As the rifle rings out every sheep freezes but mine drops out of sight, is he down, did he take off?
He appears from behind a dip and stands broadside, as I'm aiming again I know I hit him on the first shot, he is the only ram that moved at the shot. I squeeze again and he drops. I got a stone sheep.
I try to breathe but I'm shaking, Inreach message my Wife then my Dad, I wish he was here. I like solo hunting but this is the first time of the trip I feel alone. I want to celebrate with someone.
Then the other hunters appear "Hey, looks like you got a sheep" he yells to me. He watched it all go down and gave me the space and opportunity to take the ram. Its him, his wife, and two daughters, they have a horse camp down in the valley. We chat walking up to the sheep then he gives me space to go check out my ram.
The hunter bids me farewell and leaves me to the task at hand. I start breaking down the sheep and the worst storm i ever experienced hits. I am forced to run for cover and the wind is so intense and the thunder is hurting my ears. I huddle in the rocks at the location of the shot. The storm passes and the weight of the situation hits. I am 24.8 kms from the trailhead for some reason it only makes my smile grow.
I take care of the ram and prepare to load up but when I pick up the pack my smile fades. I am wiped from the day. It has been an emotional roller coaster and this pack feels like 100 lbs. I can't do it. I'm not sure how I am going to make it out. Under the strain of the pack, I start heading back to camp.
I get close to camp and stash the meat on the snow by a creek. Back at camp its dinner time. I text my wife and tell her it might take me a few days to get out, not sure how I can do it in one trip. Sleep.
I think it is manageable.
Under the weight of the pack, I understand the difficulty of this whole task and why it is not a common thing. I soak up a few minutes of just staring at the socked in slope that fed my ram a day earlier. I wonder if I will ever be back.
I started at 6:00 am and by noon I was out of the steep stuff and had covered 10 km. I was sore and tired but felt good.
From 12-3:00 things got tuff. At 3:00 the body just couldn't do it. As much as I willed I could not walk for longer than 45 mins before I needed a break. My hips and lower back were rubbed raw and my legs burned.
Walk for 45 mins rest repeat. I carried a 500 ml bottle of water and drank at streams (unfiltered, I didn't care about getting sick after I was out) and refilled my bottle.
At the end it was agony. I was 500 m from the hwy but hit the 45 min mark and could not do it. I just laid on the ground for 10 mins with the pack on.
Made it to the highway at 6:30 pm. Dropped the pack there and hiked 3 kms to get my jeep. Once the pack was off I was OK
Best of all, this was the greatest meat I have ever had.
So, what does it take to get a stone sheep?
Move across the country
Countless hours gleaning info online
Training your butt off
The right gear
An amazing understanding and encouraging wife
A Dad who taught you everything about hunting
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