Sheep Hunt

I feel a tad bit like a fraud since the hunt went so very smoothly and we gained less than 1000 vertical feet during the entire hunt. I did spend lots of time speaking with the BLM, game biologist, ranchers, cowboys, other hunters, other sheep hunters, etc. Plus I flew the area twice in a small plane and spent another 7 days scouting the area.

I have put in several times for Idaho trophy species but only twice before for sheep and more often for goats. I don't know why but I just knew either my wife or I was going to draw this year, we even began scouting before the drawing results were published.

Sarah didn't want me hunting the wilderness by myself so I asked four of my very good friends to join me on my hunt expecting 1 or maybe 2 to actually make it. You can imagine how happy I was when I learned all four not only agreed to go but actually made the hunt. Imagine all four of these guys going on a hunt and not being able to shoot anything; a couple of 9mm and one Contender pistol was all they brought.

I first saw the ram from the plane about a month before the hunt. I was surprised by how easy it was to see and judge the rams from the air. This ram just stood there while we made several tight circles in my friend's Spirit airplane. I attempted videoing him but that didn't work out. Lots of other rams were spotted but none had the wide flare of this guy and his image stuck in my mind.

The five of us headed out Friday at 6 pm and didn't arrive in camp until 12:30 am. Having selected the exact campsite the previous weekend made this late night arrival possible. I should point out this is sheep country and finding a flat, rock free, tent site isn't easy.
Saturday morning I headed in with Ryan in an attempt to locate the ram I had spotted the previous month from the plane. The other three headed off looking for another group of rams that I had spotted on an earlier trip.

We climbed to the highest point in the area and had been glassing for about an hour when the rams appeared in the bottom of my binoculars.

I was looking about three miles away when two rams came into view across the canyon about 1000 yards away. Ryan set up his Swarovski spotting scope and then placed his High Definition video camera on a second tripod and aligned the two. This provided excellent video of the ram the day prior to the season opener. We watched and video'ed the ram for 3-4 hours before I moved off to check another draw where I had seen rams but found none. The other three returned that evening and hadn't found any rams.

Opening morning had the five of us climbing into position. Finding an obsidian arrowhead on the way in was surely a sign of good luck. As I said in my initial post, two hunters came in on top of us. They had illegally driven into the Wilderness area but not after having driven through a second hunter's camp at the edge of the Wilderness - no reason to dwell on the negative here.

Ryan first spotted the rams but I had already started down to cross the canyon. He signalled me to return and I climbed back out and hurried to him. Three rams, including the wide one, had angled down into the canyon below us but where headed in our general direction. We believed the other two hunters, who stood on the skyline, had spooked the rams. We closed the distance towards the rams and took up a shooting position on a side canyon where I expected to catch them climbing out while out of view of the other two people (I have a problem calling them hunters). My Duovids where perfect, allowing me to range various points in and across the side canyon, plus to the bottom and across the main canyon, all distances were under 400 yards and I could see all escape paths headed down streams.

My other three friends, by pre-arrange plan, had circled around and were watching the upstream routes.

We all know how best laid plans fall apart, and after sitting there with my rifle on a near perfect rock for what seemed to be 1/2 hour but was likely 10 minutes I heard something and then I heard something again. Rocks in this area are plate size and about an inch thick and produce a loud distinct noise - and there I heard it again. I signaled for Ryan to close the 20 yards between us and when he reached me I told him I had heard something walking in the bottom - "There's sheep" he said as he pointed to the bottom. Three rams in the bottom slowly feeding - a quick look confirmed the wide one was there.

I'll never know how Ryan got the camera aligned and on the sheep so quickly but when I had repositioned my rifle and asked "are you ready" his reply was "don't wait for me!". I was anxious, extremely anxious that the two bozos (I have a problem calling them people) had worked down the draw after the same ram. For some unknown reason at this very moment the rams busted out of the bottom and started up the away face. My ram stopped broadside for an instant, I rushed my shot a tad and hit him pretty much dead center, too far back but a fatal shot. The second shot was even worse hitting even further back. (One can see all of this in the video.) My ram was tired of all this crap and walked towards me about 10 yards and bedded down. The other two ram had out distanced their partner but stopped and returned. The bigger of the two eventually bedded about 10 feet below his fatally wounded leader. While bedded all we could see was the glare from the bosses of his horns. I was unsure which way he was pointed so we waited, then waited some more, impatiently on my part. The second ram stood and my ram followed, it crossed my mind the other two twits may shoot my ram but this time I took the extra couple of seconds and squeezed the trigger - my hunt ended.

