The last couple of years I realized I had an itch that needed to be scratched one more time, One more Dall hunt , somewhere, some how.

The following is the story of that ‘itch’..

The decision to try to make this hunt a go, started out about 2019, Then Covid hit, , Outfitters in Alaska and Canada were shutdown and the resulting backlog of hunts resulted in any future openings with reputable outfitters were quickly being pushed clear out to 2024, 2025 and one outfitter was expecting no openings till possibly ‘26.. Not cool, too far away, So i put the thoughts of a Dall hunt on the back burner, Wasn’t quite sure what direction to take just yet, So lets just sit back and see what develops….

Early April of ‘22 I received a message from an Outfitter in Alaska about a cancellation hunt, I had talked to this outfitter at least twice in the recent past about a hunt with him, And I had generally had a good feeling about his operation, He hunted in The Brooks Range, The Brooks were in the top 3 areas I had great interest in hunting, So this email had my immediate attention.

I grabbed the phone and dialed him up, The opening was for the first hunt in August that fall,,,Traditional Backpack hunt and he would personally be guiding this particular hunt, We had talked about hunting this particular area before, And I knew it would require a Bush Plane dropping us off at basecamp on a gravel bar on the river, then to expect a possible 8 to 10 mile hike to the actual hunting area with a full pack that would likely weigh 70 to 80 lbs.

Spent the next few hours thinking this through, Got home, threw the idea at the wife (oh boy, the eye roll) All she really said was, “I hope the plane crashes”. LOL…

WE ON! Sent notice to Ak that I was in and down payment in the mail…

The hunt was 4 short months away, and life got very busy.

Next thing ya know, it’s about August 8th and time to head to Alaska,,,,Arrived at Ohare airport for the direct flight to Fairbanks, And had the first delay of the hunt, about 3 hours in ORD, then finally wheels up, With the 3 hour delay and the 3 hour time difference in AK, I found myself finally in Fairbanks at about 1 in the morning, Taxi ride to the motel, a few hours of sleep and then off to Wrights Air service to meet the Guide and the other hunter about 7 that morning ,

Anyone familiar with the weather in that area at that time knows it was a bit ‘unpredictable’, Has such Wrights was struggling trying to get flights out, So, another 4 hour delay in Wrights lobby,,,,And let me tell you that lobby was full with hunters and residents all on hold.

Pic of Wrights Air service….



Finally after the delay we get word to load up, WE BACK ON! Turns out there were still many moving pieces still going on at Wrights, In other words we were going to be flown about an hour and a half and then get dropped off on a remote airstrip and then wait in place till the 2nd air shuttle arrived and took us on the second and final leg of the flight to basecamp, Only problem was, Wrights wasn’t sure when that shuttle might arrive…..

So the 3 of us found ourselves sitting on a gravel airstrip in the middle of nowhere, We had no tents, no shelter, and rain clouds everywhere, Folks, I tell ya.. What’s next……….
Well maybe 3 or 4 hours later a plane drops out of the clouds, We load up, and off to basecamp we go, The 4 months just before this hunt was a real rollercoaster, and it appeared that pattern was still in place


Anyhow we are finally in basecamp, Several hours later than expected. We had landed on a gravel bar in the river, and has I took in the view I realized what an epic adventure this could be, The Brooks are what you hear they are, Barren but beautiful, desolate and remote, Huge Country, views for miles…. Basecamp (Hotel Hilton) nothing more than just a couple of tents and 2 strands of electric fence, The fence encircled the cook tent and the other tents would be thrown up outside the fence, did not matter to me sleeping outside that electric fence, I was kinda grinning thinking that fence might actually deter any Grizz with an attitude or purpose.

The other guide was already in camp and the 4 of us all got greetings out of the way, 2 hunters, 2 guides, I liked what I saw, had a good feeling, 4 solid dudes, all totally pumped to get this hunt going. One way or the other, this was shaping up to be an epic and memorable adventure.

The rest of the evening was spent getting settled in and finally a hot meal, With all the delays and flights, time differences and such, time for bed.

One thing about these time differences, with both I and the other hunter from the central time zone, and both early risers, that first morning at base, We were both up hours before the Alaskans, That pattern would not change for the next 11 days, I would try to acclimate, unsuccessfully……

Early that morning just at daybreak, I’m outside pissing and here comes several Bull caribou, 100 yards from camp, Hell Ya! LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!!

