When Brooks and I discussed putting in for a sheep hunt, we acknowledged the incredibly low possibility of actually pulling a tag, < 1%, but we also acknowledged it was beautiful country up north and we needed a really good reason to go explore it. So, we put in and crossed our fingers. I told Brooks if he pulled the tag, I was definitely coming along, but guess who the lucky one was!
Day 1
The day we were to fly to Fairbanks and hike in, we woke to flood warnings in our hunting area. This was concerning because we had planned to camp next to Jarvis Creek, a fairly large glacier-fed creek, and cross it in the morning; floods might mean we would have to change our plan. We met up with Patrick in the Anchorage airport and flew to Fairbanks. On our way in, we stopped at ADFG in Delta Junction to talk about flood area warnings. Clint, an incredibly helpful wildlife biologist, was at the front desk as we walked in. He warned us away from Jarvis Creek due to the flooding, just as we suspected he might. We turned our attention to a map of the area to discuss alternate hunting options. As we reviewed the map, Clint reviewed the hunting areas we were aware of that typical sheep hunters hit. Brooks turned to Clint and said, "We are hikers sheep hunting, not sheep hunters hiking. We want a great place to camp and maybe get a sheep." Clint's demeanor softened and he got excited and pointed out the Granite Mountains and said it had great camping and hiking and that their sheep survey had seen a sheep in the area.
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| Clint on the left, Brooks and Patrick on the right. |
As we reviewed the trail into the Granite Mountains, a female biologist came over to share her concerns about flooding and tips on sheep hunting. In the five minutes or so of her talking, not once did she make eye contact with me, only with Patrick and Brooks. This sexism against me as a female from another female was bizarre... but I do know it is hard to take eyes of these two good lookin' guys! But seriously, Lady, WTF?
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| Fresh to the trailhead |
From the F&G building, we headed in the opposite direction of Jarvis Creek with empty water bottles and platypuses, knowing that we had plenty of water ahead of us; however, as we came to the first creek on the map, it was bone dry. So was the second river crossing and the third. About four miles in, we finally found a creek, set up camp, and drank water!
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| Teepee by the creek |
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| Lounging while Patrick whips up a culinary treat |
Day 2
The next morning, we woke to rain. It was a slow morning as we stayed in the tent and burned all the wood we had collected while Patrick cooked up hash browns and spam on the stove! We were on the trail at 9am, crossing the creek we had come to and followed a trail into the forest and up into the alpine.
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| Crossing the creek... too early in the hike and day for wet feet! |
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| Heading to Alpine--Brooks insists we dress alike |
As we walked, we realized there was no water. We would have to be on the lookout for water as we thought about our next camp. We walked along in the low clouds and rain. Because the clouds were so low, we could not decipher the ridge we would need to cross over, and we couldn't predict if there’d be any wood--willow, alder, birch--at the lake which we decided to make our final destination. Because we were unsure about water availability along the way, so we opted to make camp in the valley below the ridge next to a running creek and wood for camp about 1pm.
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| Brooks prepping firewood |
After setting up camp, the rain subsided, clouds parted a bit, and the sun came out. Brooks decided to take a power nap while Patrick and I scouted our trail for the next day up the ridge. We saw one steep area, but once we were firmly atop the ridge we discovered it was a flat plateau that made for easy walking with gorgeous views. We began our descent back to the tent, but the clouds came back along with the rain. Upon entering the teepee, we saw Brooks was feeding the fire which made for a warm and cozy homecoming.
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| Patrick took my photo in front of these dark clouds... we should have anticipated the impending showers |
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| Warming feet by the wood stove |
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| Brooks can be entertained for hours with a fire poker. In all seriousness, keeping the fire roaring is a full-time job. |
That night upon the wood stove, camp chef Patrick made a pasta dish with sausage, sun-dried
tomatoes, dried morels, garlic, and Alfredo sauce. Delicious! I had spent some time earlier this summer vacuum packing bags of Idaho potatoes with veggies I had dehydrated for this trip, but as the time neared, Patrick volunteered to plan the meals, pick up all the food we would need, and be our camp chef. It was so pleasant to have real food, warm food, on the trip.
We decided that the plan for the following day was to hike to the lake we had selected on the map as a potential camping location and begin scouting for sheep.
Day 3
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| Morning 3 |
Waking up to a warm tent and packing up gear while Patrick stirs a pot on the stove is living the dream! Patrick made Idaho mashed potatoes with canned ham! He even brought his own salt mill! We were on our way up the pass Patrick and I scouted the previous day about 9am. The sun was out, rain clouds dissipated, and we could see for miles; it was a great day to hike up.
