2017 Elk Hunt a Snowy Bust

[IdahoNancy]

Every elk hunter likes a little snow. But 2 feet on the 1st day September 15th was a little much. It was 87 degrees on Wednesday and by Friday we were have a hard time moving in the snow. While driving to our elk spot in thick forest fire smoke there was a winter snow warning. The warning was for elevations 5,500 feet and above. We drove hard to get our wall tent set up before the snow came and we barely made it. Oddly there was a stage 1 fire restriction in effect with a strict expensive fine if you were caught with a chain saw or an open fire. We brought a wood stove and a propane heater for the wall tent. Needless to say most all the elk migrated down out of the mountains with in a short time of the deep snow falling. They were all down on the valley floors of private ranches where public hunting is not allowed. It was beautiful area but we did not get an elk. 
Logistics of archery hunting in 10 days of snow, sleet and rain was difficult but a good time was had by all. It was a lot of stress on the goats. I had a bag of orchard grass alfalfa mixed pellets,Show Goat feed, beet pulp, and BOSS with me. Usually I don't bring food for the goats but this was open range cattle land and with 2 feet of snow I was worried. We were going for 17 days. It turned out not to be a problem. The snow brought down many trees like aspen and alder that were in full leaf. The snow would almost melt between storms exposing good forage. About the time a 3rd snow storm was to come we left fearing if we didn't leave early we may not get out.
The Alpine Dodge is age 5, Blazer the young Oberhasli is 2, and Cruzer, the large Ober is 9.

[Nanno]

I'm sorry you didn't get your elk, but cool photos!! Thanks so much for sharing! I see you did not dye Dodge brown after all. I must admit I'm rather disappointed. With the kind of weather you had, you'd have done better to bleach your Obers!

What kind of packsaddle are you using? It doesn't appear to have any crossbucks so now I'm curious.

[Taffy]

Awesome photos!  Looks like you already have some entries for the next NAPgA calendar contest!

Dodge looks awesome!  Blazer has really grown!  I'm glad Cruzer is still doing well.

If you had dyed Dodge I wonder how Cruzer and Blaze would have reacted to him!?  

[Charlie Horse]

Very unique photos! I suggest entering a few of those in the next calender contest so they can use them in the winter months.

[IdahoNancy]

Those are Greg's L. old mountaineer saddles. Greg has passed now. They are frame-less with lumbar pads that keep the load off the spine. I use them for day packs only. I would not put a heavy load on them. The goal was to keep the pack frame quiet in the woods when hunting. Crossbucks make to much noise for archery hunting. This one is easy to switch it between goats so they can take turns.

[IdahoNancy]

I found that Dodge the Alpine would shiver more than the Obers. Do you think it is just him or do Obers have better cold tolerance. I kept them all blanketed while at camp. Once Dodge got moving he was fine. We were out in a lot of cold wet weather. I kept his pack on him hiking even if there was nothing in it. Dodge has a deep wide build with good meat on him. Not sure why he acted like he was colder. He loved warm water and warm moist food.

[Nanno]

I'm guessing it's just him and not the breed in general.

[GoldenTreePackGoats]

I don't know if this applies but I have a full Alpine doe who didn't grow a very thick layer of cashmere last winter. It resulted in shivering and I had to blanket her to keep her in a barely acceptable body condition. Again we don't know why, we have her twin who was fine. This year she's already much more plump so we're hoping her undercoat grows appropriately. I didn't do any testing last year, but we did find out we have a herd wide zinc deficiency.

So much snow!! Cool pictures, looks like fun.