Quick pic of the bulls, lower center.




Day1, finally everyone’s up and moving, eat, pack and close up camp, Finally ready to roll at the crack of 1pm, The plan today was real simple, Guide and I were headed straight east, and all up hill, right from the camp just start climbing till we top out and make spike camp 1 on top, The other duo were heading due south along the river and then cut east about 8 miles from base camp, they had doubts they would make it the first day but attitudes are always so positive on Day 1,

And just for reference, G (guide from now on) weighed all 4 packs just before we headed out, G was at 78 lbs, me at 65, G2 (guide2) was 82 and the other hunter was at 75 lbs, If your familiar with these numbers, fair enough, if not familiar with these numbers, These numbers are the entry tickets to SUCKFEST….. LOL. We were carrying for a several day hunt, 6 days planned if necessary, and then if required and still hunting return and resupply on about the 6th or 7th day, The hunt was scheduled for up to 11 days…

Its’s that first day, that first real hump uphill with full packs, about an hour into it, and you start to realize, WTF was I thinking? I actually paid for this misery??????? On any hunt of this nature, the first day or two can be a real reality call, You are not in the shape you thought you were… It was clearly time to pay the dues, You wanted a test, you’re about to get it.

Maybe 2 hours into this climb, I glanced uphill and 5 sheep are sidehilling towards us, We hunkered down and let then pass, Ewes and lambs, No Ram but seeing the first sheep put a new pep in my step, We finally break out on top 5 hours later, We had arrived at Spike 1, picturesque spot with a small pond for water and a ginormous view,,,,Hell ya,,,, 2000 vertical feet to get here, but worth it..





Fairly late in the evening but we walk over to an edge and set up to glass, This was that view, looking East I believe.




Nothing spotted that evening so back to the tent for a hot meal and bedtime.

Day 2, The plan today was to pack only for a day hunt, We were headed North along this ridge that ran for a few miles, but of course, first a 1000 foot climb just to access the ridge, but then a nice gradual hunt up on top, we were in snow most of the time this day, and according to the voice memos I took each night on my iPhone, 9 more bull caribou were spotted, Some were seen up to a mile away skylined on ridge lines, Temps were maybe 60 and actually sunny, True story folks! We were just walking along the spine and peeking over each side, looking for Rams, Suddenly G’s body language clearly told that he saw something fairly close,, I hunkered down until we cleared things up, He mentioned me forward and upon arrival he pointed out several sheep maybe 700, 800 yards away,

Time to start glassing, The sheep were below us and in a fairly good spot for killing, but, No legal Ram, looked like 2 sub legal, and then several other ewes and lambs a short distance from the subs, Damn, Close but no go…..At some point the ridge ended and so we turned around and headed back, Got back about 8:30 that night and the maps showed about a 5 mile hike, I’d guess another 2000’ vertical day, Dinner and bedtime.

Day 3, G felt it was time to head to the Honey hole, a several hour hike due East to a large and long valley called payday valley, So we packed up and headed on out, This hike had lots of downhill so it wasn’t terribly strenuous, but we were carrying full packs and it took awhile, While enroute we kept crossing some Grizz tracks, That had my interest has I have a huge fascination with those magnificent and beautiful creatures,

My voice memos state the day was warm and sunny and in fact we felt aliitle sunburned and windburned, Late afternoon we arrive at our destination, Recent rains had changed the creek bed so it took a bit to find a decent spot to pitch the tent, While in the Process of setting up camp, several more bulls walked right on by maybe 100yds away,,,,(maybe I should have bought a Caribou tag?). But really, Main focus here is a Ram, everything else is secondary.




So we get camp setup, And I’m pumped, this is “payday” valley, A known producer, We had walked miles to get here,,,G had climbed a little hill right by camp to see about a glassing spot, and when he returned and told me what he had spotted, My heart sank in utter disbelief,,,About a mile downhill to the south an airplane (super cub?) was parked on some makeshift landing strip,, MUTHA [bleep]! A real kick in the nuts,We had company, if only obviously other sheep hunters,,, seriously, Damn it all anyway,

Well, if their South, We’ll had North,,,(duh) So late in the afternoon we head north uphill following the stream, Maybe an hour later we come to a nice spot for glassing, we are still down low by the stream and set up at a Y shaped spot were we could glass 3 different drainages, Not really spotting much until I see something uphill from us, 2 black spots, seemed to be moving in our direction, Couldn’t quite figure it out at first, Then when I realized I was looking at 2 hunters wearing black shirts I gave G the elbow and pointed over it that direction, Sonofabitch, there they were 2 Hunters…..Then to make the situation even more maddening We watched has they took off their packs and started to set up a Kifaru type tepee shelter, They were smack dab in the middle of our plans.

