2018 Sheep Hunt, no luck

[Vossie]

After 2 attempts with the Jetboat guys I thought I might give it a try for a Highway hike in sheep hunt. Not getting any hints on locations from guys I pinged on this site I thought I would just wing it. Over the last three years I’ve been looking at google earth for suitable locations, not too close, not too easy and try to get away from others. Get 2 days back and hunt from there was what I was told.
So the decision was made, going up Otelsas creek sounds like a good plan. Not knowing where the trail starts or, if there will even be a trail I decided to just do it. Another item was the size of that creek, I could see water so I thought better get a pair of Wiggy’s waders just in case.
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Once again I am without a sheep partner. I pinged KROD since he was looking for an alpine deer hunter and he jumped onboard right away.
9 weeks of training, some gear review with KROD and finally the day is here to go. The drive north was uneventful. July 29 we park the truck outside “Gundahoo” basecamp and head for the creek. We find a trail. The heat is intense and the bugs are bad, but we are fueled by the thought of mountain slopes littered with sheep. 2 hours into the hike we hit Otelsas, mmm, not too bad but you need your waders. We cross with no issues, not knowing that over the next two days we will cross this creek 16 times. After 2pm it felt like someone left the oven door open and you get these warm wafts of air. We reached our point (#3) I thought we should get to on day 1 and pass it, at 5:30 we made camp.
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Up early the next morning and continue hiking, more creek crossings. We pass a confluence and although the water is less the grade is increasing making the creek deeper and faster. The last three crossings are hairy, but we are now committed, fueled by slopes full of sheep at the end of this trail.

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Late afternoon on day two we take a break. I look down at my boots and all of a sudden I see a line I’ve never seen before, I tuck on it and holy crap, the sole is de-laminating from my boot. Lowa Tibet Pro GTX, WTF. I’m shocked, now what. I trained in these boots for 9 weeks and cleaned them 3 days before we left and there was no sign of de-lamination. I don’t even know if I will get back out, not thinking about continuing. We decide to push on and finish the day, not too far till our next stop. We reach a nice running side creek and decide to camp there for the night.
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The next day will be a scouting day to decide if we go north or south (#6 or #7). I spend the rest of the afternoon applying some rope to my boots to see if I can stop the de-lamination. The pressure on my toes is ridiculous.
Next morning up and we go south, we find a nice creek to hike up in, a few spots where we need to use all four to get up and over but we make it into an amazing bowl. That’s it, this is where we will spike into for the next 5 days.
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[Vossie]

We get to the top of the ridge just to be held down by a thunderstorm. We hid in our pack covers for an hour. It breaks a bit, we get to the top, glass the amazing country for some time and start our way back to camp to prepare for relocation. The brush is wet and we get to camp all soaked. Black flies are out in full force.
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The next day we dry our boots and clothes, do some washing. The next day we will spike our camp.
The following morning we are up, packed and ready to go. We keep 2 days of food back for the hike out and hoist it up in a tree.
We get to our bowl and setup camp.

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At this point my Lowa’s are de-laminating towards the heel. The front is only held on by the sole glued to the rand in front of the toe. This is bad. Fortunately KROD has a small multi tool, we poke some holes through the sole into the soft rubber, fish some string through and tie a not. 12 knots per boot. I sit there all afternoon to mend boots. KROD ascend up the slope to do some glassing.
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Next morning up early, start glassing, we spot Grizzlies almost every day. But no sheep. We get to the top and start glassing 360 degrees, we pick every slope and knob and green spot and rock apart on most slopes, no sheep. I relocate on the ridge about 500m, different angle, start glassing again. Nada. We go down for the evening and my boot seems to hold.
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[Vossie]

The next morning up early again, glass the immediate slopes, nothing. Today we split up, I want to get to the knob to the west and go as far as I can. After mid-morning we split. I make my way up there, work around steep sections and up and down shale. This is bad for boots with string holding the soles on, I’m walking on shards of shale that is standing up, they look like blade. But I have 50ft of Para cord, I’m going to keep on hunting even if I use up all 50ft. Finally I see sheep, ewe’s and lambs on the cliff to my right, same elevation. I watch them for some time, picking the rocks apart.

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I decide to move to the left and see if I can make my way around and see what is on the back side of this monolith. I climb higher. Finally I get to a section that consist of rock slides and islands of rock. This is nasty. I decide to cross over. I need to see the back side. I cross over the first rock slide. Not good. I make it to some solid rock. I pass over the second one, these are loose rocks ranging from football size to cooler box sizes. I cross the third one, I step on a rock and it moves a bit, I step on the next one and it slides about 5 ft, it creates a bit of small rock slide. I look up and there is about 75 yards of rocks all at a steep angle above me. This is stupid I tell myself, if these rocks start to slide down and create an avalanche of rock the they will never find me, there must be a 100 ton of rock just in this small slide. Bad idea, not worth it. I turn around and cross the 2 I just did, back to solid ground. I glass from there for hours, no sheep. I make my way back to camp.
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[Vossie]

