The Nearly Epic Stone Sheep hunt

[Tuffcity]

It had been 25 years since I chased my first Stone sheep. Lightening had struck for me on that first hunt and I took a decent ram. I was hoping it would strike again for another novice sheep hunter (my wife) and it did… unfortunately it was the high voltage type and it hit the ground near our camp one afternoon.
This was the Mrs’ first fly in trip and we had planned on spending 14 days primarily chasing Stone sheep, but also mountain goats and/or caribou if opportunity presented itself.

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The Beaver dropped us off late in the afternoon and we spent a pleasant afternoon and evening around the lake shore.

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Had a couple of fish for dinner and set up our cache of extra food, clothes and emergency equipment that we would leave behind at the lake. We also watched a decent mountain goat through the spotting scope feeding high on the mountain where we were headed.

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[Tuffcity]

It took us 2 days to get up the mountain. The first 3 hours was spent trying to push through 500 metres of scrub spruce, willow and various other forms of shin-tangle while trying not to break an ankle among the moss covered rocks and boulders hidden underneath all that crap. This got us through to the boulder slide that got us out of the scrub and we used it to climb up the rest of the way. Half way through the climb the skies opened up and the lightening storm went through. We finally made it up to some benches in the sub-alpine and called it quits for day one.
Wind and rain pounded the tent pretty good all night but the next morning showed promise and while we had breakfast a band of sheep showed up. Nothing legal but they were fun to watch. We decided to stay put for a day or so and look around but also to ferry half our gear up to the top of the mountain where we wanted to end up.

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[Tuffcity]

August hunting in the North can be a short- sleeved shirt endeavour. But at nearly North of 60º the weather can be rather unpredictable- especially above 4000 ft.
It was a good thing I had marked our cache spot on my GPS as the day we moved camp above the tree line the fog was so thick you could barely see 80 metres. From the cache site I plotted a route to a small lake that would be our base camp and we headed out into the gloom.

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The clouds really clamped down by the time we made the lake so we pitched camp, had dinner and rolled into our sleeping bags. About 9:30 PM it looked a lot brighter outside so I unzipped the vestibule and was met with this view.

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[Tuffcity]

We worked the slopes and valleys for 6 days without finding a legal ram (had to be full curl).

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[Tuffcity]

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[Tuffcity]

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Bugs were rather annoying from time to time- fortunately the wind usually kept them away during the day then once the sun went down it cooled off to around 4-5C so that slowed them down.

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[Tuffcity]

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One evening we heard a helicopter buzzing around the peaks. It flew up down a bunch of the small valleys then disappeared. A day and half later it returned, then we bumped into a crew of prospectors who had arrived to collect ore samples from the surrounding mountains.

This pretty much ended our sheep hunting.

We spent the next couple of days looking for goats (or “goat shopping” as my wife calls it) away from miners but didn’t find the billie we had seen from the lake or any other billies that were bigger than the one the Mrs had shot a couple of years ago.

On one of our last days in the high country we were returning to camp late in the evening and bumped into this caribou. The season for caribou had opened that morning but he did not have enough antler points on the rear beam to be legal.

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Ground that took us an hour cover this caribou trotted up there in about 5 minutes- thats him on the snow patch.

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[Tuffcity]

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The biggest ram we found was a 3/4 curl. So while we did not find a legal ram (or two) it was a very good hunt. Helen now knows she is capable of this type of endeavour and is already talking about a sheep trip next year. I’m happy to know I can still pack that far!

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I did come back 13 pounds lighter- now to keep it off! :biggrin:
RC

[kitnayakwa77]

amazing photos! I'd call it an epic hunt regardless of harvesting an animal or not. out of curiousity what type of camera were you using?

[bisonhunter]

Thanks man, that was awesome.

[MB_Boy]

GREAT photos Tuffcity!!!

[kishman]

Well done, great read as well.

[xfactor]

Awesome photos! great story. I think it is so cool that you are hunting with your wife! having common interests rocks!!

[Brez]

Great photos. Sounds like a good hunt overall.

[Tenacious Billy]

Sweet pics!! Too bad your wife didn't connect on a ram....sounds like you had a great trip either way.

[Elkaholic]

Awesome photos. Thanks for sharing your story, great to see other guys trying to get it done with their wife's as well. Those memories I am sure will last a lifetime.

[skibum]

pretty cool photos

[835]

Those are some of the best photos ive seen this season! Really great photography!

[g_worsnop]

Great pics

[Good2bCanadian]

Great story and pics.
Thanks for that....

[snareman1234]

Awesome!! what kind of camera?

[Tuffcity]

It killed me to leave my big ass Nikon DSLR camera behind- too heavy. I took most of those with a Canon G12.

[Rackmastr]

Some very amazing photos....some of the best I've seen in a while!!! Thanks for sharing the adventure!

[guest]

Great Pics, Good on ya both, better luck next time

CT

[Wild Images]

Great pictures Richard, love that country and still have some unfinished business to attend to up there one day

WI

[srupp]

Truly memorable post ! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful adventure..congradulations on sharing a couple that hunts hard core...

cheers

Steven

[shallowH2O]

epic adventure!! great photos

[RiverOtter]

It killed me to leave my big ass Nikon DSLR camera behind- too heavy. I took most of those with a Canon G12.

That's all I needed to see to get pushed over the edge on the G12. I've been hearing great things about that cameral for months now, and almost bought one for this years sheep hunt, but opted for other gear instead. Really wishing I'd have worked it in now, as my old A520 PowerShot is a little outdated.

Enjoyed your story as well, sounds like a great time....

[steepNdeep]

Looks like a great trip! Nice pics.

