out of the <1 club :)

[mtwarden]

Thanks Guys!

I do have a question for you, does the cork ball work?

I've ben dealing with a lingering hamstring issue, putting that ball into the right spot and rolling on it (it's a wee bit painful) helps; sometimes I'll get some calf issues w/ a lot of steep up- the ball helps with that too

Not sure what kind of cork they use, but it's almost as hard as a lacrosse ball

 

[BRTreedogs]

Awesome
Congratulations

 

[funkafied]

Thanks for the write-up!

 

[Flyjunky]

Thank you for taking the time to post your trip for all of us! Congrats on a great adventure

 

[Ratamahatta]

Thanks Guys!



I've ben dealing with a lingering hamstring issue, putting that ball into the right spot and rolling on it (it's a wee bit painful) helps; sometimes I'll get some calf issues w/ a lot of steep up- the ball helps with that too

Not sure what kind of cork they use, but it's almost as hard as a lacrosse ball

That's good to know, I also deal with some hamstring issues because of a work truck not having cruise control lol.

 

[WILDMULEY]

What an adventure! Great story, congrats!

 

[Smtn10pt]

Congrats on your sheep! I was in the Brooks at the same time as you, the smoke was bad. I was glad I wasnt trying to determine legality of a distant ram.

 

[keller]

Another congrats on a great ram and experience!!

 

[mtwarden]

Thanks Fellas!

Been eating sheep about every third day; wife gives her stamp of approval

 

[chasewild]

Damn good write up!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LVaughn]

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.

Thank you for sharing

 

[Jason Snyder]

Great photos! Congratulations on the hunt, I'm glad everything worked out for you. Good to see you this summer, keep enjoying retirement.

 

[mtwarden]

Thanks Gents!

Jason great to see you, hopefully next time we’ll have a little more time to catch up!

 

[MattB]

Congratulations, it is nice to read about the successful conclusion of a trip that we have followed from the start of planning.

 

[bluemaroon]

Thanks for sharing this story and congrats on the ram! With the detailed writing and great pictures, you can definitely feel like you’re right there (except that I’m reading from my warm home and not out in the cold rain!).

 

[bluedrew2]

Outstanding write up! It was a pleasure to read and got my blood pumping! Congratulations on the ram and getting kicked out of the club, well deserved!

Cheers,

Drew

 

[mtwarden]

Thanks Guys! Truly a hunt of a lifetime

 

[Bugoff]

Hey Mike, this is Mike. We shared the charter in and out of the Brooks. Great write up! Was a great hunt!

 

[mtwarden]

Hey Mike, this is Mike. We shared the charter in and out of the Brooks. Great write up! Was a great hunt!

Hey Mike, it is- thanks! Hope everything is well with you

 

[sierracharlie338]

Just seeing this. Awesome write up thanks for sharing and congrats on a trip of a lifetime!