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| Hiking up to the ridge. |
On top of the plateau, the wind picked up and clouds began moving in, so we took a quick break to layer up. Patrick used the opportunity and pulled out his spotting scope to review a few white spots on a nearby ridge that caught our attention: they were rocks. But since he had it out, he glassed the ridge top above the first lake of the two lakes and happened to spot two sheep! He also immediately noticed that one was full curl! We took turns using the scope alternating with our own binoculars and watched them for a bit. We each reviewed the horns and discussed full curl--one sheep seemed to be broomed on one side and definitely full curl on the other. This was perfect! They were walking and feeding along the ridge until the went up and over into the area of the second lake where we had planned to set up camp. Therefore, we altered our camping plan descended into the valley of the first lake, but to an even lower elevation along the creek so as to keep from giving away our presence.
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| Brooks considering Patrick's horn assessment |
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| Sheep located just below the two snow patches on the ridge to the left |
At camp, we prepped for the cooking fire and snacked. Then we hiked back up to the plateau to do some more scouting. Along the way, Patrick led us toward some white rocks that denoted recent permanent snowfall melt--they were white because no lichen had yet grown. In these white rocks, one can find arrows, though Patrick only spotted sticks. The black dirt is remnants of caribou droppings as they often lay in the snow to escape heat, bugs, or both. Atop the plateau, not only could we not locate the previous two sheep, we did not see any other sheep! This was an inauspicious sign, we thought. We did see one caribou and one falcon. Therefore, we headed back to camp to consider our options.
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| Another beautiful campsite. |
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| Patrick had the best camo of the group. He blended right in. |
As Patrick cooked up another fabulous dinner and we discussed our options, the sheep walked back exactly to where they had been when we originally saw them. Brooks declared, "They're back!" Lady luck was back on our side! They were about 1100 yards away. We drank tea and watched them feed for a little over an hour until they, again, walked over the ridge to the opposite side.
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| The sheep! The only sheep in the valley. |
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| Watching the sheep |
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| It's getting colder, but we're still watching sheep! |
Brooks shared that one piece of sheep behavior he came across in researching the hunt--and man had he researched it--was that they have a routine they keep to. Therefore, our plan was to wake up slow the next day and hike up and get in position before they came over around 10am, which was just before the time we had seen them that morning as we crossed the ridge. We'd be ready and waiting for them.
It was a cold, cold night!
Day 4
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| Patrick made us get in a quick photo before we headed off; I'm glad he did! |
Brooks was up early before our 6:30 alarm glassing the hillside. In rapid succession, he shouted: Get up! The sheep are there! We have to go! Get up! Thankfully, he did hand me a cup of coffee while I rapidly dressed: hiking pants with puffy pants over, shirt, thermal, blue puffy, grey rain jacket, gloves, a headband.
As I looked out the doors of the tent, packed and ready to go, I glassed the ridgeline. I saw what I thought to be two hunters already on the plateau and stalking “our” sheep! This announcement quickened everyone’s heartbeat as well as the pace of packing up gear. Brooks came out to scope our competition and then announced it was two caribou, not hunters! Phew! I'm not sure if he was just humoring me, but he acknowledged he could see how I thought they might be hunters. I clearly needed more coffee.
Before leaving, Brooks worked out hand signals with Patrick who would stay back at camp with the spotting scope and help direct our ascent and hunt. Then we were off. We climbed over large scree slopes and tried to anticipate which boulders were stable or unstable. As we edged closer, I removed my outer layers and peed! I was getting excited.
I followed Brooks who stopped to look down at Patrick through binoculars for directions from time to time and guide our ascent up, so as not to alert the sheep. As we inched closer to the top, we crawled on all 4s to a large boulder to use as cover. We spotted the young sheep quickly, but Brooks could not locate the full curl sheep. Then, upon finding it in the shadows, it was clear that it could have seen us the entire time, though it hadn't. It appeared that though we were in his field of vision, he had not seen us. So much for eagle-eyed sheep!
Our sheep was bedded down, so we had to wait. After what I was 30 minutes of basking in the sun, though Brooks told me it was closer to two hours, our sheep finally stood. Brooks ranged him as he moved below his younger pal, who had moved over and bedded next to him. Our sheep moved down to 370 yards away from 400 yards, but then he wandered back up to 385. Brooks told me it was up to me if I wanted to shoot or not. We had gone to the range at least once a week if not twice most of the summer to practice this shot and I was feeling confident with my shot on this 7mm Remington Magnum at this distance as well as my rest. I decided that if he gave me a broad-side angle, I would take it. He walked back down to 380, feeding, and gave me the angle I wanted. I pulled the trigger.
