I have a sheep picture and couple sentences about the hunt in another post. But for those that eat up all stories sheep related and live vicariously through others, like I do, here's the blow by blow. Fair warning, it's long.
Wed 8/25 My dad, brother, and I flew from Boise to LA to Calgary to Edmonton on the first day. Flying with guns is such a pain. We were the first people in line to check in in Boise and it took 45 minutes. WE had to jump through all the covid hoops with our paperwork when we left LA. As long as people had done what they were supposed to (PCR test, covid vaccine proof and self isolation plan through ArriveCAN), it was a breeze. We had heard that Calgary was an easier place to go through customs than Vancouver and it was. We sped through customs. We were finally on the last leg of the day but got a call from a customs agent at about 930pm while eating at Chile’s. He said there was a problem with our bags and we needed to head back down and recheck them in and then go through security again. Our last leg was supposed to leave at 1130. Fortunately, this guy was a hunter and had seen our bags come through customs (they were big yellow totes) and then they had shown up back in international arrivals again. So he walked us and our luggage down to the airline, told them what happened, got the bags checked in, and walked us through the fast lane in security, all while talking to us about hunting. Very fortunate.
Thurs 8/26 Next day we got to Norman Wells via Yellowknife and found out everything was on complete shutdown. 9 whole cases of covid in Norman Wells (a lot more in some neighboring villages), so nobody could go anywhere. We were in our room in the hotel until the next day. The hotel has a restaurant and we could get take-out.
Flew to base camp on Fri 8/27. Our stay there was short and I flew in a helicopter out with my guide, Kevin, to our spike camp. We glassed that evening and woke up to fog the next morning 8/28. It rained on and off. The weather had said rain was forecast from Sat-Mon so we weren’t surprised. The fog started clearing and we packed up camp and started heading up to where we were going to hunt. We had seen a sow and 2 cubs head through a notch right up the canyon where we were heading. Once we were up that drainage a ways and walking through some willows, we heard some rocks rolling and something running through the bushes. We looked up and saw the two cubs running up the bank and they stopped at the top and turned and looked at us to see what the heck was going on. We were wondering where the sow was and that made us nervous. We never saw her. These two cubs were probably over a year old, so maybe she was letting them roam a little more. It was a heavy day of packing and we made it up to camp in the evening and found a good spot to camp.
Sun 8/29 we awoke to fog. It stayed low all day so we walked circles, slept, and talked. It was a good restful day. Saw 2 medium sized caribou that were losing their velvet about a mile from camp.
Mon 8/30 we awoke to fog but luckily it cleared pretty quick. We got our day packs together and made our way up the canyon and back into a side canyon. It was a pretty good slog up the hill but luckily it was mostly just grass and easy walking. Kevin crawled out to the edge and peaked over. There were 5 rams about 1000 yards away down in the bowl below us. He said he didn’t think any of them were shooters for this early in the hunt, but grabbed his spotting scope. After looking them over, one was 10 years old he thought but only 36”, not heavy and very tight curl. He still thought it wasn’t one to shoot, plus we couldn’t get within range. So we backed down and headed up to the next draw to the left that was separated from the ram draw by a long razor back ridge. There wasn’t anything over there but I spotted 7 rams clear on the other side of the drainage about 2-3 miles away. We couldn’t tell what they were and couldn’t get on to the razor back by side hilling in the left draw…it was too steep. So we went back around and side hilled over to the razor back through a boulder field above the rams. They didn’t even care. We went out to the end of the razor back and determined that the 7 rams weren’t shooters. Also saw about 6-8 cows/calf caribou. We headed back and by now the rams in the bowl below us were at 430 yards. Kevin looked again with the spotting scope and asked if I was sure I didn’t want to shoot that ram. He said he still stuck by his initial judgement. So we passed it up. It was a beautiful ram and many times, looking back later in the hunt, I wondered if I had made the right decision. We hiked back in the twilight and got back to camp around midnight.
Tues 8/31 we packed up and headed back down the canyon. We had a 2 day pack to our next hunting area. We made it down past our original camp and saw a grizzly bear walk past us at 100 yards and didn’t know we were there.
Wednesday 9/1 We saw a caribou walk past us at 30 yards. Almost shot it for camp meat but it was really little. They are so curious. He ran off and then came back again. We also saw a giant grizzly about a mile away eating berries. Pretty cool. The main river bed where we were walking was very smooth bottomed and we covered the country quickly. Then we went up a side canyon and it was just smooth boulders and river crossings for a few miles. A lot slower going. Any 20 foot stretch of sand or gravel was a welcome sight. Got to camp and set up in sight of the mountain we were to climb the next day in search of sheep.
