Double Trouble
(Sheep Hunting 2004)
One of the things many first time hunters
in Alaska discover is the fact that the hunting is not what they may have
dreamed of. Most guys simply believe they are going to see animals in
great densities that rival the Serengeti, and they are often disappointed,
with the exception of the occasional hunter who gets lucky enough to catch
the caribou migration in full glory. This year would be a little different
in our sheep camp! Pre-season work got under way with a scouting flight
on the 6th of August, and after we viewed a very nice number of rams,
I sent in the first two apprentices from my guide school. The guys were
simply going to land on the same strip we had used the year before and
hike the 3 mile hike up the creek to pitch camp next to the main glacier.
We knew there were 10 rams in one drainage near the head of the valley,
and I thought several of them looked good enough that it would require
a closer look on the ground. Unfortunately that evening I received a call
from my student on the satellite phone and he informed me that a hunter
and a guide walked right by our newly established camp. Apparently they
knew that the ten rams were in the valley just as well as we did, so they
decided to get the upper hand on us. This move would prove to be to their
advantage, and of course, our disadvantage.
The season opened and we found ourselves
heading up the valley to get a look at those ten rams and to try and see
if we could determine where the other hunters were located. It took less
than a couple of hours before we spotted the two hunters moving up the
side of the slope above the ten rams, and we decided that it was not going
to be a profitable situation for us. We watched the depressing scene unfold
before our eyes as the two hunters ascended way above the ten rams, so
we busied ourselves with watching two other rams on the opposite slope
across from the ten rams we were interested in. After several hours of
frustration we finally decided that our best bet was going to be a move
down the creek to the lower valley. The only problem with this of course
was the fact that it would probably require us to get the pilot to come
back in to the lower strip so we could shuttle down the valley. By the
middle of this first frustrated day of hunting we were down to five men;
my assistant guide Derek Harbula, my one student Dan Gunderson ( the other
student had already escaped for the lower 48 by this point), a second
year sheep hunter Blake Olson, and first time Alaskan hunter Jim Renkema.
This meant that we had a pretty good spike camp to pull and move back
down to the lower strip. Derek and I debated for several hours as to whether
it would be more logical to try an overland route through a mountain pass
to get to the desired drainage, versus a flight to a much lower camp,
which would necessitate an arduous climb into the valley where several
other rams had been located before season. As evening approached I made
the final decision to call the pilot and plans were made for a shuttle
on the following day.
The second day of the hunt dawned with
us in a rush to pull camp and make the three mile journey back down river
to the primitive airstrip. Both expedition tents were pulled along with
a truckload of gear and we began the trip back down the creek. It ended
up of course being a long tough day, but the connection with the pilot
was made and we were able to make the shuttle down the creek and establish
a new base camp. At this juncture I should probably mention the fact that
the pilot flew me over the area once again and told me that he estimated
that it would take about two hours to go from the strip in the lower valley
up the alder covered slope to the pass that lead into the valley that
we expected to hunt. I mention this just to point out the hilarious nature
of Alaskan bush pilots. The facts were we were sitting at around 1,300ft.
elevation and we needed to get to 4,100ft. elevation, so by the time everyone
managed to make the shuttle down river I decided that our best bet was
to wait until morning before we attempted to climb the slope.
Moving the Camp in the Sherpa Tradition
The next morning would bring about a number
of discussions about what might be the best possible route up the slope,
but we eventually got ourselves under way and started into the jungle.
It is impossible to convey to some one just how bad it can actually be
in an alder thicket, but let it suffice to say that we were nearly at
wits end when I made the first check on the GPS and found that we had
only ascended to 300ft. in elevation. I have to say it will be a day that
will always be remembered when I recount severe journeys in sheep country,
for it would be right at nine and a half hours later before we reached
the spot that we would make a spike camp ( near the 4,100ft. elevation
mark), and after a GPS check I discovered this was only 1.9 miles from
our starting point; Needless to say, we were totally exhausted, so we
pitched our base camp tent (the Himalayan 47 by the North Face) and five
smelly, and weary men crawled in for the night.
The next day dawned with extremely nice
weather, so we scrambled up the slope above the camp and began to move
cautiously into the valley just over the ridge. I led the way crawling
along on my hands and knees with the expectation that I was going to see
sheep at any moment, and so I did. Just about the time I cleared the crest
of the ridge I spotted two rams about 500yds. off to my right, and of
course adrenaline started to flow. Unfortunately after about an hour of
evaluating these two sheep, I concluded that they were not full curl,
and they were probably not the larger rams that I had seen from the air,
so we moved further into the valley. Positioning ourselves next to a prominent
bluff at the head of the valley, we started glassing, and we soon found
ourselves marveling at the tremendous number of sheep in this small valley.