Can’t describe the frustration and disappointment in this development, Walk for miles to find someone else already flew in,,,,,Well, it is what it is,
Time to head back to the tent and regroup, Plan B ….

Sometime that night rain hitting the tent woke me up, A decent storm had moved in and the good weather we had enjoyed was about to end,
In fact it rained fairly hard till almost noon on Day 4, Low clouds, fog, you name it…..tent bound, It was late that afternoon that G said today was likely cancelled, just relax, rest up and read a book,,,,,,,And it did rain all day,

Late that evening I went outside to piss and stretch, in a rain coat and just checking out the hillsides, and something caught my attention, a long ways off,,,Seemed to be a few white dots up on top,,,,Couple minutes later I was positive they were sheep and hustled over to the tent and grabbed G, He grabbed his glass and did a quick visual, then he went in the tent vestibule and grabbed the 85mm Zeiss, There were maybe 4/5 miles away, but when G showed me the 3 Rams in the Zeiss, The horns intercepting the white neck was obvious, We were looking at 3 Rams, Legality was certainly not clear yet but goodness this got the juices flowing. The sheep were to the North, in the direction we had found Elmer and Fudd, Didn’t know where they currently were but assumed the day long rains had maybe forced them out of their tepee.

Day 5, Up earlier than normal, with yesterdays rest and then also knowing there could/should be 3 rams to the North, still raining on and off, cloudy, fairly miserable, but, Killing needs to be done, and that ain’t happening here inside the dry tent,, Pack up, load up and off we go, It was one of those days, You’re not sure if your better off with rain gear on or off? The brush is soaked, even if its not currently raining, Cant win in these deals type things,

Anyhow we did locate the sheep in the same general location, and looking at the terrain and the distance, I knew today was going to be a long day, One way or the other this was going to be a hump,,I believe it took us 5 or 6 hours to get to the base of the hill we believed they were on, Due to terrain we had not seen the Rams in hours, nor had we seen Elmer and Fudd either, Bit of a relief there, Finally a certain view showed us the path we had to take to the top, A whole lot of vertical, and then once about 2/3 rds up, We hit my favorite terra firma, or lack there of. Shale, and lots of it, tiny splintered flakes of shale, the next hour was not fun, One step forward, slide 2 steps back, If you’ve ever been there, done that, you’ll understand……

We eventually stop just short of the ridge and a small outcropping which is our destination, The rock pile is our hopeful glassing spot, we believe if the Rams are in the same spot we saw then feeding this morning they could possibly be in rifle range, We are on one spine, they should be on the next spine,

G peeks over the rock outcropping first, looks for a few minutes and then holds up 3 fingers, My face forms the first smile of the day,,,,,
he duck walks a little down hill and digs the Zeiss spotter out of the his pack, goes back gets set up, no tripod, glass right on the rock,
By this time I’ve crawled up to the rocks and peeked over myself, and honestly I wasn’t sure if I like what i saw or not,

The Rams that morning had been feeding on some grass, since then they had climbed up higher and were bedded in one hellacious spot, No one had ranged them yet but they seemed way farther away than I was wanting to attempt, It’s about this time I glance to the South and see were about to get hit with nasty weather, Pic below for visual purposes,,



This next pic is from that stalk, on the way up I believe, Camp is miles away,



And then the 3 Rams,



So we’ve got 3 Rams at 800 yards, The grassy feeding area is lower and 400yards away, We’ve got wind, rain and snow showers, G spent quite a bit of time on the Zeiss, I just tried to stream warm and focused, I knew the situation wasn’t exactly favorable, And in fact G had not yet said, no or yes on legality of the Rams, If one was legal, options were few and they all sucked, wait for the Rams to hopefully feed lower, Going around and coming in from above them was out of the question, and with the weather I questioned how long we would last on that exposed ridge, I was starting to wonder if we might be spending the night on the side of the mountain,

Well to make a long story short, G finally gave up trying to establish if there was a legal ram or not, He declared that all were 3/4 to 7/8’s, If one was just legal, he did not feel the confidence in declaring that. The tone of his voice, and the look in his eyes, matched the disappointment in mine,
Not much too do but pack up and head on back,

Almost back at camp we meet Elmer and Fudd on the trail, Had a chat with those two and then finally continue on and hit the bags,
Garmin Inreach showed about 12 miles for the day and maybe 2500 feet,,I won’t say I was exhausted, but once i hit the pillow I fell a sleep while G cooked my mountainhouse, He cooked mine first and woke me up, I didn’t really care to eat but he insisted after a day like that that hot food was vital, Day 5 was in the books.

