Dall Sheep Hunt NWT - Day #1
Hunt Day #1- We rolled out of the sleeping bags a little late this morning (8:30 AM) as we were in no hurry to get started and we didn't get to sleep until after 1:00AM. The NWT has rules about hunting with-in twelve hours of flying, and we weren't going to violate any rules.
Jacob (our pilot), Slim (my guide), and I had a hearty breakfast before organizing our packs for the first day a field. Because we would be coming back to our spike camp at the end of the day, it wasn't necessary to carry "full" packs, and about half the weight could be left in the tent. It was a warm and sunny day, so Jacob and I both were tempted to ditch the rain gear for the day to make the packs as light as possible. Slim warned against this idea however, reminding us that the weather can, and does, sometimes change very quickly in the mountains. We compromised and left just the rain pants behind.
On a hunt like this it is advisable to head out in the morning with a full sized pack, even if you decide not to fill it. A good quality full sized pack will be more comfortable than a smaller day pack, and it will carry more gear. It also provides the option of packing out meat and trophies if you get lucky! I had left my spotting scope at home to save weight (and was assured that my guide would have his), but I did have a good pair of 10X50 binoculars.
Also packed around every day were two cameras, a range finder, extra pair of socks, rain gear, wool sweater, heavy shirt, wool vest, extra polypropylene long Johns, a bivi sack, a rain cover for my pack, hunting knife, garbage bags, and small first aid kit. I didn't leave camp without lunch, plenty of water, snacks, and a protein bar or two.
The total pack weight was around 27 pounds. In one hand I carried my CSS compound bow, complete with a Fine Line Hunter bow quiver loaded with eight arrows (another eleven pounds more or less). In the other hand I carried a walking stick. Camo mask, arm guard, compass, and finger tab were in pants pockets.
Given that we started hiking straight up hill in the morning, I wore only a light cotton shirt and pants over silk long underwear. With plenty of layers available in my pack I could keep adjusting my clothing to the weather conditions as they changed. Some of the clothes, as well as the bivi sack and part of the food, would not be needed unless we had to spend the night on the mountain and couldn't get back to camp. The few extra pounds carried is a small price to pay for the safety of knowing you are prepared for an "all nighter" if need be.
At 11:00 AM sharp we headed up the mountain from camp. The plan was to hike up a knoll to the north that would allow us to glass for rams on both sides of the valley. There were caribou everywhere, but they were all cows with calves, so it was hard to get too excited. We did throw the glasses up every time we saw movement hoping that we'd find one with a decent rack, but it wasn't to be today.
By 1:00 PM we were in position to glass quite a bit of country and had about a dozen sheep in view. Out came the spotting scope. A careful check proved that we were watching two small bands of ewes with lambs and three rams. They were split up into three groups on three different mountains.
Thirty minutes of glassing the rams left us certain that none of the three were worth chasing this early in the hunt, although two were legal rams. We climbed higher heading for a saddle that would let us glass into the next basin.
Just before reaching the top I spotted movement through the saddle. Was it a caribou? No. A bear? No, it was a dark colored wolf!
I have a wolf tag in my pack, and would have no difficulty with the thought of shooting one with Slim's rifle if the chance presented itself. We dropped down and got into position hoping the wolf would work his way in our direction. Slim ranged him at 400 yards, which was too far for me to try with a rifle I had not practiced with. We decided that if a 250 yard shot presented itself, I'd go for it as that is what the scope was sighted in for. Someone must have told the wolf, because he kept his distance at just about 400 yards while he worked around down wind of us. No shot, but exciting none the less!
Working our way through the high saddle we found a few dozen more sheep in the next valley, but they were all "bald headed!" From here we worked our way higher and to the east around a peak that gave us good viewing into yet another valley. We spotted several rams in groups of two and three, but nothing to get excited about.
It was getting obvious that Slim takes this "Trophy Sheep" hunting real serious and doesn't want to chase anything less than ten years old and 38" long. That will be fine with me, as long as we can find one!
While glassing the third basin some clouds rolled in and Slim got in a few "I told you so" comments, as the rain gear was certainly going to come in handy. Just after 2:00 PM the sky opened up and we started getting very wet. With no rain pants it didn't take long to get cold and miserable!
Visibility dropped to a few hundred feet, and none of that visibility was up toward where there were sheep to glass! We took shelter under a huge rock to wait out what we hoped was a passing shower, but after forty-five minutes we all voted to bail off the side of the mountain on the shortest route back to the tent.
The "bail off" the mountain was "interesting" to say the least! Slim found a shale slide and started "skiing" down the slope. It was wild! The loose shale gave way under foot quickly so you could actually ski down in hiking boots getting several extra feet from each sliding step. We dropped a couple thousand feet in just a few minutes! Man, if only you could climb "UP" that fast!
At the bottom of the shale slide we had to pick our way down a rock face to a stream bed, cross it, and then climb the steep other side to get to rolling rock meadow that sloped gradually downhill the last mile to camp. The slope was covered in soaking wet waist high buck brush that finished off getting Jacob and I wet to the skin from the waist down. It sure was great getting back to the tent, and dry clothes!
Slim started a fire and made a dinner of moose burger and noodles which we ate eagerly under the tarp stretched between some small spruce trees. It was an easy day hiking wise (only 4-5 hours), which was great for a break-in day for this middle-aged "flatlander". Tomorrow will be more serious if the weather co-operates.
Tod Graham managed to fill his caribou tag with this fine trophy bull today...it was a 100 yards shot!