Not 3 days ago I got back from what was my second round of Idaho spring bear. The first round took place in late April and I snuck away again a month later in late May. Both were backpack hunts in some of the most rugged country in the lower 48.
On the first trip, I was joined by my cameraman and friend Dillon Flint, along with two other friends Brian and Eric. Both are on the green side of bear hunting, but both are ever so eager to get after it. Early spring hunts like this are very weather-dependent in terms of bear sightings. Bears aren’t moving a ton this time of year anyway, so if any bit of nasty weather blows in, they usually shut down. We found this out very quickly.
All in all, we only turned up 2 bears in the 6 days of backpack hunting we did. They were 2 small boars that were both sticking very tight to their dens. We’d see them one day and then they’d disappear for a few days. My hope going early like this would be that we would have a better opportunity at pinning a bear down for a stalk. If it weren’t for the weather, based on what the bears were doing that we saw, the plan would have worked perfectly. We just never saw the right bear.
On the second trip, I was alone backpacking into the same country from earlier in the spring. It would be a short trip. Just a few days. With it being later in the year, I knew ALL of the bears would be out moving around. My first two days in camp were HOT. It felt more like my home state of Arizona than it did Idaho. In that time I only saw one lone bear. Again, a small bear. The weather was set to turn for the next few days with a temperature drop of 20 degrees. This is what I needed.
Once the temperature dropped, the bears really started moving. In the one day I got to hunt during this time I turned up 6 bears. A sow and 1 cub, a sow and 2 cubs, and another lone small bear. Even though I never saw a bear I wanted to go after, watching these animals never gets old. From the cubs playing with their Momma to watching little bears try and move big boulders around to uncover food underneath. It was a great hunt.
I think the number one thing I learned on this hunt is there is only so much you can control and plan for. My focus was so lasered in on bringing a bow into this landscape. It was all I could think about and something I had wanted to do for years. Not for a second did I think I wouldn’t even go on one stalk. I love Mother Nature for that. She always has a way of getting me to look at things in a different way.
Walking out of that Idaho backcountry there was a smile on my face from ear to ear. Not only was I fulfilled with another spring in Idaho, but I was looking toward the future. An August spot and stalk archery black bear hunt in my home state of Arizona. Arizona Fall Bear is very near and dear to me and I am so very eager to start my scouting and enjoy another Fall season in Arizona bear country. I have a few scouting trips already planned and will try and keep you all updated!
Want to learn more about backpack hunting? Check out my book Becoming a Backpack Hunter: A Beginner’s Guide to Hunting the Backcountry.
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