It’s about that time of the year again. The time when plans are made, training starts and the accumulation of mountain house rations is both exciting and worrisome. Sheep season is only a few weeks away. As I sit here and plan for this years hunt I can’t help but look back over the last few years of successful sheep expeditions and ponder the lessons learned. From enjoying the harvest of my first ram with my father, to watching a good friend and his son shoot great animals together. I wonder what this year’s trip will hold and what I will learn from a 3-week stay in the backcountry chasing sheep. But for now I will have to be content with reliving the tale of our 2018 Stone Sheep story so sit back and enjoy.
The date is September 7th, 2018. The truck is packed and we're on our way north. We have already been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, which has shortened our trip but finally, after months of planning the diesel starts and we are heading out. I think about the trip I had with my Father and Johnny last year (Also Chronicled as the “Stone Zone” story here on HBC) and wonder what is going to happen in the next few days. Unfortunately, dad could not come this year so it was Johnny, his son Cam, and myself. We leave the Thompson around 7 pm and plan to drive through the night, hopefully arriving in at our destination around 9 the next morning if all goes well. Time ticks by as the miles pass and the Shania Twain albums roll. Gas stop in PG, mild flurries through the pass and cool weather as we roll into FSJ for another gas stop before the trek continues. Before long we find ourselves at the launching point ready to go. The trip has shrunk from 10 hunting days to 7 at this point due to events out of our control but we are excited to make the best of what we have.
Fast forward hours later sees us on the banks of the river hanging our base camp gear high in a tree away from inquisitive visitors. We then begin the long walk back to the Sheep Mountains. We moved about 3 hours back off the river that afternoon and made camp in a thick mossy bunch of timber that was tracked with elk sign. With camp set up and a small fire going we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the mountains. There were a few bull elk around camp bugling back and forth so we gave a few cow chirps to get them fired up. One bull came in very close and continued to circle our camp and scream at us despite our low conversation and the crackle of the fire. The sleeping bag felt good that night as we listened to the elk talk.
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