[ydouask]

Excellent story, great pictures, the best of partners, nobody hurt.... want to go back, yeah, that's epic !

[Rattler]

Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing...

[dryflyguy57]

Great post , loved it so did my 13 year old boy . Thanks !

[TheProvider]

Wicked pics... awesome country

[singlebarbless]

A good read and some excellent photos.. a good hunt for you both. Thanks for sharing.

[Duk Dog]

Enjoyed the read and pictures. Sounds like a great adventure.

[Bear Chaser]

Some truly fantastic photos there.
Congratulations on being able to spend a hunt amongst scenery like that with your wife.

[Knute]

A trip you'll both remember...good luck to the Missus next time out.

Those are some great photos...thanks for posting.

[325]

Wonderfull photos! Thanks for sharing your adventure.

[The Dude]

Ditto on all the above.
Those Grayling are fun to catch up there, ain't they? I love Atlin, it's like your country cousin you can't wait to go visit :D

[spear]

Forget the rams, incredible photos and trip. thanks for sharing that

[seatoskymiles]

Did you happen to get the name of the company that was prospecting? looked like an awesome trip.

[backstrap]

Great read and phenomenal photos, loved the wide angle shots.

[greybark]

Hey Tuffcity , I thoughly enjoyed your photo`s and descriptions , brought back many memories . Thank you to both of you ...
Cheers

[ElectricDyck]

Great scenery! Thanks for sharing.

[jimzuk]

thanks for sharing your pics. Looks like it was a fantastic trip

[Call of the Wild]

The first 3 hours was spent trying to push through 500 metres of scrub spruce, willow and various other forms of shin-tangle while trying not to break an ankle among the moss covered rocks and boulders hidden underneath all that crap. This got us through to the boulder slide that got us out of the scrub and we used it to climb up the rest of the way. Half way through the climb the skies opened up and the lightening storm went through. We finally made it up to some benches in the sub-alpine and called it quits for day one.

Oh boy that reminds me some memories I really try not to remember. Awesome hunting adventure with your wife in what we all call paradise. Best of luck next round, also I really enjoyed your pictures!!!!!

[Rubberfist]

Thank you for taking the time to take such fantastic photos and for sharing them - truly exceptional!

[Tikka270wsm]

Incredible pictures. You sure have a nack for photography.

[swampthing]

Good job with the camera. Looks like a successful trip to me.

[Darksith]

you sir...did have an epic sheep hunt. The success of a hunt is not measured in pounds of meat, but rather the enjoyment of the experience. I am truly jealous. Congrats on the good times, and especially sharing it with someone so close to you.

[Fosey]

The trip looks like a great time, thanks for sharing. I went Stone Sheep hunting and never got a Ram but I am really looking forward to next year. Great pictures.

[Tuffcity]

Did you happen to get the name of the company that was prospecting? looked like an awesome trip.

Don't recall the company. Nice enough guy we ran into. They were just out doing what they needed to do and unfortunately our two activities weren't all that compatible.

It was an awesome trip none the less. :)

RC

[chinookkiller]

thanks share so much nice photos to us and a really good trip。

[SambOz]

Thank you Mr&Mrs TC, top thread with inspiring pics of the country you were in.

[kennyj]

Fantastic story and photos. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
kenny

[North]

Great post and some beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing

[Hammerhead]

To bad you or your wife didn't get to connect on a ram but I'm sure you brought back some great memories, not to mention the great pictures. Thanks for posting
HH

[goathead]

great looking country and fantastic photos.you always take great photos.good job

[paulgug]

Great pictures. What an awesome looking area. You really know your way around a camera. It makes me want to take more photos. If I had some photography skill, I probably would.
Thanks for sharing!

[bigben]

Great pictures and beautiful scenery good luck on the next one thanks for sharing

[ianwuzhere]

wicked pix- looks like a very memorable hunt.. thanx for postin

[bosca]

Some of those shots are awesome. Did you pack a DSLR up there....either way...very nice!
thanks

[MacMtnHunter]

Wow, awesome photos, I remember seeing some of your favorite shots from before but there are some real beauts in there! Keep'em coming! Good luck next year!

[Onesock]

Doesn't look like a Chekmate there Richard. Must have been a great hunt. Congrats

[Philcott]

Missed these when they were first posted. Beautiful pics. Thanks for taking the time to get some of the alpine flowers. It pays to stop and smell the roses doesn't it?

[Big G Hunter]

Wow, some beautiful views, and nice camera work!

[TheWalkingSlaughterHouse]

Great post!! Sorry you couldnt land the big one....I stilll remember my first Ram!!

[Striksfromabove]

Awesome pics Ritchie,, can't believe that's not an SLR! You guys will connect just keep the faith and persistence. Wish I was there, such beautiful unspoiled country...thanks for sharing.

[TheWalkingSlaughterHouse]

truly special....so glad that they have high definition cameras so that people can share amazing moments...truly awe inspiring!

[The Dude]

Tuffcity, may I use the panoramic banner pic for Wolftracker.ca?

[kevan]

I'm sorry I missed this awesome thread first time round !
Terrific photography and Thanks for sharing the adventure with us.
Merry Christmas to You and Yours and a Happy, Healthy 2013.

[boxhitch]

Had to rekindle this old thread for the good pix, thanks
trying out a new PB fix

[JAGRMEISTER]

Cry Lake! Se side, lots of ewes, lambs and dinks!

[Daka]

One of the best hunting reports so far...thank you for the stuff like this

[Thunderstix]

Great story!!

[walks with deer]

look like fanim sheep nice.

great pics

[northof49]

Some fantastic photos there TC. That evening pano looks awesome....great memories there for you guys.