Day 6, Time to formulate Plan C, the night before we had ran into Elmer and Fudd, Father-in-law and Son type duo, They had killed a bull miles from the plane and their entire focus was getting the bull back to the plane and then hopefully fly out, They were done, And for flying the weather still sucked this morning, then during our conversation the night before they told how they flown the entire valley days before and had only spotted 3 Rams from the air, and those 3 were in an unkillable position, this was bittersweet news to us, They had illegally flown the valley while looking for sheep, and the fact that the only 3 they spotted were likely the same 3 we had made our play on,

And then the fact during yesterdays jaunt, No other sheep were spotted, with all the different views and elevations we had been in, It was appearing Payday valley might not be, going to pay out, This was Day 6, food was low, spirits were low, and almost all clothing was wet,,Damn rain just wasn’t going to stop, e would occasional breaks foe the rain, but even all the underbrush was soaked,

At some point this morning the decision was made to head back to basecamp and resupply,,We would not retrace our route coming in, but rather head south downhill along the river and then when the 2 river met, hang a right and then head back uphill to base, A longer walk but much more gradual inclines, Think of the letter Y, left fork of the Y was basecamp, We had traveled east, to the right of other side of the Y, the two rivers would Join and form the single leg of the Y, we would make the turn and head back up the left side of the Y,

And I’m not sure if that just made any sense at all, getting late here, need to take a break ,

I’m going to post this half tonight and then tomorrow I’ll create part 2 of the hunt ,

That’s it for tonight, 2b continued,,,,,,,,,,

TAG

Damn! I’m tired and soaked already 😃. Looking forward to the rest of the hunt.

tag

tag

Outstanding!

Hunted the Brooks Range for grizzly and wolf a few years ago. Special place.

Thanks for writing this up and posting the great photos!

Regards, Guy

Ok, lets continue on with the hunt,,Has mentioned earlier it was time to return to base and resupply,



Rain on and off all day, again do you wear the rain gear or just suffer through it with out? At this point everything we owned was wet, from in to out, then the time to remove packs and put the rain gear on during the rains, was starting to quickly get old, Has you know physical exertion while wearing rain gear has absolutely no romantic qualities, It just sucks, Period, I don’t care what kind of gear you have or how much you spent on it.
At some point we just simply stopped worrying about it and continued on without rain gear, Just get to base where dry clothing awaits, 8 mile hike, maybe 6 or 7 hours and we were finally there. We did find a caribou buried by a Grizz, The effort and the ability to tear up that ground while covering that Caribou was damn impressive.

Anyhow finally back at base camp, fire up the Coleman stove in the cook tent , get into dry clothes and just get off your feet. G started dinner on the stove and after 6 days of freeze dried, He handed me a plate of hot food that would normally feed 3 grown men, I found no challenge in conquering that serving and finished it all off with more Hot Chocolate and several mini snickers bars for dessert….FELT LIKE A KING!

The next morning the new plan was laid out, We were going to cross the main river and head west to a camp he was familiar with, This would require Sourdough slippers if you’re familiar with them, He asked me if I was ok with river crossings, I kinda shrugged my shoulders and replied, “ I believe so”,
So load up and off we go,



I’ll be honest, The crossing got my heart racing, water was up to the knees and maybe just over the knees in a few of the deeper spots, G instructed to always use small steps, always keeping both feet pointed upstream and avoid tripping on the hidden rocks underwater.
We made the other side and hung the slippers in the trees and marked them with orange marking tape for the return route,

That’s about when the rain started again, I tell ya, Can we catch a break somewhere here maybe? About a 4 or 5 hour hike to the spot we had in mind.
Not a lot of vertical but just lots of trudging through willows, low brush, multiple creeks and a few low areas which required careful planning,

