Walking in the footsteps of a legend

[Weatherby Fan]

I met one of my best friends about 30 years ago hunting at Loon Lake, after several hunts together and few years later he opens up about this mythical place to hunt monster Stone Sheep.....he says not many sheep in there just huge rams if you can find one.........so I've always wanted to go there and 2 years ago I book the flight and start my planning for my older brother(56) and I (52)..........better late than never right !!!!

Wow the hunt is upon us faster than a thunderstorm.............loaded up with all the latest gear and gadgets for a successful hunt were off to Muncho Lake for our fly-in.....meet some other sheep hunters and have a great stay at Northern Rockies Lodge for a few days.....weather delays as we were to fly in on the July 30th and ended up flying in on Aug 1st !

While waiting at the lodge I come across a familiar Cpl of names from HBC Dave- "DiggerDogger" and Dave "BigBoar" Marsh...respectfully...."walking in the footsteps of a legend" which were in felt pen down at the waters edge in a little open log hut with a lump in my throat and a smile on my face I felt pen my HBC name next to his and take some pictures, missing BigBoars humour and unparalleled zest for hunting......I can only wish that he's watching over Leif and I for a successful hunt.

I text the picture to his wife Cory and in a tearful reply she reminds me to just enjoy the experience.......and thanks me for thinking of her and Lexi.



As this was my first trip this far north my brother and I were in total awe of the wildlife everywhere as well as the amazing scenery, Buffalo,Stone Sheep and Caribou......

[bigredchev]

This sounds like a recipe for awesome.

[Weatherby Fan]

As we take off from Muncho Lake at 9am I'm suffering from food poisoning and have been up since 4am getting rid of whats ailing me out of both ends, the flight in was as beautiful as it gets with endless glacier covered mountains as I struggled to enjoy it and luckily the flight in was as calm and smooth as it gets, we unload the gear at the lakes shore and watch Urs take off and were on our own for 12 days, my brother is like a kid at the PNE for the first time.......look at this place I gotta go for a hike, I look around and he's gone in usual fashion, I think he's part goat !..........a Cpl hours later were all set up at the lake as it was all I could do to shoulder my 70lb Mystery ranch pack and walk the kilometer to where we set up.

The View from our tent was spectacular to say the least.



I had a nap and tried to recover some energy while my brother the Goat went for another hike, that evening we went for a 5k hike and the scenery just got better and better.



After a good nights sleep I felt much better and we were on our way for day 2 of our hunt, no sheep spotted but a dandy Caribou



Whistling Marmots abound.....



We get back around 11pm from our first outing and Im done in and it starts to cloud over and Im hearing thunder in the distance, we crawl into the Hilleberg 3 man Tent and I crash only to awaken to pouring rain and wind, back to sleep as the Thunder Lightning comes and goes until 2pm the following day and were having a late lunch and out comes the sun as were glassing from camp as I was still whipped from our 26k hike the day before !

I pick up my first ram in the afternoon sunlight, a few lambs and ewes emerge feeding on a grassy slope and a young Caribou trotts by our tent.

[Weatherby Fan]

We didn't want to leave camp as we were finally seeing some sheep, more young banana Rams but none of these "Monster Rams" my friend told me about ???

I put the Leica spotting scope and the 1.8 doubler through it's paces, up on 90 power I could see that these little Rams were still suffering from the relentless attack of bugs even on the highest of peaks as the breeze would come and go.

We boil up some water for out freeze dried delight........and were still glassing about 8pm I check a saddle oh theres a Ram, I get the spotter on him and oh he's a Monster huge bases and wide horns that go straight out....I can't tell if he's over the nose as Im looking at him from behind, he stops walking and my brother says let me look just then the Ram turns sideways and stops for a look back and Yowsa way over the bridge of the nose, Leif has a look and says yeh he'll do !

The ram turns and walks across the snow bank over the Saddle and out of sight.............holy shit my buddy was right theres Monsters in here !

The next morning can't come fast enough as I hardly slept and I'm up early as I crawl out of the tent I look up the bank and heres two Caribou bedded a few hundred yards away........



We get under way to find the Ram from the night before and my legs feel like rubber as its another nasty hike, my older brother the Goat pretty much had to pack my ass up the hill.....up and up we go we get to where we can glass the saddle where the big Ram walked over as he's going to show tonight, glassing waiting glassing until 8pm and we still have a 3 hour hike back to camp nothing shows nothing moves.......maybe Ill stick to Mule deer hunting, Leif comes back over from his hill and seen one young ram.

On our way back down through the saddle having a rest on an open bluff above our valley where were camped and Im having a snack and Leif who was sitting about 10 yards away yells Donnie look out.............as I look to my right a half curl Ram is coming straight at me full speed as I jump and go to grab my pack to block the brunt of his horns Leif jumps up and the Ram sees him and swerves just to the right of me runs past about 10 yards stops and turns around and runs back up the draw in which we just come out of.......

