoots anything. The battery life is very good on it, if you have the tracker on, it will drain it a little faster.
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| The unit we have |
Highly recommend the SPOT even if your not a hunter. Outdoor enthusiasts, fisherman, camping, road trips, 4x4ing and travellers all would benefit from this device!
"It's not a fashion show" ....
I don't know how many times I have been told, "the deer don't care what you look like/are wearing" or "its not a fashion show".
Or even, "why don't you just buy the juniors if those don't fit" "these other ones are cheaper"
To all those that have ever heard this or other similar statements, you're not alone!
I started my hunting life out in Juniors L and XL or men's M (because for some reason you could never find a S or XS in the men's?) and now that there is women's gear out, I have to say....it's NOT that I am trying to be in a fashion show or look pretty, its about being comfortable in the bush.
Yes, some of the women's gear is more expensive then the junior or men's, but the stuff actually fits! And its not just those women that are petite like me, the women that have curves also deserve the comfort of wearing properly fitted clothing. Its not fun walking around feeling like a marshmallow or having your clothes to tight that its hard to move around. It also hinders our performance in the bush! Range of motion is affected greatly and being able to regulate your body temperature with a decent layering system.
Personally, I still have troubles finding gloves and pants. I'm petite (5'1'', 100lbs), and they don't seem to make them small enough for me still. My SHE Expedition pants fit comfortably, I still need a belt, but they are fitted enough that they don't hang down around my knees and big enough I can fit some long underwear in if need be. I highly recommend them if you are my size or bigger! They are very nice and not expensive. My only complaint is after the first wash the material pilled.
That's my rant for now lol!
Nikita
Or even, "why don't you just buy the juniors if those don't fit" "these other ones are cheaper"
To all those that have ever heard this or other similar statements, you're not alone!
I started my hunting life out in Juniors L and XL or men's M (because for some reason you could never find a S or XS in the men's?) and now that there is women's gear out, I have to say....it's NOT that I am trying to be in a fashion show or look pretty, its about being comfortable in the bush.
Yes, some of the women's gear is more expensive then the junior or men's, but the stuff actually fits! And its not just those women that are petite like me, the women that have curves also deserve the comfort of wearing properly fitted clothing. Its not fun walking around feeling like a marshmallow or having your clothes to tight that its hard to move around. It also hinders our performance in the bush! Range of motion is affected greatly and being able to regulate your body temperature with a decent layering system.
Personally, I still have troubles finding gloves and pants. I'm petite (5'1'', 100lbs), and they don't seem to make them small enough for me still. My SHE Expedition pants fit comfortably, I still need a belt, but they are fitted enough that they don't hang down around my knees and big enough I can fit some long underwear in if need be. I highly recommend them if you are my size or bigger! They are very nice and not expensive. My only complaint is after the first wash the material pilled.
That's my rant for now lol!
Nikita
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Nikita's Gear List
Clothes:
* SHE Expedition Pant
* SHE Elite Pant
* Prois Ultra light long sleeve shirt
* Cabelas Outfither Hoodie
* SHE Hunters Vest
* RedHead Jr XL insulated Bib
* Cabelas Outfither insulated jacket
* Gander Mtn Beartooth TecH2O womens rain jacket
Boots:
* AKU Croda Gore-tex Hiking boot for women (waterproof)
Accesories:
* Toque
* SHE cold weather gloves
* Convertible Mittens
* Prois Ball cap
* Tube Hand warmer
Weapons:
* Bowtech Heartbreaker
* Radial X Weave 100 arrows
* Snuffer broadheads 100gr
* Scotts Archery Fox release
* Apex 5 pin Sight
* Remington .270
*Leupold Rifleman Scope
Pack:
* Eberlestock Xl
* 2L Platypus bladder
Optics:
* Leupold Binoculars
* Bushnell Scope (came on my rifle)
* Leupold 750 rangefinder
Sleep system:
* womens MEC Persea sleeping bag -12
* MEC Kelvin summer pump pad
Extras:
* Knives
* Bear Spray
* Straps
* Browning Headlamp
If anyone is wanting to ask questions or have reviews done on any of these products, please ask!
Nikita
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Starting them Young..
