Pope's Sheep hunt

[popeshawnpaul]

Saturday the 8th

I’m picked up in Anchorage by head guide Don Martin and we grab some supplies.  After we have everything, we head for Chitina.  Two other hunters are in the van with me, brothers Todd and Rock from South Dakota.  The drive took about 6 hours with stops along the way.  We were waiting at the airport when Paul Claus, owner of Ultima Thule Outfitters, dropped out of the sky with a Dahavilla Beaver.  He lands the plane in about 40 yards of runway…amazing.  We load up and I get to sit in the co-pilot chair. 

What I thought would be a fun river flight for 50 minutes turned into something more.  We saw mountain goats and sheep as Paul flew along the mountains and cliffs.  Then he takes the big plane into a huge rugged canyon.  We fly up the canyon and I’m looking at mountain all around.  Not thinking he had enough room to turn around, I was nervous.  He pointed the big plane up and shot through a tiny pass in the rocks.  What a fun ride but it had to end and we landed at the main lodge. 

The main lodge is great.  We settle in for moose spaghetti and Todd, Rock, and I have some Crown on the rocks.  They pair us up with guides.  We wondered about the system of how they pair hunter with guide.  I was told I was in the best shape so I was paired with Bill.  Some of the other guys were paired with older guides or guys that better suited their personality.  I got paired with Bill, a happy, enthusiastic 31 year old guy.  Bill asked me what type of hunt or experience I wanted.  I stated, “I want to come back to this lodge dead sore with blisters.”  He asked, “you really want to go into a tough place?”  Yep!  He said the experience will be fun and we would have a shot at a big ram if we go that route.

-to be continued...

[trophyhunt]

Oh man,,,,,, can't wait!

[Hawkeye270]

Oh geez these piece by piece posts are brutal!!!  We need more!  Pics!  Congrats tho, that's awesome.  Taking any wild sheep is quite an accomplishment

[boneaddict]

Lovin it

[KNOPHISH]

Awesome! I leave in 2 days & fly in on a piper cub, 2 seater 

[1bugman]

Tag, I can't wait for the rest of the story

[CNELK]

What a cliff hanger!! Can't wait to hear more about the story!

[fillthefreezer]

awesome shawn! ive been waiting to hear all about this

[popeshawnpaul]

Scouting Day – Day before season – Aug 9

Were up early, shoot the Savage Ultralight 6.5x284 Norma and it’s hitting 3” high at 100 yards.  Perfect!  The lodge at Ultima Thule is great.  Breakfast was sourdough pancakes, a special recipe from Donna Claus.  She said she got her sourdough from her friend she would fly in and talk to from time to time.  He got his sourdough and it is known to date back to the 1880’s.  His name was Preneke.  I think many of you may know his alone in the wilderness videos.

One of the lodge buildings.


We load the Supercub. 


We fly up and through mountains, eventually finding ourselves on the Barnard glacier.  We fly up the glacier, up a fork, and then another glacier fork to the top of the glacier at 7500 feet.  Along the way I spotted white dots on the various mountains all around. 



The plan was to hunt down the glacier, find a big ram, sit on him until he is in a shootable position, and pack him out to the nearest spot a Supercub can land. 


Guide Bill glassing the mountains.


Hiking a glacier is the toughest thing I’ve ever done.  It’s not just ice like you think…there is about 1-2” of rocks on top and those slip.  Every step is effort and there is never a flat place to walk.  It’s up, down, around, over, through a creek, etc.  We hiked 10 hours that first day, only making it 3 miles as the crow flies.  A look at my gps track log shows 9 miles and none of them easy with a 50 lb pack.  On a glacier like this, 9 miles felt the equivalent of twice that.  On a trail or good footing I could rack off miles easy.  It was really a fun experience. 



6 miles in, I spot a ram on the ridge above staring down at me.  Yep, I packed my 100-400 with a 1.4x and my 7D2.  I snapped a pic of him…half curl.  There is another one with him, also small.  In 3 years, one of you guys can shoot him if you are nuts enough to come to this glacier.



My guide Bill is a good hunter.  He moves slow, uses the glacier to hide our movement, and he is patient.  I told him the night before, I basically want a friend that wants to hunt sheep with me that knows the area and can share in the experience.  He understood.  No pressure, he says we have 10 days and we aren’t in a hurry.  I like this guy!  Not wanting to spook these rams thinking they could spook a nearby big ram, we sneak through the glacier to get away from them.  We spot more sheep a long ways away, and work our way down to the west fork Barnard glacier.  After a long day of hiking and trying to find rams, I was dead tired about 7pm.  Bill finds a spot on the rocks/ice and calls it camp for the night…  Glad I brought a blow up air mattress.  It rained all day, but I had a sheep tag in my pocket and I was in one of the more remote areas of North America.  Weather couldn’t ruin my mood.

[h20hunter]

Yes.....yes.........keep it coming along! Looking amazing up there.

[CNELK]

So freaking awesome! Great job on the write up can't wait to read more about your trip! Also what a dream hunt to go on! Congratulations

[luvmystang67]

Wow, someday... So envious sitting at work today.

[Gringo31]

A joy to read and hear about your experience!


Take your time!  Lay it all out here in detail.......you'll find yourself reading it a few years from now and remembering things you forgot.   

[ctwiggs1]

Keep it coming!  So cool!

[dobby]

Awesome country, cant wait to see more pics!

Congratulations