Pope's Sheep hunt

[Timberstalker]

Epic memories.  Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

[coachcw]

get it done and ship it ! not much more and you will have it at your home soon ( you pay for that)

[Harbor_hunter]

Wow amazing pictures and awesome ram!

[Gringo31]

Thread of the year!   

[DOUBLELUNG]

Congratulations Shawn!  I really appreciate your kindness in documenting this hunt so well, I will never get to do a Dall sheep hunt, that write-up is the closest I will ever get!  Very much took me back to my final approach on my Wyoming Rocky, along a 4" sheep trail over rotten volcanic soil across the slope's angle of repose, with hundreds of feet to fall below. 

[Machias]

Wow, awesome write up, fantastic photos.  VERY happy for you.  Congrats on a beautiful animal taken in an amazing place.  Some of those photos of the ram after the shot are just breathtaking!!

[rosscrazyelk]

Awesome story.  Incredible pics.  Thanks for sharing.  And congratulations.

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

Really enjoy reading posts like this.  Its awesome you took the time to take pics and really document the hunt.  Quite the adventure you had!  Congrats on a hard earned trophy!

[Karl Blanchard]

Absolutely fantastic story!!!!!  I don't think you could sum up a sheep hunt any better.  What amazingly beautiful and dangerous country!

[Karl Blanchard]

As a full on gear junkie, what items passed the sheep test, and which ones would you axe?  If the stars align, and my brother gets Fairbanks as his next duty station, sheep may be in my future.

[Huntboy]

Congrats, Pope. Great story and pic's.

[RadSav]

Cool country, beautiful ram, great story.  Congratulations

[popeshawnpaul]

Thanks Shawn for the lens recommendation. 

How about your feet?  Are you happy with your boots?  Would you do anything different next time?

Thanks again!

Mike

Great question. They mandate plastic 2 piece boots up there.  They do this because the rocks are sharp and constantly "attacking" your boots.  I took La Sportiva EVO GTX.  The guy at the mountaineering store and based on the reviews said this is the better all around boot.  If I bought plastic boots, I would only use them on that hunt and then never again.  The EVO I can use in rocky and steep sheep stuff where my Kennetreks don't offer enough support in the ankle and sole.  My boots took a beating.  They look like they are 5 years old after 5 days on this glacier.  If I were to guide there all season, I would have to buy a new pair each season.  I understand why they mandate the plastic boots but mine did great.  The guy at the store said every Denali and many Rainier guides have this boot.  Once you add 100 lbs on your pack, then the boots really start wearing on the rocks.  They are warm and never leak on small stream crossings.  They don't have a liner so you have to take them off when crossing the deep rivers and put crocs or flip flops on.

[popeshawnpaul]

As a full on gear junkie, what items passed the sheep test, and which ones would you axe?  If the stars align, and my brother gets Fairbanks as his next duty station, sheep may be in my future.

Rain gear is a must.  I went with Kuiu Yukon pants and jacket.  After it's saturated, it is damp on the inside.  I don't know if that's because I was sweating so much on the inside or just dampness from the outside.  They still worked well and I highly recommend.  Basically, any breathable rain gear is going to have this problem.  The only rain gear that worked 100% is heavy rubber stuff we get to go fishing.  I couldn't imagine hiking in that though.  The Yukon gear was thick and tough and withstood the abuse, crawling, and rocks.  Thin rain gear wouldn't have made it. 

Every day I wore merino wool layers.  I did this so I didn't stink.  Merino keeps your odor down significantly.  I noticed the difference between me and my guide...lol.  I wore a merino pant and top every day.  The Yukon rain pants I wore every day.  I tried to wear my Sitka Timberline pants but when the rain started, they just had to come off.  If I had to do it again, I would bring the Yukon pants and one pear of Merino base.  I wore a merino shirt under my merino long sleeve base every day.  Then I had a Sitka jetstream vest that stayed on me the whole time.  Then the Yukon jacket.  When it got cold, I would add my permaloft puffy insulation coat under the Yukon jacket.  I brought one extra merino base long sleeve shirt for when it got wet, I could change it out. 

Gloves ended up being inportant not because it was terribly cold, but because when you fall over and over, you'll cut your hand on the rock.  The first day I went glove free and have cuts and scrapes on my hands to show for it.  I had some thin neoprene type Serus gloves that stayed dry but eventually they soaked through.  The nice thing is even though they would be wet, they would still be warm as they were a neoprene type material.  Putting the wet gloves on kept me warm even when it was cold out. 

Boots, I did that right in the LaSportiva EVO GTX.  Now I can use them on other tough hunts.

Poles were important.  I broke one of my Black Diamond Z-poles when I slipped on the glacier and tried to use one pole on all my weight plus a heavy pack...

The Mystery Ranch Metcalf worked great.  It is small when you need it and can carry a lot when you need.  When I loaded the sheep on the shelf between the pack and the frame, it worked well.  I utilized the load lifters with such a heavy pack and they saved my shoulders.  The first day of the 3 day packout I didn't have these adjusted right and I noticed my shoulders took a lot of the abuse.  The only issue I had was under 100+ lbs, the waist strap buckle would slip a little, dropping the pack lower on me.  I would then need to tighten it or adjust the shoulder/load lifters again.  That much weight is just never fun no matter the pack.

Vortex Viper 10x42 worked great.  My camera was the spotting scope (should be about 84x when zoomed in).  Gun should be protected better next time.  It took a beating in the falls and on this glacier.  You never need it quick so next time I would put it between the pack and frame.  I did this on the pack out and it didn't get hammered so much.  That's all the thoughts I have on gear unless there are other questions.

[Karl Blanchard]