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| Easton- 9 mons old. Out shooting the bows |
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| Easton at 10 mons old |
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| Pheonix on a mule deer hunt with mommy |
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| Kyle & Pheonix |
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| Pheonix |
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| Pheonix. I had Easton on my back at 3 mons old |
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| Easton on a road hunt |
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| Pheonix |
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| Pheonix and Mommy, on a road hunt |
My Very First Goat Hunt
End of September 2009...
Kyle loves his goat hunting. He got his first goat the weekend after our wedding (we got married on a weds in 2007) and we had the hide done as a rug and it became Pheonix's baby blanket (I was pregnant at the time). After that first hunt he was hooked. The next year he helped our buddy Danno get his Boon & Crockett goat since Kyle never drew a tag.
For the 2009 season we both put in for goat tags and we both drew in the same area...along with Danno. So we planned a group hunt together to go for our goats, their main focus was getting me one because it was already very cold (for me). I had all insulated clothing (being men's and juniors because at the time there was no women's hunting clothes) and none of it fit me properly so I had 4 layers of clothing on underneath as well. I felt like a giant camo marshmallow! We planned a 2 day hunt; drive in and set up camp then quad as high as we could go, after that it was hiking. The first 2 mountains we climbed we were able to get up a good distance before having to hike. The guys kept teasing me and my layers of clothing....The first mountain we went up was a nice hike, open alpine. Until we got onto the ridge, it was basically straight down and grass with a skim of snow on top...very slippery. The wind was blowing so hard that it kept me standing straight up when leaning into it. I was warm and snug in my millions of layers. So we sat down and glassed the other mountain adjacent to us until the fog swallowed us. We did see 2 goats...and the guys were sure it was 2 billy's. We headed down the mountain to the quads and went down the road 5 mins and parked. We started going up towards the 2 goats that were happily feeding on a slide. This trek was not as easy. It was thickly timbered and steeper to climb right away. While bush whacking my way up, the sling on my rifle broke...I was not a happy camper. Its a heavy gun and now I had to find a way to bush whack and find a comfortable way to carry this thing without falling on my face in the mean time. Finally we made it to the slide and the goats. We put the optics on them and.....Nanny with a kid! @#$%!! So back down we hiked. We went to the quads and sat down for a rest and to scope out the other side of the valley....sure enough there was a lone goat, well above the tree line. Danno was all gun-ho, I was skeptical. I really didn't think he would still be there by the time we got across the valley and up the mountain. But I kept my mouth shut and went a long.
We got to the other side of the valley, parked the quads in a natural meadow and started hiking. This one was all hiking, which wouldn't have been so bad if you had the same leg length as the 2 people you hunt with. I am 5'1'', Danno and Kyle are 6'+ and built like brick sh** houses. The mountain we had to climb was all blow down in thick timber. So I ended up climbing the logs that they merely stepped over. It was a long, slow trek up; eventually we got above tree line and I had thought the snow covered grass hill was steep, this was a 75-80 degree hills. And if you slipped, the bottom was all rocks. We eventually made it up to where we seen the goat...he was gone. I announced I was done for the day, it was getting late and I had pulled my groin half way up this mountain and still had to make my way down. They agreed and we went back to camp and too bed. The next morning it was below freezing and had snowed. We got up and noticed the whole valley was socked in with snow and clouds. We called it quits and packed up. I didn't get back up that year due to too much snow for me, neither guys got their goat that year...
Nikita
Kyle loves his goat hunting. He got his first goat the weekend after our wedding (we got married on a weds in 2007) and we had the hide done as a rug and it became Pheonix's baby blanket (I was pregnant at the time). After that first hunt he was hooked. The next year he helped our buddy Danno get his Boon & Crockett goat since Kyle never drew a tag.
