Colorado Goat Search/Hunt
Mountain Goat
Hey all. It’s been a while since I’ve seen anything posted on Colorado G5 hunt. Thought I would give it a try. Several years ago, I made the mistake of mentioning the G5 goat hunt to my oldest son. Although I’ve never hunted it, the sound of it always intrigued me. But as I grew older, I figured it passed me by. It also intrigued my son, and he has been applying for the unit ever since. Then in April of this year, he was notified he was the lucky recipient of a G5 archery tag. He called me right away to inform me that I would be going, and I had better get my butt in shape.
Over the summer, my son did quite a bit of research on the unit and recruited a couple of buddies for the hunt. Trying to coordinate all our schedules was like herding cats, but we ended up locking in the 3rd week of September for the hunt. We figured goats would have decent hair by then and hopefully we wouldn’t be snowed in or out. My son was lurking on several backpacking websites and hikers were still posting lots of goat pictures into the second week of September.
The day finally arrived for the long drive to Durango, and we were up early the next morning for the train. The 2.5-hour train ride seemed to go fast. We were dropped at Needleton and headed up the trail with heavy packs. Hoping they would be heavier on the way down.
Please be gentle with your pappy. I'm 6'2" and 200 lbs.
Please be gentle with your pappy. I'm 6'2" and 200 lbs.
As we entered Chicago Basin, we kept going past the low camps and set up shop not far from the Columbine Pass junction. We were right at 11K for base camp. I’ve been in the high country across Colorado and have to say, Chicago Basin ranks high as far as one of the most scenic.
O yeah! Looking forward to the the rest!
Wow big fella! Beautiful Area
This is going to be a good one for sure----->
Good luck, Robb
Goat hunting down there can be feast or famine… Some of the prettiest country in Colorado!
Looking forward to this one!
I like goat hunting stories keep it coming.
Just after getting camp set up, a couple of other goat hunters stopped by to chat. They had been in the Basin for 4 days and had seen zero goats. What about the camp goats you hear about? Nope. High goats, nope. Nothing, zero, nada. They were breaking camp and leaving in the morning.
Looking forward to this. In July,, I was in the basin for the first time to climb the 14ers there. This guy was along the trail below Eolus.
Billy crossing left to right at top of basin. Ended up on the 13.4K mountain on right.
Billy crossing left to right at top of basin. Ended up on the 13.4K mountain on right.
We were skeptical of their report, but it was concerning. That evening we were glassing above our camp and saw a nice Billy crossing a basin just at dark. My son and I planned to go after him while the other two in our group planned on climbing 2 of the 4 fourteeners in the basin.
I spent four days in and around Chicago Basin when I had my tag and never found a goat…
Absolutely gorgeous country for sure.
Several goats hanging on the ridge in upper left of this pic. We decided they were not worth dying for.
Several goats hanging on the ridge in upper left of this pic. We decided they were not worth dying for.
Mornings are cold in the basin, with ice in our water bottles. We were halfway up the avalanche chute at daylight. We could see that the billy had already moved into some high cliffs. While watching him, a Nanny and kid crossed the basin and moved into the same high cliffs. They all soon fed up and over the ridge. We made it to the ridgeline above the basin and peaked over. The backside was horrible. Vertical drop with a howling wind. We did see 5 goats in the cliffs on the backside, but they were not accessible. We stuck it out as long as we could until a bad storm ran us off.
Skies clearing after all day storm. A few more rolled through that afternoon.
Skies clearing after all day storm. A few more rolled through that afternoon.
Our buddies did bag both Windom and Sunlight Peaks that day. While up there, they glassed for goats. Nothing. They talked with many other hikers. No one had seen a single goat in the basin. Not good. We were up early the next day and hit the glass. Nothing until a big storm moved in around 10 AM. Sleet, snow thunder, the works. The storm continued all day.
Awesome! Looking forward to the rest.
Looking down into CB from up high. How can an area this large be devoid of goats? Especially when we know they were here 10 days ago.
Looking down into CB from up high. How can an area this large be devoid of goats? Especially when we know they were here 10 days ago.
Day 3 With no new goats seen when glassing on day 2, we headed back up to where we saw goats on day 1. Nothing, gone, disappeared. Our buddies were able to summit both Eolus and North Eolus. Same news, no goats seen and same report from other hikers.
I'm getting a little old for these steeps. Didn't seem to bother my kid.
I'm getting a little old for these steeps. Didn't seem to bother my kid.
Didn't see any fish in twin lakes.
Didn't see any fish in twin lakes.
Days 4 and 5 were more of the same. Columbine Pass, Twin Lakes, various other basins, no goats. Just before dark on day 5, we spotted goats on a high ridge at about 13.5 K. We made a plan for the next morning. If they were still there, we would go after them. If not, we would break camp and hunt down to the train. Sometime around 2 AM, lightning hit within 100 yards of our tent, sending all of us 10 feet in the air. Not much sleep that night.
Day 5/6 goats were just above and left of the notch on lower right of ridge. They were slowly moving up and left.
Day 5/6 goats were just above and left of the notch on lower right of ridge. They were slowly moving up and left.
Daylight on day 6, the goats had left the ridge and were nowhere to be found. We knew from being up there, the backside of that ridge was in the no-go zone. We decided to break camp and hunt toward the train. On the way down, we did see one lone goat, high in an inaccessible basin. With no way up to him, we continued down to train.
Nock, thanks for the beautiful pictures.
