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Probably my last hunt

What an inspiring story, Dave! I'm glad you're over your cancer, but please get at least annual PSA tests. I was cancer-free for TEN YEARS, and then it came back.
Best of luck,
Steve McGee
 
So a few years ago, I decided I wanted to challenge myself to a tough hunt after I turned 60. About 15 years earlier, I took a beautiful Dall’s Sheep on what was the most difficult hunt I had ever done. In the meantime my sheep guide had bought out an outfitter who guided for Kodiak Island Mountain Goats. It seemed like a perfect fit and it was.

I booked the hunt for the earliest slot which was 2024. I would be 61. I was really looking forward to this challenge. Then this spring I received a call and was offered a cancellation hunt slot for this season. I accepted the offer and sent the deposit. Shortly after that I drew a very difficult tag for Goulds Turkey in Arizona. I had been applying for six years to draw one of only eight nonresident tags given out each year. I had already lost a bunch of weight and was walking up to 8 miles a day so everything seemed to be falling into place. I figured these would be my last guided hunts.

Well sometimes life throws you curve balls… Less than a month after sending deposits on both hunts, I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. This really messed up my training plans. I shortened up my turkey hunt to get back to have surgery the day after I returned. I was fortunate enough to harvest a Gobbler on day one.

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Now my focus turned to the mountain goat hunt in Alaska. Recovery from the surgery really put a kink in my training plans. Still determined to pull off this hunt, I ordered in some really high-quality mountaineering boots. I learned from that Dall Sheep hunt, that footwear is an absolute key, so I was not going to make a mistake like I did years ago. Eventually, I was able to start training again. In the meantime, I was securing other ultralight high-quality gear necessary for this hunt. The plan was to leave main camp and set up a spike camp at elevation, so the weight of all my gear was critical. Eventually I learned that the surgery was successful and I was cancer free. That gave me a real boost and I started pushing myself harder.

By the time the hunt neared, I had put 102 miles on my boots. I was hiking up the steepest terrain I could find. Eventually, the hills became easier and easier. All of my other gear, clothing, sleeping bag, rain gear etc. had been acquired. Everything was again on track. Then another curve ball…

Three weeks before the hunt, my father, who was in a nursing home, fell and broke his hip. Less than a week later, he passed away. My siblings arrived, and we planned out the funeral. The service was on a Sunday, and the following Saturday, I left for Alaska. I was rather torn about this decision, but thought maybe it was for the best to get away and just reflect.

After several flights, I arrived at Kodiak Island Alaska. If you’ve never hunted, Alaska, the weather dictates everything. I had to stay at the hotel, two extra days, because the float planes simply could not fly due to high winds. I was frustrated but knew this was a possibility. Finally, the winds died down and we were able to make the flight in. The trip in was in a De Havilland Beaver float plane.

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We arrived at base camp and unloaded everything on the beach. I had done this before but the difference this time was that everything had to be coordinated based not only on weather conditions, but also high and low tides, since Kodiak is in the Pacific Ocean. This was something I really never thought about before leaving, but it added to the overall experience.

Now it was time to head to spike camp. We needed to take everything in that we would need for up to several days. After crossing the bay in a boat, they called “leaky”, seeing seals and otters on the way, we started our 3-4 mile hike. These goats are unique since they are at low altitude 2,000-2,500’. Then again you start at sea level so there is still plenty of vertical involved in getting to them.

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We started the hike in thick Alders on trails the Brown Bears used as evidenced by their scat and huge tracks. The ground was soft and very treacherous. As we moved inland, we started following a dry creek, bed. At places we could hear the water flowing below the gravel, but there was not enough melt off or rain to have water flowing at the surface. This was rather difficult traveling through the brush, gravel and boulders, but eventually we had climbed about 1500 feet and reached the snow line.

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A great adventure chronicle of the set backs you had to overcome. Harvesting the Billy would be anticlimactic compared to the journey that got you there.