Thurs 9/2 is what I call leg day. We headed for the mountain. It was a gradual climb up through the pines. When we broke out of the pines, we hit some shin-knee high red bushes that were mostly easy to walk through except when we hit the 30-40 degree slopes. I double checked that with my binoculars. Then we hit the boulders. Luckily they didn’t move too much when we walked on them. They were anywhere between 1-8’ in diameter. We hit the top of what we thought was the mountain. It was supposed to be a big plateau across the top but it was actually a gradual slope clear across the top until we could finally look over the other side. It was cliffs on the other side and we worked our way across the top looking in all the draws and canyons. After working our way over to look 2 canyons away, we ran out of time and had to head back to camp. We had seen 3 ewes/lambs 1 mile away and 9 sheep about 5 miles away but couldn’t tell what they were. We headed for the bottom through 100% rocks. It was slow going. We made our way across that and got back to camp at midnight. It was a tough day that saw 3300 feet of up and 3300 back down.
Fri 9/3 Outfitter thought we should move around the mountain we had just climbed and camp in the valley where we had first looked into from the top of that plateau. Then try to approach those 9 sheep we saw from 5 miles away. So we moved camp. On the way up there we found this cool chute in the river where the water came through into a pool that had to have been 6-10 feet deep. There was a giant fish in there taking flies. We were trying to figure out how the fish got up there. The river is pretty small other than this big deep pool. It was a long hike and we camped as high as we could while still having access to water.
Sat 9/4 I woke up at 330 to rain. I was really praying the rain would stop so we could have good visibility to hunt. I was so jacked to go hunt, I never fell back asleep. We got up an hour earlier than normal as we knew it would be a long day and started up the mountain. We got up into the pass but then the fog rolled in. Walking through the fog is so disorienting. Luckily we had gps to reassure ourselves but it’s so easy to get turned around. We sat in the fog for 2 hours praying and hoping for visibility and then it lifted. We skirted a cornice and hiked to the top of this long ridge. It was the easiest hiking of the week. We hiked 3 miles along this ridge and saw 16 sheep. 6 were rams but they were all small. The thought was setting in that maybe I wouldn’t find a ram.
Sun 9/5 Outfitter said there were a couple mountains 2 days hike away where someone flying out had seen 5 rams and 2 rams. We made the hike in 1 day as we only had 2 days left on the hunt. The large blueberry patch we hit was a welcome treat. That evening, we hit the main river bottom and crossed in a spot that was over knee deep. Wet boots! We finally made it to camp just before dark and spotted 2 rams on the mountain that was supposed to have 5 rams. They were both small.
Continued...
Wed 8/25 My dad, brother, and I flew from Boise to LA to Calgary to Edmonton on the first day. Flying with guns is such a pain. We were the first people in line to check in in Boise and it took 45 minutes. WE had to jump through all the covid hoops with our paperwork when we left LA. As long as people had done what they were supposed to (PCR test, covid vaccine proof and self isolation plan through ArriveCAN), it was a breeze. We had heard that Calgary was an easier place to go through customs than Vancouver and it was. We sped through customs. We were finally on the last leg of the day but got a call from a customs agent at about 930pm while eating at Chile’s. He said there was a problem with our bags and we needed to head back down and recheck them in and then go through security again. Our last leg was supposed to leave at 1130. Fortunately, this guy was a hunter and had seen our bags come through customs (they were big yellow totes) and then they had shown up back in international arrivals again. So he walked us and our luggage down to the airline, told them what happened, got the bags checked in, and walked us through the fast lane in security, all while talking to us about hunting. Very fortunate.
Thurs 8/26 Next day we got to Norman Wells via Yellowknife and found out everything was on complete shutdown. 9 whole cases of covid in Norman Wells (a lot more in some neighboring villages), so nobody could go anywhere. We were in our room in the hotel until the next day. The hotel has a restaurant and we could get take-out.
Flew to base camp on Fri 8/27. Our stay there was short and I flew in a helicopter out with my guide, Kevin, to our spike camp. We glassed that evening and woke up to fog the next morning 8/28. It rained on and off. The weather had said rain was forecast from Sat-Mon so we weren’t surprised. The fog started clearing and we packed up camp and started heading up to where we were going to hunt. We had seen a sow and 2 cubs head through a notch right up the canyon where we were heading. Once we were up that drainage a ways and walking through some willows, we heard some rocks rolling and something running through the bushes. We looked up and saw the two cubs running up the bank and they stopped at the top and turned and looked at us to see what the heck was going on. We were wondering where the sow was and that made us nervous. We never saw her. These two cubs were probably over a year old, so maybe she was letting them roam a little more. It was a heavy day of packing and we made it up to camp in the evening and found a good spot to camp.
Sun 8/29 we awoke to fog. It stayed low all day so we walked circles, slept, and talked. It was a good restful day. Saw 2 medium sized caribou that were losing their velvet about a mile from camp.