The next day I plan a bigger day. Hunt them on your feet I hear. Ok I will put some miles in. I head east, some amazing country opens up and I glass. I see a mountain tip in the distance. That is my goal, I call it the Matterhorn, kinda looks like it. I make my way over there through the course of the morning and afternoon. See more Caribou. I finally get to the base, I’m going to skirt around it. I climb higher, wow the view behind it is spectacular. More high country slopes and rock and slides, the stuff you should see sheep in. I glass, nothing. There is now a second peak in the distance, ok I will go for that one as well. This afternoon the smoke is starting to roll in. The further slopes are not worth glassing anymore. I get to the second slope, pick it apart. I take my boots off to release the pressure on my toes from the rope. I sit there for a few hours. I’m starting to get that disappointing feeling, another year of ball busting climbing and hiking and effort and I did not even see a ram. Its late afternoon and I am well away from the tent, almost halfway back to the truck I figure. I see a nice big Caribou bull. Turnaround time is here, from now on its back.
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I get to camp late that evening, tired. KROD took some time off in camp to nurture and rest a sore ankle. He told me he was in the tent when marmot colony next to us started to alarm. They did that before and there was a Caribou about 50 yards from our tent. Only this time he gets out and a Grizz sow and two 2 year old cubs are on the opposite slope about 100 yards from the tent, he gets out and scare them away, fortunately she takes off and run up and over the slope with cubs in tow.

The next morning its time to get back to base camp. I glass for a bit but now the smoke is so thick its impossible. We head back, get to our stash and continue back. The creek is a bit lower already, at least that is what it feels like. The next morning the smoke is even thicker, you can smell it in the tent. We get up and get going. About an hour before the truck my on sole came off completely from the heel forward, only the toe and my stiches are holding it on. I don’t know if I would have been able to pack a ram out with these boots, but I would have done whatever was needed to do it.

The drive back to the lower mainland is long, but it is even longer when you come back empty handed.

I pick this spot since it was good looking, lots of trails were visible and access was not that easy. What I came to learn is that trails doesn’t mean that there is sheep, those trails were made by goats and Caribou. Only once did we see 3 hunters way in the distance crossing a mountain closer to the highway and never any horse hunters.

What I came to realize is that you need to know where the rams are, otherwise you will wander in these mountains for years. Years I don’t have.

[tinhorse]

Sounds like an awesome hunt none the less. Really crappy about the boot situation and am glad you made it back most the way with it like that. Some guys hike in for days and can't find them others like a buddy of mine drive up the Hwy park, go for a 3 hour hike in a spot he's never looked at and end up with a ram.....keep at it and IT WILL happen! Good luck with the rest of your season.

[twoSevenO]

You did a trip 99% of hunters wouldnt do. You have the drive, no doubt. If I was you I would try and meet some sheep hunters who could help ya out. While I wouldnt expect gps coordinates sometimes it's enough to just bounce ideas off of experienced hunters and most of them will at least tell you something useful.

Have you attended the sheep counts or any sheep related banquets/dinners? Might be a good start. I'm not a sheep hunter yet, but it's on my bucket list in the next 5 years .... and that's what I would do as far as meeting some sheep hunter friends that might be willing to help me.

I've done the same with some deer hunters on here and some of the guys have helped me tremendously!!

Thanks for sharing your story and pics. It looked like a tough trip! Those bugs are nasty!

[brn2ryd]

Sheep or no sheep, sounds like you had a great hunt. Nice MacGyver skills on the boots.

[canucks6]

Great read thanks for posting. Ur a badass individual. When you do finally pull the trigger and watch that big ram hunch up every bit of blood and swet will be fergot about.

[wildcatter]

Tough hunt and good looking country, but unless you know where to go it's almost impossible to find them.
The bugs must have been nasty and not good about the boots. Aquaseal is a good glue but it takes at least
24 hours to dry, hypalon glue is faster and once it's set will hold pretty good.
I would love to go on a sheep hunt, but my age is working against me.
Right now I am building my cabin in the Cariboo and once I'm settled I will think about doing it.
Nice pictures and thanks for posting your story.

[Bear Chaser]

Tough hunt and you guys put in the work for sure.
I had a sole delaminate on a pair of Meindl boots in the first days of a horseback hunt years ago. Fortunately I had packed some Loctite Instant adhesive. I applied that to the boot and waited overnight. It held up well for the rest of the trip.
I never leave home without it now and take it on every trip including backpack hunts.
The Meindls got thrown out when I got home just so I wasn’t tempted to use them again. Didn’t feel bad as they were fifteen years old already.

[ACB]

Tough hunt and you guys put in the work for sure.
I had a sole delaminate on a pair of Meindl boots in the first days of a horseback hunt years ago. Fortunately I had packed some Loctite Instant adhesive. I applied that to the boot and waited overnight. It held up well for the rest of the trip.
I never leave home without it now and take it on every trip including backpack hunts.
The Meindls got thrown out when I got home just so I wasn’t tempted to use them again. Didn’t feel bad as they were fifteen years old already.
So how did those Meindls delam, hmmm.

