Sheep meat is the main reason I went on a camping trip in the Alaska Range. I was promised a share of the meat if I would help out with packing the meat and gear. I jumped at the chance - sheep meat is excellent, and I barely need an excuse to go on a camping trip with friends. But that said, I did care about bringing something back home. I wanted some meat.
So the trip got serious when on the 3rd day we spotted 2 sheep. I whipped out the spotting scope and even at a mile away I could tell that one of the sheep was probably a 'full curl' legal sheep. You are only allowed to shoot male sheep whose horns have grown big enough to complete a full curl. This means that they are mature and usually older than 8 years. Full curl sheep are not common so to spot one so quickly was very good luck. But we had to be sure!
We set up camp where we could glass the hillside where we had first seen the sheep, and that evening they appeared again in the exact same spot! We glassed them with the spotting scope and the big guy was clearly a full curl ram. But we had to wait - hunting season did not begin until the next day. So we sat back and watched. It was very cool to watch the sheep through the spotting scope. They grazed and walked about and interacted a bit with each other. They could have cared less about us in our teepee far, far below them in the valley.
Brooks was up at dawn boiling water for coffee and at first no sheep. And then in the gloaming there they were in the exact same spot yet again. No time for a hot breakfast on the stove or even more coffee. Brooks and Lindsey rushed off up the mountain to harvest the sheep. We had a bad moment when Lindsey mistook 2 skylined caribou for human hunters (competition). We really started to rush then - but no, there were no other hunters just caribou!
I watched them and the sheep through the spotting scope and just about froze. It was super cold and frosty. The sun finally came out while they were waiting for the sheep to stand up and give them a shot. I watched and watched, and finally I saw the big guy walking about. I watched Lindsey line up the rifle and saw the smoke come out the muzzle. Then a little while later 'boom'. Brooks turned to me and gave the thumbs up signal. Lindsey had got her sheep. Patrick
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| Examining the sheep from camp the evening before opening day - is one of them full curl? |
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| Checking out the sheep from the teepee |
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| View of the sheep through the spotting scope from the teepee |
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| Lindsey's full curl sheep - 2 inches PAST full curl |
We look prime for Kuiu sponsorship
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