out of the <1 club :)

[mtwarden]

I'm out!

I booked a Dall hunt close to three years ago. I have to give credit where credit is due; after telling my wife "just once I'd like to get to hunt sheep" (after my 30-ish rejection on my bighorn application here in Montana) she said you've worked hard all your life, just do it. Thanks to input from several Roksliders, I was able to find a good outfitter in the Brooks Range of Alaska-thanks Gents!

I purposely booked the early sheep hunt as you got 2-3 additional days in the field, those days used to scout prior to the opener on the 10th. Mother Nature had other ideas. When I landed in Fairbanks they were in dense smoke. When I arrived at the outfitter's camp via a charter, they were too.

The guide told me that he's like to packraft as we could could glass a lot more drainages in a shorter time. The outfitter dropped us off (guide, packer and myself) on a lake that required just a short portage to the river.

We glassed from the rafts, but would stop occasionally and glass from gravel bars that gave us good views of different drainages.

We saw a fair number of sheep, but either bunches of young rams or ewes/lambs, no fully mature rams.

That evening we camped on a gravel bar that would let us access a couple of drainages that he was interested in exploring. We would refer to this spot as the "beach" as it was more sand than gravel.

Little did we know we'd be spending three nights on the "beach" due to smoke; not what any us wanted.

Each night we hoped the smoke would clear, each morning dashed those hopes. We had to spend opening day on the "beach" and morale was low. The guide could sense it and broke out the world's smallest deck of cards and handed out Hi Chews as chips and we played poker for a couple of hours

 

[mtwarden]

The next morning it was still smoky, but much, much better than the previous days. We ferried across the river and than portaged two lakes and took off with backpacks to scout a drainage where the guide had killed sheep in the past.

It felt great to put the pack out and grind some miles out. This particular mountain he had a client kill a ram that promptly dropped off a 100' cliff, fortunately not too worse for the wear. Definitely some rugged stuff.

I've never seen it mentioned (might have missed it), but walking in the tundra with a pack on was humbling, very humbling! I had trained hard for this hunt, but the tundra was akin to post holing in the snow. Every step you sank and had to pull your boot out- very tough!

After several hours of glassing we decided it would be best to move further down to another drainage. We paddled to the other end of the lake which saved us about 2 miles of hiking. We ditched all the raft stuff and learned that you have to fully deflate and roll the rafts up as grizzlies are notorious for chewing and popping rafts!

We a bit of an old caribou trail we followed for a couple of miles, but it petered out and then we started to fight some significant brush headed up this drainage. We finally started to break out of the brushy bottom and were able to start glassing our way up the drainage.

The further we went up the drainage, the better it got.

About 11:00 PM we called it a day, a long day.

We camped near the mouth of a side drainage and the guide decided to send the packer (he's a licensed guide as well, just relatively new) up the side drainage and we would continue up the main drainage and compare notes at the end of the day.

We glassed our way up the drainage, a few sheep, but no mature rams.

We continued leaving the creek bottom, climbing higher and eventually approached a large side basin. We low crawled to the edge and lo and behold two mature rams and one smaller 3/4 curl ram- game time! We left our camp gear (tent/sleeping bag/pad etc) behind and started our long stalk.

They were sitting high in the basin which meant we had to lose a ton of elevation we had gained to stay out of their sight, only have to regain it and then some. The side hilling was agonizingly slow as the slab talus had a lot of loose rock in it.

We slowly climbed up the ridge and then low crawled to get into position. One problem, the rams were no longer there! We retreated back from the ridge, moved down it and then low crawled to the edge again. We repeated this a half dozen times and finally saw the rams, the were in the very bottom of the basin, well below us feeding.

I crept up and looked through my 7x scope and they looked like two small white dots. The guide said 420 yards; I was really hoping for for a sub 300 yard shot, but that wasn't in the cards. I used a bipod on the front and a rest in the rear, it was pretty steady. The ram I chose finally stopped long enough to squeeze a shot off. With the recoil I didn't have a clear view of the results, but saw the ram fall. I quickly got another round chambered, but the guide said we're good. Can't tell you what a relief that was

Thumbs up from the guide.

If you blow the pic up you might see the white dot of the downed ram.

We had to climb down a long ways (and then a little up) to get to the ram.

The payoff.

We drug the ram down to the bottom to a beautiful green, grassy bottom- replete with a couple of spring fed creeks rolling through. A little slice of heaven in an otherwise all rock environ.

The guide used his inReach to let the packer to meet us up here and it wasn't too long before he joined us. The guide got to caping and the packer and I started boning meat. He was surprised when I pulled out a knife and started helping

When the cape was fully removed and the meat boned out, it was about 11:30 PM. We had a quick decision and decided the safest option was to spend the night (fortunately only about 4-5 hours) on the mountain. Moving with loaded packs through the talus in low light was a recipe for an accident.

I had anticipated this contingency and had a 50" ccf pad, bivy sack, a piece of tyvek I threw in to process meat and puffy pants/jacket. The guides didn't and barely got a nod of sleep. I certainly didn't sleep like a baby (it was definitely cold), but did get some sleep in. I woke to find the guide had used the sheep cape as at least some insulation from the guide- caveman style!

