bridger
10-05-2009, 09:58 PM
Lost Mountain Rams
The cold rain and fog that had plagued us the last two days continued as Jon R and I pushed our pack string toward the summit of the pass. We pulled to a stop in a grove of trees out of the wind giving the horses a breather. “Typical August sheep hunting weather,” Jon R said, with a smile, burrowing deeper into his rain gear. “Doesn’t make it any more fun,” I growled pulling my hat brim down. “After all these years you should be used to it,” he laughed.” “Isn’t much we haven’t seen in terms of mountain weather.”
We were heading into remote seldom hunted country that was new to us; following a sketchy map drawn on a coffee shop napkin and given to me by an old sheep guide. As the wind picked up and moved the storm around I recalled my conversation with him. “Kinda sits off by itself,” the old-timer had told me. “You’ll know it when you see it; only real sheep mountain around. You’ll find rams there, he continued,” Take you three, four days to get there depending on how high the rivers are.”
“If we are in the right place we should find a camp along the creek down there.” I said as I nudged my gelding down the hill. An hour later we had found an old camp that hadn’t been used in several years. Soon the horses were unpacked and camp set up.
The weather cleared late in the evening; giving us our first good look at Lost Mountain. It was a big pointed pyramid like mountain with a long steep hogs back running all the way to its top. On one side was a grassy south facing slope. On its back side a rough rocky basin with bedding areas and escape terrain. We could see a trickle of water running through the grass. A perfect ram mountain!
Finding a comfortable spot with a commanding view we sat down and began glassing for rams. As the shadows lengthened I caught a glimpse of movement down low on the hillside. “There’s a ram,” I said quietly, “just above tree line next to the shale slide.” We watched as rams began filtering into view. Within minutes 21 rams were scattered along the grassy hillside.
The rams were moving, and the fading light made it difficult to determine their size. We could see some big rams, but we would have to wait for better light to see just how good they really were.
After a final check on the horses we turned in. We were tired, sleep came easily.
We awoke to overcast skies hinting of more rain or snow. After a quick breakfast we began glassing the mountain; searching for the rams we had seen the night before. Search as we might we could not find a single ram. “They are up there somewhere,” I said. “Should be,” Jon R said, “Let’s go find them.”
We left camp on foot clawing our way through heavy willows and buck brush, then through a stand of thick spruce following the hog’s back ever upward. The going was tough but we finally broke out into the alpine sheep pastures. From a secluded point, we got set up and began glassing in earnest. An hour later we had not seen a sheep. “We know there were rams up here last night,” Jon R. said, “Question is, ‘where are they today’?”
“They have to be up here somewhere. Let’s work our way around the mountain,” I said.
Walking into the wind and staying off the skyline we slowly continued our search. Stone rams are fairly predictable if not disturbed. First and last light will often find them feeding on grassy south-facing slopes; their white rumps and white hairs inside their back legs visible to the sheep hunters eye. Undisturbed rams often bed on ridge tops, visible for miles, but stone rams bedded in rough, rocky terrain are a different story; their dark and varied colors are a natural camouflage that makes spotting them difficult. Good optics and patience are important when looking for rams in rough broken country.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/jon_spotting_rams.jpeg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=15585&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914) Jon
Jon glassing for rams
New sheep hunters often get discouraged and fail to thoroughly glass these tough areas, preferring to look in easier more open country. Experienced sheep hunters spend a lot of time sitting and glassing. Jon and I were doing that now. There have been many times I have been convinced that there wasn’t a ram on the mountain, when suddenly one has appeared seemingly out of nowhere. .
We had almost hunted the mountain out when we stopped behind a large boulder to take a breather and find some relief from the wind and light rain now falling. It was late in the day and having checked all the bedding areas with no luck we were now above the spot we had seen the rams the night before. I was idly gazing down the slope when my eye focused on a patch of white in some stunted willows along the creek. A quick check through my bino’s changed the white spot into the face of a big ram.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/jon_and_lost_mtn_ram.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=15579&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)
“Look down in that patch of short bushes by the creek,” I whispered excitedly to Jon R. “The rams are down there.” Scattered among the short bushes and scrub trees in about a two-acre patch were 25 rams and 26 ewes and lambs all lying together right out in the open creek bottom. Unusual in that it was a mixed bunch of rams, ewes, lambs, and small rams all together. Unusual in that they were laying out in the open away from any close escape terrain.
