Day 0 - The Departure
We climbed into the super cubs and headed for the Wrangell Mountains.
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After arriving at the strip, we sorted through gear, hung up the extra stuff, and started up the valley. The weather was pretty good and we spotted a few sheep on the way in.
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We set up base camp and did a little glassing. I took this beautiful, really wide pic, too...
Great view of high ravines and snow-capped ridges!
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Day 1 - Hunting is now open!
We woke to morning frost and the start of another nice day.
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After breakfast, we packed 3-4 days of food, Mitch's new bivies, our bags/pads, and headed up the middle branch of the river.
After a bit, we spotted a decent ram sunning himself up on a precipice. I hooked up my digital camera to my spotting scope for a nice shot.
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Another awesome, wide pic...
Good feed with escape terrain!
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We spotted a set of 4 rams. Two were legal and the others were a year or two short. Later on, two more "singles" joined their group at separate times. So, now there was 6 rams with 3 for-sures and one maybe legal. Mitch had first shot and passed - as I did (After all, it was the first hunting day).
They weren't huge - maybe the biggest was 37+". I took lots of pics through the Swarovski ATS HD 20-60x65.
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Day 2
The next morning, I woke before dark (5:15 am) and caught one of the single rams down in the riverbed only 280 yards away. He was a maybe-size, but I got some great shots.
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We glassed quite a bit, took more pics, then packed up, and headed further up the valley.
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After hiking up to near the end of the valley, we cut up one side to get a look into a high valley. After spending a couple of hours in it, I decided there wasn't enough feed or sign to warrant sticking it out.
We moved back down a ways and then climbed into another one. The clouds were hanging fairly low, but we were able to see fairly well. There was lots of recent sign, but no sheep.
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It started raining and we hunkered down for the night.
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Day 3
The clouds and fog were hanging pretty low in the morning as we moved down to another fork in the river.
As we moved up the new fork, we spotted a large number of ewes and lambs, but no rams.
I hiked up and around the last bend and glassed the glaciers, but there wasn't much sign.
Around 5:00 pm, we discussed possible plans for the rest of the evening and next day. Mitch was ready to camp for the night, but I was thinking about trying to get on those 6 rams in the last branch. Mitch wanted to glass this fork in the morning, and head back down to base camp for a look at the last fork that we had not visited. I said that sounded good and that I would meet him back at base camp tomorrow night.
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I headed down the valley, made the turn into the rams' valley and carefully worked up the side that the rams should be on. As daylight began to disappear, I eased quietly forward, peaking around each corner - looking for a hint of white fur.
I started wondering if they were still on the same side, then all of the sudden, there one was! It was the older double-broomed ram from the group. I new the rest couldn't be too far away. He fed a little more than bedded down for the night just as the clouds started moving back in.
I backed off a ways, set up the bivy, and then separated out the gear I needed for the stalk. At around 11:00 pm, I closed my eyes.
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Day 4 - Long Day
The alarm went off at 3:45 am, so I got up and ate some cold oatmeal. It was still very dark as I made my way quietly back up to where I had spotted him. The fog and clouds had socked in pretty well and I couldn't see high enough to see any of them.
I moved further up and quietly moved across to the other side, to see if the better angle would help. I sat down and started glassing everywhere that I could see. After a while, the clouds lifted some and it got lighter, but I still couldn't see any sheep.
Before it got too light, I headed back over to the other side so that they wouldn't catch me out in the open. I decided that this was my best opportunity to stalk, so I left some gear at the bivy, and quietly started climbing up into the clouds. I was hoping to climb to a higher elevation than they were and spot them before they saw me.
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I took my time climbing up through the scree fields and rocks, so that I wouldn't be heard. The wind began blowing straight uphill, so that is the direction I maintained.
After a couple of hours, I made it up into the craggies. Once I got on top of most of them, I figured I was above the sheep. I spent some time waiting for the clouds to open up for glassing, and then they would blow back in. I started climbing diagonally and laterally upward so that I could look over more area and hopefully spot the rams.