 

[mtwarden]

We woke promptly at 4:30, ate a bar, loaded up and headed down for where we left our camp stuff.

I'm not going to sugar coat it, this pack out sucked! Jumping from rock to rock with a loaded pack sucked and was dangerous. I just kept reminding myself to take my time.

It probably was only about 2 miles to where we dumped our camp stuff, but seemed like a lot more.

Made it. We ate good breakfast and then the guys took a well deserved two hour nap, I was still a bit hyped up and just soaked in the views.

Our packs were plenty heavy coming down, loaded up with a camp gear they were terrible and we still had a long ways to go to get to our lake. We just took our time and took a break every half hour or so. Slowly but surely, fighting spongy tundra and lots of thick brush, we made our way to the lake. We got to camp about 11:00 PM sore and tired. We got a big fire going (it had rained on us pretty hard the last hour), tents setup and stoves fired up.

As the fire turned to coals we broke out the tenderloins, sliced thin and on a green willow stick. No spices, no nothing and it simply melted in your mouth. We kept eating until the tenderloins were gone

The guide got a message to the outfitter and he would pick us up on the lake the next morning. We were up early after a welcomed nights sleep. Got the rafts blown up and loaded and made our way to the other end of the lake.

On the way back to the lodge I told him we were bringing out two racks of ribs, his eyes lit up- that's a good sign. He knew exactly what he was doing with the ribs.

Now I've heard on Rokslide how good sheep ribs were, but they were beyond words- possibly the best thing I've ever ate! Oh and they had cold beer too! An ingenious refrigerator- 55 gallon drums sunk into the ground and the permafrost. Keeps stuff cool all summer and keeps stuff from freezing in cold weather.

Didn't go to bed until midnight that night, but was up early as the packer (guide) and I were headed out for several days trying to locate a good grizzly- my guide was waiting at the lodge for another sheep hunter who was flying early.

My view from the front of my cabin.

We were taken up the lake via jet boat and headed upriver. This was straight tundra with no reprieve and even though we didn't climb a lot, it was tough walking. Trying to keep up with a 6' 4" 22 year old was challenging enough!

We eventually found a nice spot to camp- dry, level and water close by.

A couple of miles upriver from our camp we found a great glassing spot that covered a large expanse of what looked like good grizzly country.

We spent four days glassing from this spot and saw 6 different grizzlies. One grizzly walked right below us at under 300 yards. This was a large, beautifully colored grizzly- probably 7' nose to tail. It was a tough call, but I passed as I was looking for something a little larger yet. The arctic grizzly doesn't get as large as their southern brethren due to the very short time they are out of their dens and no fatty salmon to dine on. But definitely not small.

On day three we glassed up a very large boar, large enough that I was very interested. He was low like the other we had seen previously, but after an hour or so, we lost him. Two hours of glassing and the guide pointed up to a very high basin; I looked through my spotter and without any doubt this was the boar we saw low (they tend to have very distinctive coats).

He was high enough that it looked like he was heading for a pass that would lead to the next drainage. We watched him feed for almost four hours and he never made it to that pass- simply bouncing back and forth feeding. We thought it would take us at least 3 hours (and a pretty tough ford of a high creek). That would put us there right at dark and decided the prudent move was wait until early morning and see if he was still there and then make our move.

Sadly we couldn't glass him up the next morning. We had hoped he might might have retraced his steps and came back down low, but 4-5 hours we couldn't turn him up.

We found out the weather was turning for the worse and that we should consider getting out while we still could. We hiked back to camp, loaded up and hiked to a small lake he could land on. Turned out to be a good consideration as the wind was howling and we barely were able to get out. One of the sheep camps weren't as fortunate and had run out of food, but couldn't be reached- luckily they had a ram down so they weren't going to starve

I had one day to lounge at the lodge and eat to my hearts content (I might have a couple of beers too!). Some of the other hunters and guides were back and we got to swap stories AND eat more sheep ribs!

My travel back to Montana was long, but went smoothly. It was nice to get home to my wife (and dog).

I'll have to say that the adventure even exceeded by rather high expectations. The outfitter, guides and other workers were top notch and super friendly. It was more like visiting relatives than strangers. I doubt I ever get the chance to hunt Alaska again, but have the satisfaction of this trip to relive.

Thanks for reading.

 

[woods89]

Lot of winning, right here. Thanks for writing it up!

 

[Ten Bears]

Great story as always...thanks for sharing.

Beautiful Ram!

Couldn't think of a nicer guy on here to be blessed with such an amazing trip...

 

[Brontosaurus]

Dude yes! What a great trip!

 

[Corvus Corax]

Great write up and photos, thanks for sharing! I’m really happy for you!

 

[TxTaurus74]

Great read.

 

[jofes]

Super happy for you! Congrats!

 

[wyosteve]

Well, Mtwarden, just b/c you're retired doesn't mean you can't get another job to fund future sheep excursions! Congrats. and hope the sheep bug didn't bite too hard.