Wish I could now tell how much work it was to pack the sheep out but you all know there were five of us and Idaho's California Bighorns aren't that big. And to top it all off, this was the coldest day since spring PLUS when we began the climb the good Lord provided a light drizzle of rain, raised the rain level as we climbed the toughest section and then shut it off right when we reached the top.

Once on top it was mostly flat with a slight down hill to the 4 wheelers less than two miles away.

North! to Alaska

Last week we cruised Alaska's Inside Passage with my parents. We had been planning the trip since December, and it finally happened. We sailed on the Golden Princess, round trip from Seattle. My parents had a suite at the back of the ship, and we had a stateroom right next to theirs. Our balconies had a doorway between them, so we could move easily back and forth between the two rooms. Here are the highlights.

Day 1 - Seattle

Rick and I from Boise, Mom and Dad from Wichita, flew to Seattle and were on the ship around noon. From our balcony we had a very nice view of downtown Seattle.

Day 2 - At Sea

We were at sea all day. It was a day of exploring the ship, reading, eating, and sleeping. It was really REALLY windy.

That night was our first of two formal dinner nights. It was the first time my parents had seen Rick in a tie. He looked fantastic, we all agreed.

Day 3 - Juneau

We arrived in Juneau around noon. The mountains rise straight up from the water, so the town is crowded and the streets are steep. We would have ridden the Mt. Roberts Tramway for a view of the area, but it was overcast that day and raining a little. Instead we headed into town for some shopping.

We climbed five blocks up steep Franklin St. to find this Russian Orthodox Church.

Day 4 - Skagway

I had been planning the day in Skagway for several months. We had heard it's a good idea to rent a car here and drive into Canada. So I called ahead and rented a minivan from local Sourdough rental company. We had the entire day to spend here. It was a beautiful sunny day, hot by the afternoon. We picked up the van at 8am when the shop opened. Then we headed out of town in order to beat the tour buses. Just outside of town we started to climb up, up the Klondike Highway toward White Pass. At times we paralleled the scenic railroad. At all moments the scenes were spectacular. There was so much water - waterfalls, pools, lakes - everywhere! We crossed into British Columbia and then into the Yukon Territory. The landscape changed dramatically from lush rain forest at Skagway, to the strangest land I have ever seen - like another planet - near the Yukon border, to high and dry mountains at Carcross, Y.T.

I'm going to post a lot of photos now - this place was so beautiful.

A map of our journey: Skagway to Carcross. We drove on the yellow road. The black is the railroad track.

Tutshi Lake, B.C.

A lake at Carcross. We bought some great stuff here - really warm hats from the general store, and some earrings from a jewelry store run by a native woman. When I asked her to explain the meaning of the Inukshuk symbol, she told me it was the symbol of the 2010 winter Olympics. When I asked her what it meant before that, she said "Where are you from?" Clearly, I was not from the Yukon else I would know. She then handed me a card explaining the inukshuk is a stone, man-shaped figure built by ancient trackers to help guide people in the wilderness. Just north of Carcross we turned around after stopping for lunch at the Cinnamon Cache, where a sign instructed "Get Your Buns In Here." The cinnamon rolls were great, but the $7 soup was not.

The strangest, and most awesome, landscape.

Back in Skagway.

Leaving Skagway, the sunset seemed to last forever.

Day 5 - Tracy Arm Fjord

We were supposed to sail to the end of Tracy Arm Fjord to see a glacier. But the weather had been warm causing icebergs to calve off the glacier and fill our passage way with dangerous ice. So we didn't make it. Still, the fjord was pretty. The photos don't do the blue icebergs justice.

Day 6 - Ketchikan

Ketchikan was probably my favorite port town. I overheard someone talking about Creek Street, so I found it in my Alaska guide book. Just a few blocks from the pier, most of the cruise passengers did not find this place. We loved it.

That night we had our second formal dinner.

Day 7 - Victoria, B.C.

Our last stop was Victoria, British Columbia. We didn't arrive until 7pm, so we just had the evening to stroll around town. We grabbed a cab and headed for the Empress hotel, stopped for a drink in the Bengal Lounge, and then walked along Government Street. Quite a change of pace from the small Alaskan coastal villages.

We arrived back in Seattle early the next morning and were off the ship by 10am. Rick and I had an easy trip back to Boise, but my parents had a journey that took all day. It was hard on them, but they made it.

