so at the last minute, something changed for me and i got to scamper off for a sheep hunt.  we had two weeks if thats what we needed, but i was really hoping to get back to work before that.  i got a tip from an old guy that has killed a few rams over the years.  he is too old to go there anymore, so he gave me an idea where to look.  the map showed the walk into be pretty far....like over 30 km, but what the map didnt show was how brutal the terrain was.  we near enough killed ourselves getting there, but what we saw in that valley was pretty awesome.  there were over 50 sheep in sight from one ridge.  a group of 9 rams needed a closer look to be sure, but it looked as though 5 were legal.  i never got that closer look though as they jetted out of there before the season opened.  the little group of 3 rams however hung around long enough for me to snap these pics. 

there was a group of guys that had beaten us to that valley, so when i spoke with them, i assured them they had first choice of rams.  before the season opened, they lost sight of these guys, and they went after the group of 9 instead.  between my hunting partner and i, we decided we were in to far to get them sheep out.  with the warm weather and the brutal hike that we figured was gonna be at least 4 maybe 5 days out, we felt it would be best to not shoot.  there were just too many things that could go wrong.  ive heard the horror stories of guys losing their sheep if they dont get enough meat out, and there was a possibility of spoiled capes so you might not even get a mount.  it was only a few weeks ago, and we feel now we made the right choice.  as time goes on i may change my mind and kick my own arse, but for now i feel good about it.

Good read ISB, looks like some tough country to be in. Thx for the update, been wondering how your season has been going.

Chasing any big Mulies in the south yet.

havent had much time to hunt yet walleyes.  robin has been at it more than i have.  got a few birds one night, and got within bow range of a 170ish mule on the weekend. about the time i was thinking about shooting, i blew out a hen pheasant with tiny 2 inch long chicks.  that busted the buck and thats about the most excitement ive had other than these sheep.  home 3 weeks now, and i still think we did the right thing......but they are on my mind. it wont be this year....but im thinking im going to try again with some better planning.

^^^ no kidding.  its hard to believe that there are people too dumb to simply enjoy some pictures.  that place just aint what it used to be....

if there werent so many dumb ones, that forum would get more.  the good guys have been chased away, and stooopid has been allowed to run wild.  im guessing you noticed i shared a lot more here than there.  there is a reason for that....

might want to have another look at that thread darcy.  that forum got no explanation of what happened and why.....just pics.  the comments were absolutely dumb.  my hunting partner put them on facebook, and guys started asking questions, or else i likely wouldnt have put them up at all.  so now here we are.....

do i need to go back and look how many rams you claim to have let walk over the years?  these rams are today still walking as far as i know.  there were lots of other guys up there looking for them, so they might be dead....i really dont know.  all i can tell you is that they were father in than i thought we could get them out without trouble.  you seem to be insinuating that im being untruthful.  i guess you are the only guy out there that can pass a legal huh? sorry oh great sheep guru....didnt mean to steal your thunder. 

 these guys might be just a bit better than average, but that doesnt change my mind on what we did.  with just camp on our backs, we covered 15ish kms a day.  with sheep, it would have been a lot less. ive told you before about the dummy fish cop that stalks me.  he would have a fully on stiffy at the thought of me allowing meat to spoil.   id tell you where they were and you would likely understand......but that would be really dumb.  i plan on another crack at them.....but down the road a year or two. 

geez louise....i dont have pics and i get whining....even with pics i get whining.    

I never insinuated anything. If you passed great. Glad you did. Just showed why many on the other forum were skeptical. I could really care less on how the hunt went. But to call people stupid and such for asking questions about it is a bit childish. Maybe instead you should have explained things better. The part that really got everyone skeptical was when someone reconizong the rams from the highway.

And yes I've turned a lot of rams down. But only because they weren't big enough for what I was looking for. Not because I thought the cape or meat would ruin. And like I said there isn't much country in Alberta that you can only average 6-7km/full day(thats only averaging 500yrds or less/hr over the 14hr or so of daylight that time of year) and take 4-5days to get out of. 30km in and a ram I would pull the trigger on is standing there, he would be dead.  And the cape would be fine and zero meat waisted.

In the end it was your call on what ever happened.

ill say it again darcy.....that forum never got any details to ask questions about.  i never said i shot em or left em.  in fact, here is a cut and paste of what i did say.

i swore off posting pics here, but this one seems to be leaking. this is a before shot of the rams we found a couple weeks ago.



the end.


tj saying he recognized rams off the road is just his usual way of saying he is the greatest sheep hunter ever and has every ram in alberta on a first name basis.  take a look at the on pic.  there is a mountain peak in the background.  how many hwys do you know of that are on the tops of mountains above treeline? 

as for questions....i didnt see too many...what i saw was whining that there werent enough pics or story.  fair enough for some i agree....but a few figured that posting pics is playing games or wanting attention?  ummm....sorry....didnt realize pictures area bad thing on a hunting forum.  like i said though....given the antics of the retard crowd there, pics will now go to friends only. 

as for giving the full story here....hey, believe whatever you want.  i know for sure lots of guys will think it was the wrong choice and maybe for them it was.  i feel good about what we did and really thats all that matters.  maybe someday when im too old to try to get back there ill tell the details ive left out for now.  i guarantee if you knew where i was you would get it.  to me the risk just wasnt worth it.  the sheep would not have fit in our packs.  the best we could have done was to leapfrog the loads......take our gear a half mile....come back for the rams....takes them a half mile past camp....come back and get camp.....etc.  we essentially would have had to make the trip in and out again. 

when i took my ram in the wilmore, it was a long walk, but over decent terrain.  it was a long way up a river, but it was a slow steady climb, then up a mountain, boom and out.  the route into this place was farther, but that wasnt the problem.  every creek that met this one was carved in rock to canyons 150 to 200 feet deep.  going down was bad, going up required grabbing rocks and roots to climb.  we were beat to crap going in, and the trip out was just going to be too much.  its no wonder there were so many rams back there......few go that far, and fewer can get them out.  we ran into a group of 7 guys in one camp.  half of them were just there as packers.  they have a chance to get them out.

Hate to chime in here but what it boils down to is why in the heck would anybody question a mans motives for doing what they did. When I read all this all I think is WTF !! really.. Personely I read nothing more into it other than what ISB has stated and thats all there should be..

Darcy,, relax for once would you,, before you chase off another valued member..

F@ck sakes allready..

^^^ no kidding.  its hard to believe that there are people too dumb to simply enjoy some pictures.  that place just aint what it used to be....

Ya, that place sure went down hill after they banned me.