The story of our Sheep Hunt Honeymoon...

[Andrewh]

This past summer was a pretty great time for me, not only did I get married, but I also got to go on my first fly in sheep hunt! We got married in July and one week later we are on the road for our honeymoon.... leaving Vancouver for Muncho Lake. My wife is not into the whole 5-star resort thing, as she is a Kootenay girl through and through. It was to my surprise, when a year earlier, I had mentioned the idea of a fly-in sheep hunt for a honeymoon and she said yes. To be honest I didn’t think there was a chance in hell of it happening, but she was just as excited as I was. We have spent a lot of time together in the backcountry, but not for the purpose of hunting. We backcountry ski camp in the winters and hike in the summers. Hunting season was untouched... until now.

So the planning begins; first I talk to her cousin that does a little guiding out of Cranbrook... and then I started reading through a lot of old posts on HBC to find info. In the mean time, I had booked a flight for us out of Muncho Lake for July 29th. After I had talked to enough people and received a few ‘hints,’ I had chosen the lake, confirmed the flight plans and then started looking at the area we were going to hit.

There was sort of a running joke between us; I was planning for this hunt just as much as she was planning for the wedding. I made lists, Excel spreadsheets with items/weights for the two of us and looked over Google Earth for hours. With the collection of the final items on the gear lists, we were set. Now the only thing left was to get into ‘sheep shape’. It really wasn’t that hard for us as we were pretty active, but nothing gets you ready for hiking up mountains with a pack, like actually hiking up mountains with a pack. She was doing the Grouse Grind a few times a week with 40lbs on her back and we went on long hikes every weekend for the 5 months leading up to the trip.

Once we arrived at Muncho, safely avoiding the moose and sheep that were wandering all over the roads, we checked into a little cabin for a couple of nights. I must say that we met some pretty nice people while staying at Northern Rockies Lodge with Marianne and Urs. And Urs is just a standup guy. The night before we flew out, we headed into the restaurant to enjoy our last dinner. I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time, but Ashley was a little nervous all the sudden. “This is happening...” she kept saying to herself. Urs came over, sat down and chatted with us for a while. It was obvious to him that Ashley was a little nervous, so what does he do? He leaves and comes back with a brand new bottle of wine for her to take back and open in the cabin, to ease her nerves.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0652_zpsf00bf63e.jpg
***Excuse the slicks, didn't want to burn out my nice tires driving to Muncho!!!!

We were up pretty early without any problems, too much excitement for sleeping! We took all of our gear down to the dock to get weighed and loaded it into the little Cessna or the ‘mosquito of the sky,’ as our pilot Chris called it. Forty-five minutes later, after only one ‘fallout/dead-air patch,’ we were starting our descent into the lake.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0792_zps58f09716.jpg

Perfect landing and what a flight, I had sweaty palms for the entire time. After bouncing through the sky, we were finally safe with out feet on the ground, ready to go. Gear unloaded, with dry feet and our boots laced up, we watched the plane taxi away from us and take off. Parting words were: “see you guys in a couple weeks!” Ash and I looked at each other with excitement – and the adventure begins ~~

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0794_zps116ed5b3.jpg

More to come...

[Sofa King]

freakin' awesome.
I've stayed at the lodge and ate there too.
I'd love to do a fly-in pike fishing trip from there.

great pics.

[WKCotts]

Keep it coming! I'm on the edge of my seat

[leadpillproductions]

Lookin like the best thread of the year so far

[adriaticum]

Great stuff!

[goinghunting]

Killin me, keep it comin!

[pescado]

Muy suave, Andrew.......look forward to following the adventure.

[coach]

Oh yeah!! Awesome start. Looking forward to the rest of this thread.

[Weatherby Fan]

I guess BigBoar is his thread consultant :wink:

One more sleepless night waiting isn't going to matter..... So far so good keep it coming !

[BlacktailStalker]

I love these end of the season threads that pop up as a surprise.

[Blainer]

I'll be back to follow in the morn
Keep writing

[Trekker]

looking forward to more!

[kennyj]

So far, so good. Looking forward to more.
kenny

[guest]

The OP must still be in Honeymoon stage ........ where's the rest of the story.?

[r106]

This has the making of a great thread

[mike-juliet]

Subscribed!

[Garret]

looking forward to this thread! funny because I also got married in July and went on a honeymoon sheep hunt with the wife...we called it our "hunter-moon". Love to hear the story also might be inclined to post some pics as well...

[tomahawk]

Come on, this is not fair to leave us hanging.......awesome pictures and story to date!

[Rackem]

This would be my dream honeymoon...can't wait for the rest of the story..

[luckofthedraw]

Good looking honeymoon, nice write up so far.

[gutpile]

The honeymoon is over they just split !

[gutpile]

Just kidding :mrgreen:

[Andrewh]

just waiting for my photobucket to start working again...

[Andrewh]

From the lake we started hiking North via an old and narrow horse/game trail. I normally don’t walk with anything in the chamber especially when I am not planning on shooting anything but this hike was different. We were on the trail for 3 hrs and it was about 30* out with loads of bugs. We were ok with everything except for the elk and moose kills that we would pass. At this point I should also let you guys know that I was the only one carrying a rifle, I armed Ashley with a deadly canister of bear spray... Our plan was not to shoot two sheep unless we were presented with an opportunity that we just couldn’t pass up hence the reason why we have great pics, she was shooting a rather large Canon 7D.

So back to the hike; on the hike through the valley we passed 8, yes 8 grizz/wolf kills right on the trail. When we passed the first one I felt my heart rate escalate just a little as it was thick and visibility was very limited. I was also a little concerned knowing there was a grizz attack at the lake last year, didn’t mention that one to Ashley. The kills were not very fresh but fresh enough that the thought of rounding a corner and bumping into a pissed off grizz was on our mind the entire time.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3346_zps54fa42e9.jpg

After the rather stressful hike with my finger over the trigger, we finally arrived at our first planned camping area. We were both exhausted, I am pretty sure that the stress of hike took a lot more out of us than the distance that we covered. We set up camp next to the river and started glassing the hills to the North, our planned hunting area.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0836_zps55bb1fe7.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0840_zps97ed86bc.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3148_zpsbbc0780d.jpg

[Andrewh]

After about a hour of picking apart the hills we were very confident that the only animals walking around were elk and a lot of them at that. We saw them everywhere including 75 yrds from our camp. I nice looking cow came up and decided to investigate what the heck we were. We spent the rest of the day/evening at camp glassing and looking over the maps in anticipation for the next day...

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0843_zps52e61118.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0848_zpsc8223f8f.jpg

Dinner table for the next two weeks...
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0845_zps6f183556.jpg

[Rackem]

nice pics! Man I would be a bit worried about the Grizz too...we saw a big fella when we were sheep hunting this year..but he was very far away...

[spear]

keep it comin,this is good

[coach]

I recognize the GSI pot set. :-D I have the identical one. Great thread so far. Looking forward to the rest. Awesome that you packed the good camera - although I bet you were questioning that decision once or twice in grizz country.

[fuzzy]

Awesome story and pics so far! I guess there was no squeaking the jeep in there....

Warren

[Rackmastr]

Awesome stuff so far!!

[hunter1947]

Its 5am I am on my second cup of coffee so far nice pic and story waiting for more to show maybe latter ...

[Fosey]

It is 4:35, i might as well go get my first cup can't sleep.

[Andrewh]

Today was the day of “lesson #1 of sheep hunting” Don’t put all your eggs in one basket and ALWAYS have a backup plan.
What I haven’t told you yet is that it rained and rained hard daily. It apparently was doing this for the last two weeks and this caused the rivers to be a lot higher/faster than normal. Our original plan was to cross the river but when we got to it, it was clear that another plan was needed. The water was extremely high and fast, I tried wading across and got about 4 feet off shore and it was up past my hips and pushing me over easily. I did not want to risk dumping our gear or losing anything just to cross the river especially on day 2. With all the people that I talked to about the location, not a single one mentioned the possibility of high water so I never even thought about it during the planning stages. When I talked to the pilot when we were picked up he also mentioned that the lake was about 6” higher than ‘normal’.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0858_zps0b46d858.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0855_zps2f7d32ee.jpg

We walked up and down river for a day trying to find an area safe enough to cross but we were out of luck. I was truly concerned and rather disappointed that I didn’t have a backup plan for this. I planned every part of this trip and thought of all the different obstacles that could arise but this one was overlooked.

All the maps that I printed off (printed Google Earth sections and taped together), GPS routes to different drainages etc were all for nothing at this point. I had put all my eggs in one basket and dropped the basket.

Now to figure out a plan B –
As we sat under the siltarp as the rain pounded down I was thinking of another area to go. Since I had the area on the North side planned so well I never bothered really looking at the other areas to the South and West. We were going to be hunting 100% blind of the terrain and the only way we would be able to find sheep was to head up and hope for the best.

At that point we planned on leaving the next morning to head up the closest mountain to the South/West and get into the little alpine that we would see from the valley.

The next day we were up at the crack of daylight and started breaking camp. We were on the move pretty early as we didn’t really know where we were going or how long it was going to take to get there. The upcoming climb was a tough one, we were bushwhacking our way through all sorts of bushes and thick stuff for 3-4 hrs before the vegetation started to become manageable. It was ‘up’ the entire time and very tough in the heat. We were in long pants to protect our legs, sweating like crazy and we couldn’t stop as the bugs were TERRRIBLE. All the hard work eventually paid off as we started to break out into the subalpine and as luck would have it we came across sheep!!!!!!! Not 50 yrds in front of us a lamb and ewe were checking us out, “beautiful” I thought, “we have a chance”. We continued past them and upwards to the alpine. I also found a nice fossil on the way up, pretty cool to find a shell on the Eastern border of the Rockies about 5000ft up.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3157_zps33692b9e.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3160_zps531b3217.jpg

Once we got to the top we found an area to drop our gear and set camp. I started glassing right away and low and behold what do I see through the spotter... was this a sign of things to come?

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3172_zps47054679.jpg

[skid]

great pics! cant wait for more.

[325]

Great thread so far! More please!

[tigrr]

Awesome stuff!! Please spread it out over a few days!! Maybe even a week!! (flame suit on)

[Stone C. Killer]

Cool deal, I remember seeing you two up there before opener. We got skunked... hopefully you made up for it ;)

[bisonhunter]

I did a thread just like this when I went after my Dall sheep ( I copied BigBoars Rosie thread).............sure is fun hey? You got me hook line and sinker, waiting for the next scribe.:mrgreen:

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Your wife is a keeper but I'm sure you already know that! LOL!

Waiting patiently.................................and enjoying.

SSS

[Whonnock Boy]

I think Phil Robertson has a term for threads like this that get dragged on...... Yes, I like it so far, and I like where it's going, but I don't like waiting. :-|

[Ian F.]

And.......

[Rattler]

Awesome thread so far......

A true test for any relationship to go on a fly-in sheep hunt and you did this with your wife....simply impressive.

[ElectricDyck]

Cool honeymoon, you guys are cooler than me!

[Rackmastr]

And then......

[Rich_D]

and then......

NO And then!!!!!!

[SHACK]

Get typing!!!! Waiting is making me pissy!!!;)

[the bear]

what no pics of the wife?

[hunter1947]

Day two having my second cup of coffee still waiting ???? maybe I will see final results of your hunt on Christmas day LOL :wink:..

[Ian F.]

Writing is good, pics are good, building suspense you are a superstar!

[Timberjack]

Keep it going!

What kind of spotter? Some of the better pics I've seen through a scope...

TJ

[Andrewh]

Swaro spotter, (better digi-scoping pics are coming!)

I am trying to write as much as possible when I have time. I am not really wanting to split everything up but the lack to a 2hr period in front of a computer forces me to...

[BiG Boar]

How can you do this to us! I just found this thread and am already wanting more! MOAR!!!! MOAR!!!!!

Its sort of a jerk thing to do....

[Elkaholic]

Great thread so far. Can't wait for the rest. Thanks for sharing a great adventure so far.

[panhead]

When do we get to the "juicy bit's?"

[tigrr]

Take your time Andrew. We are living the dream through your posts.
Getting my wife to climb up a mountain to sheep hunt, unpossible!!

[coach]

Swaro spotter, (better digi-scoping pics are coming!)

I am trying to write as much as possible when I have time. I am not really wanting to split everything up but the lack to a 2hr period in front of a computer forces me to...

It's all good. Gives us a reason to keep checking in. Those who complain the most have likely contributed the least.

Speaking of long drawn out threads.. Didn't Big Boar promise us a story several months ago??:mrgreen:

[leadpillproductions]

Also a equipment breakdown is always nice

[MacMtnHunter]

I'm in agony here! It's been months since someone posted a decent sheep thread! Keep it coming!

[BiG Boar]

Speaking of long drawn out threads.. Didn't Big Boar promise us a story several months ago??:mrgreen:

This is part of the thread suspense really.

[HCH]

Keep em coming

[Gateholio]

Ibtl............

[luckofthedraw]

IBTL
"In Before The Lock": An abbreviation posted to a thread on a web-based forum when the poster knows that any rational debate has long since been abandoned, and will shortly be locked by the forum administrator.

[Caribou_lou]

Lock'er Up! This is a joke!

[Fella]

Bah, let the guy finish his story!

[Remmy]

Heh Gatekeeper, if you lock this thread please remove me from this forum.

[jessonml]

Lock it up! hahaha
Nah..... Andrew and Ashley are probably skiing today when he should really be TYPING!!! COME ON!!!!

[BCrams]

I recall SSS and I putting up sheep stories but we did it in a timely fashion within the day or two for all to read.

Probably skiing indeed. Excuses.

[Andrewh]

ok, back at it - all this snow has me outdoors and not in front of a computer....

~ will post tonight!

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Teasing is good. No need to rush. We're not going anywhere!

SSS

[Blainer]

ok, back at it - all this snow has me outdoors and not in front of a computer....

~ will post tonight!and all this snow has us indoors and in front of a computer

[gutpile]

This is like building up a very slowwwww organism , just when you start to see action it all of a sudden
stops ! :-|

[Andrewh]

It is now day three I think and we just reached the top of the mountain/ridge where we planned on setting camp. Not knowing what was up on top we chose to only bring enough water for a day or so. We didn’t want to pack a bunch of water in addition to our heavy bags, so we crossed our fingers. We were hoping that we would find a water source up top or at the very least gather water from the predictable daily rainstorm in the early afternoon.
So back to the ram that is pictured in my last entry; I am sure, regardless of your sheep aging skills, we would all say it wasn’t legal (by a long shot). I thought the same thing when I saw him and was a little disappointed, but at the same time I was thrilled to find a ram in an area that I was not expecting to be in. Upon further inspection of the draw, he was sitting with anther ram that was similar in age / curl. At that point we set up camp and got settled for the evening and glassed until the sun went down.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0928_zps97a3ee96.jpg

The next morning brought some excitement for us. We were up pretty early and when I opening the vestibule of the tent, I was a little startled. A lamb and ewe were bedded down about 15 ft from the tent and I woke them up! They trotted off and I didn’t feel the need for a morning coffee to get myself going. Seeing sheep that close to me was an awesome sight and gets the heart going fast. Ashley quickly followed out of the tent, but didn’t get eyes on the sheep before they were gone down the cliff next to us. I went off and started glassing the basin anticipating that I would find/see sheep right away. I didn’t need to look far, only about 100 yards.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3220_zps7f3853d3.jpg

We continued to see a lot of elk, caribou and sheep, but unfortunately the sheep were all lambs, ewes and young rams. We stayed in that location for the day to see what would wander into view, but no rams showed up that were worth getting excited about.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0868_zpsfbd0f819.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3183_zps687ed34f.jpg

[Andrewh]

At this point in the afternoon we were starting to get a little worried that we would need to head down to a lower elevation if we wanted to get another day’s supply of water. Not really happy about making the trek downwards we chose to wait it out for another hour or so. Lucky us, the rain came in like a wall and we filled everything we could. We gathered about 12 Liters and this turned out to be a daily occurrence for us when we were in the alpine. Gotta love those summer thunder/lightening storms, but wow can those storms drop a LOT of bugs into the water, hence the filter.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3187_zpsd2e6cf10.jpg

The leftover after filling 12 liters.
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3194_zps7d0b52a0.jpg

After a full day of sitting on the basin and glassing we were pretty confident that no mature rams were around. We made a plan to leave camp where it was and head out in the morning on a day trip over a couple ridges to see what we could find...

[leadpillproductions]

Awsome pics and good write up just don't make us wait another three days lol

[kennyj]

Great job photographing your trip.
kenny

[Rackem]

This is like building up a very slowwwww organism , just when you start to see action it all of a sudden
stops ! :-|

Yeah but do that three or four times...then the finish is amazing...:)

[BearStump]

Ok Andrew, lets go, get on with it. nobody wants to hear one horn buck and Rack em talking about their 'organisms'
lol

[Rackem]

LOL @ Organisms!

[BiG Boar]

You see the trick to these long drawn out threads is to keep people reading....not shut off the tap completely.

[jessonml]

The nerve of this guy... He shot duck limits the last two morning instead of writing!

[325]

This story is dribbling out more slowly than an old mans pee...

[Andrewh]

From the original camp location we did quite a few day trips to different ridges/areas in search for the elusive mature rams. It didn’t matter what area we went to, all we found were lambs and ewes and quite a few of them at that. We figured that the rams must be on a neighboring mountain or a ridgeline off in the distance so the decision was made to pack camp and head for another ridge. We went down and then back up and found a pretty good spot to set camp that enabled us to glass a lot of new areas. From this spot we were able to see a lot of game and what looked to be some great looking bucks and elk (more on them later).

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_1019_zps74aa7c3b.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_0997_zps0c43a429.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3262_zps860aeb7b.jpg

[Andrewh]

The next few days were pretty uneventful other than the hiking and glassing that consumed us. We were starting to loose a little hope as the hills were full of lambs and ewes and no matter where we went we were not finding rams. From the research that I did on HBC, I remember people saying that if the mountain/ridge contains lambs and ewes then chances are good the rams are a ridge or two over. This kept us moving and hiking with the hope that we would find the ‘ram ridge’. At one point when I was glassing from the top of one of the ridges we were on, I saw a glimmer of a nice looking ram that was a valley away. The first thing I noticed was the mass he had. As my luck would have it, 15 seconds after I found him and just as I was trying to age him a cloud moved into the valley that separated us. I waited it out for the 20 or so minutes and when the cloud dissipated, the ram was gone. I glassed the spot for over an hour trying to find him again but he vanished.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3203_zps47af3701.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3211_zpsc49b222b.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3270_zps355fe457.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3293_zpsdd7ba78e.jpg

More to come guys...

[MacMtnHunter]

This is ridiculous! how can you keep it all in! There better be at least one dead sheep at the end of this :)

[Rackem]

Very nice, enjoyed those pics...We saw hundreds of ewes and lambs and only about a dozen rams on a steep inaccessible cliff.

[happyhunter]

That's some beautiful country you guys were in!

[mddat]

those pics are amazing, keep the story going

[Gateholio]

http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/5323/ibtl.jpg

[Remmy]

Hitlers back!!

[Dutch Ppoacher]

http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/5323/ibtl.jpg
have respect for someone else's posts, your a mod here, lead by example!
Just lost a lot of respect

[BiG Boar]

have respect for someone else's posts, your a mod here, lead by example!
Just lost a lot of respect

You realize GH is joking right?

[BiG Boar]

If you guys want, I could just give away the ending?

SPOILER ALERT

[BCrams]

Thread has been derailed by organisms.

[Ovis17]

this story is dribbling out more slowly than an old mans pee...
....lol....

[erik bird]

Great story, Andrew. Sorry some people are not patient! I know how long it takes to type what you are thinking.

[eric]

Give the guy a break....He might be typing this out at work :razz:
Get on with it man..It's gonna be New Years eve before we find out if ya got lucky on your Honeymoon :wink:

[Caribou_lou]

Great story, Andrew. Sorry some people are not patient! I know how long it takes to type what you are thinking.

The most patient man speaks! 2nd post in 3 years!

[Blainer]

have respect for someone else's posts, your a mod here, lead by example!
Just lost a lot of respectsence of humour??

[hunter1947]

All I have to say is you got yourself one hell of a good hunting partner..

[Weatherby Fan]

If you guys want, I could just give away the ending?

SPOILER ALERT

I knew you hand in the making of this thread.......

the OP.........Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and the wife !

[BiG Boar]

I told him to see if he can drag this one out longer than coaches 62 pager! Expect the conclusion by Christmas 2014!

[bridger]

By the time the ending arrives the beginning will be a distant memory. Is the op sharing a sheep hunting adventure or? Just askin!

[BiG Boar]

He makes a good point Andrew. By the time the story finishes, some of the old folks on here will have forgotten what the thread is about!

[bridger]

He makes a good point Andrew. By the time the story finishes, some of the old folks on here will have forgotten what the thread is about!

Not really! The point is if you are going to share a story then share it. Dragging it out doesn't make it any better, in fact it detracts from it. From some of your comments it seems you are living the op's hunt vicariously. No stories of your own?

[Rackem]

Good lord, the impatience is unbelievable!! How do you wait for Christmas day to unwrap your gifts??

[bridger]

I open them in july lol!

[.330 Dakota]

Not really! The point is if you are going to share a story then share it. Dragging it out doesn't make it any better, in fact it detracts from it. From some of your comments it seems you are living the op's hunt vicariously. No stories of your own?

Unless alzhiemers has gotten me early, I think Big Boar has plenty of his own adventures

[Getbent]

who cares how long it takes...let the man do as he pleases...longer the better

[bridger]

I am sure he does and great ones at that. Point is why ruin a good story by taking two weeks to tell it? All I'm saying

[Blainer]

Unless alzhiemers has gotten me early, I think Big Boar has plenty of his own adventuresand that was just last week
Don't even get him started on the entire year or 2012 for that matter.
We would run out of ink

[hunter1947]

Still on sipping on coffee waiting maybe will see all in the new year LOL..

[Ambush]

Lot's of interest by the number of hits but that's waning now. Very well staged pics to set the scene.

I'll come back in a month.

Hope I remember.

[.330 Dakota]

I am sure he does and great ones at that. Point is why ruin a good story by taking two weeks to tell it? All I'm saying

I dont disagree,,,I just dont bitch about it,,,if it isnt done in a reasonable amount of time I just click "next"...lol

[.330 Dakota]

and that was just last week
Don't even get him started on the entire year or 2012 for that matter.
We would run out of ink

LMAO,,,ya Ive read a few of his,,great adventures,,lonnnng stories..lol

[835]

The girl,,,,,,, Is she taken? she is hot....... and on top of a mountain.......
So,,,, is she?







Jk,
Well she is good lookin!

[huntcoop]

They did just get married, maybe he's layin pipe.

[bridger]

I dont disagree,,,I just dont bitch about it,,,if it isnt done in a reasonable amount of time I just click "next"...lol


Good point!

[coach]

Come on, Bridger.. You're a passionate sheep hunter living in a part of the province most of us only dream of hunting. How about posting up a few stories of your own while we wait for Scott to get his clothes back on and finish his story? :-D

BigBoar - you've got some great animals to post up from the last TWO seasons. No time like the holidays for sharing.. Come on, man, we're all waiting. :-D

Ambush - you've gotta have something good for us too.. Even if it's a domestic bull. :mrgreen:

[BiG Boar]

I'm warning you though. If I post, I'm gonna make Andrewh look like he's on warp speed.



Actually, I don't think even I could draw one out like this. Plus, I can tell you in advance, mine ends with a kill. Maybe

[coach]

Bring it on, big fella..

[BlacktailStalker]

I could care less how long it takes someone to post a story but when they say they have no time to post it but are online often and not posting, it makes you wonder. Especially when it shows them viewing their own thread :biggrin:

[MB_Boy]

The elves are getting restless.....me included, rally the mob!!! :mrgreen: This gift of a story could get Santa lynched! :mrgreen:

[Rackem]

Maybe the OP IS Santa, and he is adding you to the very naughty list...

[knockturnal]

i last looked at this thread at page 9 and when i saw it this morning, it was on page 13. Score i figured. Hes posted more. Nope! I suppose not everyone just uploads everything all at once like i did. let me grab another cup of coffee and continue the wait!

[coach]

i last looked at this thread at page 9 and when i saw it this morning, it was on page 13. Score i figured. Hes posted more. Nope! I suppose not everyone just uploads everything all at once like i did. let me grab another cup of coffee and continue the wait!

Change your settings. It's only page 4 for me. :-D

[knockturnal]

In the 5 years that Ive been on this site, I didnt even know that function existed. So much better!

[coach]

In the 5 years that Ive been on this site, I didnt even know that function existed. So much better!

Lol. My 2013 thread is only 16 pages.

[gutpile]

Mean while back to slowwwwwww..... organism , a where was i ?

[Rackem]

a good tease...

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/3d/3dc53aaa02aacef67de5c6d7185cd69aa69e9c3f6d5a0fe53f 4c5f7734d6f8e9.jpg

[Seeker]

Coach, Knockturnal, PLEASE share your knowledge, I am new to this and it is driving me nuts!

[mungojeerie]

Or maybe this thread should take a turn and Rackem can just keep posting redhead pics ;)

[coach]

Coach, Knockturnal, PLEASE share your knowledge, I am new to this and it is driving me nuts!

"Settings" at the too of the page. Then "General Settings". Scroll down to "posts per page" and adjust to 40. Even easier than posting a picture! :-D:-D

[Andrewh]

here you go guys, I am sorry that I took a little extra time to get all this down. It actually takes a little time if you want it to read well. I am not really one for posting a half-assed story, I wanted to share our experiences - didn't think people would get soooo pissed with the timeline.

At this point we had a couple days left and nothing really exciting happened that needs to be reported other than a couple midnight tent evacuations due to a lightening storm that was right on top of us. I am talking huge lightening strikes 15 seconds apart and thunder that was shaking the ground. We were camped on the top of the ridge and with the aluminum tent poles I thought it would be best to head down to wait out the storm. After sitting in the cliffs for 30 minutes getting pounded on by rain we made out way back to the tent. This whole episode was repeated at 4 am...

Following that, the next day we continued to see a lot of lambs and ewes. The other animals that we found fell victim to a few shots but only through the spotting scope. I managed to get a few nice ones that might make a few of you elk guys a little excited.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3307_zps1f9c1cc0.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3240_zps43666967.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3251_zpsc1761967.jpg

At this point we were down to the last day before the hike out. We were in a different area yet again and we were off glassing the basins that were in view. It was now mid afternoon and things were not looking very promising in terms of finding a ram.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3329_zpse6f70b5b.jpg

We decided to take a few pics and then we were back to glassing. Ashley wanted to head back to camp and make ourselves a nice drink but I told her that we needed to keep glassing as things can change very quickly and without notice. I remember hearing a story from a guy that I met at the sheep convention this past year. He was telling me a story of his sheep hunt during dinner and he told me not to stop hunting until it is time to hike out. He shot his sheep at the 11th hour of the last day of his hunt. This gave me a little hope but the real surprise happened when I looked through the spotter to a different area... “what is that?” I thought to myself!!!!!

[Andrewh]

Wow, could this really be happening??? I looked through the scope, landmarked him and started to determine if he was legal or not. From where we were, I had a pretty good feeling that he wasn’t legal by curl but it was worth a hike over to see if I could age him. We stuffed everything we had into our bags and we were off, a very quick hike down and then what seemed to be straight up for a while. The first part was easy as the adrenaline was pumping, but the last part was tough. The last time we saw the ram it was walking away across the slope so we wanted to get over to him as fast as possible. The last thing we wanted was to loose sight of him on the last night of the trip.

Ram was on the left slope/basin.
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_1023_zps42b376ba.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3315_zps89905c8f.jpg

We got to within 500 yrds of the ram when we found an area that allowed us a clear view. I tossed the spotter on him, but I couldn’t make out his age. He was backlight so the light made it very difficult.... I need to get closer I thought. Ashley stayed put and kept eyes on the sheep while I dropped down and made the hike down a ridge with the plan of coming up under him. I would be blind to him the entire time so I thought this was the best option to not get busted. As I was making my way over Ash was giving me hand signals telling me if the ram moved or was still in the same spot. Things were looking very promising I thought! When I finally got close enough to him to accurately count rings the sheep had no idea I was there. I was at about 150 yrds and using a small bush as partial cover. Rings = 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 maybe 7----- ahhhhhhh nooooo.

I kept thinking to myself, the golden rule about aging was DO NOT FORCE RINGS and don’t try and grow an 8th. If you can’t easily count the 8 rings then it isn’t legal. My little rule let me count him a few times but at this point I deemed him not legal. I took a pic of him walking away and then made the trek back to where I left Ashley. It was very exciting but at the same time I thought that this trip was amazing and it is not just about the kill, but rather then entire experience.

The guy that needs a couple years...
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/DSCN3317_zpsbca77626.jpg

We made our way back to the camp, made a drink and talked about the excitement. Wow, what a way to end the trip! We won’t have a ram on the wall yet but the memories of this trip together are just the same if not better. I have caught the bug and I am already planning the next trip coming up this season. At first Ashley didn’t really understand the whole sheep-hunting thing but now she gets it. She understands what sheep hunting is all about and that killing a ram is just a bonus, and does not determine if the trip was successful or not.

We made our way back to the lake the next morning and got on the phone and called to confirm we were back at the lake. After 13 days in the mountains, sharing the ups and downs and the challenges, we are stronger together and have a lifetime of memories to talk about.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/Andrewshorvath/Stone%20Sheep%202013/IMG_1064_zpse028fefa.jpg

[tomahawk]

Tremendous story and great trip.......thanks for sharing it!

[blackbart]

Wickedly awesome story bud. Great trip and a hell of a honeymoon. Thanks for sharing.

PS

I really liked how you told the tale over multiple days, just like your trip was.

[luckofthedraw]

Nice wright up. Don't let the haters get ya down. I wish the newlyweds the best of luck in the future and being successful on future hunts.

[benttip]

your livin a dream man..never forget it...awesome..thanks

[Ian F.]

Thanks for sharing, a big part of me wishes it kept going....

ian

[tigrr]

Good stuff you two. My mrs and I toured Austrailia for 6 months on our honeymoon. 31 years later we still talk about it.
ps; wished ya had stretched out over a few more days though!!!

[Fosey]

Great story and thanks for keeping everyone at bay. Good luck

[f350ps]

Well worth the wait, thanks for taking us along! I think you scored way bigger than any Ram you may have got, good on you, Congrats!!! K

[Trekker]

thanks for taking us a long, this thread gave me something sheep related to look forward too. cheers. trekker

[Buck]

Great story .Now back to counting grams.

[RiverOtter]

Awesome story, enjoyed every bit of it, especially the pics. Tough to come away from a trip like that disappointed, aside from the leaving part, as the mountains always leave you wanting to see just a little more.

Congrats on your marriage and hopefully many more hunts together......

[BimmerBob]

That has to be the greatest honeymoon ever! Thanks for taking us along on the trip, great photos and write up! All the best for a first "Married" Christmas a wonderful life together.

[180grainer]

Congrats to you and your wife. Good story and good on ya.

[scottwh]

Fantastic story! Well worth the wait! I got married last July and we were planning a caribou hunt for our honneymoon in Northern Manitoba. However, looks like im gonna be a dad again now so thats on hold :) Great trip for you and beauty pics! Congrats to a great honneymoon!
Scott

[BlacktailStalker]

Well written story, some great pics and good adventure.
You're lucky to have a wife to do that and do it with interest.

[yama49]

Great story and pics.. Addicting as hell now. good luck in the future hunts..

[hunter1947]

You nailed it by saying its not always the kill that counts its seeing the animals the beautiful land scape being with your hunting partner these things are number one in my books as well ,,you came close but no cigar you are young and you have many years left to get a legal ram.

The pictures and the trip that you took us along on are as good as you can read and see on HBC the one thing I envy you is that you had one hell of a strong determined lady along with you on your sheep trip you have to count your blessings having a lady partner that can climb the mountains as you do on this hunt ,,,thanks for the read and story was worth the wait..

[Rackem]

Thanks for sharing your story! Your wife looks like a fun gal, beautiful, congratulations!

[Blainer]

I enjoyed the tale.
Thanks for sharing.
I might of had to give some thought to those elk. Was the season open for elk,moose and or deer?

[treehugger]

After sitting in the cliffs for 30 minutes getting pounded on by rain we made out way back to the tent. This whole episode was repeated at 4 am...



Sounds like a metaphor for parenthood! Thanks for sharing and good luck with your future married life...

[BiG Boar]

Hahahaha. Great tale Andrew! I almost thought for a second somehow you would have got one. Hey, the most important thing is that you had your wife there with you. That in its self, is a dream for most of us. Congrats to you both, I'm sure you'll have many great years together.

[nature girl]

Congradulations on getting married. And just finding a women that likes to camp, hunt and hike is a great women. Way to go for you and her to go on a sheep hunt for a honeymoon. Any mans dream honeymoon.
Now that hunt alone knows that you and your wife can go thru the tough times in life like a breeze now. If you both struggled with the steep climbs.
I enjoyed your story and pictures.

[Sitkaspruce]

Congrats on making a lot of memories and sharing your trip with the rest of us!!

Cheers

SS

[coach]

Great stuff, Andrew. Thanks for taking us along.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

I, for one, can certainly appreciate a "sheepless trip".
You both definitely "get it".....as it's all about the journey.

You've certainly got yourself a keeper there but you already know that:-D.

Looking forward to your anniversary trips in the years to come!

SSS

[rocksteady]

This thread confirms that "sheep Hunters" are DICK story tellers...

[Kootenay Killer]

Hey Andrew great story is Ashley from kimbo cause if so I went to school with her rad chick

[kennyj]

Thanks for sharing your adventure and photos. Sounds like my kind of honeymoon.
kenny

[Andrewh]

Thanks for all the positive replies guys, it was fun writing it up. Brings back the memories already just looking at my pics.

[Brett]

thanks for posting! what a great trip and what a supportive wife!

[Seeker]

thanks Coach, thought it was a little more involved than that :-?

[panhead]

Golly ... we never did get any "juicy bits." Great story and pics though. Thanx and you'd best be trying again so you can torture us a little more next year ...

[fester]

loved the pics and story

[decker9]

Yup, great story and awesome photos andrewh!! Love seein the mountain scenery. Your one lucky guy I say!! I may get a fishing trip as a honeymoon, never a sheep hunt tho!! lol. Cheers to ya both on your marriage, your hunt, and your honeymoon!!

[knightcc]

Great write and story for over the holidays!! Thanks for sharing. Hope you get back up there in the near future

[whitetailsheds]

Great read, and photos Andrew....thanks for taking us along!! It'll happen getting a ram.....just keep on keepin' on in those hills!!!

[RustyRipper]

I just came across this thread now and what a bonus to have it all at once! No waiting!

Great story/write up and very nice photos to go along with it and bring us there with you. I also just got married this past summer, however we did a trip like this (minus the sheep hunting) BEFORE we got married so we both knew we could work together in tough situations. Our honeymoon consisted of relaxing in a cabin for two days then 4 days hiking up into the alpine. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have a partner who will do this with me, now I just need to convince her to go after sheep!

Congrats on the marriage and an ideal honeymoon, and thanks for sharing.
RR

[bcmulie]

Fantastic thread! Thanks for posting. Sounds like you had an awesome hunt and saw some beautiful country.

[BCbillies]

Great write-up and photos . . . looks like you have caught the sheep bug! I enjoyed getting to know you at the sheep convention and hopefully we will connect again in 2014.

[andrewscag]

Great story! Thanks for posting

[BillyBull]

3 cheers for Ashley for taking her man on a great honeymoon, way to go girl! Nice read and pictures.

[MacMtnHunter]

Hey great story and photos Andrew! Looks like you got a good spot probably figured out now! Now you have to suffer thinking about that ram and that if he sticks around he'll be legal next year! Fun stuff! Congrats on becoming hooked on sheep hunting... will we see you at the sheep show in 2014?

[Knute]

Lots of great pics of your honeymoon environs.

Wish all the best to the two of you in future alpine endeavours.

[Gilmore]

Now that was a good read!!

[Andrewh]

thanks for all the compliments guys, it was a lot of fun to look through the old pics and talk about the adventures again,

BCbillies, I'll see you at the sheep show again...