Water Flows Up Hill

Optical Illusions in the mountains has your mind thinking that that water is flowing uphill.

Great Trails #1

Sheeping Trip #2

Spent another weekend scouting sheep…in the area that we are planning to hunt. A couple set backs were the weather didn’t cooperate as would have been nice and Liz got some blisters on the way in. It was still really enjoyable. The first two rams we saw on the way in were twin ¾ curl rams. Back in further, down the backside of one of the mountain passes, we saw a group of four rams. Two were 7/8 curl and one was a nice full curl ram. We’re going to have to be on the lookout for this guy next week. There were a few more rams that I saw at long distances, 3 of which were out in the middle of a big glacier.

Saturday night it rained pretty good in the middle of the night. We were socked in with clouds Sunday, but during a ½ hour break, things were really looking good with blue sky coming in, so Tucker and I took off up a side ridge and made it a couple peaks back in there to try and get a look at some more country. Clouds rolled in while we made the initial climb. I made it to the second peak…afraid to go further because I didn’t want to spook any sheep that were around (with not being able to see them). Basically sat there and napped for two hours. It never did clear up so I bailed off there and we headed home. Sunday was a bust for spotting any sheep, other than spooking two ewes and a lamb in the fog when I hike back to camp.

Tucker’s backpack broke while he was chasing Ptarmigan out of some brush. We got some good life out of that one. I then had some extra weight to strap on and build the legs a bit stronger. Ptarmigan were everywhere up there! Who knows how much these rams will move around over the next 10 days, but it looks like we are going to have a hunt on our hands. Might have to go to some longer distances to find 2 legal rams, who knows. I was praying on the hike out that you and I would each be carrying a ram the next time we hike out of there. Like Steve has said, “It’d be quite an accomplishment to double up on this hunt…”

Sheeping Trip #1

It was definitely tough going getting back into sheep country on this trip, and Jer sure hated everything about it. I kept telling him, you’re going to look back and love this story! At one point I was in the middle of a little meadow, waiting for him to come through the alders so he could see where I went into the next batch. I could hear him coming through, mumbling and grumbling like Yosemite Sam. I could hear him complaining, “more alders, here we go again, more alders.” I had to turn away to hide my laughing from him…it was hilarious. (we joked about it later) He was super frustrated with all that nasty sidehilling. Before we got through and into sheep country goodness, we stopped for a snack before tackling more alders and I spotted a black bear come out on a hill about 150yrds from us. We’d seen lots of bear sign, but mostly grizzly up to that point. It was then I spotted a game trail down below us (which was awesome coming out on.) Anyways, lots of ice chutes and glaciers to hike across. Made for quick going in some parts. At one point, Jer slipped and slid about 50yrds back down. He left most of his confidence in his butt marks in the snow. There were a couple snow fields I went across without crampons and I had to kick foot holds for him even with his crampons on…another testimony to having awesome boots.

Finally we made it into sheep country and at the base of the glaciers, Jer was totally wore out and didn’t want to go any further. He’d been pointing out various nice looking camp spots for the past hour or so. So I left him there (kinda planning to stay out by myself further up a side valley, but he didn’t like that idea) and planned to be back by 10pm…it was now 3pm in the afternoon. I left him the Jet Boil and my pistol and took off, still with all my gear in the pack (just in case) and enjoyed hiking by myself up the drainage till I found the sheep. Pretty low numbers, 3 rams and 5 ewes…no lambs. Two rams were ¾ curl while the big one off by himself was 7/8 curl. He might make it for 8 yrs old but hard to tell. I could pretty easily count 7yrs, but just couldn’t get that 8th ring. All the sheep liked hanging out on some islands of rock in the middle of these huge snow fields. The big ram was up on the side of the mountain, but everything else was bedded out in the middle with their tracks going from one place to the next. I hiked clear up to the middle of this big glacier field till I could see the ends of the glacier on all sides, confirming no more sheep. Kinda wild being all alone on a big glacier field on a super hot day. When some rocks slid off a side slope 100yrds away, I jumped, and realized I was pretty wound up being there. Part of me wanted to make it all the way across and climb up the opposite ridge to look out into the expanse, but I didn’t feel comfortable going any further…being by myself. At least with someone else there, they’d see the crevasse I fell in…if that happened. It was probably safe, but there were no more sheep tracks in the snow up where I was and further back…so I figured I had them all pegged. I sat down to glass a side drainage and rest my tired legs on the way out. It felt so good sitting there in the evening sun soaking up the heat after washing my head in the coldest water you’ve ever felt…a little waterfall coming right out from under a giant snow field. It was a good God moment, of just loving being up there with Him. Kinda like he created that place, all the massive peaks around me, the hot sunshine, that flat rock, all for me in that moment, to sit, enjoy, and be awed by Him. I was able to glass a lot of country from up there and the only thing else I found was one billy goat off by himself…that was it for wildlife back in there. I’m guessing that place get’s hunted, because we found a few items folks had left behind in various places (tarp, snickers wrapper, and one pair of socks.) I kinda figured it was going to be a honey hole because of the tough access, but it wasn’t that bad if you had crampons and knew of the trail that we took on the way out. I made it back to Jer’s camp at 9pm (having hiked 6 miles that day compared to his 2 and two or three thousand more feet of climbing). I was pretty done in and had passed up many great spots to spend the night up by the sheep. But it worked out…it was less hiking to do in the rain on Sunday. Fog socked us in by the time we went to bed and early morning it started to rain. It never rained really hard, but enough to wet things plenty slick and load the branches with water that we had to push through. Sure enough, it took less than half the time to get out as it did going in. Mostly due to the fact that we were going downhill, but also, that game trail on the way out made the alder fields much better. Jer didn’t have rain pants and was completely soaked and sloshing in his boots almost from the beginning of the hike out. I had my cheap rain pants (Columbia Shell – Cabelas Bargin Bin for $10), they shedded most of the water, but the last mile to the truck I could feel my sock getting wet inside my right boot from things finally soaking through the pants and down my leg. If I had my Marmot Precip pants like I did my coat…I’d have been dry. The only wetness I had on top was from sweat! That’s great rain gear.