Once again, an adventure has been documented. This was a different kind of adventure, one filled with much relaxation and definitely too much eating. But the sights we saw were fantastic, and the time spent with family was, well of course, priceless.

Memorial Weekend Adventure

It started around 8:45 am on Saturday morning. Dan and Ellisea arrived with Banty (their Red Poodle), and a few minutes later Kurt arrived on his dual-purpose motorcycle. We were almost finished loading the truck. Dan and Rick had been planning this trip for weeks, talking about it for months - maybe even a year. We would ride the Idaho Centennial Trail into Jarbidge, NV.

According to Wikipedia, "The Idaho Centennial Trail (ICT) route is along existing trails and primitive roads. Hikers typically start at the southern trailhead near Murphy Hot Springs on the Idaho-Nevada border in early June when snow levels are starting to recede and travel northward through high desert with the goal of entering higher country before the heat of summer sets in. As thru-hikers approach the Sawtooth Mountains the snows have receded enough by mid-July to allow for easier and safer travel. The end of the trail at the Idaho-British Columbia border must then be reached before the snows of late September/early October."

We drove to Bruneau, ID, and then continued south and parked the truck at the East Fork Crossing, unloaded our bikes, set off on the road to Bruneau Canyon, and then found the Centennial. We rode about 70 miles to get to Jarbidge. Lisea drove the truck on the main (dirt) road.

It was NOT a sunny day. Ominous clouds threatened our path with thunder and lightening, and eventually we encountered rain. The black sky and green mountains with lingering snow caps along with the numerous lightening strikes provided a bold contrast.

The trail became very muddy. It was no problem for our 4-wheeler or Dan's dirt bike (other than being wet, cold, and muddy.) But Kurt's dual-purpose was struggling. At the very end with ~300 ft. to go before good road, he had to stop and dig the mud out because his wheel was locked up.



But it was a true adventure.

We found Elisea and Banty 2 miles south of Murphy Hot Springs at the Jarbidge Forks with beer and snacks - a welcomed company and feast. This is one of the most remote places in the lower 48.

The remaining 13 miles were spectacular. The road wound along side the Jarbidge River, remarkable rock formations on the hillsides above. I was in awe.

Around 4:30 we reached our "hotel" in Jarbidge - a barn with small rooms and a community bathroom. It was so good to take a hot shower and change into dry clothes. We filled up at the Sinclair and headed to The Outdoor Inn bar/restaurant for dinner - prime rib - and a live band afterward. The place was packed with locals and tourists, most of them filling the dance floor at every song.

According to Wikipedia, "Gold was discovered near Jarbidge in 1909, making it one of the last gold rush towns in the American West. The town's population swelled to around 1,200 in 1911, but afterwards began a slow decline. Mining operations ceased in the area in 1932. Recent estimates put the town's full-time population at less than 20. Today much of the Jarbidge's economy derives from its reputation as a rustic tourist destination. The name "Jarbidge" originates from the Nez Perce word "Jahabich," which means "devil." This was the Nez Perce name for the nearby mountains." A local lodge claims Jarbidge comes from the the Nez Perce word "Tsawhabitts" - a fearsome giant "they believed he stalked them with the same cunning they used to hunt their own game!"

The next morning we headed out after breakfast back at the Outdoor Inn (our only choice, but a good one.) Sunday was sunny, and I took the opportunity to photograph the rock formations. We took the main road back, and were at the truck in about 2 hours.

We said goodbye to Kurt, Ellisea, and Dan, and headed for part 2 of our adventure - the Bruneau Canyon. This is where Rick and I got engaged on September 16, 2006. It would be our first trip back. Ellisea outfitted us with a wine-picnic care package complete with opener, glasses, smoked salmon, cheese, crackers, and napkins! It was such a thoughtful gift, and it made for a delightful time in the tent when the thunderstorm came in late afternoon.

After the rain cleared, we spent the evening scouting for new places to camp. The Bruneau Canyon is a popular place, despite its remoteness, since it makes a good launch site for rafters. It also gets very hot and shade is scarce. Rick and I found a new place we'll camp next time. It's right near some cedars and has easy access to the river. Here we are on the bank. The next photo shows Rick surrounded by poison ivy. The third is the confluence of the Jarbidge and Bruneau rivers.

We headed out Monday morning and were home by mid-afternoon. Our gear was dustier than it has ever been. The dust penetrated the zippers on our bags and coated everything.

But it was a true adventure.