For the 2009 season we both put in for goat tags and we both drew in the same area...along with Danno. So we planned a group hunt together to go for our goats, their main focus was getting me one because it was already very cold (for me). I had all insulated clothing (being men's and juniors because at the time there was no women's hunting clothes) and none of it fit me properly so I had 4 layers of clothing on underneath as well. I felt like a giant camo marshmallow! We planned a 2 day hunt; drive in and set up camp then quad as high as we could go, after that it was hiking. The first 2 mountains we climbed we were able to get up a good distance before having to hike. The guys kept teasing me and my layers of clothing....The first mountain we went up was a nice hike, open alpine. Until we got onto the ridge, it was basically straight down and grass with a skim of snow on top...very slippery. The wind was blowing so hard that it kept me standing straight up when leaning into it. I was warm and snug in my millions of layers. So we sat down and glassed the other mountain adjacent to us until the fog swallowed us. We did see 2 goats...and the guys were sure it was 2 billy's. We headed down the mountain to the quads and went down the road 5 mins and parked. We started going up towards the 2 goats that were happily feeding on a slide. This trek was not as easy. It was thickly timbered and steeper to climb right away. While bush whacking my way up, the sling on my rifle broke...I was not a happy camper. Its a heavy gun and now I had to find a way to bush whack and find a comfortable way to carry this thing without falling on my face in the mean time. Finally we made it to the slide and the goats. We put the optics on them and.....Nanny with a kid! @#$%!! So back down we hiked. We went to the quads and sat down for a rest and to scope out the other side of the valley....sure enough there was a lone goat, well above the tree line. Danno was all gun-ho, I was skeptical. I really didn't think he would still be there by the time we got across the valley and up the mountain. But I kept my mouth shut and went a long.
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| Looking at the slide the Nanny and Kid were on |
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| Kyle & Danno heading up the grassy hill |
Nikita
First Hunt of the Season
September 3, 2012
Kyle and I decided to go out for a late afternoon/evening hunt. We got our packs ready with some food, knives and clothes..and anything we may need. Changed our field points to broadheads. I asked Kyle if he thought I would need my insulated jacket and he waved a hand at it. So, I ended up wearing my light hoodie and packing my vest and rain jacket. We headed out at 3pm and took the kids up to the grandparents then headed up the valley. We were heading to our elk spot that we hunted opening day last year.
Unfortunately the road had been washed out near the valley bottom and we had to hike in much earlier then we had thought. We parked the truck, put on the war paint, buckled up and started trekking up the mountain. It was a nice day, 21 Celsius with a breeze. It was a long walk up to where we wanted to cut in to head up to the ridge. As we came to the clearing we were planning to cut through Kyle whispers, "Bear!". I look up and sure enough a big black bear was meandering about in the clearing. Black as black could be! Kyle looks at me and asks," Do you want him?"
I pulled my cap back on and nodded. We started to cut through the clearing in the more grown in part, making it hard to keep an eye on where the bear was. Once we got to the spot Kyle thought was good we tried to look for him, but the trees were to tall and grown in, we couldn't find him. Then Kyle gets this brilliant idea to use his elk reed as a dying rabbit (predator call)....well let me put it this way...it definitely did NOT sound like a dying rabbit! It was a sound that words can not explain...
It obviously was interesting enough to catch the boars attention though. I had ranged a few trees to get an idea of shooting areas while Kyle was dying with his reed. Soon you could hear the boar coming in, but couldn't see him. Then, 30 yards from us, right behind the tree in my shooting lane were little nubby ears sticking out, then his face...I pulled back and anchored. Mean while Kyle couldn't see what I was seeing and is telling me I'm pulling to early and to let down. So I did...and as soon as I did he walked right into my shooting lane. SOB, I pulled back again, and again Kyle is chirping away beside me like a squirrel in a tree. I didn't have a clear shot so i let down again. After that he cut into the trees and slowly made his way past us and up to the woods. Not a bad start to the evening.