We climbed three 14rs in that area for 2 days in May, years ago then raced back to catch the train. It’s a great experience even if you are not hunting. And of course, since we were climbing , and not hunting. we had goats everywhere. mainly Nannie’s
What a great hunt with an awesome group. Chicago Basin is a must. Treeline got it right about feast or famine. Where did the goats go and why? Who knows, they are goats being goats. Unfortunately, my son’s work schedule will not allow for a return trip. My only hope is that I have a few more goat/sheep hunts left in me. Hope you enjoyed our hunt. It is in my books as one of my best adventures to date.
Brings back memories from up there… went to every pass out of the basin and looked over the other side and never saw a goat in there.
I pushed the envelope and spent an extra week in other parts of the unit. Finally saw a small band of goats the day before the last day of the season in a spot that would take at least another day to get to. A much tougher hunt than I was expecting!
Curious of theories on what causes goats to suddenly leave the basin? Early hunting pressure? Winter coats grow in early so they leave their summer range? Goats being goats? All the above?
My guess would be pressure... How many goat tags were allotted G5?
Best of luck....
Nock those are some incredible photos. The one with the boot in the bottom of the frame is simply amazing! Sorry to hear you didn't get an opportunity at a goat but that's OK. What an experience to spend with your son.
It was a pleasure meeting you at the RMBS sheep & goat meet and greet. Thanks for offering up your advice on my unit. I had an awesome hunt and will eventually post a story and pic here.
Thanks for sharing. A goat hunt is special and not many get to do it.
A goat would have been icing on the cake. But look at it this way. Now you have an excuse to go goat hunting again.
And you experienced the train ride and drop and pickup at Chicago Basin. It gets A LOT of traffic from hikers, campers and climbers. But still a nice place to camp and take your rifle for a walk.
Never been there, but that looks to be an extraordinary area. Congrats on the adventure with your son! Wonderful memories for both of you!
A great adventure with your son!
Beautiful pics!
Thanks for taking us along!
Mark
What an adventure in some beautiful country! Thanks for the story and all the great pics!
Agree, that pic with the boot in it is stunning!
Sounds like you guys had a great adventure in some stunning country, at least. Thanks for taking us along!
Great photos and recap! Thanks for posting!
Brings back lots of memories from Lyle Willmarth's and my 1986 hunt there. We had a 36 hr storm that dumped about a foot of snow on us at timberline and kept us "tent" bound. I put tent in parenthesis as Lyle and I had each bought the latest Early Winters (apt name) Gore-tex single layer tents. They leaked like a sieve despite being seam sealed during the rainy hours preceding the snow. I was mopping water up in the tent with my tee-shirt and the down bag was totally saturated....Lyle the same in his tent.
When the storm broke we got some decent hunting in after kicking snow steps in the climb out of Chicago Basin to the south. Lyle had some decent stalks one day on a nice billy. He was wearing snow camo.....white silk underwear and it almost worked!
We came out out goat-less, but a couple years later Lyle arrowed a CO goat in a different unit that was the P&Y World Record for about 20 years.
Great pictures and memories for a lifetime. Thanks for the write up…enjoyed it!
Quinn, looking forward to hearing about your hunt. Thanks everyone for the kind words. Hunting with my sons is one of my greatest joys. As they get older, it’s tough getting quality one on one time with them. This hunt was some serious quality time.
I went up into Chicago 10/18 - 10/23 exactly 10 years ago. Where the train let you off it was sunny 50's, fall, leaves changing colors etc. At camp in Chicago it was in the teens and 4" of snow. Single digits at night. It was COLD. It was amazing hiking from fall into winter and back a few days later.
Great pics sorry you did not get a goat, but you gave it heck. Getting to those ridges is a LOT of work.
For those that have not been there from the train to the lower basin is steep or really steep. I believe 4,000 foot climb to the "lower" part of the basin where most camp. From camp another 2,000 foot climb to ridges. Hard work!
My picture above was the end of May. And still snowing.
Hey Don. I remember reading about your hunt in G5. It is definitely no walk in the park. The climb from the train to our high camp with heavy packs was tough. But the climbs up some of those avalanche chutes in the dark were at my limit. Just got to take it one step at a time.
I agree it’s a hump up the hill from the train. We walked into the basin and set up camp Friday afternoon. Saturday morning rose early to summit as many of the peaks as possible before walking out Sunday.
Saturday morning we hit the trail early to give us time for Windom and Sunlight.
We chose routes that’s took us up an exposed ridge with a good mixture of 3rd and 4th class climbing to the summits.
Then on Sunday raced up Elolus, back down to roll up our bivys and race to meet the train by midday.
By the way. Has anyone loaded a bloody pack onto that train. I’ll bet the tourists loved that :>)))
A photo of one of the routes we took
Eolus and Sunlight are out of my league. Class 4ish and pretty exposed. Our buddies bagged all 4. Windom had deep snow on North side. Met a guy around my age from Texas that did all 4 in one day.
wow awesome pics!1 beautiful Country
Nice shots of some gorgeous country Nock. The "boot shot " is fantastic. Pretty sure Ive been very close to that spot.
Needles storms can certainly get your attention. Reminiscent of "when God showed up" in Forest Gump.
And the further into winter you get the angrier He gets...
Thanks for the trip, I may never draw it again.
Double post. That boot in the pic is size 16 (my sons) and is a photo bomb.
Looks like some incredible country! Thanks for sharing with us.