WTF was that as were both laughing sort of.........If he would have hammered me I may have been over the bank to a 300 foot drop ??


Back to camp and Im thrashed, into bed and I'm awoken again at about 1am to something trotting through the stream by our tent seems to be a nightly occurrence.

My brother the goat is under the weather today so I go off for a hike on my own and spot a Cpl small rams and jump a young bull Caribou out of the rocks on a windblown slope,

the next day I get up early and go back to find that Monster Ram and Leif goes to the North on a different hill, as I ask BigBoar for a hand getting up this hill again for a third time as my lungs are on fire and my hearts pounding from the climb which never seems to end,jumping another Bull Caribou bedded in the glacier that lays in the saddle

I'm in position by 3pm glassing......by 5pm I have my sil tarp over me and its pouring rain and thunder and lighting beating me into submission, by 6:30pm it passes and the suns out but the fog is rolling in.........dam you BigBoar haven't you got some pull up there !

I stick it out to 8:30 pm thinking I would spend the night but the fog was relentless rolling in and out with the ever changing thermals everytime the sun come out from behind a cloud.......shit I'm hiking back, halfway down the saddle I have about 100 feet of visibility.......by 11:30 Im a few hundred yards from camp and my brother jumps over the rock bluff as I can make out his outline in the fog he says I was just coming to find you !!! The Goat he's a good brother !

Im soaked to the ass and wobbly tired as we approach the tent as its pouring rain we load our stuff in the Vestibule change into dry merino and off to bed, at 1am Im awoken to winds blowing about 40 mph and pouring rain......by 3am it stops and the thunder starts, its so close the ground is shaking.

Lightning and thunder til 6am..........I highly recommend a Hilleberg tent, wow what a shit kicking we took.......I get up at 8am to pea soup fog, make a coffee and something to eat and back to bed......10pm that night still pea soup fog

[Weatherby Fan]

I wake at 4am the next morning thinking more fog but nope it was just me in a fog and the skies were clear....yahoo, after a coffee were discussing strategy and this its best to go back to where we seen the Monster Ram........I knew the Goat would say that as I was not sure I could do that gruelling hike again........

I always sit with my spotting scope out at first light and Leif says hey look a Ram as I go to glass the saddle where the Monster went over....I can't see anything as he's pointing how the hell can he see a ram with his naked eye ??? no right there as he's pointing......at the hill......the Goat has finally lost it......oh shit right in front of us theres a small Ram walking through the rocks not 80 yards from us !



Maybe Ill stay in camp and glass today........nope we pack up with the intention of spending the night up top, the Goat waits for me everytime I rest my fat ass as we do the torture hike one last time, we find a spot up top set up our sil tarps just in time as it's starts to rain.....Thunder and lightning......shit here we go again.......it passed in an hour and was beautiful and sunny......now to find that Ram !

over to the Northeast corner of the ridge and leif spots a young Ram in a little rock hole.....wow these things can hide out, as we move along the spectacular ridge we spot 6 cow elk down in the Valley but no more sheep, I anchor up and wait for dark watching the east side and Leif watches the north end of the ridge, we meet at our makeshift camp at dark as I seen nothing more and he seen three young rams.......



The next morning I was up at 4am again and sneak over to where the monster come over the saddle........nothing as I glass a bit further...sheep....8 sheep as I grab the spotter and look all ewes and one small Ram......they start to run towards me....there over 2 k away and they keep running towards me and the last two ewes would stop every so often to check their back trail then run to catch up....they did this until they were into the shade of the hill in front of me and weren't looking into the sun.........but no Legal Ram......as it started to heat up Leif come over the hill to see me and seen 2 small Rams nothing more....the whole valley is filled with smoke as we can't even see river below us..........



The Monster Ram is safe for now as we reluctantly packed up and headed back to our pick up point, having an early dinner at our camp and in trotts in another bull Caribou right by us at 50 yards........wow these things are beautiful.....




We didnt get that Monster Ram but had the most amazing time in an area where the scenery was spectacular beyond belief, even better that I got to share it with my brother and walk in the footsteps of a Legend.......RIP BigBoar.....miss ya buddy.

[Boner]

Great write up Don. Thanks for sharing.

What kind of rifle and caliber did you bring with you?

[325]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!!

[Weatherby Fan]

Great write up Don. Thanks for sharing.

What kind of rifle and caliber did you bring with you?

Thank you

I packed my Gary Flach built 280AI on a Husqvarna HVA action 7lbs 2.8oz with a Leupold 4.5-14x40

[IronNoggin]

Felt like I was right there with you!
And really like those pictures!
Excellent write up Don!

Many Thanks for sharing!

Cheers,
Matt

[ACE]

Thank you Don ...... good stuff!