We cut up through the rest of the clearing and broke through the trees. Up and up we hiked. Soon the trees started to thin and turn into alpine. The colors were beautiful, fall had touched the top of the mountain. Brilliant reds and yellows. It was also much cooler up on the ridge, which was nice after climbing for so long. But I was soon wishing I had brought my insulated jacket! We hiked for another hour before Kyle picked a spot to set up. I dropped my pack, got the bear spray out, my bow ready and set up beside some root balls. Kyle went 60 yards behind me and started bugling. Not even 5 minutes after his first bugle, we got an answer. So they called back and forth for a while until the bull lost interest. So we packed up and headed to the valley he was calling from. Which included more climbing. We climbed and side scaled a step part of the mountain and set up. I went down into the trees and set up again while Kyle stayed up on the rock face. He started up again and instantly got an answer back. The bull was not happy we had found his valley. As Kyle was watching from the cliffs he located 2 of his cows, so he packed up and came down to where I was, told me about the cows and we decided that if he had cows with him he wasn't going to come out of his safe haven. So we headed down into the valley...crashing the entire way..it was steep and thick. Of course the bull heard us coming down into his territory, but he didn't take off. He came to us, screaming. He thought we were a herd of elk. When we heard him screaming and coming closer we stopped and got set up, Kyle 20 yards behind me. Soon you could hear the cows calling and him screaming, coming closer and closer. Then it went quiet for a minute....and not far off he started chuckling at us, then let out a loud and aggressive scream. Kyle let out a bugle back...but cut the bull off....crashing....then a bugle...from the bottom of his valley...more crashing...another bugle from the other side of his valley. We scared him, he thought we were a big bull coming to get his cows and so he took them and ran. After there was a lot of swearing coming from Kyle and my heart returned to its normal pace, we took a look around and noticed it was getting dark. We packed up, put my bow in my pack and we hurried down the mountain trying to beat the encroaching darkness. We made it to the road just as it got pitch black. We put on our head lamps and headed back towards the truck...keeping an eye out for bears. We came upon to sets of glowing eyes staring at us, Kyle started yelling at them and getting the defender ready. They bounded down off the road...mule deer..a spike buck and young doe, brother and sister. By the time we got to the truck it was 10:30pm.
It was a great way to spend our date night!
Kyle & Nikita
Unfortunately the road had been washed out near the valley bottom and we had to hike in much earlier then we had thought. We parked the truck, put on the war paint, buckled up and started trekking up the mountain. It was a nice day, 21 Celsius with a breeze. It was a long walk up to where we wanted to cut in to head up to the ridge. As we came to the clearing we were planning to cut through Kyle whispers, "Bear!". I look up and sure enough a big black bear was meandering about in the clearing. Black as black could be! Kyle looks at me and asks," Do you want him?"
It obviously was interesting enough to catch the boars attention though. I had ranged a few trees to get an idea of shooting areas while Kyle was dying with his reed. Soon you could hear the boar coming in, but couldn't see him. Then, 30 yards from us, right behind the tree in my shooting lane were little nubby ears sticking out, then his face...I pulled back and anchored. Mean while Kyle couldn't see what I was seeing and is telling me I'm pulling to early and to let down. So I did...and as soon as I did he walked right into my shooting lane. SOB, I pulled back again, and again Kyle is chirping away beside me like a squirrel in a tree. I didn't have a clear shot so i let down again. After that he cut into the trees and slowly made his way past us and up to the woods. Not a bad start to the evening.
We cut up through the rest of the clearing and broke through the trees. Up and up we hiked. Soon the trees started to thin and turn into alpine. The colors were beautiful, fall had touched the top of the mountain. Brilliant reds and yellows. It was also much cooler up on the ridge, which was nice after climbing for so long. But I was soon wishing I had brought my insulated jacket! We hiked for another hour before Kyle picked a spot to set up. I dropped my pack, got the bear spray out, my bow ready and set up beside some root balls. Kyle went 60 yards behind me and started bugling. Not even 5 minutes after his first bugle, we got an answer. So they called back and forth for a while until the bull lost interest. So we packed up and headed to the valley he was calling from. Which included more climbing. We climbed and side scaled a step part of the mountain and set up. I went down into the trees and set up again while Kyle stayed up on the rock face. He started up again and instantly got an answer back. The bull was not happy we had found his valley. As Kyle was watching from the cliffs he located 2 of his cows, so he packed up and came down to where I was, told me about the cows and we decided that if he had cows with him he wasn't going to come out of his safe haven. So we headed down into the valley...crashing the entire way..it was steep and thick. Of course the bull heard us coming down into his territory, but he didn't take off. He came to us, screaming. He thought we were a herd of elk. When we heard him screaming and coming closer we stopped and got set up, Kyle 20 yards behind me. Soon you could hear the cows calling and him screaming, coming closer and closer. Then it went quiet for a minute....and not far off he started chuckling at us, then let out a loud and aggressive scream. Kyle let out a bugle back...but cut the bull off....crashing....then a bugle...from the bottom of his valley...more crashing...another bugle from the other side of his valley. We scared him, he thought we were a big bull coming to get his cows and so he took them and ran. After there was a lot of swearing coming from Kyle and my heart returned to its normal pace, we took a look around and noticed it was getting dark. We packed up, put my bow in my pack and we hurried down the mountain trying to beat the encroaching darkness. We made it to the road just as it got pitch black. We put on our head lamps and headed back towards the truck...keeping an eye out for bears. We came upon to sets of glowing eyes staring at us, Kyle started yelling at them and getting the defender ready. They bounded down off the road...mule deer..a spike buck and young doe, brother and sister. By the time we got to the truck it was 10:30pm. It was a great way to spend our date night!