A few hours into the walk G pointed out a knob ahead that was our destination, The reason he pointed it out was in case we got separated, He was going to put it in high gear and try to beat the heavy rains we could see approaching, He was hoping to set up camp before the downpour hit,

He hit overdrive, I hit what ever gear I had in me, (2nd) LOL, and just figured keep that knob in sight, He will get ahead of me, just meet at the tent,
Long story short, once there, camp was quickly thrown up with little choice in the ‘flatness’ of the ground, We got in just before the heavy rain hit,
Once inside we realized it would require every item we had including boots to shim and try to level out the sleeping pads so we could sleep without rolling down hill off the pads…..Good time my friends, Good times…..

The rains continued throughout the entire night and into the next day, We were tentbound for yet another day, When I would go outside to piss or stretch I cold see the upper elevations were getting snow,

So at this point let me mention 2 words, Star Trek. Thank you Boba Fett for season 1 and 2,



I’ve kinda lost track of what day we are on at this point, But I’m thinking we have 3 full days left,

This should be day 8, Still raining on and off but it was decided to suck it up and head on out to a closer destination, The primary spot here had been pointed out to me yesterday, and that was going to require a full days effort, with the rain, the low clouds and such, He didn’t feel today was the best time for that ascent,

So we went out and up for a couple miles , till this drainage headed out, Never saw a single sheep, in fact haven’t seen a sheep in about 3 days now.
Back to camp and hope the weather clears real soon, Time was running out, And an important fact started to appear,
Creeks you could step over days ago now required the wiggys waders, Water was raging down the hillsides, The amount of rains this area had received in the last few weeks was insane, I was the newbie here but even I could clearly see the differences in the amount of runoff.

Day 9, The decision was made to go for the Honey hole, I could see the peak we were headed to, Right from the tent just head straight up, I believe it was over 2000 feet to the top, but once there we would be looking into 3 different drainages, So off we go, Something told me it would happen today if it was going to happen at all,

I’ll be honest it was a hump, took several hours, We had packed slightly heavier than normal has there was the possibility that once on top, If we spotted Rams in any of the 3 different drainages, This could easily turn into an overnighted, Nothing says Partytime like a bivouac sack.

Here’s a pic from on top,





We had the view, we glassed and moved on, glassed again and moved on, Rain on and off through out the day, What’s new ya know.

It was late that evening that the decision was made to return to camp, We could not spot a single sheep in the entire country side we had a view of,
To be totally honest, This was a kick in the nuts, we had 2 days left, and I’m full disclosure, I was a mess physically , G was awfully quiet that evening also.

So we head on down, and it was rough going, the rains, the slippery shale, and the real concern, water and creek crossings, Just today alone the creeks we had crossed when headed up, were now requiring careful crossings even with the wiggys waders on the way down, Downhill was tearing up my knees and I could feel some real issues with my right foot, Should have maybe stopped and changed socks and such but I had submitted to whatever, just get back to camp. One long day, I believe about a 12 hour deal, think I fell asleep before my Moiuntainhouse was ready again.

Quiet night in the tent, rain again on and off, There was a question in the back of my mind but I didn’t want to be the one to bring it up,

So its now day 10 of an 11 day hunt, G was quiet this morning has well has I was, We had a hot breakfast and eventually I figured I would break the ice,

The question went has follows, “ G, with all the rain and the rising water levels we’ve had, How bad is the return trip across the main river going to be?”

He answered slowly and carefully,,,,, “ I don’t know”……..

All righty then……..

Worst case scenario we wold have to hike upriver towards the headwaters and find some possible spot to cross, if, the river had risen high enough to prevent a safe crossing at our original crossing, In that worse case scenario, That would consume our last full day,

In my heart I knew this hunt was likely over, I didn’t want to admit it, G didn’t want to admit it either, but it was time to face reality, One day left, food for one more day, Had no clue where to find a legal Ram, and we really did not know what we would find once we retuned to the main river, both of our feet were shredded, The amount of climbing up and down, miles of sidehilling with soggy wet leather boots, had stretched the leather in the boots to the point that you weren’t even sure the boots were the right size anymore, In fact I would lose 2 toenails on the right foot from this hunt……

So the decision was made, first and foremost, there was a possible strong safety issue about crossing the main river, It was time to head back, get our asses back on the right side of the river, Missing the flight out was not an option either so that was also part of the decision.

