2nd Annual Rocky Mountain Goat Self Pity Hike

Hello fellow madness members,

I've been putting in for a Rocky Mountain Goat tag for 10 years now. Last year I took my seven year old with me and hiked up on opening morning of the hunt to get a taste of what the hunt would be like. Last Saturday was this years RMG opener so I hiked it again for my second annual rocky mountain goat self pity hike. I think I will hike it each year now until I draw.

I started the hike with a headlamp on. I miss judged my starting time because I made it six miles and over 3000' elevation gain when I heard the first shot. I still had a half mile to go to make it into the basin that typically houses the goats.

Upon arriving in the basin I could see two hunters with thier harvest. There are four tags a year given out for the area. I hiked over to talk to the first group. By the time I got to them they had boned the animal out and had it ready for a pack out. So no pics for you guys. The hunter took a 9" nanny. The tags are either sex. I would have been dissapointed with the animal but was excited for the hunter. I asked a lot questions to get an Idea of how the hunter chose the nanny. He wasn't too picky. He said it was the biggest in this group.
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NotEnufTags
After taking the photos of the goats I saw the plane wreckage that I had heard about. Here's some histroy:

B-25 Crash History:
The U.S. Air Force B-25 crashed on the afternoon of March 9, 1955. The day was stormy with the local mountains reporting 18" of new snow. The plane carried three crewmembers and two passengers. The plane began its fight in Great Falls, Montana, made a fuel stop at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah, and departed for March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. Sometime after 7:30 p.m. the B-25 became lost in the weather and crashed on the east side of Timpanogos. Killed in the crash was the pilot Major D.C. Holley, co-pilot 1st Lieutenant H. E. St. John, Airman 1st Class D. H. Dempsey, civilian crew chief M. J. McNalty and civilian D. R. Cubbage.

Here's a couple of pics.
Even though this was a self pity adventure, I had a great time. The hike was 13.5 miles. Next year I hope it is with a tag in the pocket and a rifle or muzzle loader strapped to the pack. If not I'll report on the 3rd annual self pity hike when the time comes.
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Oops I forgot to mention that after I hiked over to the wreckage and took pics of the goats, I hoofed it over to the other hunters. They had taken a 9 1/4" billy with good mass. Next year I'll take up a B&C score sheet. The top ten RMG's on the books are all 10 inch Billy's. I'm pretty sure that the billy the second group took will make the awards book and possibly make the 50" make for all time minimum. It just depends on the mass. They did lose 1/4" of the tip off one side after the animal fell. This group had pack horses and already had the animal in bags to go on the horses. I'll be packing mine out. I'll have to employ my brothers and friends as "pack horses" when the time comes for me. I sure am excited to hunt a Rocky Mountain Goat some day. The third group of hunters was way up in the cliffs and had not shot by the time I decided to head back down the trail. They had been scouting a good one for two months straight. I would have like to stayed to see what they ended up with but had to be home to watch the kids. It was a great day.

Thanks for putting up with my long winded story.
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AGCHAWK
Very cool pics of some AWESOME country! Actually, the whole idea of a "pity hike" is pretty cool. I may have to try that if I don't draw my sheep tag again next year.

Thanks for taking the time to include all of us in you hike! I loved it.
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MuleyMadness
You have the best material. 10sign: 10sign:

Absolutely love your posts, keep em coming! That was a great READ with awesome photos. So what's the biggest you saw that morning?

I'm not a goat expert, so how do you tell the difference between Billy vs. Nanny?
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killerbee
very cool post NOTENOUGH!!

so you have 10 points, by going by the draw odds, do you know how long it might be before we can see you with a big ol' goat?
i hope it's next year, sorry i'm being greedy, i just want to line up my good reads for next year already :)) but i bet you wouldn't mind it being next year either :thumb
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ABert
I sure hope you get your tag next year as you've been putting in the work already! Great post and pics 10sign:
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"MuleyMadness" wrote:You have the best material. 10sign: 10sign:

Absolutely love your posts, keep em coming! That was a great READ with awesome photos. So what's the biggest you saw that morning?

