Drew Non-Resident WY 001-1 Mountain Goat

[isaacallred]

I lucked out as a NR and drew the WY 001-1 Mountain Goat tag for 2024. I'm from Utah and have spent a lot of time hunting deer and elk, but this will be my first mountain goat hunt. I'm planning on making two or three trips to the area before the hunt to learn the area and make a plan, but was hoping to get some help from people familiar with the area.

I've talked to the Wyoming Fish and Game out of Cody and have talked to several guides as well. My main question is if people familiar with the area think a guide is necessary for this hunt? I'm in good shape and know this will be a physical hunt, but my dad has had some health issues and can't hike much, so I'm hoping we can bring ATV's and he can at least sit behind a spotting scope throughout the hunt.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Crampy]

Gosh no, wouldn't hire a guide for WY 001 goat. No wilderness.

Fly in, rent a Kia at the airport. Drive the blacktop beartooth pass highway. Glass em up from the black top.

Try not to shoot one while the tourists are watching you.

How picky you gonna be? Certainly some very rough country there, but if you have enough time you should be able to find one close ish to the road.

Long season. Plenty of time to go back if you don't get one early season.

 

[isaacallred]

Gosh no, wouldn't hire a guide for WY 001 goat. No wilderness.

Fly in, rent a Kia at the airport. Drive the blacktop beartooth pass highway. Glass em up from the black top.

Try not to shoot one while the tourists are watching you.

How picky you gonna be? Certainly some very rough country there, but if you have enough time you should be able to find one close ish to the road.

Long season. Plenty of time to go back if you don't get one early season.

Crampy, I'm planning on taking ten days off and if I need to come back I can do that. I won't be overly picky, so it sounds like it's something we could do on our own.

Do you know if there are quite a few ATV trails? As much as I would love to shoot a goat in front of a group of tourists, I would like to get off the highway and see some country.

 

[beech18]

I had that tag few years ago as a NR. No need for a guide. You can make that hunt as easy or as hard as you want to make it. PM your number, be happy to answer questions for you if you’d like to chat.

 

[isaacallred]

I had that tag few years ago as a NR. No need for a guide. You can make that hunt as easy or as hard as you want to make it. PM your number, be happy to answer questions for you if you’d like to chat.

Thanks! Just sent you a message with my number.

 

[Crampy]

Check your maps. I'm sure there are some trails you could use the ATV for. But the roads I'm thinking of are all fine by truck.

If I drew that tag, I'd handle it all from blacktop, US-212 in a passenger car. Hiking from US-212 with my lightweight backpacking gear. I'd do 1-2 night overnights to get a look at drainages you can't see from US-212.

The outfitters I've seen in that unit have used horses from 212 using the well established non-motorized trail system.

Go deep if you want. But you certainly wouldn't need an ATV.

Hold out for a reasonable billy. And do your best to identify a billy to keep the tag count high for next year.

WY-1 is the hardest to draw because it can be so moderate and so easily done DIY for an NR (no wilderness and US 212).

Go mid-sept for 10 days and I think you'll get it done. Should have decent coats by 9/15. 9/1 coats can still be sketchy.

And just be ready to scramble together a second trip in Oct if you need it. Watch the weather as US 212 is the first road to close.

Later in the year, so tourist traffic is down, especially weekdays and at sunrise. So if you have to harvest a road billy, you can get out of there before too many tourists pass by.

Some of those goats get fed by the tourists and get habituated. But I'm sure you can find a wild billy.

There is a decent chance you could harvest a billy and have it viewable by your dad with a spotter on/near US 212.

Harvest % pretty high and often just a few days per harvest:

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/29197/download?inline

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/27422/download?inline

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/22083/download?inline

You will recognize the abandoned ski lift (roadside, US 212) in this video:

 

[isaacallred]

Check your maps. I'm sure there are some trails you could use the ATV for. But the roads I'm thinking of are all fine by truck.

If I drew that tag, I'd handle it all from blacktop, US-212 in a passenger car. Hiking from US-212 with my lightweight backpacking gear. I'd do 1-2 night overnights to get a look at drainages you can't see from US-212.

The outfitters I've seen in that unit have used horses from 212 using the well established non-motorized trail system.

Go deep if you want. But you certainly wouldn't need an ATV.

Hold out for a reasonable billy. And do your best to identify a billy to keep the tag count high for next year.

WY-1 is the hardest to draw because it can be so moderate and so easily done DIY for an NR (no wilderness and US 212).

Go mid-sept for 10 days and I think you'll get it done. Should have decent coats by 9/15. 9/1 coats can still be sketchy.

And just be ready to scramble together a second trip in Oct if you need it. Watch the weather as US 212 is the first road to close.

Later in the year, so tourist traffic is down, especially weekdays and at sunrise. So if you have to harvest a road billy, you can get out of there before too many tourists pass by.

Some of those goats get fed by the tourists and get habituated. But I'm sure you can find a wild billy.

There is a decent chance you could harvest a billy and have it viewable by your dad with a spotter on/near US 212.

Harvest % pretty high and often just a few days per harvest:

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/29197/download?inline

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/27422/download?inline

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/22083/download?inline

You will recognize the abandoned ski lift (roadside, US 212) in this video:

This is super helpful! I don't want to shoot a goat off the road, so we will make a few trips and see what kind of trails we can find off the 212 to get away from tourists. Thanks again!

 

[nfh]

most hunters head up into Clarks fork canyon. some access from the upper side. some use morrsion jeep trail.

hunting mnt goats off a road doesnt seem like a fun time in my opinion. Dont expect monster goats. This area has a lot of tags. dont get me wrong some decent ones exist but mainly full of 8 inch billy's

 

[littlebighorn]

Congratulations on the permit.
It appears you are getting plenty of advice from the good members of this forum. From my experience, knowledge from previous hunters will make life much easier. I'd pump them for answers to any and all your questions.
Please keep us up to date on your hunt.

 

[PleaseDear]

Congrats on the tag.



Good times for you and your Dad, for sure.



Robb