Originally Posted by
Gunner
LEH 2019 started out like most of my last 20 years with me putting in for long shots, Okanagan sheep and moose and Island elk. I had a few health issues and was sure, like most other years, I would get a big goose egg. Well,if I didn’t get the coveted sheep draw! I was over the moon, naturally, but worried I wouldn’t be able to do the hunt physically after having major surgery followed by 5 months of chemo which left me with zero immunity and blood tests showing I had anemia. I only had August to get my poop in a group.
A huge chain of events started unravelling that still amazes me. My godson’s hunting buddy, Dorian, had recently moved to Kamloops and was willing to put in some time if I was able to go. Dennis found out about my draw and got in touch with Dave who got in touch with others…you get the idea.
While all this is happening and I’m talking to these amazing guys about the hunt I’m having trouble not getting winded walking up a flight of stairs. I let them in on the reality of the situation and the crazy newts were still all in.
The draw was for the whole month of September and I was told there is zero drinkable water in the area. I wasn’t too worried since September should be cool, right? The end of August rolled around and I could walk of my driveway without passing out…mostly. To say the least, I was NOT optimistic about my chances of making it to the top of these mountains once never mind multiple times but no guts, no glory!
Dorian made arrangements that we would do some scouting and a water drop before opening day so we could camp on the hill. At the end of August we donned our packs and headed up. So much for cool temps, the first half of the hunt was pretty much 30 degree days and did I mention that you have to bring ALL your water with you? Oh ya…I did. You also don’t really wasn’t to wear shorts because of rattle snakes…like we’d ever run into one of those…
Our first trip up was VERY SLOW. Dorian didn’t say a thing about it and stopped frequently to let me catch up. Quite often he would say HE needed to rest just when I thought my lungs were going to explode. Thanks man….seriously.We made it up, eventually, to a spot where we dropped water after glassing along the way and turned around to come back down. We didn’t see sheep or much sign. Halfway down, we encountered our first rattle snake…rattling…right beside the path. Talk about camouflage! We gave the snake a very wide berth and continued on to the bottom. We did run into a few more later. I was exhausted and in even more doubt I could do the same hike with camping gear and a rifle.
I went home and packed and re-packed after a few phone calls with Dorian to see if I was on the right track. I had never hunted like this before and knew Dorian was taking more than his share to keep my pack as light as possible.
Day before opening we loaded up and headed uphill, planning on 3-4 nights. It was another very slow ascent with lots of rest stops. We made it up higher than our water drop and set up camp, again glassing all the way. In the time there we saw 5-7 sheep…we may have seen the same 2 sheep twice because they were in roughly the same area. The largest was half a curl. We did some hikes and found some old sign but not much else. We headed back down again to regroup and for me to rest up.
The following week I got a call from Dave who had arranged another trip up, this time on horseback! Jesse came to the rescue with his horses that took me and all the gear up to a different area where we camped for 2 more nights. Once again we glassed and hiked, managed to see some sign but no sheep. The whole trip so far was so awesome, no time for discouragement as finding and harvesting an animal is not the only thing hunting is all about and it was so great to meet others who felt the same.
It was about another 10 days before we could get back up, it was to be day hunts from here on in but I was feeling better and more confident that I could git er dun…everyone was SO patient which was great. Dave and I met in the morning and hiked up to another area and glassed, glassed and hiked…no sheep. I felt bad because I knew how much effort was going into this and that the boys just wanted to find me a sheep. Nearing the end of the second day, Dave glassed a hillside on the way out one last time and SHEEP!!! A group of 8 rams and one stood out although there were several other nice rams as well. Of course they weren’t close so off we went to see how close we could get without them seeing us. It wasn’t the best shooting spot for me and a 327 yard distance,they were also bedded down so we moved to another spot to wait for them tomove. They ended up getting up and moving away from us and over a ridge. We backed away with intent to come back for them as the day was done.
The next day I was on my own so I hiked a lower area we were told about, it was sunny but rainy and extremely windy. I saw nothing but I think I headed the wrong way on the trail. I also manage to get cactus stuck tomy legs and the barbs broke off in my leg...argh. Apparently I don’t do well without supervision?
Dave was able to come out the next day so we could head up the group he had spotted previously. (There was a little more pep in our step, despite both of us getting nipped and then bit by an off leash Weimaraner) We hiked with purpose but much stealth up the hill, I had a great feeling about this day even though the weather was rainy and cold. Well, we got to where the sheep should have been, then where they went over the ridge…and there on the other side in plain view was a camp setup. A tent with a tarp over it...and no sheep anywhere. It was Friday and these hikes were taking a bit of a toll so we headed back down.
I haven’t mentioned Dorian for a bit because his work had him out for the rest of the hunt. But wait, just before heading down I get a text from Dorian that says he’s free for the weekend! The more eyes the better so we told him to come on down. By the time we were down he was already glassing the hills. I met up with him and we moved to another glassing spot, looking for the group of 8 but instead found a pair of decent rams. A plan was made to go into where the pair was spotted the next morning. Dorian would take me in this time, Dave had been doing all this work with a very painful back/leg issue which concerned me and which I felt very bad about.
The next morning we hiked into where we thought they’d be and this time I spotted them bedded down. Dorian set up the scope and found them both fairly similar and at about 340 yards. We’d have to get closer to make sure nothing went wrong. We snuck back out and around and up and over and back down (I was getting used to the terrain at least) only to find they were now at 380 yards. Crap! Off to find a closer/better spot. Back out, over,around, up, down….again. OK, now we’re talking. Good cover, they’re bedded and they range at 265 yards. Time to practice rifle rest, etc. Nope, Dorian says ‘They’re getting up!’ I get up and try to get the rifle rested and aimed, needless to say I am totally calm but the rifle isn’t…that’s my story. ;o)
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