[Thunderstix]

Great story! Not the ending you were hoping for, but there are lots of people that have experienced the same ending....don't give up your dream of a Stone's.

[LuckyIfYouGetOne]

Thanks for sharing your hunt and lessons learned. I can appreciate the time and effort that went into your trip and know that despite not killing a ram you’ll have memories to last a lifetime few people can ever say they experienced.

[BStrachan]

Thanks for sharing. I am not a sheep hunter but from what I hear it is a tough hunt! You should be proud of yourself for giving it a try. Looks like some beautiful country. Too bad about your boots. Glad you managed to make it back to the truck. Good luck with the rest of the hunting season.

[decker9]

Thank you for taking the time to write this up. Your putting in the time and leather, good things come to those who never give up, keep on atter!! And it will happen. Some guys get lucky, some guys it takes 10+ years, the longer it takes, the more satisfying the reward.

I had a similar thing happen to a boot once while gost hunting, back when I use to use my steel toe work boots. Luckily I had packed one of those sardine can survival kits, which had a 16” piece of duct tape in it. 1.5 wraps around my toe, it got me back to the lake.

Was some great looking country you were in, I wouldn’t have thought twice about exploring it personally.

Cheers, and good luck on the rest of your season!!

[firebird]

Great pictures and story! If your boots didn't fall apart and the grizzlies didn't show it would not have been as great of an adventure!!

[Brez]

Thanks for posting your story and pics. It's a great story for new hunters. Shows that it takes time, effort and boots on the ground, with no guarrantees. Some guys think that we just go out and Bang, it's a trophy on the ground. Not so. Many unsuccessful trips and lessons learned before an animal is shot. Doesn't mean that the trips are unsuccessful though. Lots of memories and lessons learned. Last sheep hunt I was on, my partner's boots delaminated as well. Duct tape and rope. Now I pack good glue. Keep at it. You will succeed. Oh, camping near a marmot colony may not be a great idea as they are a favorite food of griz.

[Jrax]

Thanks for the great read! Sounds like a challenging hunt and it always is especially hiking off the highway in a place you have only looked via google earth. But that is what makes is so exciting, new area to explore and all the unknowns. I bet you guys were not far from spotting the rams. I remember one hunt off the highway where we went several days with only spotting ewes and lambs and the only moment where that changed was catching a glint of sunlight reflecting off a part of a rams horn that was bedded above us on the rocks.

Did you see the thread on stone sheep hunting locations on this site? There are some good spots on there and yes a few more people but known ram country is ram country and they go back to those spots. You can try one of those locations and burn some extra boot leather there (hopefully with some more reliable boots). Sometimes all it takes is checking that one small bowl that other hunters have walked right by or pushing a little farther back. Sounds like you guys are tough and motivated - I would be nervous to share my favorite sheep location with you lol.

Hot weather and bugs can put sheep in awkward places. I have found rams hidden on north facing slopes in the shade down low just inside the treeline and not coming out into the open until early evening which makes them a lot harder to find.

Best advice is find a location you like and hit that for a few years in a row. You will find where the best camp is, trails and easy walking, water and ram hangouts.

[Brez]

To add to Jrax's comments, just because you didn't see rams there, doesn't mean they won't be there at another time. weather and bugs will affect where they hang out. If you saw ewes and such, the rams can't be out of range. Just think of the bar - everyone is in the bar because it's the place to be at that time, but the girls are chatting at the tables and the guys are at the pool table. Now just so as I don't rile any feathers, some girls play pool and some guys like chatting as well. Don't expect many active sheep hunters to give you their spots.

[Krico]

The fact you saw ewes and lambs means you were in sheep country. The rams are “usually” in more rugged terrain this time of year than the women and children. Also as stated by others the weather may have had them hiding in the timber and those hidden north facing shaded nooks and crannies.
My last sheep hunt was crazy hot weather, didn’t see a single sheep until day 6. He was the only sheep we saw that trip and luckily a good ram that we closed the deal on.
Keep at it. If it was easy everyone would do it.

[swampthing]

I got my only ram on the trip where my boots failed! I lost a complete sole and didn't have the repair skills you have! Step, slip, fall, get up and repeat! Rule of thumb is 2 years for a pair of mountain boots! They make great "day hunt" boots after that! Looks like a great trip you had though!

[HarryToolips]

Great writeup and pics, too bad about the boots and bug bites, you have good drive....

[Rattler]

Time spent in sheep country is priceless. A great hunt nonetheless by the sounds of it.

Thanks for sharing.

[Linksman313]

Regardless of the outcome, thank you for sharing your hunt and lessons learned, with the will you exhibit your time will come. And thanks for the boot review, great job overcoming that obstacle and not letting it be the focal point of you hunt.

[JAGRMEISTER]

Every picture shows blue sky, probably the same heat wave we all experienced in early Aug.
Judging by the pictures, you didn't change up your tactics! When it gets hot, do those critters take of their fur coats or maybe seek shade in whatever form, but notably timber! think about that!