May what a month it was! It started out going to the Boise area for work to grab a trailer on the weekends getting to spend time with a friend of mine that lives up there as well as one of my favorite people who I am lucky enough to call family. Growing up I always thought that Boise was sooooo far away. But come to find out it is actually only 8.5/9 hours away which for someone like me that loves to drive is nothing.
On one of my trips home one of my good friends Jen who is one of the owners of Girls With Guns Clothing called me to see what I was doing. As the conversation went on she goes so I know one of your dream hunts is a black bear hunt well do you want to go with me next week up in Idaho? Without any hesitation I of course said YES! This had been a one of my dream hunts. I have always wanted to bear hunt and find them to be incredible animals. I have also always heard about how good the meat is. One things about bears is that as amazing as they are they are definitely predators. They will kill anything to eat.
The trip to Idaho for the hunt was a go. Jen and I were Garden Valley bound to hunt with Table Mountain Outfitters. Not only was I finally getting to go on my dream hunt I was also getting to spend time with an amazing, hard working friend. The road trip was definitely fun. Anytime Jen and I are together you can guarantee that we are laughing. We made it to the house in Garden Valley met the awesome crew and I was so excited about the hunt in the morning. I was hunting with Tyler and Keedin. Jen was with Scott and Angie. Driving up the mountain Tyler asked me what color bear I would like. I told him just a straight up black bear. He then informed me that they had only seen one but that he would see what he could do.
We were hunting with hounds and that was also another first for me. I quickly learned just how amazing those dogs are. As we drove up the road farther all of a sudden the dogs started barking. But Tyler thought they were smelling an old trail. So we continued on. On our way back down they struck again at the same spot but it still wasn’t what Tyler was hoping for. He has raised most of these dogs and they are like his kids. He knows everything about them. We went down the mountain a little farther and Tyler decided to go back to the spot and see what the dogs could find. Sure enough they struck again and he released them. They got on a bear and the race was on! They all have tracking collars on so we could see exactly where the dog was, who was in the lead and which way they were headed. Now I didn’t know that bears will run the same the path over and over again. The dogs ran the bear around the mountain and we were watching were they were most likely going to cross the road at. We got to the spot and barely missed them but we looked up and saw the bear running up the mountain. I was so excited because he was a straight black bear. Tyler couldn’t believe that the first bear we got on was the exact color of the one I wanted to harvest.
The dogs and the bear ran awhile until the GPS popped up with dogs treed. Pretty sure all the dogs were stopped. Tyler went to check to see what was going on and sure enough the bear was treed. He was a mature bear. So I got the go ahead to hike up the mountain to him. We got the crew together and started the hike up to him. Angie, Jen and I started up the hill with the camera man Kelly. Tyler was with the dogs and the bear up towards the top. The climb up the mountain was definitely work but so worth it. We finally made it to the top and there he was up in a pine tree about 70-80 feet. I was shocked at how well they climb and just how amazing of an animal that they are. We took some time to admire him and catch our breathes. We got set up for the perfect shot. Everyone was clear and I pulled the trigger. It was a perfect heart shot and he didn’t suffer at all. I was so honored to take such an amazing animal. Every time I hunt I never take it lightly. It is something I do to feed my family and every animal I harvest I am thankful for.
When I was able to go up to this incredible animal it was a humbling experience. I was so grateful to be able to go on this hunt. We did what we needed to do to prep the bear to be packed out and back down the mountain we went. The dogs did such an amazing job and it was incredible to see them work.
Back to the house we went and it was Jens turn. She hunted the evening and full next day and still hadn’t gotten a bear. The third morning I was with Tyler and the dogs we had with us got two treed. Scott and Angies crew got a bear treed and Jen was able to harvest hers. The hunt was incredible! I got to learn so much about bear hunting and how the dogs work. The dogs are definitely family to them.
With Jen and mines tags full we were headed home a few days early and luckily for me I was able to book a trailer back to California. It was an incredible 5 days with Jen on one of the best hunts I have ever been on. It will be a hunt I will forever be thankful for.
Liz's Gypsy Journey 