Kyle & Nikita
Monday, September 3, 2012
Meet the Pack
The Dogs..
Meet Honey, Koda & Sitka.
Koda is the oldest out of the 3. He is 7 years old and he was my Christmas present the very first Christmas Kyle and I were together. We drove all the way to Vancouver to pick him up on Boxing Day (that's a 12 hour drive). He is a Shiba Inu, which is a Japanese rat dog, they hunt rodents. He is a definite hunter. HATES squirrels with a passion and hunts gophers. We don't take him out on long hikes that the kids wouldn't be able to do because he's starting to get sore hips.
Honey is the next oldest. She is going to be 6 in November and we rescued her from the SPCA when she was a baby. Her, her mother and her siblings (8 of them) were rescues out of Creston where they were living under an abandoned trailer. She definitely has husky in her and lab, but all the siblings look different from each other. Her main role in the household is to protect. She is very protective of the kids, particularly when it comes to other dogs. We definitely know when someone is on the property. She is also a hunter. She hunts (and eats) gophers and mice. We take her out on hikes with us.
Sitka is the baby. He is a year old and is a Korelian Bear Dog X French Spaniel. He is being trained to be Kyles hunting partner. We take him along on hikes with Honey. He is a very high energy dog and we run him regularly to keep him from being destructive. He is a definite hunting dog. We were hoping that more of the Korelian would come out in him but he is all spaniel. Loves hunting birds! He has caught a few and ended up having scratches on his face to prove it.
Meet Honey, Koda & Sitka.
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| Koda |
Honey is the next oldest. She is going to be 6 in November and we rescued her from the SPCA when she was a baby. Her, her mother and her siblings (8 of them) were rescues out of Creston where they were living under an abandoned trailer. She definitely has husky in her and lab, but all the siblings look different from each other. Her main role in the household is to protect. She is very protective of the kids, particularly when it comes to other dogs. We definitely know when someone is on the property. She is also a hunter. She hunts (and eats) gophers and mice. We take her out on hikes with us.
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| Honey |
Sitka is the baby. He is a year old and is a Korelian Bear Dog X French Spaniel. He is being trained to be Kyles hunting partner. We take him along on hikes with Honey. He is a very high energy dog and we run him regularly to keep him from being destructive. He is a definite hunting dog. We were hoping that more of the Korelian would come out in him but he is all spaniel. Loves hunting birds! He has caught a few and ended up having scratches on his face to prove it.
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| Sitka |
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Scouting in August
August 12-13, 2012
Kyle and I decided to head out for a scouting trip and an overnighter. The valley we decided to go into is not accessible by truck, so we brought along our bikes. We loaded up the bikes, packs and 2 of the dogs (the other one( Koda) stays with the kids at the grandparents) and drove out. It takes about an hour and a half to get to the spot we park, then another few hours to get up the mountain. Unfortunately the terrain is not very bike for riding up the mountain, so with our packs on we pushed the bikes up it. That sucks by the way! Usually it is quite a bit cooler when you are up that high...but it wasn't. It was still 25 degrees while is was 30 degrees in the valley. The norm is about 15 degrees cooler then the valley...so we didn't know what we were getting into at all!
We got about 3/4 of the way up the mountain before Kyle called for a stop. We were both done, he was exhausted (he just got off night shift) and I was cooking. We stopped by a creek and the dogs were in seventh heaven! Kyle also decided to wear his new boots up and had some nice blisters emerging (yuck!). We dropped our packs, took off our boots and ate with our feet in the creek. After about an hour of resting we put our boots back on with some clean socks and decided to walk the rest of the valley with just the binos, camera and defender. Thank fully once your back there, the valley is not very long or wide so its easy to glass with binos. When we came up onto an open area Kyle announces that he sees elk across the valley. So we found some bushes to sit in and glass them. There were 10 elk in total and they had seen us. They were feeding above the tree line and one of them was a bull...a very mature bull, the others were 4 calves and the rest cows. So we watched them and scanned the rest of the valley for more signs of life and we eventually found a lone billy that came out to sun himself in the last rays of evening. We didn't stay long to watch the elk, the bull was getting pretty agitated with us and pushed the cows a little more up the mountain. We headed back to the bikes and Kyle decided we should head back to the truck.
