After 2 attempts with the Jetboat guys I thought I might give it a try for a Highway hike in sheep hunt. Not getting any hints on locations from guys I pinged on this site I thought I would just wing it. Over the last three years I’ve been looking at google earth for suitable locations, not too close, not too easy and try to get away from others. Get 2 days back and hunt from there was what I was told.
So the decision was made, going up Otelsas creek sounds like a good plan. Not knowing where the trail starts or, if there will even be a trail I decided to just do it. Another item was the size of that creek, I could see water so I thought better get a pair of Wiggy’s waders just in case.
Once again I am without a sheep partner. I pinged KROD since he was looking for an alpine deer hunter and he jumped onboard right away.
9 weeks of training, some gear review with KROD and finally the day is here to go. The drive north was uneventful. July 29 we park the truck outside “Gundahoo” basecamp and head for the creek. We find a trail. The heat is intense and the bugs are bad, but we are fueled by the thought of mountain slopes littered with sheep. 2 hours into the hike we hit Otelsas, mmm, not too bad but you need your waders. We cross with no issues, not knowing that over the next two days we will cross this creek 16 times. After 2pm it felt like someone left the oven door open and you get these warm wafts of air. We reached our point (#3) I thought we should get to on day 1 and pass it, at 5:30 we made camp.
Up early the next morning and continue hiking, more creek crossings. We pass a confluence and although the water is less the grade is increasing making the creek deeper and faster. The last three crossings are hairy, but we are now committed, fueled by slopes full of sheep at the end of this trail.
Late afternoon on day two we take a break. I look down at my boots and all of a sudden I see a line I’ve never seen before, I tuck on it and holy crap, the sole is de-laminating from my boot. Lowa Tibet Pro GTX, WTF. I’m shocked, now what. I trained in these boots for 9 weeks and cleaned them 3 days before we left and there was no sign of de-lamination. I don’t even know if I will get back out, not thinking about continuing. We decide to push on and finish the day, not too far till our next stop. We reach a nice running side creek and decide to camp there for the night.
The next day will be a scouting day to decide if we go north or south (#6 or #7). I spend the rest of the afternoon applying some rope to my boots to see if I can stop the de-lamination. The pressure on my toes is ridiculous.
Next morning up and we go south, we find a nice creek to hike up in, a few spots where we need to use all four to get up and over but we make it into an amazing bowl. That’s it, this is where we will spike into for the next 5 days.