It was a totally successful scouting trip. Maybe there was a legal ram tucked in some crags or over on the back side of what I could see, but I pretty much covered the majority of the area. Seemed like all the sheep were concentrated in a particular area too, and with nobody pressuring them, I don’t see why all the sheep wouldn’t be hanging out together. So, we won’t be hunting that spot, or even wondering what’s up in there when we’re elsewhere in August. I’d never been into this place so it was fun seeing new country and way fun obstacles to overcome. It was a good “man” trip. Totally a doable “weekend” hunting trip to keep in the back pocket for the future though. Maybe this guy will survive the winter and predators and be legal next year…

Red Mist Hunt

Sheep training officially got underway last weekend. We hiked the mountains to get the legs burning, honed up our glassing skills, drank from mountain streams, and tried out field shooting positions. We battled the “Taliban” in nice weather, but also in rain, mist, and windy conditions; we came back victorious but with more of the enemy still dug in awaiting another engagement next year.

It was a huge success with all of us shooting for the cycle (at least one marmot, one ground squirrel, and one pika). Acrobatic stunts were in pristine form for the day, and it wasn’t from any moves we were capable of doing…though we did assist in a rather explosive way. Wyatt Brown had the best shot of the weekend with a steep angled shot at 224yrds and only the head and part of a neck showing. We had to rock climb up there to confirm the success it was so amazing.

The dogs got a few snacks out of it and some sweet action trout flies will be manufactured from the harvest.

Throwback #1

First Alaska Hunt

12 months of living in Alaska was a long time to wait before I could get resident tags. But the year 2003s spring bear hunting came right after that mark and I took to the mountains with a couple guys that I’m grateful to for starting me out right. I worked with Tim Sensabaugh at church, and Steve Bethune, well at that point, I figured he was “Hero Steve, the king of sheep hunters.” Holy smokes did I learn a lot in those four days. Top Ten Lessons Learned

1. Backpack Hunting = the best hunting!
2. Gotta buy a comfortable pack.
3. 4 packages of Costco Jerky, for four days, is way too much jerky.
4. Don’t bother with a Fruit Medley – tossing prunes gets really boring!
5. My binoculars suck.
6. Spotting scopes are cool.
7. Putting electrical tape over your barrel is very good (see next recent post)
8. I like hunting bears.
9. I don’t need a heavy duty dry bag to keep my sleeping bag in. (Trash bags are much lighter).
10. I’m going to have to do this a lot more!

Cheaper by the Dozen

Just picked up 12 more journals. I was out of empty pages at home. After six years of hunting sheep in Alaska...I guess I have at least twelve more years to go.

Right now it's pretty awesome to read these journals to my wife after a hunt. I think it will be even better reading them to my kids someday. So much is captured by writing on these journal pages while in the field...on the adventure. So much more than if you tried to recap it all afterwards. There's details of sights, feelings of excitement, wonder, and pain that would be lost if you only wrote it down afterwards. These journals contain the complete story, our thoughts in the midst of it, and those awesome God moments we encounter out there.

Journal Writing Tip #1: Refer to landmarks (mountains, glaciers, rivers, lakes, and creeks) by other names than what is actually on the map. It has two benefits. It keeps your creative thinking process working, and if friends are over and they pillage your house for hunting information, the journals contain false names.

Throwbacks

"Throwbacks" were popularized with baseball players wearing old style uniforms during "Turn Back the Clock" nights at the ball field. Other good terms for this are Old School and Retro. I gotta toss in a few of these stories from the past, they were pivotal in getting me to where I'm at today.

Funny thing that this throwback picture shows; binoculars that sucked, rain pants as the only pair of pants, boots that lasted one season, and I carried a whole New Testament (wrapped in camo duct tape). I had a lot to learn.

Side Note: Steve Bethune's old spotting scope eye cap (same as mine) was left at this exact same spot, one year prior. I didn't know it was his at the time when I picked it up and said, "hmmm, some one has been here before." Guess we have similar ideas about where to glass sheep from.

Optimistic or Opportunist

In preparation for the upcoming hunt and the season before me, I picked up the Harvest Tags available to me. These are general season tags issued "over the counter." According to them I can take 3 Black Bears, 1 Sheep, 1 Moose, 5 Caribou, and 6 Deer...yeah right! Maybe if I took two full months off. I guess I do have plans for Sheep and Caribou at the least. Then there's the weekend trips and the potential to stumble on something. Tags aren't required for Brown Bear (in the areas I'm hunting), Wolves, Wolverines, or Grouse and Ptarmigan. Not too bad for a $25.00 Hunting License fee. We live in a great state!