 

[NE Herd Bull]

Good stuff! Congratulations
What an adventure.
Thank you for sharing sir

 

[nobody]

Wow, just wow sir. Congrats on the achievement of a lifetime! You're living everybody else's dream! Thanks for allowing us to live it vicariously through your story telling

 

[jzeblaz]

We woke promptly at 4:30, ate a bar, loaded up and headed down for where we left our camp stuff.

I'm not going to sugar coat it, this pack out sucked! Jumping from rock to rock with a loaded pack sucked and was dangerous. I just kept reminding myself to take my time.

It probably was only about 2 miles to where we dumped our camp stuff, but seemed like a lot more.

Made it. We ate good breakfast and then the guys took a well deserved two hour nap, I was still a bit hyped up and just soaked in the views.

Our packs were plenty heavy coming down, loaded up with a camp gear they were terrible and we still had a long ways to go to get to our lake. We just took our time and took a break every half hour or so. Slowly but surely, fighting spongy tundra and lots of thick brush, we made our way to the lake. We got to camp about 11:00 PM sore and tired. We got a big fire going (it had rained on us pretty hard the last hour), tents setup and stoves fired up.

As the fire turned to coals we broke out the tenderloins, sliced thin and on a green willow stick. No spices, no nothing and it simply melted in your mouth. We kept eating until the tenderloins were gone

The guide got a message to the outfitter and he would pick us up on the lake the next morning. We were up early after a welcomed nights sleep. Got the rafts blown up and loaded and made our way to the other end of the lake.

On the way back to the lodge I told him we were bringing out two racks of ribs, his eyes lit up- that's a good sign. He knew exactly what he was doing with the ribs.

Now I've heard on Rokslide how good sheep ribs were, but they were beyond words- possibly the best thing I've ever ate! Oh and they had cold beer too! An ingenious refrigerator- 55 gallon drums sunk into the ground and the permafrost. Keeps stuff cool all summer and keeps stuff from freezing in cold weather.

Didn't go to bed until midnight that night, but was up early as the packer (guide) and I were headed out for several days trying to locate a good grizzly- my guide was waiting at the lodge for another sheep hunter who was flying early.

My view from the front of my cabin.

We were taken up the lake via jet boat and headed upriver. This was straight tundra with no reprieve and even though we didn't climb a lot, it was tough walking. Trying to keep up with a 6' 4" 22 year old was challenging enough!

We eventually found a nice spot to camp- dry, level and water close by.

A couple of miles upriver from our camp we found a great glassing spot that covered a large expanse of what looked like good grizzly country.

We spent four days glassing from this spot and saw 6 different grizzlies. One grizzly walked right below us at under 300 yards. This was a large, beautifully colored grizzly- probably 7' nose to tail. It was a tough call, but I passed as I was looking for something a little larger yet. The arctic grizzly doesn't get as large as their southern brethren due to the very short time they are out of their dens and no fatty salmon to dine on. But definitely not small.

On day three we glassed up a very large boar, large enough that I was very interested. He was low like the other we had seen previously, but after an hour or so, we lost him. Two hours of glassing and the guide pointed up to a very high basin; I looked through my spotter and without any doubt this was the boar we saw low (they tend to have very distinctive coats).

He was high enough that it looked like he was heading for a pass that would lead to the next drainage. We watched him feed for almost four hours and he never made it to that pass- simply bouncing back and forth feeding. We thought it would take us at least 3 hours (and a pretty tough ford of a high creek). That would put us there right at dark and decided the prudent move was wait until early morning and see if he was still there and then make our move.

Sadly we couldn't glass him up the next morning. We had hoped he might might have retraced his steps and came back down low, but 4-5 hours we couldn't turn him up.

We found out the weather was turning for the worse and that we should consider getting out while we still could. We hiked back to camp, loaded up and hiked to a small lake he could land on. Turned out to be a good consideration as the wind was howling and we barely were able to get out. One of the sheep camps weren't as fortunate and had run out of food, but couldn't be reached- luckily they had a ram down so they weren't going to starve

I had one day to lounge at the lodge and eat to my hearts content (I might have a couple of beers too!). Some of the other hunters and guides were back and we got to swap stories AND eat more sheep ribs!

My travel back to Montana was long, but went smoothly. It was nice to get home to my wife (and dog).

I'll have to say that the adventure even exceeded by rather high expectations. The outfitter, guides and other workers were top notch and super friendly. It was more like visiting relatives than strangers. I doubt I ever get the chance to hunt Alaska again, but have the satisfaction of this trip to relive.

Thanks for reading.

Congrats! What an adventure. You deserve it!

 

[pattimusprime22]

Thanks for sharing the story and well done on a great ram!

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Wow, just wow.

 

[Wyoming Hart]

Congratulations on getting kicked out! Looks like a great hunt!

 

[BugleMeTimber]

Thanks for the great write up and pictures to follow along. Looks like an amazing trip and congrats on harvesting a beautiful Ram. Very thankful you got to live this dream and it was well deserved.

 

[eddielasvegas]

What a fantastic story and a HUGE thank you for posting it. Such good stuff.


Eddie

 

[MThuntr]

Fantastic story and congrats on the sheep

 

[BravoNovember]

This is what dreams are made of. Thanks for sharing and taking us along for the ride