Thanks for sharing and please accept my sincere condolences for the loss of your father.
 
I want to thank everyone who has replied or said a prayer. Your kind words really make a difference. I’m always amazed to see how eager complete strangers are to help others on this site. Unfortunately that can’t be said about other sites or even people in general, but your actions should give us all hope that there are still people out there with good hearts.

Thank you,
Dave.
 
Thanks for sharing. Very well done. Great story.

I also no longer hunt, same reasons. Nothing against it, I just like to watch the deer. I still plant and feed them every year.

When my father passed, which I knew was coming, I was fishing alone for redfish in duckponds in south LA on a mirror calm perfect day. The hospital called me and I made funeral arrangements from my boat for my dad. I finished the day fishing thinking about the great times I had spent on the water with my dad. Your story reminded me of that day now 23 years ago. Still miss him.

Good luck with your prostate.
 
What a great story and write up! Alaska is such a wonderful place and Kodiak island ranks among the best it has to offer. I’ve been there a few times, mostly when lived in King Salmon but I still go back every four years to Alaska. The last two trips were on Kodiak and Afognak island silver fishing. When flying from Kodiak to Afognak we would fly along the mountains and you could see a lot of goats speckled across the slopes, I hope to hunt them before I age too much to pull it off.

My condolences to losing your father and congrats on fighting a good fight with your own battles. It takes courage to approach some of life’s challenges with hope, faith and positivity and you have all three as evident in your writing.
 
As I watched the Billy with a Nanny and Kidd, I thought about the experience. As I contemplated, I knew that I really didn’t want to kill him. In fact, I realized this hunt had already been successful, and would be my last. For several years, I’ve been losing the desire to actually take an animal. I see nothing wrong with doing that, but as I get older, I just don’t have that desire. I told the guide what I decided to do, and he acted surprised to say the least. I’m sure this was a first for him. Eventually, he said “I get paid the same no matter what, so it’s your decision”. I waved goodbye to the goat and started to hike back out. It was a good feeling.

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We made it back to the beach, loaded everything in the boat and made it back to base camp by dark. It had been a good day. I spent a couple more days in camp, waiting for conditions to clear so I could fly out. It was very enjoyable, just visiting with the other hunters and guides. I made some good friends along the way, and thanked God for an awesome experience.

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I hope you enjoyed this,
Dave.
Dave, you bring back some good memories, I was stationed in Kodiak, AK and was lucky enough to win one of the 350 brown bear lottery tags. I took 2 weeks leave and was out on my own dropped off by plane. Wish I had pictures but that would have been extra weight I could not afford. The second to the last day of the season I dropped a 300-pound brown bear at 75 yards with a 500 grain 45/70. Most of the hunters used the Alaskan 375 cartridges. I had a pack sled which after field dressing was a blessing, as my 150 lb. but would have been in trouble. Now at the age of 68 I still hunt deer only in Maryland where the weather is much better.
 
Great story and happy you were able to pull it off. Sorry to read that it may be your last hunt but we never know what next year may give us. Stay positive.
 
My Condolences on the loss of your Dad. Your hunt was fantastic, I loved the story. I know what you mean about when you get older you lose the desire to kill animals. They are just trying to survive also. I have many animals come into my yard, fox, coyote, deer, rabbits and I feed them all through the winter just to help them out. I get much enjoyment seeing them all.
 
September,1977. My father, who was 57 at the time, passed away suddenly while driving to town to close a deal on a hunting camp. I had booked a hunt to Alaska the year before. I was supposed to leave in ten days. I was planning to cancel the hunt but my family gathered around me and said Dad would want me to go. I went and thought of him every day.
 
Wonderful story and you have a pocket full of great memories, not a pocketful of wishes. I passed on a beautiful big rock chuck, grazing in snow storm, last spring in MT. I hope to see him again in April. I think I'll just shoot the gophers.
 

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