4 hours later, wer’e back at the main river, G spent several minutes eyeing things up and ten made the announcement that he thought the river would be cross able here, The only other option was, once again, head upstream for who knows how far, while carrying the Sourdough slippers with us,

We could see the tents across the river, Home was that fricking close, but I was nervous has hell, days earlier on the first crossing I had been nervous, Now with the water even higher, uh-huh……

We cut some saplings for wading staffs, The plan was in case of being swept, just roll with it, feet downstream and slowly swim towards the opposite bank, We put on our rain gear, (think wetsuit) then put on the Sourdough slippers and then I silently said a 🙏,,,,,,Wasn’t sure if I was about to my first bath in 10 days or not, Expected temp of said bathwater, likely about 35 degrees,

G went first, and no real incident, we made it, water was maybe mid thigh and there was enough current, lose your footing and your getting swept in a quick manner….

So one day left and I was likely going home with an unpunched tag, Disappointed? Hell ya….. But it is what it is,

The last and final full day was spent drying out clothing and such, If we had good flying weather the plane would be here early the next morning for the return flight back to Fairbanks.

Sitting around the next morning, light rain, low clouds, and just waiting for the sound of an engine, we weren’t sure of anything so just hang out and see if a plane shows up, eventually we hear the low drone of a plane and minutes later he drops right out the clouds ,
Time to load up and say farewells,

One thing I will never forget about the flight out, once we took off the pilot kept the plane low under the clouds, Just a few minutes from camp we flyover this magnificent huge Grizzly on my side of the plane, He was just looking up at us, No concern whatsoever on his part, Awesome moment.

And now some random pics,,,,,



Looking a bit rugged at this point,

It was about the 6th day that we received notice via the Garmin Inreach that the other hunter had scored, Once we all reunited back at base at the end of the hunt, I got the full story,,,

The Ram was finally killed 20 miles from basecamp, it required a full 2 day pack back to base with full packs, The Guide weighed his pack once back at base, 100 lbs even and the hunter was in the 80/85 lb range,

Honestly, studs of Men, incredible hunt on their part, incredible pack back to base,

They also had shredded feet, they believe they had about 80 miles in all told, G and and I were in the 60 mile range,

If your questioning these numbers the maps and the Inreach give very good and accurate reference points, Zero doubt on those numbers on my end.

regarding the Inreach, handy devices for the back country, Several guides used them each night while communicating with each other,

I don’t own one but they really caught my interest.

Pics of the Ram,,,







Hope you enjoyed this hunt has much has I did, Out.

Great write up, thanks for sharing. Sounds like a standard issue sheep hunt. Well done. Some hunts are worthwhile without a trigger squeeze, this sounds like one. A hunt like this is something you can look back on with satisfaction, knowing you put forth the maximum effort and toughed it out, thereby living more than many men ever get to.

It’s interesting, You hear how the Brooks range is the “gentle’ mountain range, the easier one to hunt,

I went there with that notion in my mind, Uh-huh…….

The Brooks challenged me way more than I anticipated, It looks so gentle, almost rolling …….

It literally kicked my ass on a daily basis,

Next time someone mentions that the Brooks are more user friendly, I may find it difficult to stay quiet,,,, lol.

It was an epic adventure, The scenery, the people, I’ll cherish the memories for a long time.

Thanks for that; great adventure!

great read.

Quite the adventure.

Thanks for sharing.

Very cool!

Thanks for sharing the hunt.

🦫

Thoroughly enjoyed reading about your hunt/adventure, brought back a lot of memories. Well written! Thanks for sharing!

Kenneth - Thank you for sharing your hunt!

Good hunt.

I fly over the Brooks all the time when working but other than goofing around on the haul road, I really haven’t hunted it at all. I need to change that.

Outstanding trip report! Thanks for taking us along.

The Brooks have a lot of really rough ground. Nothing compared to the Wrangells, ak, chugach, but there's challenges there, and the sheep don't live in the rolling hills parts.

Thanks for the story.

Good read.

Thanks for taking us along for the hunt, great write up. Did you get to keep the sheep skull in the pic? Or do you have to leave stuff like that?

Great read. Thanks for sharing. Easier is true. But there is no easy in sheep. It can get worse by far.

You did great though.

A shame folks think covid shut down AK as it did not. Never missed a hunt through all of that scam. Canada did though which was stupid and unfortunate.

