So Im all alone 15km from my truck, no tent.
The one thing I didn't plan for was the bugs!!! You could not even hear yourself think. I was being eaten alive, but there wasn't anything I could do about that now. I needed a shelter, water and fire wood... So I got to work, my friend dropped me at an old outfitters camp. I used the plywood and some of the logs to make my shelter, then added pine branches all over it and left one side open so the heat from the fire would keep me from freezing to death at night.
Shelter is built. Now I need to make a place for a fire... Done... I need a cash of water, off I go... Done... Now I need wood, and I will need lots! Trip after trip for wood, after a few hours I think I have enough for at least 3 or 4 days...
I figure that there is only about one hour till dark (forgot a watch) so I grab the spotting scope and gun and walk behind camp and glass the mountains till its dark. No sheep but the country looks good and Im beat. Back to camp, I make a fire, and cook my first MR, well to say it was bad, would be a under statement... I retire to my lean too, and get in my sleeping bag to get some sleep... But I can't sleep, I can't stop thinking about all the Trophy Rams that are on the other sides of the mountains, just out of my site, (so I hoped anyways) I eventually drift off, and awake freezing cold, the fire went out, and the temp dropped to around -5 to -8 ... I wasn't prepared for the nights being that cold... I figured that it should be close to sun up, I get the fire going again, to get warm, have a big bowl of oatmeal, then grab my bag and Im off.
I figured I would head south of my camp again, and get in deeper then the night before, Im walking in the dark for about 20 min then the sun is coming up.. Good I think, don't wanna trip over a big sleeping bear... I saw a couple young mule deer at day break and start my way above the tree line. I find a good spot to glass, and I get comfortable because I was told to glass and glass and glass a little more, and when I think I glassed that spot enough , glass some more...
After a few hours, Im thinking it is stupid to keep glassing the same spots over and over again, like they are going to magically appear, out of no where... (but, it is what you learn after you know it all that really counts)
I get something to eat, then off to a different ridge thats close by.


I get to the next ridge, and wouldn't you know it... More mountains.
It's mid day and I'm guessing its close to plus 30 with the sun beating down on me and not a cloud in the sky. I find a shady spot and get to glassing. Even in the shade Im sweating... I start to think that the weather has been like this for the past week, and if I had a big fur coat I would not want the sun coming down on me... So I start glassing in the shady spots, and lower down in the brush...
After a couple hours, and the sun is falling and the temp is dropping... I think I see movement in my binos. I grab for the spotter, zoom it in on the same spot... I start picking it apart. Wow theres a sheep its a ewe but still a sheep, I keep looking around with the spotter, there another one and another one. I have been looking at this mountain for a couple hours ... And with the change in the light and shadows they are "magically" appearing. There is about 10 ewes and a few small lambs in this group, but no rams... I'm starting to feel better, after all the work I've put into this, I know this could be a good spot... I watch this band for about and hour. The ewes where feeding and the lambs where running and jumping and playing around like puppies with out a care in the world... Really made my day. I know its getting late, and I'm beat from all the climbing and bad food, I eat a couple energy bars and figure I should start coming down this mountain because I don't want to do it in the dark... Couple three hours later Im back to camp, just before its completely dark... I get a fire going and I am so hungry that this MR wasn't as bad as the last, not good by any means but a little better.
I sit by the fire thinking what my next move will be. Do I go back to where the ewes where in hopes that some rams will have joined them, or do I look else where? I figure I should try a new spot, I get my bag packed and ready for tomorrow, I add a lot of wood to the fire, and get into my sleeping bag. Sleep came a lot easier this night with the miles I have been putting on...

Day 3 to be continued

***So your sheep hunting? yup
***Are you alone? yup
***When did you get here? .... aaah today
One of the old guys starts really looking over camp,
*** This is how your sleeping? yup
*** Do you have a sat phone, or a spot? nope...
He was like "you can't be coming in here with a set up like this, you could die"
I tell him, "nope I think I can come in here with next to nothing and be just fine"
I don't think that one guy liked me much, because he kept trying to change my point of view, told me I was crazy and spoke of all the bad things that could happen... I told him he couldn't "close" me, and I do what I want...

I think he got the point of my stubbornness and left it alone...

They ask me where I would be hunting the next day, and I told them...
They said they would be going south, the spot I saw the ewes and lambs.