We carefully examined each ram; four carried heavy, broomed heads, all four ten years plus, exactly the class of rams we were after. We had found our rams, but were faced with two problems. First, trying to stalk a group of 50 sheep was going to be tough; all those eyes and noses would be a challenge. Even more challenging was the fact that although the rams were below us, the only thing between us and them was an open grassy hillside and a lot of thin air. No rocks or ledges to hide behind this time
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/grassy_hill_lost_mtn_rams.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=15588&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)GRASSY OPEN HILLSIDE WE CRAWLED DOWN RAMS WERE ON THE LEFT
“Look at that ram lying off by himself,” Jon said softly. “That is quite a ram, broomed and close to 40 inches. Glad it’s my turn to shoot first,” he added with a smile.
We were faced with a dilemma. A successful stalk was going to be difficult. Should we try a stalk and perhaps spook the sheep or wait until they moved into a more favorable spot? “The best time to get ‘em is when you see ‘em,” Jon said indicating that he was in favor of trying now.
We studied the contour of the hillside carefully. Below us and running left to right down the hill was a shallow depression that ended at a spot about 250 yards above the sheep. “If we can sneak down the hill and get in that depression, we might have a chance,” Jon said, knowing that we would be in plain sight for about 50 yards. “It’s risky all right,” I said, “but I think that will be easier getting in range than if they get up and start to feed.”
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/stone_sheep_ewe_lost_mtn.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=15586&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)
A GROUP OF EWES SUDDENLY APPEARED
The decision made, we lay down, rifles across our chests, and started inching our way caterpillar-like down the slope. Flat on our backs, we couldn’t see the sheep due to a slight crown in the hillside. The rams were lying out away from the mountain and could see us if they looked up. We reached the depression without being seen, but then a new problem cropped up. A group of ewes and lambs appeared, coming around the corner of the mountain heading towards us. We lay absolutely still and watched as the sheep angled downhill and passed about 50 yards below us. The old ewe in the lead stopped on a grassy knoll about two hundred yards to our right and below us and lay down. Soon all ten of them were lying there placidly chewing their cuds and, fortunately for us, looking downhill and away from us.
Things were getting tense as we slowly wormed our way down the depression on our backs hoping we wouldn’t be seen. About 50 yards to our right and slightly below us was a fair sized rock resting on the brow of the hill. If we could make it there, we would be in good shape. We continued down the hill not daring to rise up for a peek. We were almost in position when a half-curl ram suddenly popped over the brow of the hill barely 75 feet from us. We lay still as death not daring to breathe. The ram stared at us for what seemed an eternity and then turned back down the hill and disappeared. We were at the critical stage--if the young ram blew out we were sunk.
The cold rain and fog that had plagued us the last two days continued as Jon R and I pushed our pack string toward the summit of the pass. We pulled to a stop in a grove of trees out of the wind giving the horses a breather. “Typical August sheep hunting weather,” Jon R said, with a smile, burrowing deeper into his rain gear. “Doesn’t make it any more fun,” I growled pulling my hat brim down. “After all these years you should be used to it,” he laughed.” “Isn’t much we haven’t seen in terms of mountain weather.”
We were heading into remote seldom hunted country that was new to us; following a sketchy map drawn on a coffee shop napkin and given to me by an old sheep guide. As the wind picked up and moved the storm around I recalled my conversation with him. “Kinda sits off by itself,” the old-timer had told me. “You’ll know it when you see it; only real sheep mountain around. You’ll find rams there, he continued,” Take you three, four days to get there depending on how high the rivers are.”
“If we are in the right place we should find a camp along the creek down there.” I said as I nudged my gelding down the hill. An hour later we had found an old camp that hadn’t been used in several years. Soon the horses were unpacked and camp set up.
The weather cleared late in the evening; giving us our first good look at Lost Mountain. It was a big pointed pyramid like mountain with a long steep hogs back running all the way to its top. On one side was a grassy south facing slope. On its back side a rough rocky basin with bedding areas and escape terrain. We could see a trickle of water running through the grass. A perfect ram mountain!
Finding a comfortable spot with a commanding view we sat down and began glassing for rams. As the shadows lengthened I caught a glimpse of movement down low on the hillside. “There’s a ram,” I said quietly, “just above tree line next to the shale slide.” We watched as rams began filtering into view. Within minutes 21 rams were scattered along the grassy hillside.
The rams were moving, and the fading light made it difficult to determine their size. We could see some big rams, but we would have to wait for better light to see just how good they really were.
After a final check on the horses we turned in. We were tired, sleep came easily.
We awoke to overcast skies hinting of more rain or snow. After a quick breakfast we began glassing the mountain; searching for the rams we had seen the night before. Search as we might we could not find a single ram. “They are up there somewhere,” I said. “Should be,” Jon R said, “Let’s go find them.”
