2015 Yukon sheep guiding

[325 wsm]

This year I spent a week with another guide doing some pre-season scouting. We didnt get to cover as much ground as we would have liked due to bad weather but did find some rams.




The hike down to the lake and back up to spike camp with the hunter was a wet one. Luckily for us on opening day it cleared up. We spent the day on top of the peaks, and located the rams ….. the next mountain over now. To far for the first day.
Day 2 was foggy and rainy so we were stuck in camp again. We spent the afternoon watching a couple of grizzly cubs feeding on berries on the far hillside as it cleared up that afternoon.
Day 3 and back to the top and we soon locate the rams on the far mountain. After a brief lunch we decide to make the push for them. It was 5 o clock by the time we were making our final stalk. As we walked along the spined ridge the big ram stepped up and appeared at the other end of it @ 100 yds away. No time for a shot as it disappeared back into the saddle it came from. We
sprinted to the end of the spine and set up for a shot as the ram sidehilled the mountain away from us.





The trip back to the tents was a long one. At about midnight we had to dig out the headlamps and finally made it to the tents an hour later. Heres a pic of the view from the top on the way back. Mts in the background are over 18,000 ft.

 

[325 wsm]

The next hunt I flew into my nemesis lake. Spent 5 days covering 20 miles of ridge lines and only found 3 dink rams. We walked every ridge line you can see in the following picture.




A couple days later and we are on top of a new mountain.



We woke up to freezing temps and the top of the mountain was still covered with a couple inches of snow from the previous days down pour. On the way to the main peak we found a laerge group of ewes and lambs and had to skirt around them. This lead us to a large caribou bull. We sat and ate lunch as he circled around us within 100 yds away. Below us and a mile away we thought we found the rams. Spotting scope revealed 4 goats….not sheep. Another 2 hours circling the main peak with no luck and we break again to do some scoping. As I watch the goats through the bins 4 rams come charging out of the canyon from below them. I assume something is chasing them but they head straight for the goats. As they get about 25 yds from the goats 9 more rams come up the same spot…full tilt. The first group of rams doesnt slow down until they are within a couple of yds of the group of goats. The other 9 rams stop about 5 yards above and left. Over about 5 minutes the group of 9 rams bed down, the goats slowly head back to their bluffs and the group of 4 rams jostle and but heads a bit then lay down.
We decided to try and make a stalk out of it. It was a mile and a half across and 1500 ft down to the rams. Before we took the first step all the rams got up and bolted back down the canyon. About an hour later we were within 100yds of the goats but couldnt find the rams. Time was running short and we had to start making the 5 mile trek back to the tents. We had only made it a few hundred yards uphill when we spotted the rams again. They were now in a bowl almost half way back to our tents. As we ourselves went into a bowl we lost sight of them and they appeared to be heading away. As it turned out we found them in a canyon directly below us about half way back, they had doubled back since we had seen them last. Well at least 9 of the rams were there and the big one was with them.




An hour later I noticed the other 4 rams….sitting 200yds below us on a big boulder the whole time.
3 hour and 2 good peaks later and we were back at the tents.

Only 2 hunts this season …more to come next year.

PS thanks to all the other guys posting their stories as I havent been replying much lately.

 

[Shrek]

Thanks for sharing. Beautiful Rams and breathtaking country !

 

[Ramcam]

Great photos Just wondering if your client had any issues with the Kuiu tent?

 

[adventure907]

Nice job this year and thanks for sharing.....those are a couple dandy rams.

 

[325 wsm]

Great photos Just wondering if your client had any issues with the Kuiu tent?

No tent issues, it worked well for him. First time I had seen one and thought it was descent.

 

[garret]

Some great photos! curious what the age of the first ram was? the rings look like they stack up pretty good, we were out for the opener as well and also stuck in a rain cloud for 2 days.

 

[yama49]

Awesome rams congrats im going with 12 and 8 years old

 

[325 wsm]

11 and 9 I think.
Both 38 inch rams.. bases around 14
2nd ram was @ 10% bigger in the body.

 

[yama49]

Both nice mature rams, congrats