Congrats on a well done job. Its better when we punch a tag. but that doesn't always happen and as all the guides know the last 2 seasons coming were going to be thin so most cut their hunters in half or more due to the winter kill issues. So that folks going had a chance at a ram other than a long expensive hike.

Hope you get to roll again and get a sheep the next hunt for sure.

Did not keep the skull, But I believe you legally can? Someone correct if I’m wrong,

Then close to that skull was another Ram, almost seemed likely maybe an avalanche took both out at the same time?

Thanks Jeff, You’re a guide up there, So, what should ‘we’ do next?

Great read - thank you for posting that. I used to think I might be tough enough to have done a hunt like that, but seriously doubt it after reading this, really tough country to hunt in!!

Ken - thank you for sharing your amazing story. What an incredible journey. Now I have to get myself ready!! I am excited to hunt in the Brooks

Great story and pics. Thanks for sharing

Really enjoyed your story. Thanks and I hope you are able to come back and create more memories

My quads cramped up just reading your story.




P

Great story Kenneth!

Definitely a great adventure and yet heartbreaking. I hunted the wrangells in 2001. Pulled a groin muscle on a stalk on the second or 3rd day. It was a 8 day hunt with 6 hunting days. I didn't get a ram. After hurting myself I basically baled out. That injury still hurts to this day when I hike a lot.

I did get back in 03 and got a fine ram. It was a dream fulfilled. I'd sure like to go again. But it sounds like sheep are headed to extinction in AK.

If you've never hunted interior griz before, it is something everyone needs to experience at least once. A guy can only do it in Alaska and the Yukon now, in NA at least. They're higher up on the badassery scale than sheep are, IMO.




Sheep sure do have that intrigue though.

When Elmer and Fudd flew in and saved themselves 15+ miles of walking and packing, I was like damnit. Excellent write up, and a hunt that most will never get to experience.

Question:

What are sourdough slippers? Damn what a hunt. Sort of like a Seal team evolution only you paid to do it. Just WOW.

Sourdough slippers are hip boots that fit over your regular boots. They’re light and packable if need be.

I went to the brooks range twice.....horseback ...spot sheep ride ..tie up and make stalk....in 2 trips I got 2 dalls...2 grizzly...1 moose....didnt care to take a 2cd moose..

jim kerdowski out of wasilla.....think about horseback makes it really enjoyable....bob

grizzly was my main thing sheep was 2cd...nobody really got it....so I was always looking for bears....bob

In what years did you do this? Sounds like you were there in the Heydays…….

Kinda sorta,
They are packable by definition.

We made a trip in the brooks sharing a set of wiggys waders. First guy would cross, then put a rock in the waders and throw them back across and then the next guy would put them on and cross. At the wider streams it got to be a bit of a problem making sure they made it back across. Those waders were pretty well shot by the end of that trip.

After that, I started taking off boots and putting on the waders then sticking my wader-wrapped feet into crocs. Keeping socks on kept the cold from getting you too bad, but it took a lot longer to cross. Then after we killed a ram in the AK range I was crossing at exactly the same spot we had a few days prior, and I got a little cocky. Took too big a step, the wader filled with water, popped the croc right off my foot. I stumbled and filled the other wader, and I was right on the edge of going in. Your feet get pretty heavy with 20 gallons of water in the hippers. Luckily we were pretty close to camp and I was able to get mostly dried out, but haven't used the sourdough slippers there since. I'd probably go back to them in the brooks though.

Oh, and yes, you can pick up and carry out horns/skull. You sometimes find a bunch of them together, and I agree it is likely avalanche kills. They get to smelling pretty bad after a few years though!

Fantastic! Could not happen to a bigger jerk!

I can assure you Elmer and Fudd had a fine time. I also bet they would say bad things about you, and likely your guide if they knew you were going to accuse them in writing in public of violating the law.

"They had illegally flown the valley while looking for sheep, and the fact that the only 3 they spotted were likely the same 3 we had made our play on,"

Illegally? Several days prior it was perfectly legal to fly and spot whatever they wanted. Second, even if they were flying in sheep season they proved they were caribou hunting. Third, flying a small plane in the mountains requires the pilot to look at everything. Or should he "Little Big Man" it and avert his gaze at the appropriate moment?

