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I first posted this story on the old Pack Goat Forum, in response to a request for some Pack Goat "Tales."
Before we got our other boys, we only had one Pack Goat--Barley. We took him on his first overnight backpacking trip in August of 2009 and had ourselves a little adventure!
We were dog-sitting our friend's (VERY expensive) bird-hunting dog, Bosco. We were 2 humans (Carl & myself), Barley the Goat, and Bosco the Dog. We were wearing our backpacks, Barley was wearing his goat-pack, and Bosco was wearing a doggie backpack. We were bush-whacking up a steep drainage, in West Central Idaho. I had already crossed the creek. Carl, Bosco, & Barley were looking for a place to cross higher up. I could see them across the way. Bosco was up front, and Barley was behind Carl.
I saw Carl walking very slowly. He had spotted two BEARS up ahead, & was trying to get a better look at them. Not sure if Bosco the dog saw them at the same time, or if she accidentally stumbled upon them. We were downwind of the bears, so they probably didn't smell us, & the creek noise probably prevented them from hearing us. In retrospect, it was most likely a mother bear & her yearling offspring. The smaller bear ran off, but the mother bear remained.
The next thing I heard was Carl yelling at the top of his lungs, "Bosco! Bosco!" Then the dog started howling as if it was being mortally wounded! I looked over & all I could see through the brush was the rear end of a BIG bear! And hearing the dog shrieking!
And then I heard a GUN go off once, twice, then again...and again! And I was like, "WHAT? WHO is up here shooting in the middle of NOWHERE?" My initial thought was that some bear hunters had witnessed the whole predicament & decided to help us out and shoot this bear for us!
Anyway, after the 4th shot, the bear finally ran away. I yelled to Carl, "Who's shooting?" He answered, "I am!" And I was like, "WHAT? Since when have you been packing HEAT in the back country?"
Well, when the mother bear first saw Bosco the dog, it pounced on her (the yearling immediately ran off). However, the dog wriggled free from the bear's grasp & ran straight for Carl, (her "protector?"). Unfortunately, the bear chased the dog, & caught her AGAIN. You couldn't believe how fast that bear moved! By this time they were only about 8 feet away from Carl!
Then the bear REALLY started mauling the dog! Meanwhile, Carl had frantically dug his old pistol out from deep inside his backpack, & started shooting at the ground next to the bear. He wasn't trying to kill the bear; he just wanted to scare it off. Carl had been storing the gun in an old wool sock, at the very bottom of his pack, & didn't even have time to take it out of the sock. He just blasted away through the sock! He had only one bullet left, before the bear finally abandoned the dog & ran off. Phew!
We thought for sure the dog was badly mauled, but upon examining her, all we could find was one puncture hole--in her dog pack! Wearing that pack is probably one of the things that saved her life! What a lucky dog. And it wasn't even our dog--it belonged to our friend!
Anyway, Carl had only recently started bringing his pistol out in the woods. He had decided to bring one, just in case he might ever have to put Barley of his misery if the goat ever got too badly injured to make it out. We had had a previous conversation about this issue--which I promptly forgot. So I had no idea he had a gun with him, but if he hadn't had that gun--there's no telling what the bear would have done to Carl, after it finished off the dog.
Carl says he never thought he would be using his gun for for his OWN protection, which was why he had it buried in his pack, instead of carrying it as a sidearm. I don't think the bear would have attacked us if we hadn't had a dog with us--but once that dog ran up to the bear, Carl knew we were in big trouble. In all his years of backpacking experience, that is the only time Carl ever felt like he needed a gun out in the woods.
Oh, and Barley the Goat? He just stood there beside Carl, during the whole thing--the bear attack, the dog howling and being chased, even when the gun was being fired right next to him. What a trooper! Looking back on it, our goat was probably thinking to himself--"I never liked that dog in the first place, this bear can just go ahead & finish it off!"
I hope you all enjoyed the story. Thanks for hosting this forum, Nanno!
(Barley on his first overnight hike, AFTER the scary bear encounter...)
10223_128366453807_3966508_n.jpg (Size: 112.3 KB / Downloads: 114)
Before we got our other boys, we only had one Pack Goat--Barley. We took him on his first overnight backpacking trip in August of 2009 and had ourselves a little adventure!
We were dog-sitting our friend's (VERY expensive) bird-hunting dog, Bosco. We were 2 humans (Carl & myself), Barley the Goat, and Bosco the Dog. We were wearing our backpacks, Barley was wearing his goat-pack, and Bosco was wearing a doggie backpack. We were bush-whacking up a steep drainage, in West Central Idaho. I had already crossed the creek. Carl, Bosco, & Barley were looking for a place to cross higher up. I could see them across the way. Bosco was up front, and Barley was behind Carl.
I saw Carl walking very slowly. He had spotted two BEARS up ahead, & was trying to get a better look at them. Not sure if Bosco the dog saw them at the same time, or if she accidentally stumbled upon them. We were downwind of the bears, so they probably didn't smell us, & the creek noise probably prevented them from hearing us. In retrospect, it was most likely a mother bear & her yearling offspring. The smaller bear ran off, but the mother bear remained.
The next thing I heard was Carl yelling at the top of his lungs, "Bosco! Bosco!" Then the dog started howling as if it was being mortally wounded! I looked over & all I could see through the brush was the rear end of a BIG bear! And hearing the dog shrieking!
And then I heard a GUN go off once, twice, then again...and again! And I was like, "WHAT? WHO is up here shooting in the middle of NOWHERE?" My initial thought was that some bear hunters had witnessed the whole predicament & decided to help us out and shoot this bear for us!
Anyway, after the 4th shot, the bear finally ran away. I yelled to Carl, "Who's shooting?" He answered, "I am!" And I was like, "WHAT? Since when have you been packing HEAT in the back country?"
Well, when the mother bear first saw Bosco the dog, it pounced on her (the yearling immediately ran off). However, the dog wriggled free from the bear's grasp & ran straight for Carl, (her "protector?"). Unfortunately, the bear chased the dog, & caught her AGAIN. You couldn't believe how fast that bear moved! By this time they were only about 8 feet away from Carl!
Then the bear REALLY started mauling the dog! Meanwhile, Carl had frantically dug his old pistol out from deep inside his backpack, & started shooting at the ground next to the bear. He wasn't trying to kill the bear; he just wanted to scare it off. Carl had been storing the gun in an old wool sock, at the very bottom of his pack, & didn't even have time to take it out of the sock. He just blasted away through the sock! He had only one bullet left, before the bear finally abandoned the dog & ran off. Phew!
We thought for sure the dog was badly mauled, but upon examining her, all we could find was one puncture hole--in her dog pack! Wearing that pack is probably one of the things that saved her life! What a lucky dog. And it wasn't even our dog--it belonged to our friend!
Anyway, Carl had only recently started bringing his pistol out in the woods. He had decided to bring one, just in case he might ever have to put Barley of his misery if the goat ever got too badly injured to make it out. We had had a previous conversation about this issue--which I promptly forgot. So I had no idea he had a gun with him, but if he hadn't had that gun--there's no telling what the bear would have done to Carl, after it finished off the dog.
Carl says he never thought he would be using his gun for for his OWN protection, which was why he had it buried in his pack, instead of carrying it as a sidearm. I don't think the bear would have attacked us if we hadn't had a dog with us--but once that dog ran up to the bear, Carl knew we were in big trouble. In all his years of backpacking experience, that is the only time Carl ever felt like he needed a gun out in the woods.
Oh, and Barley the Goat? He just stood there beside Carl, during the whole thing--the bear attack, the dog howling and being chased, even when the gun was being fired right next to him. What a trooper! Looking back on it, our goat was probably thinking to himself--"I never liked that dog in the first place, this bear can just go ahead & finish it off!"
I hope you all enjoyed the story. Thanks for hosting this forum, Nanno!
(Barley on his first overnight hike, AFTER the scary bear encounter...)
10223_128366453807_3966508_n.jpg (Size: 112.3 KB / Downloads: 114)