Since I am a non-resident of the great state of Alaska, I was forced to find a guide and get him, or her, to agree to take me on a dall sheep and bear odyssey. On another forum, I had become acquainted with the work of Mr. Jake Jefferson, and endeavored to gain his services for said hunt. Being a reputable outfitter, he said something like, if the check clears, you're in. By a stroke of luck, my check cleared and I had booked my hunt. That was in February of 2016, and the waiting, and preparation began.
Fast forward to any random day prior to August 23rd 2017 and you would find me doing one of three things, generally speaking. Annoying my wife with hunt planning. Slacking off at work while hunt planning. Or hiking with heavy pack, or otherwise exercising, while also hunt planning. This summer was a little brutal in the prep respect. 98 degrees, 90% humidity, 75lbs in my pack, heavy mountaineering boots and the need to get in at least 4 miles after work every day possible. There is no possible way to not have your boots eat your feet in this scenario. Oh well, it was for a good cause. By the end, I was a slightly less flabby example of a 40 year old man. A sheep seeking missile, I like to think (and no one else).
At 7am on August 23rd, I boarded the plane and arrived in Anchorage at noon local time. It was raining. I checked into the hotel, had a nice meal that evening, and didn't sleep for a damn that night. At 2:30am I woke up and pretty much stayed that way. Stupid 4 hour time change. A plate of toaster waffles and 4 cups of coffee lifted my spirits until Jake shot me a text around 8am stating the mountains were socked in. No flying today. Everyone says Jake is this great guy. Nope, he is a blunt instrument of spirit destroying angst. Sobbing uncontrollably, I wandered the streets of Anchorage for the rest of the day trying to stay positive. This is all a load of crap, but I'm trying to set the mood. Still, no flight for me.
The next morning came in the same as before. Rain. However, the Talkeetna weather cams looked far better, and I had hope. More of those scrumptious toaster waffles, and 4 cups of coffee were in order. It was an interesting breakfast. About 30 chinese tourists flooded the breakfast nook like spawning salmon. They swept in, depleted the area of all natural resources, and after a very loud man speaking mandarin came in and announced something, they all were swept out the door into what looked like a normal passenger van. They all fit, and off it went. This took only about 15 minutes, and was quite entertaining.
About 11am, Jake, whom I am not sure I should have booked with, texted me that he would be there in a little over an hour and to be ready to go. I was ready to go the day before, but I refrained from noting that. He then said it was an April Fools and we were out again that day. I threatened to tell his mother that he was being mean, and he suggested she taught him to be this way. I doubt that. My bet is his mom is a really nice lady.
Jake arrived on schedule, and we zoomed up to his home to reshuffle the gear. Then it was off to the floatplane service. We loaded, and were off. I got to sit in the co-pilots seat and Jake was relegated to the baggage area. Served him right for being mean to me.
We touched down about 30 minutes later on one of the best looking mountain lakes I have ever seen. It was also full of trout, but no time for that, we had sheep and bear to find.
Goodbye plane. We will, I hope, see you again in 12 days. 12 days. I let that sink in for a second. Normally, we would do 10 for sheep, but I bullied Jake into added a couple extra since I wanted extra time to get a bear as well. One thing that I have learned over the years is that success equals time spent in the mountains. You might get lucky occasionally, but to be consistently successful, you have to put in the time. From here on, I’ll let the photos tell the story, and finish up with a few carefully chosen words at the end. I hope you enjoy.
Fast forward to any random day prior to August 23rd 2017 and you would find me doing one of three things, generally speaking. Annoying my wife with hunt planning. Slacking off at work while hunt planning. Or hiking with heavy pack, or otherwise exercising, while also hunt planning. This summer was a little brutal in the prep respect. 98 degrees, 90% humidity, 75lbs in my pack, heavy mountaineering boots and the need to get in at least 4 miles after work every day possible. There is no possible way to not have your boots eat your feet in this scenario. Oh well, it was for a good cause. By the end, I was a slightly less flabby example of a 40 year old man. A sheep seeking missile, I like to think (and no one else).
At 7am on August 23rd, I boarded the plane and arrived in Anchorage at noon local time. It was raining. I checked into the hotel, had a nice meal that evening, and didn't sleep for a damn that night. At 2:30am I woke up and pretty much stayed that way. Stupid 4 hour time change. A plate of toaster waffles and 4 cups of coffee lifted my spirits until Jake shot me a text around 8am stating the mountains were socked in. No flying today. Everyone says Jake is this great guy. Nope, he is a blunt instrument of spirit destroying angst. Sobbing uncontrollably, I wandered the streets of Anchorage for the rest of the day trying to stay positive. This is all a load of crap, but I'm trying to set the mood. Still, no flight for me.
The next morning came in the same as before. Rain. However, the Talkeetna weather cams looked far better, and I had hope. More of those scrumptious toaster waffles, and 4 cups of coffee were in order. It was an interesting breakfast. About 30 chinese tourists flooded the breakfast nook like spawning salmon. They swept in, depleted the area of all natural resources, and after a very loud man speaking mandarin came in and announced something, they all were swept out the door into what looked like a normal passenger van. They all fit, and off it went. This took only about 15 minutes, and was quite entertaining.
About 11am, Jake, whom I am not sure I should have booked with, texted me that he would be there in a little over an hour and to be ready to go. I was ready to go the day before, but I refrained from noting that. He then said it was an April Fools and we were out again that day. I threatened to tell his mother that he was being mean, and he suggested she taught him to be this way. I doubt that. My bet is his mom is a really nice lady.
Jake arrived on schedule, and we zoomed up to his home to reshuffle the gear. Then it was off to the floatplane service. We loaded, and were off. I got to sit in the co-pilots seat and Jake was relegated to the baggage area. Served him right for being mean to me.
We touched down about 30 minutes later on one of the best looking mountain lakes I have ever seen. It was also full of trout, but no time for that, we had sheep and bear to find.
Goodbye plane. We will, I hope, see you again in 12 days. 12 days. I let that sink in for a second. Normally, we would do 10 for sheep, but I bullied Jake into added a couple extra since I wanted extra time to get a bear as well. One thing that I have learned over the years is that success equals time spent in the mountains. You might get lucky occasionally, but to be consistently successful, you have to put in the time. From here on, I’ll let the photos tell the story, and finish up with a few carefully chosen words at the end. I hope you enjoy.
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, I’m sure he’s gonna be one mean hunting companion! The stories I’ve heard are hard to believe!!