Why did your guide take you to a place with no legal sheep? Any decent guide will have spent significant air time surveying the hunt area. The area you "hunted" is gentle sheep country and very accessible by most standards.

You bought a cut-rate hunt and were taken (pun intended) to an area with very poor odds. Only too obvious what your game was and how you roll. More than a few locals read your story and asked me to opine. I seldom bother to read your waste of electrons, but this time I enjoyed it very much.

Funny to me, because if you had read the good stuff I have posted over the years you would know better than use improperly prepared leather boots.

,"The amount of climbing up and down, miles of sidehilling with soggy wet leather boots, had stretched the leather in the boots to the point that you weren’t even sure the boots were the right size anymore, In fact I would lose 2 toenails on the right foot from this hunt……"

I find it funny in a pathetic way.

Art, seems like you’ve got a guilty conscience about something?

I’m assuming your teenage tirade above goes back to a comment I made months back about some possible unreturned personal property?

If I was wrong about that, I’ll own it, feel free to clear the air,

It’s all you bud, clear it up or live with it.

Funny stuff! Guilty conscience? How about the Complete Jerk turns passive-aggressive when caught with no defense. You have been a total arrogant putz to everyone from Day 1 here. Trying to deflect is your only play, but you have absolutely nothing to stand on. Quite a few folks have been laughing at you from the first post on this thread.

You know even less about the schit you are trying to stir, for deflection, than you do about choosing a sheep guide. So you are totally clueless, again.

You mention nothing about anything about you and what you did and did not do. Makes sense, because you have no defense.

Oh yeah, GFY!

I love it when someone with an extreme amount of false confidence comes on here and complains about passive aggressiveness, while in the same thread is backing his position up with "Quite a few folks have been laughing at you from the first post on this thread" and "More than a few locals read your story and asked me to opine". That is classic passive aggressiveness in itself. No, not from you Sitka, but from those other 'folks' and 'locals'. I know you're too dense to read it any other way though.

Not to mention the ultra convincing and humble: "if you had read the good stuff I have posted over the years".


Good talk, dude.

You are right on several levels, but wrong for the most part.

First, I think I was wrong about the guide. When Kenneth said "4 solid dudes " I laughed. Now I realize his guide had every intention of taking him much farther, as the other guide did with the successful client. He just realized he could not get him away from bingeing on Star Trek.

Some of the others whom post here, do not stir any pots, but can smell bullshit from a long way. Lots of posters have their own reasons. I am not the only one that Kenneth has been a repeated dick to.

It would be interesting to get the guide's candid version.

Did you miss the part where he discusses how bad his leather boots stretched? There have been many discussions on waterproofing leather boots. When it gets serious, plain beeswax wins, period. I have been attacked by many for the stance. Yet those actually trying find it the best. I believe my posts here on the subject are more than 20 years old. And spray antiperspirant used regularly on feet before a hunt reduces sweat issues.

Thanks for the response.

To be clear, my last post was directed toward you.
Thank you again.

Art still showing his Ass?

All over a several year guilt trip,

You’ve gone from questioning the ethics of the unnamed guide,

To antiperspirant, next time I’m caught in 8 straight days of rain, I’ll think of you while applying the Dove Dry Spray, Would you recommend the Dove Sheer Fresh scent?

Regarding the beeswax, how in the hell do you even know what I used or didn’t use?

Binging on Star Wars? Ya dude, Ya really used a left hook on me there, Funniest thing, That content wasn’t even on my device, DOH!

And then to even question the fact that people very often bring media to pass the downtime…..UNHEARD OF!

You can feel free to call me a jerk, But that only stems from an issue you created years ago, And if asking about the status of missing property on this forum makes me a jerk, Well then there’s lots of jerks here Art, cause there are many people here asking that same question……..

Set your conscience free, Do what should have been done years ago, make it right, or continue to take shots across the bow, That’s the nature of the internet, That’s all on you, No one else,

Your presence on this thread had zero to do with a sheep hunt, it’s nothing more than some red faced dude with a chip on his shoulder,

And according to you, that’s all my fault.

Sure thing Skipper.

For sure. Dang good.

Wow, incredible response!

I know you did not use beeswax because it prevents the stretched leather, period. Too many years of hunting places a lot wetter than you dealt with.

Your choice, did your guide fail you? Or did you fail your guide? The other guide got 33% more out of his client, and probably in rougher terrain. And in the same weather.