Mon 8/30 we awoke to fog but luckily it cleared pretty quick. We got our day packs together and made our way up the canyon and back into a side canyon. It was a pretty good slog up the hill but luckily it was mostly just grass and easy walking. Kevin crawled out to the edge and peaked over. There were 5 rams about 1000 yards away down in the bowl below us. He said he didn’t think any of them were shooters for this early in the hunt, but grabbed his spotting scope. After looking them over, one was 10 years old he thought but only 36”, not heavy and very tight curl. He still thought it wasn’t one to shoot, plus we couldn’t get within range. So we backed down and headed up to the next draw to the left that was separated from the ram draw by a long razor back ridge. There wasn’t anything over there but I spotted 7 rams clear on the other side of the drainage about 2-3 miles away. We couldn’t tell what they were and couldn’t get on to the razor back by side hilling in the left draw…it was too steep. So we went back around and side hilled over to the razor back through a boulder field above the rams. They didn’t even care. We went out to the end of the razor back and determined that the 7 rams weren’t shooters. Also saw about 6-8 cows/calf caribou. We headed back and by now the rams in the bowl below us were at 430 yards. Kevin looked again with the spotting scope and asked if I was sure I didn’t want to shoot that ram. He said he still stuck by his initial judgement. So we passed it up. It was a beautiful ram and many times, looking back later in the hunt, I wondered if I had made the right decision. We hiked back in the twilight and got back to camp around midnight.
Tues 8/31 we packed up and headed back down the canyon. We had a 2 day pack to our next hunting area. We made it down past our original camp and saw a grizzly bear walk past us at 100 yards and didn’t know we were there.
Wednesday 9/1 We saw a caribou walk past us at 30 yards. Almost shot it for camp meat but it was really little. They are so curious. He ran off and then came back again. We also saw a giant grizzly about a mile away eating berries. Pretty cool. The main river bed where we were walking was very smooth bottomed and we covered the country quickly. Then we went up a side canyon and it was just smooth boulders and river crossings for a few miles. A lot slower going. Any 20 foot stretch of sand or gravel was a welcome sight. Got to camp and set up in sight of the mountain we were to climb the next day in search of sheep.
Thurs 9/2 is what I call leg day. We headed for the mountain. It was a gradual climb up through the pines. When we broke out of the pines, we hit some shin-knee high red bushes that were mostly easy to walk through except when we hit the 30-40 degree slopes. I double checked that with my binoculars. Then we hit the boulders. Luckily they didn’t move too much when we walked on them. They were anywhere between 1-8’ in diameter. We hit the top of what we thought was the mountain. It was supposed to be a big plateau across the top but it was actually a gradual slope clear across the top until we could finally look over the other side. It was cliffs on the other side and we worked our way across the top looking in all the draws and canyons. After working our way over to look 2 canyons away, we ran out of time and had to head back to camp. We had seen 3 ewes/lambs 1 mile away and 9 sheep about 5 miles away but couldn’t tell what they were. We headed for the bottom through 100% rocks. It was slow going. We made our way across that and got back to camp at midnight. It was a tough day that saw 3300 feet of up and 3300 back down.
Fri 9/3 Outfitter thought we should move around the mountain we had just climbed and camp in the valley where we had first looked into from the top of that plateau. Then try to approach those 9 sheep we saw from 5 miles away. So we moved camp. On the way up there we found this cool chute in the river where the water came through into a pool that had to have been 6-10 feet deep. There was a giant fish in there taking flies. We were trying to figure out how the fish got up there. The river is pretty small other than this big deep pool. It was a long hike and we camped as high as we could while still having access to water.
Sat 9/4 I woke up at 330 to rain. I was really praying the rain would stop so we could have good visibility to hunt. I was so jacked to go hunt, I never fell back asleep. We got up an hour earlier than normal as we knew it would be a long day and started up the mountain. We got up into the pass but then the fog rolled in. Walking through the fog is so disorienting. Luckily we had gps to reassure ourselves but it’s so easy to get turned around. We sat in the fog for 2 hours praying and hoping for visibility and then it lifted. We skirted a cornice and hiked to the top of this long ridge. It was the easiest hiking of the week. We hiked 3 miles along this ridge and saw 16 sheep. 6 were rams but they were all small. The thought was setting in that maybe I wouldn’t find a ram.
Sun 9/5 Outfitter said there were a couple mountains 2 days hike away where someone flying out had seen 5 rams and 2 rams. We made the hike in 1 day as we only had 2 days left on the hunt. The large blueberry patch we hit was a welcome treat. That evening, we hit the main river bottom and crossed in a spot that was over knee deep. Wet boots! We finally made it to camp just before dark and spotted 2 rams on the mountain that was supposed to have 5 rams. They were both small.
Continued...