After crossing about 5-6 ravines, I stopped and took a break. After a light snack, I climbed a couple more and waited for the fog/clouds to clear - nothing. It was already 11:00 am and I was getting a little discouraged - thinking that they might have been above me when I was climbing and winded me...or they may have moved over the top.
I started heading back down one of the spines and happened to look over my shoulder and dropped to the ground...there they were!
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They were still quite far away, but I was definitely happy to see them. I quickly counted how many ravines away they were - It looked like 12. Wow, I thought to myself...that's going to take a while. I turned uphill and started traversing the gorges and scree fields.
After crossing 4-5, I peeked over to see that I still had at least two more ravines to go until I was close enough. As I started down the next one, I discovered that it was almost too steep. I was trying to be as quiet as I could, but I was sliding more than I could control.
I finally made it to where I thought I needed to be. I cautiously eased over the ledge and looked. They were still 6-7 ravines away, but within range. The closest one was 380 yards away. I looked them all over and found the biggest. I set up and waited for them to move so that I could get a good shot. After 45 minutes, the bigger ram was finally alone, standing broadside, and facing uphill in a small ravine at 402 yards. I put my 417 yard reticle behind his shoulder and squeezed the trigger... Boom! He just stood there while his buddies ran around, trying to figure what was happening. I jacked another, leveled the same reticle, and shot again...nothing! Okay, what's going on? I jacked the third and thought - I can't be shooting under him, otherwise he would have jumped by now...
He was looking around nervously and started uphill, so I steadied the 309 yard reticle behind his shoulder and squeezed. Down he went - right out of sight! The other rams climbed up on a hill and were looking way down the hill. I swung my rifle over to see what they were looking at and sure enough, he rolled out of the bottom of the ravine to a stop. Holly smokes! That ravine was steeper than I thought.
I spent the next 45 minutes slipping and sliding my way to the bottom. I hiked up the valley, then turned and climbed up to where he was. He was a beautiful sight! I turned him around, took a few pics, and got to work.
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I finished around 7:00 pm then headed down to the bivy. I ate some oatmeal and broke camp. At around 8:40 pm I started down to base camp. I knew it was going to be a long hike, but I had told Mitch that I would be there...
It started getting too dark to see, so I busted out my headlamp around 9:15 pm. After carrying that 140 pound pack for several hours and making my way through many river crossings, I finally arrived at base camp. I crawled into the tent around 11:15 pm and crashed.
Day 5 - Camp Day
I woke around 7:00 am when Mitch got up. The clouds and fog had socked in on us, so I went back to sleep.
Around 10:00 am, the clouds started lifting some, so I hiked down to the river to get my spotting scope. Around 1:00 pm, Mitch said that he was going to head up the right fork and that he would be back in a day or two.
At 4:00 pm, I crawled out of the sack, grabbed something to eat, and then went back down to my pack. I packed all my extra gear, the meat, and the cape out to the strip. Then I laid out the cape, turned the ears, nose, split the lips, salted it, and hung it, the meat, and my gear in a tree.
It was getting late, so I headed back up to base camp for the night.
Day 6 - Relax
The fog was down pretty low, so there wasn't a lot of sheep to glass early, but later on the sun started burning off the clouds. It got pretty warm, so I relaxed around camp. I watched a few sheep move around, but I didn't see any monsters.
Around 5:30 pm, Mitch came back, and we packed up and headed for the strip. I soaked some sheep loin and backstrap in teriyaki, and then we roasted them on the fire. What a treat! It was truly worth the hunt.
Mitch turned in, and I snapped this nice pic by the fire...
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Day 7 - Departure
We woke to a heavy frost, but it burned off when the sun came up. We ate dehydrated sausage and eggs for breakfast, which weren't too bad.
Later on, Mitch worked on the strip, while I re-salted the cape and packed things up.
Around 5:45 pm, Leif and Randy dropped in on us for a pickup and we headed home.
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Rainforest Guide Service 