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Anticipation had been building for almost 10 months. Ever since the 2010 sheep season closed, we had been planning this hunt. It was a new area for all of us but all of our initial research was promising. Seeing pictures of the rams that had come out of the area, I was optimistic we would have an opportunity to see something legal. Although none of the rams in the pictures was going to make book, any legal ram is a hard fought for trophy.
Finally, the morning had come for us to depart. Saddled up and with pack string in tow, we headed down the trail. Not far into the drainage we spooked a grizzly bear that had been eating berries on the edge of the trail. The speed and agility of this bear was unprecedented. I have never seen an animal of this size with so much agility and with such deliberate movement. The stars must have been aligned, as this bear ran away from us. The encounter served as a stark reminder that we were entering the backcountry where cries of help would not be heard.
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| Author Chris Maxwell stops beside a high alpine lake on his search for an elusive bighorn sheep. |
With a heightened sense of awareness, we proceeded down the trail until we finally made it to where we had planned to camp. It had been an eight-hour ride in but what spectacular country!
Before I knew it, the horses had been tended to and we were setting up camp with supper cooking over a crackling fire. Movement caught the corner of my eye; a quick look through the spotting scope from camp had several ewes and lambs grazing on the mountainside; not what we were after, but it confirmed we were in sheep country.
Since we had arrived a day before the season opened, we had time to glass the surrounding mountains and explore the drainage. What a perfect valley. When people talk about going to sheep country, this is exactly what I have always envisioned. Authors like Alberta’s own Andy Russell had described this kind of country, but it isn’t until you visit these places yourself that you can truly appreciate them.
At first glance, the mountains are empty, but as you start picking your way through side slopes, cliffs and pockets of timber, the mountain passes spring to life. Marmots, deer, squirrels, birds, and a whole array of other wildlife that can be missed by the casual observer are present to those who are looking... I mean really looking. It always amazes me how much we tend to miss by being in a rush when really all it takes is some patience and a thorough examination of our surroundings.
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| Living the life in sheep camp. |
Mature rams were what we were after, however, immature rams and ewes were all we could seem to find. Every morning for the first several days we would spot the same group of ewes crest over the mountaintop, feed and disappear. Afternoons were spent picking apart other areas of the mountain slopes.
One afternoon, we decided to move to another vantage point in the valley to glass. On the way there, I heard the click of a falling rock and, turning around, watched a sheep walk down from the cliff and continue straight down the next one. Although we had passed him only 30-metres away, we had not seen him until his movement gave him up. A small ram but the encounter served as a glaring reminder of how well these animals can hide in their natural environment. Every nook and cranny in the mountains can hide a bighorn sheep and even the best optics can be fooled.
After glassing more ewes and immature rams, it was time to return to camp. Finishing a hearty meal and taking some well-needed rest for our eyes, we went back out for one last look before calling it a night. Then it happened!
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| Immature rams and ewes were easily found. |
Finally, after five hard days, we came across a bachelor group of rams. We had glassed this slope a hundred times and now here they were. One of the rams was clearly legal with two others too close to be sure. The rams were over a mile from camp but it was now confirmed we had rams to hunt!
After a long sleepless night in anticipation of the following day, we got up and set out to try to locate the rams. It wasn’t 10 minutes before we were able to spot them again. They were a long ways from where we had originally spotted the bachelor group, but nonetheless, they were in an accessible area.
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| One of the bighorn rams that always seemed too distant for the hunters to get a shot at. |
As the rams had been caught in the open meadow on the valley floor, they were now headed for the safety of the mountain cliffs. I knew it was only a matter of time before they would once again be inaccessible. Planning a route that would allow us to get into shooting position without being seen, we raced to get into position.
Distance in the mountains is often skewed, as the scale of the mountains makes distances appear shorter than they really are. Taking much longer than anticipated to get into position, the rams got further from us than we originally planned. Finally in position, we pulled out the range finder; they were 530 yards out. Although I have made shots at this distance before, I was not willing to risk a shot at that distance today. We watched helplessly as the rams fed off and up the mountain. Although disappointed, I couldn’t help but feel privileged just to have lived the moment.
The next couple of days were anticlimactic. We had hunted hard and although we did not harvest an animal, everyone in camp felt it was one of the best hunting trips any of us had been on.
The ride out was as picturesque as the ride in and with eight days of solid sunshine, we couldn’t have asked for better weather.
The whole experience from the pack in to the days of spotting and exploring a new and uncharted area was what really made the hunt. Like most sheep hunts I have been on, a ram was never harvested but it is the anticipation, adventure, and wanting to know what is over the next mountain that will keep me coming back time and time again. ■
For previous Reader Stories click here.
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