We left camp on foot clawing our way through heavy willows and buck brush, then through a stand of thick spruce following the hog’s back ever upward. The going was tough but we finally broke out into the alpine sheep pastures. From a secluded point, we got set up and began glassing in earnest. An hour later we had not seen a sheep. “We know there were rams up here last night,” Jon R. said, “Question is, ‘where are they today’?”
“They have to be up here somewhere. Let’s work our way around the mountain,” I said.
Walking into the wind and staying off the skyline we slowly continued our search. Stone rams are fairly predictable if not disturbed. First and last light will often find them feeding on grassy south-facing slopes; their white rumps and white hairs inside their back legs visible to the sheep hunters eye. Undisturbed rams often bed on ridge tops, visible for miles, but stone rams bedded in rough, rocky terrain are a different story; their dark and varied colors are a natural camouflage that makes spotting them difficult. Good optics and patience are important when looking for rams in rough broken country.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/jon_spotting_rams.jpeg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=15585&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914) Jon
Jon glassing for rams
New sheep hunters often get discouraged and fail to thoroughly glass these tough areas, preferring to look in easier more open country. Experienced sheep hunters spend a lot of time sitting and glassing. Jon and I were doing that now. There have been many times I have been convinced that there wasn’t a ram on the mountain, when suddenly one has appeared seemingly out of nowhere. .
We had almost hunted the mountain out when we stopped behind a large boulder to take a breather and find some relief from the wind and light rain now falling. It was late in the day and having checked all the bedding areas with no luck we were now above the spot we had seen the rams the night before. I was idly gazing down the slope when my eye focused on a patch of white in some stunted willows along the creek. A quick check through my bino’s changed the white spot into the face of a big ram.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/jon_and_lost_mtn_ram.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=15579&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)
“Look down in that patch of short bushes by the creek,” I whispered excitedly to Jon R. “The rams are down there.” Scattered among the short bushes and scrub trees in about a two-acre patch were 25 rams and 26 ewes and lambs all lying together right out in the open creek bottom. Unusual in that it was a mixed bunch of rams, ewes, lambs, and small rams all together. Unusual in that they were laying out in the open away from any close escape terrain.
We carefully examined each ram; four carried heavy, broomed heads, all four ten years plus, exactly the class of rams we were after. We had found our rams, but were faced with two problems. First, trying to stalk a group of 50 sheep was going to be tough; all those eyes and noses would be a challenge. Even more challenging was the fact that although the rams were below us, the only thing between us and them was an open grassy hillside and a lot of thin air. No rocks or ledges to hide behind this time
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/grassy_hill_lost_mtn_rams.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=15588&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)GRASSY OPEN HILLSIDE WE CRAWLED DOWN RAMS WERE ON THE LEFT
“Look at that ram lying off by himself,” Jon said softly. “That is quite a ram, broomed and close to 40 inches. Glad it’s my turn to shoot first,” he added with a smile.
We were faced with a dilemma. A successful stalk was going to be difficult. Should we try a stalk and perhaps spook the sheep or wait until they moved into a more favorable spot? “The best time to get ‘em is when you see ‘em,” Jon said indicating that he was in favor of trying now.
We studied the contour of the hillside carefully. Below us and running left to right down the hill was a shallow depression that ended at a spot about 250 yards above the sheep. “If we can sneak down the hill and get in that depression, we might have a chance,” Jon said, knowing that we would be in plain sight for about 50 yards. “It’s risky all right,” I said, “but I think that will be easier getting in range than if they get up and start to feed.”
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/stone_sheep_ewe_lost_mtn.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=15586&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)
A GROUP OF EWES SUDDENLY APPEARED
The decision made, we lay down, rifles across our chests, and started inching our way caterpillar-like down the slope. Flat on our backs, we couldn’t see the sheep due to a slight crown in the hillside. The rams were lying out away from the mountain and could see us if they looked up. We reached the depression without being seen, but then a new problem cropped up. A group of ewes and lambs appeared, coming around the corner of the mountain heading towards us. We lay absolutely still and watched as the sheep angled downhill and passed about 50 yards below us. The old ewe in the lead stopped on a grassy knoll about two hundred yards to our right and below us and lay down. Soon all ten of them were lying there placidly chewing their cuds and, fortunately for us, looking downhill and away from us.
Things were getting tense as we slowly wormed our way down the depression on our backs hoping we wouldn’t be seen. About 50 yards to our right and slightly below us was a fair sized rock resting on the brow of the hill. If we could make it there, we would be in good shape. We continued down the hill not daring to rise up for a peek. We were almost in position when a half-curl ram suddenly popped over the brow of the hill barely 75 feet from us. We lay still as death not daring to breathe. The ram stared at us for what seemed an eternity and then turned back down the hill and disappeared. We were at the critical stage--if the young ram blew out we were sunk.