I'm not a goat expert, so how do you tell the difference between Billy vs. Nanny?
 Goats are really hard to judge. a half an inch can make the difference of a B&C and just an average goat. When I said I saw bigger, I meant I saw several nine inch Billys. All would have scored better than the nanny that was taken. I'm still learning about goats. Billys have bigger bases. Their horns curve from the base all the way up through the tip. Nannys come pretty much striaght up and then have a sharper curve near the top of the horn. The horns will have smaller bases on a nanny and appear more like spindles. Look at my photo with the caption a billy and a nanny and you can see the difference. THe Utah DWR site has a very informative tutorial. http://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/goat/
"killerbee" wrote:very cool post NOTENOUGH!!

so you have 10 points, by going by the draw odds, do you know how long it might be before we can see you with a big ol' goat?
i hope it's next year, sorry i'm being greedy, i just want to line up my good reads for next year already :)) but i bet you wouldn't mind it being next year either :thumb
Killer, it's hard to know have many years until I'm guaranteed a tag. If you go by the number of people with more bonus points than me that put in for the unit I want to hunt in 2009, then I would be about 4 years til I'm guaranteed. The problem is that there are a few hundred people with more bonus points than me. They put in for the various units across the state. If more put in next year for my unit then it will be more years til I'm guaranteed. Your right though, I wouldn't mind drawing next year :thumb

A 21 year old that I met on the 1st annual "self pity hike" drew with 0 points as half the tags go into a random drawing. It could happen that I draw next year but the odds are stacked against me.
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a_bow_nut
Awesome pictures and story. :thumb

Hikes like that are an good idea. Maybe I should start going on some some hikes like that. Since this was my second year of putting in for goats I'm sure that I will get to go on plenty of these hikes.
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Hey Bro

Sweet post. I loved the pics. I'll have to join you on next years self pity hike. :thumb

Gunner45
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johnyutah5
Very cool post. I can't believe the goats let you get that close....we had a few that let us get close but a lot of the older billies would run as soon as they saw us. Great pictures and love your writing style.
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DeadI
Very good post. Thanks for sharing it with us. Good luck next year, maybe it won't be a pitty hike.
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Springville Shooter
Great post and story, If it makes you feel better, I'm five years behind ya. When I first moved to Utah, I lived in east Orem and could watch the goats up on timp from my living room with a spotting scope. Now I live in Springville and I've only seen deer and elk. -----shooter
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182BC...4Now!
Wow! Great story and pics! Great lookin' country and plenty of goats too! I'd love to get a chance to just visit that country some time. I think hiking back in there and taking pics can be just as fun as actually hunting. Best of luck trying to draw your tag! 10sign:
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primal215
Nice pics, wow that would sure be nice to win the goat lottery and hunt one of those criters.
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Loafer
Great post. I've been putting in for years, but I never thought of a pity hike I'm too busy sulking. Great can-do attitide.
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BlackCoyote
your pity walk, looked like a great hunt even without the tag....love to take that walk let alone hunt that awesome of an animal. best of luck in the next drawing!
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Nice. Ten points! I'm feeling your time is near my friend... I've got three points in Montana for a goat...can't wait for that hunt. Spent alot of time up in Montana and it's crazy..all summer long you can find the goats everywhere at 10k but come almost first day on the dot of the hunting season and they all bunch up and just move....you won't see them in their normal spots that they've been all summer. If you find them, then comes the task of picking one out. And if they're up in the clouds, literally. In . The. Clouds., you'll have to wait them out...heck of a hunt! I'm ready!
...also, i know this is looking upfield before you catch the ball but what kind of mount will you go for after the hunt? I've been impressed with both lifesize and a rug/skull combo..that hide is amzing and a flat rug sits about 6 inches off the ground!
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WinMag
Great post! :thumb I wish I lived close enough to do my own self pity hike, great idea! I want a goat real bad too! I've been trying and building points in CO and MT. Good luck to you and your future draws! :thumb
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"saysomethin" wrote:Nice. Ten points! I'm feeling your time is near my friend... I've got three points in Montana for a goat...can't wait for that hunt. Spent alot of time up in Montana and it's crazy..all summer long you can find the goats everywhere at 10k but come almost first day on the dot of the hunting season and they all bunch up and just move....you won't see them in their normal spots that they've been all summer. If you find them, then comes the task of picking one out. And if they're up in the clouds, literally. In . The. Clouds., you'll have to wait them out...heck of a hunt! I'm ready!
...also, i know this is looking upfield before you catch the ball but what kind of mount will you go for after the hunt? I've been impressed with both lifesize and a rug/skull combo..that hide is amzing and a flat rug sits about 6 inches off the ground!
 No room for life size mounts in the current house. I do like the half body mount with the front legs posed as if the goat is jumping accross a small gorge. That pose with a rock back would look great on the wall. Pricey but would look great.
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Nice pictures and story. Wish I could take a pity hike. I have been applying for the Beaver area for Mtn Goats. You should guide for them since you already know how to find them.
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Pity hike.... That's a great idea! I live in that area and have done that hike several times, seeing goats each time. We are blessed to live in such a great area. Just out of curiosity, I've looked for the plane wreckage each time I've been up there but to no avail; you don't have GPS coordinates for it do you?
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