There is nothing quite like waking up on a frosty September morning in a two-man tent pitched on a small, semi-flat ledge 1,500 ft above a Southeast Alaskan coastline. As I exited the tent that first morning of the hunt, you could feel the cold, humid air rip through your lungs as your eyes soaked in God's sunrise over the mountaintops. With goats above us, there wasn’t much time wasted as the plan of attack was discussed.

This hunt started only a month earlier when I saw a social media post about an opening with Lonesome Dove Outfitters. Knowing my buddy Joey Jones had the itch to get back to Alaska, I sent him the details. Without any hesitation, Joey replied, "Let’s do it!" I reached out to Dennis Zadra, Master Guide #182 and owner of Lonesome Dove Outfitters in Cordova, Alaska, to get the details. By the end of the day, a deposit was sent, and airline tickets were booked for an opening day mountain goat hunt. As Joey was the hunter on this hunt, I would be there handling all the business ends and just to simply capture the moment for Joey to have for a lifetime.

What a view of Cordova Harbor.

Once arriving in Cordova, we immediately met Dennis at the airport. I can’t speak enough about how great Dennis treated us. He and his wife, Alicia, were extremely kind to welcome us into their home for dinner and to discuss the upcoming hunt. At that dinner, we met our two guides, Wesley King and Joe Choate. Two great guys who bled the passion to be on the ridgeline chasing mountain goats.

Left to Right Joe, Wesley, Jeremy & Joey

The following morning, we met up at the local airstrip for the float plane. It was only a 45-minute flight north to our hunting grounds for the next 5 days. It was a very scenic flight, with goats everywhere along the mountaintops. With our landing spot in sight, we circled around for our approach onto the mountain lake. It was easy to see the white goats along the ridge tops, but I was extremely surprised at the number of black bears I could spot as well.

It was only mid-morning the day before opening day in our area, so we elected to start the climb to set up camp above the tree line to start the hunt on rested legs the following day. This was one of the best decisions made on this hunt. It was a tough climb as we waded half a mile up a mountain creek in waders to avoid the thick jungle of alders. Joey and I felt there was no way anyone wouldn’t twist or break an ankle while navigating your foot placement around slick boulders under the rushing water.

Navigating the creek was risky but much easier than the thick alders.

As we finally reached the spot to ascend up the mountain, we stopped to change out of the waiters and into our hunting gear. Joe and Wesly put their crampons on and encouraged us to do so as well. This was the first time I’ve been in a position to use these and truly hesitated as I was strapping them onto my boots. Joey and I just looked over at each other, and we both could see the look on each other’s faces as to what have we gotten ourselves into. It took a little getting used to, but these crampons were a must-have to navigate the slick mountainside of snot grass.

The crampons are a must have gear item when in pursuit of mountain goats.

It wasn’t long before we made it to the tree line and camp was set. With the binoculars out, goats were located almost immediately above us on the mountain ridgeline. It’s just simply amazing how they can navigate those rocky cliffs as easily as we navigate from our couch to the fridge. The number of goats we could spot gave us high hopes for the following morning's hunt.

Goats spotted just above us at camp.

The following morning was cool and frosty, but with the thought of the upcoming climb, I knew we would be shedding layers to keep from overheating. With a quick breakfast and our packs packed light for the day, we started our ascent. It didn’t take us long before spotting a few good goats, but with a closer look, they were just a little young, so we continued our climb. As we worked our way over and around the rocky ridge, Wesley stopped and hunkered down. His demeanor changed, and he immediately took charge of the moment. His spotting scope came out, and with a quick glance, he turned around and gave Joey the thumbs up. There were two big goats bedded only 300 yards out, looking in our direction. They were not aware of our presence, so we decided to circle back around to gain some elevation and for a better shooting position. Joey and Wesley approached, then belly-crawled up to the outcrop of rocks as Joe and I stayed 20 yards behind. I set up the camera to capture the memory.

Joey in position as we wait for the shot opportunity.

Joey and Wesley discussed which billy was the target, and it wasn’t long before the big old billy decided to reposition himself. Joey was rock solid, and at 280 yards, the Remington 375 Ultra Mag roared across the mountainside. You could hear the distinct sound of that 300-grain bullet whop the chest cavity. To my surprise, the goat sucked it up and turned around for an exit. With a quick second shot, he fell back into his bed and was down.

The celebrations quickly began with handshakes and high fives. It was opening day, and before noon—I mean, how does that happen for a mountain goat hunt! After the short climb up to the downed goat, the congratulations continued as we all showed our respects for this magnificent animal. With a fairly quick photo session, the work began as we all jumped in to prepare the meat and hide for its journey back down to camp. As soon as our packs were loaded, it was like someone flipped a switch for the famous Southeast Alaska rain to begin. It was a long, slow hike back to camp in the wet conditions. It's truly a dangerous place to be without the right gear!

Joey with his great old 9 1/2 in billy.

That night, Joey and I lay in our tents reflecting on the day as we listened to the rain pour down all night. We just knew that the creek we waded up was roaring with the influx of water from the rain. With full packs, it was going to be a tough descent back to the lake for our trip home.

God graced us with a beautiful sunrise as we packed up our camp to head home.

The next morning, though, it was like that switch was flipped again, and the clouds parted in the sky, making for a spectacular sunrise. We packed up our wet camp, and 5 hours later, we found ourselves on the beach with exhausted legs, waiting for our ride back to Cordova.

Best idea ever to bring chairs to the beach for our wait.

I want to take a moment here to thank Joey Jones for allowing me to be a small part of his adventures. Joey is a dedicated hunter who will push himself and everyone around him to reach the fullest potential possible. Also, thanks to Joe and Wesley for their hard work and dedication to put non-residents like us into positions to obtain such goals. Lastly, a huge shout-out to Dennis and Alicia Zadra for their hospitality and for running an upstanding outfit. Without the efforts of everyone involved, this story would have never been made. 

My Must Have Gear Items For This Hunt: