The Once in a Lifetime Goat

by Dan Simmons

Photo Above: Mark Genet, Mt Goat

It all started when my friend Mark Genet, like many of us, checked his credit card bill to see if it had any charges to the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). There was, which indicated he had drawn a tag, and by the amount charged he was sure it was a coveted Big Horn Sheep tag. This was cause for a lot of excitement and phone calls to hunting pals. A few days later he received notice from NDOW; it was an even greater prize, a once-in-a-lifetime Mountain Goat tag. Mark had not even imagined that possibility. He’d been applying for this tag since his teens and it was the one he wanted most. More excitement and phone calls followed.

One of those first calls was to Henry Krenka of Hidden Lake Outfitters. Henry’s family was one of the original families in the Ruby Mountain area and they even have a tributary creek named in their honor. Henry still lives in their original log home and is “just an ol’ cowboy,” but he is also known as the man of the mountain when it comes to guiding in this area.

The next thing Mark did was joining a gym, started seriously working out, and included hiking mountains on weekends in preparation for what is known to be one of the toughest hunts in the world. Mountain Goats tend to live in and among the cliffs and crags of the hardest to get to wilderness areas. The Ruby’s are no exception; Mark’s hunting area would be at the 10,000 foot level.

Day 1: He met Henry in the morning as he was rounding up the horses and putting the pack string together. Mike, a second guide/cook would be accompanying them and making sure they were well fed and comfortable in their wall-tent camp, heated with a wood-burning Sheppard’s stove. They’d feel right at home after a hard days climb.

They ended the day high in the mountains, with a filet mignon steak, a campfire, a sportsman’s toast to good luck, good hunting and good weather.

Day Two: It was up early and a hearty breakfast while Henry saddled the horses and they were off. A two-hour ride put them to the top of tree line; the horses were tied and it was hiking through sliding shale, cliffs and rock the rest of the way.

On top they glassed as they walked the ridges, always hunting from above as Mountain Goats expect danger from the bottom, unlike desert sheep. As the sun approached the distant mountain tops they found the goats, a group of billies, but too far for a good stalk that late in the afternoon, and one certainly doesn’t want to be climbing down the mountain in the dark.

Day Three: Back to the same area, they began glassing early and found a nice billy bedded where they had seen him the evening before, 350 yards below the hunters. It was time to get within bow hunting distance, so Mark bailed off the cliff.

Three hours later he was on him, 67 yards, still too far to feel comfortable with the bow, so Mark waited for him to move. There was a grassy area above the billy, 40 yards from the hunter – he waited. Another three hours passed and Mark felt that sickening feel of, “wind on my neck.” The goat was on his feet and looking directly at Mark, but not seeing him. It was enough, though. It backed up and was gone, “like a white ghost,” over the cliff.

For a disappointed Mark it was back up the mountain, but not the way he had come down. To get back up it meant trekking two ravines over and then up – end of day three.

Day Four: The hunters moved to a new area in the early light and glassed. There, on a cliff below, a nice billy, but a mile away. They started hiking, staying always above the goat, and this time Mark decided to use his 30:06 Remington 700 BDL with 165 gr. Nosler Boat Tails. This he carried as a back-up in his Eberlsetock pack which has a built in rifle scabbard. With only one day left of his five-day hunt he wasn’t going to take any more chances with this once-in-a-lifetime tag. He would just have to explain it to his bow hunting purist daughter, Mallory, when he got home.

During the climb down the mountain, Mark slipped on the shale and fell landing on his rifle and scope. He continued on scratched, but nothing broken. He was above the goat, but couldn’t see it because of the out-cropping. He sat for twenty minutes and then the wind changed, as it had the day before, and he felt it on the back of his neck once again.

This time, however, the goat came out at fifty yards, caught Mark’s wind and took off across the mountain at a steady pace. Mark waited for 100 yards and shot – nothing. Shot again – nothing. Buck fever? The third shot was also high. Guide Henry yells, “aim low, at the belly.” The goat is now at 180 yards at a full run. Mark concentrates, aims low, and squeezes the trigger gently – hit. Then another – hit, and the billy goes out of sight behind rocks. The rifle scope had been knocked out of alignment with the fall.

Mark then calls to Henry, “Is he down?” and is answered with, “He’s hit good, but he’s not in the skillet yet. These are tough animals.” As they go down the mountain Henry calls again, “He’s down.”
Mark at 41 years old had been applying for this tag since he was 16, and finally – success.
At home Mallory’s first question, “What did you shoot him with Dad?” Mark told of his adventure and her response, “It’s okay Dad.” She only wished she could have been with her dad – her hunting partner.

Recipe of the Week

Here’s a recipe that tastes good in camp or at home. I am sure many of you will recognize a variation of this, which you may have tasted around your own camp. If you are doing this over the campfire in the ol’ dutch-oven, the biscuits can be laid right on top during the final minutes of cooking.

Another great attribute of this recipe is, as we all know it’s even better the next day.

High Country Stew

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound of bacon, diced
  • 2 pounds goat steak, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 4 tbsp flour
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 cans beef broth
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • 4 carrots, sliced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 medium potatoes, cubed
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 cup fresh, or frozen, green peas

Directions:

  • Cook the bacon in a large saucepan until lightly browned;
  • toss steak pieces in flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper and brown;
  • add onion, garlic and celery to the pan and cook until soft;
  • de-glaze pan with beef broth; add water, carrots, potatoes, tomato and red wine;
  • simmer for two and a half hours, stirring occasionally;
  • stir in green peas and continue cooking for 15 minutes.

“The Once in a Lifetime Goat” first appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal’s Pahrump Valley Times