The grumpy guy tells me that it's a good thing they are there, and the horses will keep away the bears...
This put a smile on my face, and made me laugh on the inside.
The one guy went to bed early, and the other sat up with me for a little bit to chat, I shared some of my fine rum with him... I still get the odd email from him too...
(I don't know his handle but Im sure he's on here... say hello if you read this)

Sorry got a little off track from the hunting, but this is what happened on my first sheep hunt...
( I really hope that the last bit didn't take away from the story)

After he retires to his outfitters tent, I figure I should do the same, I load up the fire, and crawl into my sleeping bag.


I awoke cold and sore again, I think to myself " Why should today be any different?" I do the same routine as the days before. Im ready to leave when the "old guys" are getting up, we wish each other luck, and off I go... When I was looking at the travel rote the day before, it didn't look to far of a hike. (I know now that it is 5km and over 2000 feet elevation gain) I push on over 2km down the valley, then start the climb... Once I break the tree line, it opens up to beautiful rolling hills covered in alpine grass. I got a good feeling about this spot,what sheep wouldn't want to hang out here. I stop for some food and to catch my breath and get a rest... I take about 30 min to compose myself, then I start trekking along trying to stay low and going slow picking apart the mountain because I think there could be sheep anywhere in this spot, and this is turning more of a spot and stock deer hunt style then the sit back and look for a sheep hunt. I push on over 1km from where I broke the tree line, still nothing. I rounded this perfect bowl and nothing... What is going on here I think. I figure I was here so I might as well keep rounding the mountain... I see this "finger" coming out of the rocky face, and think it would be a good spot to climb up,have a view and pull out the glass...
As Im nearing the top, I remember the old pro tell me not to sky line myself, and that if Im going to do it, just crawl up and poke my head over first... Im about 10 feet from the top, I drop the bag as I am about to crest, I belly crawl the last couple feet....

As I poke my head over, Im breathless there's about 30 sheep about 200 yards below me...  I slowly crawl away and go back to my bag, I get the spotter and crawl back up. I start going over every sheep hopping there's a ram hiding in the group... There is a couple "banana heads" in the group but not what Im looking for... I stay and watch them feed, then start searching the whole area in hopes there might be a mature ram or two hanging out a little higher in this area. Nope ... Then a monkey on my back gives me away... I thought that the wind was in my favour but I guess not good enough they start going higher and looking my way, Im busted. I snap some more pics, and drop down to my bag. This isn't over yet I think. I grab my bag, drop down so I can come around the band with out being seen again in hopes to have a look into the next bowl, or basin or what ever is going to be around the next turn...

I have no regrets for what I did that day, on that lonely mountain.

I packed up my gear and headed back to camp. I just beat the old guys back to the camp. I got a fire going while they where taking care of there horses.
They asked me where was my ram? I said I didn't get one... They smile as if to laugh to them self, like this kid doesn't have a clue... They asked me if I had seen anything. I told them I saw lots of mountains and some rocks but nothing to write home about (Im a fast learner)

I went to sleep early that night with the image of that ram burnt into my brain. I didn't add as much wood this night. I awoke frozen in the middle of the night,got up and made a huge fire. I sleep in the next morning, it was the 1st morning the sun was up before me on this trip. The old guys are getting their horses ready, and ask me where Im off to today... The sky is blood red, I tell them the sky doesn't look good and that I should pull out. They offer a tarp to beef up my lean too, I decline said I learned a lot and I will be back... I take a lot of gear and make a cash in the woods for next time... Grab my bag and start heading east, to my truck...

As I am walking with my gear I feel like I am dying. After about an hour of walking the sky opens up, it starts with rain, then blowing wet snow.  "nice" I think... I feel weak. I feel like quitting. I start to think I could just live the rest of my life under that tree, no sexy wife by my side but at least I wouldn't have to walk anymore.

At about half way, I cant go on... I need food...
I pull up under a huge pine tree to get out of the weather and make lunch..
the pain in my feet is unreal... after i eat I take my boots off only too see bloody socks. ouch.... I change my socks tie my boots as tight as I can get them, finish off the little swallow of rum I have left, and push on...

I made it to my truck just at dark, dripping wet
thinking that the old guy might be right, I am crazy. I say to myself "Im done with this, am never doing this again"

Fast forward a few years... sheep hunting has consumed my life, its all I think about, its all I want to talk about, I dont wanna do anything unless I can relate it to mtn hunting or see how it might benefit my hunting in some way...

For all you new sheep hunters.... you have been warned!

Great story thank you for sharing.

      Awesome story enjoyed the snot out of reading that.

Great story, BPH, thanks for sharing it with us!