By the time we got to the bikes I was not feeling so good, I had a pounding headache. So we jumped on the bikes and rode down the mountain. It would have been nice....minus the headache...and it was definitely a lot faster then hiking down. While we were heading out the animals were starting to come out. On our way down the mountain we seen a massive Bull Moose, a mule deer doe and her fawn and a whitetail doe. Once we were at the truck we cooked up a mountain house and Kyle let me eat first to see if it would help with the headache...it didn't...it made me nauseous, so i didn't eat. Kyle drove us down to the valley in the dark and we set up camp..or i should say he set up camp. I was basically useless by this time, I had every piece of clothing packed on me and I was still shivering. Once the tent was ready i climbed in my sleeping bag and instantly passed out.
The next morning I felt refreshed but still a little fatigued. Kyle decided we wouldn't do any major hiking for the day. So we drove the valleys, we drove down one that we know well; it was washed out so we jumped out and walked a ways in. This time we ran into 2 cow moose, an owl, and glassed 2 more goats. After this we headed home, slowly, taking the long way around through the bush instead of heading back to the main roads.
Nikita & Kyle
We got about 3/4 of the way up the mountain before Kyle called for a stop. We were both done, he was exhausted (he just got off night shift) and I was cooking. We stopped by a creek and the dogs were in seventh heaven! Kyle also decided to wear his new boots up and had some nice blisters emerging (yuck!). We dropped our packs, took off our boots and ate with our feet in the creek. After about an hour of resting we put our boots back on with some clean socks and decided to walk the rest of the valley with just the binos, camera and defender. Thank fully once your back there, the valley is not very long or wide so its easy to glass with binos. When we came up onto an open area Kyle announces that he sees elk across the valley. So we found some bushes to sit in and glass them. There were 10 elk in total and they had seen us. They were feeding above the tree line and one of them was a bull...a very mature bull, the others were 4 calves and the rest cows. So we watched them and scanned the rest of the valley for more signs of life and we eventually found a lone billy that came out to sun himself in the last rays of evening. We didn't stay long to watch the elk, the bull was getting pretty agitated with us and pushed the cows a little more up the mountain. We headed back to the bikes and Kyle decided we should head back to the truck.
By the time we got to the bikes I was not feeling so good, I had a pounding headache. So we jumped on the bikes and rode down the mountain. It would have been nice....minus the headache...and it was definitely a lot faster then hiking down. While we were heading out the animals were starting to come out. On our way down the mountain we seen a massive Bull Moose, a mule deer doe and her fawn and a whitetail doe. Once we were at the truck we cooked up a mountain house and Kyle let me eat first to see if it would help with the headache...it didn't...it made me nauseous, so i didn't eat. Kyle drove us down to the valley in the dark and we set up camp..or i should say he set up camp. I was basically useless by this time, I had every piece of clothing packed on me and I was still shivering. Once the tent was ready i climbed in my sleeping bag and instantly passed out. 
The next morning I felt refreshed but still a little fatigued. Kyle decided we wouldn't do any major hiking for the day. So we drove the valleys, we drove down one that we know well; it was washed out so we jumped out and walked a ways in. This time we ran into 2 cow moose, an owl, and glassed 2 more goats. After this we headed home, slowly, taking the long way around through the bush instead of heading back to the main roads. 
Nikita & Kyle
First Hike for 2012
Our first hike of the year! We took the kids up Gold Creek and picked a ridge to hike up and look for some signs of elk. It was hot...very hot...35 degrees hot. I don't like the heat and neither does Easton, but since Easton was on my back and I was doing all the work, he was perfectly happy and I was dieing. I would rather hike in the cold then in the heat any day. There's not much of a story to tell here so this will be mainly pictures!