I clipped his spine about halfway back and his hind legs were useless, causing him to tumble to 350. I saw him prop himself up on his front legs, and put another round in his chest which brought him the ground. Less than a minute. Opening day at 9am and I punched my sheep tag! It was amazing luck!
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| My first look, hoping it is still full curl! |
Brooks jumped up and waved at Patrick who was up at the animal from camp in minutes! He came to butcher and brought our hiking poles. As we took the photo of the sheep with the three of us, we all shouted “Clint!” We owed this amazing camping trip and opening day sheep to Clint's hiking suggestion.
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| Tight full curl |
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| The team! |
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| Patrick: Lead Butcher |
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| Hiking back to camp from kill site |
Two hours later, we had returned to camp and placed the meat in a shadowy rock crevice to cool the meat. Patrick showed us a moose antler he came across right next to camp! Then chef Patrick cooked up hash browns and spam and we had a second round of coffee while basking in the cool breeze and warm sun, listening to the stream, bird chirps, and cricket-esque sounds coming from the bugs. The clouds lifted enough to see the snow-peaked mountain range at the foot of the valley. This was a beautiful camping area made even more amazing by the incredible sheep experience.
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| Sheep in front of Patrick and his tent; Patrick really was the link that made this trip possible and fun! |
But it was also a typical autumn day, when the sun went behind a cloud, it was cold! We laid out in the sun on our mats and read magazines. I even took a two-hour nap in the sun; the bug bites on my exposed feet were worth it! Later, we did some exploring. As we hiked down from the ridge with the sheep, I shared with Brooks how excited I was that we had the sheep and our mission was successful but that I was also bummed because it meant we would have to leave. I suggested we hike along the flat plateau since it went for miles, had great views, and was easy walking; Brooks pointed out how irresponsible it would leaving meat at camp without a bear fence. He was right, of course. Therefore, we hiked around camp: a medial moraine to the left and a high ridge to the right. The view down valley from both was breathtaking; it was pretty exquisite conciliatory hiking. Across the valley, in a saddle on the far ridge, we saw our third sheep skylined just for a moment. When Brooks and I returned to camp and Patrick was ready to begin cooking an amazing final Jambalaya dinner!
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| Nap time |
Day 5: The hike out
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| Heavy packs, High spirits! |
Our last morning in the Granite Mountains, we awoke to a beautiful cloud-free morning. For breakfast, Patrick made hashbrowns with two cans of ham as we were trying to cut our weight for the hike out. We packed up camp and loaded our bags. They were heavy. Patrick had the sheepskin, Brooks had the sheep head, and I had the moose shed Patrick stumbled upon. We knew we had a 1500 foot climb from the valley floor to the ridge of the plateau but that it would mostly be downhill or flat after that.
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| Brooks |
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| Patrick |
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| The Jalopy |
We had great weather the entire hike out and stopped at the known watering holes so we didn’t have too much more weight to carry. Patrick’s and Brooks’ packs were about 80-90lbs and mine was about 55-60.
Leaving the alpine and mountain shrubland, we descended into the forest and, surprisingly, we ran into Clint and two friends! It was a serendipitous surprise and we were able to thank him in person after all! We had planned to drive into the AKF&G in Delta where he worked to thank him, but he told us he was going to be out all week visiting with family and we would have missed him.
Once we crossed the creek, we found ourselves on the main, flat trail. Then, boredom set in. The view didn’t change—a sandy trail view up ahead that wound through the trees, never seeing more than 100 meters ahead. It seemed like it would never end. This was where hunting builds mental fortitude. I kept telling myself this as I would peer around a bend, only to see 100 meters more of flat trail that continued to weave into the forest. Although the guys kicked my butt ascending any kind of elevation, gravity was on my side on the downhill and flats. I dragged my hiking pole to show my direction at all of the trail intersections. And when I'd just had enough of the flat trails, I wrote this in the sand:
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| Do you see my heartfelt message? |
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| Almost... there... |
We made it back to the car at 4pm. 15 miles. My hardest hike ever. We drove into Fairbanks, got a room at Extended Stay where we could put the meat in the fridge, and shower for dinner at The Pump House. It was an amazing trip.
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| It's a full car |
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