Overall I suppose we saw close to 40 rams, but of course most of these
were young immature rams, but not all. We spotted one group of four rams
that were hanging close together and we begin to focus our attention on
these four, although we were constantly spotting new rams popping up everywhere,
along with a fair number of lambs and ewes. Eventually the smaller of
the four rams was forced out of the group, and we decided to try to get
closer in order to get a better look. We watched the rams very carefully
as we began to maneuver around the head of the valley seeing that we were
not really able to get out of sight, we moved slowly and deliberately
for nearly a half an hour. Finally we found ourselves at 450 yards and
the possibility of getting closer was not all that realistic, so we begin
to look harder at the headgear on two of the three rams. What was obvious
to me was the fact that neither of the rams were likely to make a full
curl, but it was also very obvious that two of the rams sported a tremendous
amount of mass. At this stage things started to get complicated. For those
of you unfamiliar with Alaska law, a legal ram is defined as being full
curl, broomed on both sides, or the ram is eight years old as counted
on the annuli of the horn. Sounds easy enough of course, until you have
actually tried to count the rings on a ram’s horn at 500 yards. The truth
is, it is only possible if the conditions are almost perfect, that is
the light, visibility, resolution of optics, etc., and then the ram has
to have horns with rings that stand out well, and all rams are not like
this. Rams with dark horns are often much more difficult to see the rings
on, but fortunately for us the rams were moving very little, and the rings
were pretty evident. Fortunately for us, this just so happened to be one
of those times, and Derek was able to evaluate what I was counting, so
with constant comparison we were able to continue the stalk.
Some sheep hunters, and fellow guides will
always suggest that counting rings is simply not a feasible option, and
I have to disagree, but as I disagree it should be clarified that this
just isn't something for the amateur to attempt, and whoever does this
better be sure of what they are doing, plain and simple. We evaluated
these particular rams for close to 6 hours before the shots were taken,
and we spent several hours doing nothing but making certain that we were
both coming up with the same ring count on each ram. We sat at around
the 440 yard mark for an extremely long time, and actually set up for
the shots at this range, but the movement of the 3rd ram created havoc
with shot opportunities, then we got the break that every hunter prays
to get; the sheep moved downhill, out of sight, beneath a low bluff. We
didn't hesitate for a minute! Sprinting quickly across the slope we cut
off yardage like it was nobody's business, finally slowing down right
on top of the bluff directly above the rams. At this stage in the game,
we didn't know if we we re within 150 yards, or 50 yards, but I knew we
had to keep our eyes open, and we could not afford to lose the element
of surprise when we had hopes of nailing 2 rams at once.
Adrenaline began to pump through everyone's
veins as we slowed down to a crawl, surveying every inch of real estate,
trying to keep that vital edge. The difficult thing with being close was
the possibility of getting things mixed up in the heat of the moment,
seeing that we still had a 3rd smaller ram hanging out in this group.
Blake and Jim were moving parallel with me, as Derek followed with the
video camera in hand, then Blake motioned for us to drop and I knew he
had spotted movement. As I stretched to see exactly were the group was,
I discovered we were closer than what I really wanted for this 2 shot
attempt. I thought 100 yards would have been great, but now it looked
like we were much closer to the 50 yard mark, but the rams still didn't
have a clue. At this point my concerns about a slip up were magnified,
so I threw a dozen or so rock at the rams, hoping to get them to move
out on their own, but they paid little attention to my pitching. Another
big concern at this yardage was the possibility of being winded, and as
I considered this, the dust flew into the air! We had no idea what was
going on, so we hustled toward the edge of the bluff about 20 yards below
us (where the dust had kicked up), and as we peered over the edge, events
blurred into one swift motion. My mind focused as swiftly as possible
to determine which ram was the smaller of the 3. Jim and Blake were both
in position, waiting for the word when I said “the two in the back!” Someone
repeated the phrase as the rams spotted us and began to pick up their
pace away from us. The smaller ram was leading the way, but as they approached
somewhere close to the 70-80 yard mark Blake said “On three,” and the
countdown began! Two shots rang out, about as close together as you're
ever going to hear, and the latter two rams both went tumbling down the
slope as if lighting had bowled them over. We watched both rams tumble
several hundred yards down the slope to a grassy resting place, then we
exchanged high fives and handshakes, before we backtracked 500 yards to
pick up the gear we had dropped on the last fast portion of the stalk.
I knew the rams were quite typical of other
Chugach rams we had taken, that is to say the horn configuration and mass
looked a lot like other good rams harvested nearby, but we were all a
little surprised when we walked upon the downed animals. It didn't take
me long to pull out a tape, for some quick measurements, and to all of
our amazement, both rams were nearly identical, 39” horn lengths and 14”
base circumference. The rams were 9, and 10 years old, and are representative
of the great genetics found in some of the isolated strongholds of the
Chugach Mountains. Two exceptional rams, fulfilling the dreams of two
of my toughest hunters yet!
Dall
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