Nikita
Nikita
Family Archery
As a family we do a lot of archery. Our daughter, Pheonix, has been shooting for over a year now. We bought her a new bow for her 4th birthday back in May and she loves it. We got her the Pink Nuclear Ice by Diamond. We took it to our friend (who is a paralympic shooter) that owns Kootenay Archery and he was able to turn it down to 7lbs and get the draw length to fit her. She shoots almost as much as we do, and we shoot just about every day.
She competed in her first 3D competition at the end of May this year and she loved shooting the animal targets rather then the block targets. We had a release for her but she prefers to shoot fingers and although she has a sight on her bow she doesn't use it. She is getting better and better and hardly ever misses the target now. The picture to the right is of our son, Easton. This was his very first time. He also loves to go out shooting. He understands he needs to stand beside us while we shoot and when we give the go ahead he runs to the target and attempts to pull the arrows. He can pull Pheonix's but not ours haha.
We enjoy our archery and go to all the local shows (providing work schedule works out) . Kyle is the VP of the local club here and we both help do set up and take down of the shoots. Pheonix also loves setting up and taking down as well.
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| Eastons first time!
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She competed in her first 3D competition at the end of May this year and she loved shooting the animal targets rather then the block targets. We had a release for her but she prefers to shoot fingers and although she has a sight on her bow she doesn't use it. She is getting better and better and hardly ever misses the target now. The picture to the right is of our son, Easton. This was his very first time. He also loves to go out shooting. He understands he needs to stand beside us while we shoot and when we give the go ahead he runs to the target and attempts to pull the arrows. He can pull Pheonix's but not ours haha.
We enjoy our archery and go to all the local shows (providing work schedule works out) . Kyle is the VP of the local club here and we both help do set up and take down of the shoots. Pheonix also loves setting up and taking down as well.  |
| We believe in doing as much as we can as a family and in getting the kids as active in the outdoors as possible. |
Elk Hunting
Opening Day - Sept 1, 2011
In our area hunting season opens on the first of September for bow only and it lasts until the 9th, then rifle opens. So we decided to head out to an elk spot that is not accessible by vehicle. We backpacked in with all our stuff and man was it cold! There were patches of snow as went up the mountain and it was foggy.
Once we got to the top of the mountain to set up camp, the fog had cleared and the snow was about 2 inches deep. We had an awesome viewing area of the whole valley and a good vantage point to listen to any bugles. We got camp set and did some glassing before we decided to head down. We dumped the stuff we didn't need into the tent, grabbed our packs and bows then headed out. We walked the ridge, glassed and listened.
In our area hunting season opens on the first of September for bow only and it lasts until the 9th, then rifle opens. So we decided to head out to an elk spot that is not accessible by vehicle. We backpacked in with all our stuff and man was it cold! There were patches of snow as went up the mountain and it was foggy.
Once we got to the top of the mountain to set up camp, the fog had cleared and the snow was about 2 inches deep. We had an awesome viewing area of the whole valley and a good vantage point to listen to any bugles. We got camp set and did some glassing before we decided to head down. We dumped the stuff we didn't need into the tent, grabbed our packs and bows then headed out. We walked the ridge, glassed and listened.
Pretty soon the weather started to change again. The temperature dropped and it started to snow. Kyle made the call to go back to camp and pack up. At this time my sleeping bag only went down to zero Celsius, and he was worried I would get too cold. (I'm a very cold person). We packed up camp and started to head down the mountain the opposite side we came up. It was a stupid idea at the same time it was a good idea. It was VERY steep but it dropped us into the valley that was full of bugling elk, as well as a grizzly sow.
We dropped into a bench that had a nice marshy area with TONS of elk sign. Tracks, feces, rubs and bugling. So we set up in an area to attempt to call in the bull. It took about half an hour to get him to come in. He came in hot and at a very rapid speed screaming the entire way. Kyle got set up, pulled back and waited. The elk was a mature 6-point. He came crashing in to 30 yards of us and stopped....his vitals covered by a tree. We gave a soft call and he took a couple steps forward...to another tree. While waiting the wind shifted, carrying our scent straight towards him. He spooked and took off. My heart was hammering in my chest. That was an unreal experience and I loved every minute of it.
Later on in the season Kyle went back up with his bow to try and get the same bull but was stopped short by the grizzly sow we had found signs of on opening day. He decided to not stick around!
Nikita & Kyle
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