NWT success

[Dilligaf12t]

Congratulations! Great story and pics

 

[SSawyer]

Mon 9/6 Last day to hunt. We were supposed to get out to a spot to fly out this day. We could see the same 2 small rams from the night before but no others so we packed up camp and started moving out to the airstrip. Then Kevin spotted 2 rams on the mountain where 2 rams were supposed to be. They were back behind us away from the airstrip but maybe 1 was a full curl? I spotted 2 more on the closer mountain and 1 of them looked pretty good but Kevin wasn’t sure he was a shooter. I was up for going after them and we took off after quickly setting up our tents and emptying our packs. It was 1.5 miles to the base of the mountains and basically the same set up as “leg day” mountain. Red bushes. Steep. A few blueberries on the way up. And then rock. The only difference was it was pouring rain now. So these rocks had become extremely slick. We finally made it to the ridge and topped out. The rams were 650 yards away and there was no way to get much closer to them without going along the top of the ridge and getting above them. Fog was rolling in and out and the wind was blowing decently so I didn’t feel good about trying a shot at that distance. Kevin thought we should use the fog to our advantage and slip out on to the sidehill and work our way through the boulders and cut the distance to the rams. We started to move out on to the boulders and made it 10 feet before the fog lifted and the rams were staring us down. He said “back out this isn’t going to work.” We decided to approach them from the top. So we headed up and began working around the top of the mountain until we hit a cliff and couldn’t go around the top anymore. We were running out of time. It was about 830pm. At this point, we couldn’t see the rams anymore as they had fed into a cut beyond some rocks. We moved carefully out across the rocks on the sidehill. It was noisy and slow but fog was still coming and going. Finally, we made our way to just behind a rise. We knew that we would see them soon so I took my gun off my pack, took off the scope cover, checked my scope for clarity, and put in my ear plugs. We eased over the rise and couldn’t see any sheep. Kevin had me put my gun back on my pack. There was one more little fold in the terrain where they could be but a huge fog bank was rolling in faster than we could cover the distance. I quickly ranged a few spots as I knew my rangefinder wouldn’t work even in light fog and we sat there. All of a sudden, in the fog we could hear something walking in the rocks. The fog started to lift and there the rams were. We couldn’t get a range but I knew they were between 200-300 yards. Kevin told me to shoot the top ram. I leaned over my backpack in a sitting position and put my scope up. It was partially fogged! When I put the wet scope cover back on it, it must have caused condensation to build up. I could see the crosshair and the sheep body. 3 shots later he went down. It was 930pm and we had squeaked out a success. It was a magical feeling. After pictures, a snack, butchering the sheep and packing our packs, we headed off at midnight.

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Tues 9/6 It started to pour again. It rained all night and it was miserable. I had wet boots from the day before. I was soaked in sweat and all the rocks seemed to move. I was just trying to stay upright and not blow out a knee or something. Very slow going. We kept creeping forward. Then we hit the willows. Willows up north are no joke. The branches are 2-3” thick and grow in a wall across the bottom of the draw. Your raingear hood hangs down and blocks your headlamp. Then you move that but the close branches and leaves from the willows block your view of the ground which is still the boulders that you’re slipping sliding around on. The ram horn keeps getting stuck on willow branches. Kevin asks, “just let me know if you need to stop. We can spend the night here and finish in the am.” I figure that it will get awful cold that way given I’m soaked. As long as I keep moving I'll be fine. We finally break out and start working across a boulder field. It seems like the fog is lifting but then I realize it’s just getting light. Finally at 730am, we make it back to camp. A feeling of euphoria overwhelms me after overcoming such a tough night. We took a 3 hour nap and outfitter said the helicopter would be there at 330. We were relieved that we didn’t have to make it to a landing strip to get picked up by a super cub because that would have been another several hour hike. We cooked sheep steak over a fire on a willow stick and it was delicious, especially after 11 days of dehydrated. The helicopter picked us up and we flew back to basecamp where Kevin had to hurry and get ready to go out with the next hunter a few hours later. I hobbled around, had swollen feet and a swollen left knee but I felt great. View attachment 330153View attachment 330155

Wed 9/7 Even though I had pulled an all-nighter, I climbed out of bed when the outfitter told us the northern lights were out. That was a treat. Next morning, we ate a huge breakfast and compared stories. There’s a map in the lodge and after calculating all the miles I had walked, we figured it was about 60 miles. I also looked at my gps of our last camp and where the sheep was taken and we did 3700 feet up and then down. It was the toughest but one of the most rewarding hunts I have ever been on.

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Flight home was uneventful. There is a hotel now in the Edmonton airport that has a walk in freezer we used for the meat. We were able to get an export permit for the meat but not the horns/cape because the Fish and Game office was closed due to covid. Don't ask me why they would come over and check our meat but not horns/cape. So the outfitter will have to ship them once they're open again. Before we left, we bought the covid rapid tests that can be self-administered under supervision via app. We did these in Edmonton and it was easy to do and got back across the border fine. Fun trip and hopefully going back in 2024 or 2025.

Great story. You really worked for that beautiful trophy! I get to go up to NWT for dall sheep next month with the Lancasters/Nahanni Butte. Would love to catch up to you if you went with them.

 

[Aeroflot81]

Great story. You really worked for that beautiful trophy! I get to go up to NWT for dall sheep next month with the Lancasters/Nahanni Butte. Would love to catch up to you if you went with them.

Man I wish I was going again this year. I actually went w ARRO. Fantastic trip!