Hi guys, this is my second season hunting in socal. I've lived here my whole life and know all of the mountain biking trails north of highway 74 in D15, having raced mountain bikes and done trail maintenance and many of the popular trails like San Juan, Pinos, and Bell Ridge. Now I'm older, slower, and have kids, so no more trail maintenance or racing for me! Hunting, however is my new passion, and I still have two legs than can walk a few miles. My goal is to learn this craft so that when my boys are old enough I can take them hunting out of state.
Last year I hunted D14 and had some terrible experiences, including a group of hunters parading and shouting in a language other than English (I'll let you guess which one) through the canyon I spent all day getting to, and setting up at, on opening day. The second was a pair of hunters, also of the same language and persuasion, who decided to park adjacent to my truck 100 yards away while I was in position waiting for sunrise and light up cigarettes and chat loud enough that anything up and down the canyon a mile away would hear them. That of course was my own fault, having layed up so close to a road. Lesson learned! As luck had it, 15 minutes after sunrise they must have spotted a buck as I heard no less than four shots fired in quick succession within 200 yards from me. Although a green hunter, I am not a green marksman as I have been a precision shooter for a number years, and I could never imagine having to take four shots at an animal to put it down...unless it was the size of an elephant. I never discovered if they were successful or not because I immediately hiked out and up the canyon to put as much distance between them and me as possible! I never want to go back to that area...Sorry for being long winded, I wanted to get that off my chest.
Moving on, I figure I may as well hunt my local mountains, again with which I am familiar. My primary concern is avoiding the crazies. Just from my experiencing in the mountains, and knowing that most guys like to drive to where they hunt, I'd imagine those would be 4-corners and along the north divide. Am I correct? I'd appreciate recommendations on where the crowds gather so I can best avoid them and not waste my time, especially my limited scouting time. Last year I spent all of my time scouting that area in D14 only to encounter a zillion hunters swarming like locusts all over the hills in Pinnacle Flats. I really hope that any hunters I encounter in D15 are respectful--I'm not sure what to expect on opening day.
Do any of you guys recommend backpacking this unit? I have a full kit, so I'm considering that option. The problem of course here is water, so there are limited areas to spend an overnight.
Anyways I am pumped on this unit, seeing that I live on Ortega highway. I figure I can get some solid hikes in, make some mistakes, learn some lessons, and enjoy some sunrises, and skip the 5 hour round trip drive this year.
Last year I hunted D14 and had some terrible experiences, including a group of hunters parading and shouting in a language other than English (I'll let you guess which one) through the canyon I spent all day getting to, and setting up at, on opening day. The second was a pair of hunters, also of the same language and persuasion, who decided to park adjacent to my truck 100 yards away while I was in position waiting for sunrise and light up cigarettes and chat loud enough that anything up and down the canyon a mile away would hear them. That of course was my own fault, having layed up so close to a road. Lesson learned! As luck had it, 15 minutes after sunrise they must have spotted a buck as I heard no less than four shots fired in quick succession within 200 yards from me. Although a green hunter, I am not a green marksman as I have been a precision shooter for a number years, and I could never imagine having to take four shots at an animal to put it down...unless it was the size of an elephant. I never discovered if they were successful or not because I immediately hiked out and up the canyon to put as much distance between them and me as possible! I never want to go back to that area...Sorry for being long winded, I wanted to get that off my chest.
Moving on, I figure I may as well hunt my local mountains, again with which I am familiar. My primary concern is avoiding the crazies. Just from my experiencing in the mountains, and knowing that most guys like to drive to where they hunt, I'd imagine those would be 4-corners and along the north divide. Am I correct? I'd appreciate recommendations on where the crowds gather so I can best avoid them and not waste my time, especially my limited scouting time. Last year I spent all of my time scouting that area in D14 only to encounter a zillion hunters swarming like locusts all over the hills in Pinnacle Flats. I really hope that any hunters I encounter in D15 are respectful--I'm not sure what to expect on opening day.
Do any of you guys recommend backpacking this unit? I have a full kit, so I'm considering that option. The problem of course here is water, so there are limited areas to spend an overnight.
Anyways I am pumped on this unit, seeing that I live on Ortega highway. I figure I can get some solid hikes in, make some mistakes, learn some lessons, and enjoy some sunrises, and skip the 5 hour round trip drive this year.
Last edited:
