Hunt247
09-12-2016, 09:07 AM
As I enjoy reading people's stories of their hunts I have always wanted to write my own. I started researching this hunt last year when I moved to BC. I have always hunted sheep in Alberta, and a Dall sheep was on the top of my bucket list. I never thought I would ever be drawn, but as luck would have it, I got drawn on my first year applying. The only down fall was I previously committed to a stone sheep hunt with friends that I was no longer able to make. Lastly, I decided to make my Dall sheep hunt a combo and apply for a grizzly tag.
After a lot of online research, studying maps and talking to a few people, I had a very good idea of the area I was going to hunt. At this point, I didn't know when the hunt would start, as I was waiting to see if I would get drawn for Grizzly. Once I was drawn for Grizzly, I set a date and invited a few friends from Alberta to be my pack mules and all three of them agreed to come along. Even though my friends couldn’t hunt, they wanted to be a part of the experience.
The date had finally arrived. I left work on the 25th of August, picked up my buddies on the way up, and we were off. I couldn't believe I was on my way to a hunt of a lifetime.
Day 1: We drove as far as Watson Lake stopping at Toad River for a burger and the Liard hot springs for a dip in the natural springs.
Day2: We headed north stopping in Whitehorse for a few things and a visit with a guide that I met on a goat hunt 8yrs ago. He shared his knowledge of guiding in the Tatshenshini over a cup of coffee. That afternoon we arrived at the area where we were going to hunt. We checked out the trailhead and glassed until dark off the road. We spotted two rams but unfortunately, they were on the wrong side of the road. We also saw 40 some ewes and lambs, three Billy Goats, a wolf, as well as a moose in the area I was going to hunt.
Day 3: The first real day of hunting we met another hunter at the trailhead who also had a sheep draw for the same area. He advised us he was planning to head in on the Pardon river trail, which worked in favor for us, as we were heading into the squaw creek old mining trail to the north. We loaded up our essential food and gear for five days in. At the start of the trail head, there is two good size glacier fed river crossings, which are always fun to cross. We continued up the squaw creek old mining trail which is a brush-filled horse trail for the most part, but a lot easier than bushwhacking. We arrived at our camp location (Talbot Creek Valley) mid-afternoon which had 41 ewes and lambs within sight. Once camp was set up, which wasn't much: two 2-man tents, we headed out for an evening hike. That night we saw two Billy Goats and a nice grizzly bear. However, the grizzly season wasn’t open for another four days, and I wasn’t ready to take a goat as I was holding out for a ram.
http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/hunt247/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsx37ffxd3.jpeg?1473695858040&1473695858838&1473695862812&1473695863097
Day 4: We headed up from Talbot Creek and up the valley over the saddle on the back side of the squaw creek trail. From there we hiked over three more drainages to have a better look. The weather wasn't great with poor visibility at times. We did spot three more sheep, a ewe, and twin lambs, the one lamb had a broken leg and wasn't doing so good. After spending the day hiking and glassing as the weather moved in and out, we headed back to camp and the weather took a turn for the worse. We were wet from the heavy rain even with our Sitka and Kuiu rain gear on. That night we had a fire to dry out our gear, and enjoyed some mountain house and freeze dried desserts. While sitting around camp, we saw another grizzly with her cub.
http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/hunt247/Tatshenshinni/Camp%201_zps3fubq5uk.jpg?1473695858040&1473695858838&1473695862812&1473695863098
Day 5: We decided that we would head up Talbot Creek. We hiked up the valley and once at the back, we continued to climb over the back saddle and glassed and still no sign of rams. So we decided we would head back down into the valley and go up another valley to take a look. While walking, we came across the Billy Goats we spotted on the first day. Although they were getting a little more tempting, as we had not seen a single sheep, I decided it was still too early for a goat. Once up near the top and still no sheep, we decided to continue over the top and look into the next valley, which was the Goldrun Creek Valley. We glassed that entire valley, continued to stop and glass as we worked our way to the bottom of the drainage which led us back to the main trail we came in on the first day of hunting. This day was another 30+ kilometers of hiking. So needless to say, it felt good to hit the tent that night.
Day 6: The weather was changing, causing the ewes above camp to move out. Alternatively, maybe it was because of the nice Grizzly we saw feeding down the valley from them. Either way, they headed up the valley and out of sight. Maybe this was a sign that the sheep were starting to move too. We headed back up the squaw creek trail to the top of the saddle. When we got to the top, you couldn’t see anything because it was so foggy and starting to snow. We decided to head up to the top of the mountain to the north of where we were on day two of hunting. After a couple of hours in, the fog cleared off, and we got to have a good look around. Now we were looking for white sheep in mountains covered in snow. After no sight of sheep, we decided to head back down after a couple of hours of glassing from the top. On the way down we saw a sow and two cubs. She was acting weird and was running around up and down the hill she was on. So we sat and watched her through the spotting scope until she moved on. That night back at the tents, we decided that this area was covered, and if we did not see a nice bear in the morning, which was the opener, we would move on.
http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/hunt247/Tatshenshinni/Top%20of%20Squaw%20pass_zpsfmzidaf3.jpg?1473695858 040&1473695858838&1473695862812&1473695863097
http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/hunt247/Tatshenshinni/Snow%20day_zpsoknwevqq.jpg?1473695858040&1473695858838&1473695862812&1473695863097
Day 7: Up and at it early, we glassed every hillside in the valley and every slope. The only thing we seen was a lone ewe that had stayed behind. After having a closer look, we notice that her lamb was laying there dead on the side of the hill. As we watched the sheep, we had a conversation about how we thought the lamb had died and what had happened to the other sheep we seen with the broken leg. There are a lot of golden eagles in the area, and although we never witnessed it, the one comment was that maybe the eagles chasing them causes their injuries. After spotting nothing else we packed up camp and headed to the truck to grab more food and change out some gear.
Now loaded with food and some different gear we headed southwest on the Pardon River trail. While hiking into the Pardon, we noticed lots of wolf sign and some bear sign as well. However, nothing in the tracks and after several stops to glass, no animals were spotted. We had planned on heading to the old cabin where the trail splits and set up camp there. When we got there, another hunter was set up there already, so we continued down the O’Conner trail. We ran into the other hunter, and he told us he was having the same luck as us. After sharing a few stories with him, we decided we had better carry on and find a place with water to set up camp. After climbing up, which seemed like forever, we found water but not much of a camp site. So we set up the tents on the trail and called it a night as it had been a long day of hiking.
http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/hunt247/Tatshenshinni/Camp%202_zpsdj3vqhgt.jpg?1473695858040&1473695858838&1473695862812&1473695863098
After a lot of online research, studying maps and talking to a few people, I had a very good idea of the area I was going to hunt. At this point, I didn't know when the hunt would start, as I was waiting to see if I would get drawn for Grizzly. Once I was drawn for Grizzly, I set a date and invited a few friends from Alberta to be my pack mules and all three of them agreed to come along. Even though my friends couldn’t hunt, they wanted to be a part of the experience.
The date had finally arrived. I left work on the 25th of August, picked up my buddies on the way up, and we were off. I couldn't believe I was on my way to a hunt of a lifetime.
Day 1: We drove as far as Watson Lake stopping at Toad River for a burger and the Liard hot springs for a dip in the natural springs.
Day2: We headed north stopping in Whitehorse for a few things and a visit with a guide that I met on a goat hunt 8yrs ago. He shared his knowledge of guiding in the Tatshenshini over a cup of coffee. That afternoon we arrived at the area where we were going to hunt. We checked out the trailhead and glassed until dark off the road. We spotted two rams but unfortunately, they were on the wrong side of the road. We also saw 40 some ewes and lambs, three Billy Goats, a wolf, as well as a moose in the area I was going to hunt.
Day 3: The first real day of hunting we met another hunter at the trailhead who also had a sheep draw for the same area. He advised us he was planning to head in on the Pardon river trail, which worked in favor for us, as we were heading into the squaw creek old mining trail to the north. We loaded up our essential food and gear for five days in. At the start of the trail head, there is two good size glacier fed river crossings, which are always fun to cross. We continued up the squaw creek old mining trail which is a brush-filled horse trail for the most part, but a lot easier than bushwhacking. We arrived at our camp location (Talbot Creek Valley) mid-afternoon which had 41 ewes and lambs within sight. Once camp was set up, which wasn't much: two 2-man tents, we headed out for an evening hike. That night we saw two Billy Goats and a nice grizzly bear. However, the grizzly season wasn’t open for another four days, and I wasn’t ready to take a goat as I was holding out for a ram.
http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/hunt247/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsx37ffxd3.jpeg?1473695858040&1473695858838&1473695862812&1473695863097
Day 4: We headed up from Talbot Creek and up the valley over the saddle on the back side of the squaw creek trail. From there we hiked over three more drainages to have a better look. The weather wasn't great with poor visibility at times. We did spot three more sheep, a ewe, and twin lambs, the one lamb had a broken leg and wasn't doing so good. After spending the day hiking and glassing as the weather moved in and out, we headed back to camp and the weather took a turn for the worse. We were wet from the heavy rain even with our Sitka and Kuiu rain gear on. That night we had a fire to dry out our gear, and enjoyed some mountain house and freeze dried desserts. While sitting around camp, we saw another grizzly with her cub.
http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/hunt247/Tatshenshinni/Camp%201_zps3fubq5uk.jpg?1473695858040&1473695858838&1473695862812&1473695863098
Day 5: We decided that we would head up Talbot Creek. We hiked up the valley and once at the back, we continued to climb over the back saddle and glassed and still no sign of rams. So we decided we would head back down into the valley and go up another valley to take a look. While walking, we came across the Billy Goats we spotted on the first day. Although they were getting a little more tempting, as we had not seen a single sheep, I decided it was still too early for a goat. Once up near the top and still no sheep, we decided to continue over the top and look into the next valley, which was the Goldrun Creek Valley. We glassed that entire valley, continued to stop and glass as we worked our way to the bottom of the drainage which led us back to the main trail we came in on the first day of hunting. This day was another 30+ kilometers of hiking. So needless to say, it felt good to hit the tent that night.
Day 6: The weather was changing, causing the ewes above camp to move out. Alternatively, maybe it was because of the nice Grizzly we saw feeding down the valley from them. Either way, they headed up the valley and out of sight. Maybe this was a sign that the sheep were starting to move too. We headed back up the squaw creek trail to the top of the saddle. When we got to the top, you couldn’t see anything because it was so foggy and starting to snow. We decided to head up to the top of the mountain to the north of where we were on day two of hunting. After a couple of hours in, the fog cleared off, and we got to have a good look around. Now we were looking for white sheep in mountains covered in snow. After no sight of sheep, we decided to head back down after a couple of hours of glassing from the top. On the way down we saw a sow and two cubs. She was acting weird and was running around up and down the hill she was on. So we sat and watched her through the spotting scope until she moved on. That night back at the tents, we decided that this area was covered, and if we did not see a nice bear in the morning, which was the opener, we would move on.
http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/hunt247/Tatshenshinni/Top%20of%20Squaw%20pass_zpsfmzidaf3.jpg?1473695858 040&1473695858838&1473695862812&1473695863097
http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/hunt247/Tatshenshinni/Snow%20day_zpsoknwevqq.jpg?1473695858040&1473695858838&1473695862812&1473695863097
Day 7: Up and at it early, we glassed every hillside in the valley and every slope. The only thing we seen was a lone ewe that had stayed behind. After having a closer look, we notice that her lamb was laying there dead on the side of the hill. As we watched the sheep, we had a conversation about how we thought the lamb had died and what had happened to the other sheep we seen with the broken leg. There are a lot of golden eagles in the area, and although we never witnessed it, the one comment was that maybe the eagles chasing them causes their injuries. After spotting nothing else we packed up camp and headed to the truck to grab more food and change out some gear.
Now loaded with food and some different gear we headed southwest on the Pardon River trail. While hiking into the Pardon, we noticed lots of wolf sign and some bear sign as well. However, nothing in the tracks and after several stops to glass, no animals were spotted. We had planned on heading to the old cabin where the trail splits and set up camp there. When we got there, another hunter was set up there already, so we continued down the O’Conner trail. We ran into the other hunter, and he told us he was having the same luck as us. After sharing a few stories with him, we decided we had better carry on and find a place with water to set up camp. After climbing up, which seemed like forever, we found water but not much of a camp site. So we set up the tents on the trail and called it a night as it had been a long day of hiking.
http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/hunt247/Tatshenshinni/Camp%202_zpsdj3vqhgt.jpg?1473695858040&1473695858838&1473695862812&1473695863098