Hirshey's Hunts 2018

[hirshey]

Sorry all! The work trip landed us a few extra days due to weather... then the day I returned to operations as normal, I accepted a new position with the Forest Service... I've been busy packing up from Seattle and looking for homes in the Ellensburg area. So where were we? 

[hirshey]

Kari, always glad to see you are back and safe after fire season! Great story, anxious to hear the finally. You are an inspiration, not only to woman but men as well! And you clam dig? What don't you do? Hoping to run into you someday out in the wide open spaces...

Thanks kindly!

The clams are some of the easiest quarry we chase... we made some delicious smoked salmon, crab, and razor clam chowder on the work trip I departed for prior to finishing this story... it was delicious!  definitely worth digging!

[hirshey]

Alright...


The next day came with light spirits and heavy packs as we made the trek back to base camp. We enjoyed a day of relative relaxation upon arrival, with the main tasks consisting of hanging meat, restocking our fresh water supply and cutting more firewood. Once those tasks were finished, we took advantage of mild afternoon weather to make the trek to a nearby hot springs. After a few minor tweaks to direct the flow of water into the pool, we had an ideal location for relaxing with our flask of wine for the afternoon. We arrived back at camp, warmed to the bone by the geothermal treasure as well as the wine. We cooked a hearty dinner to fuel our legs for a big elevation day to follow. One more day of scouring the hillsides to find our target bulls, and we'd be in business. Even as the wine pulled at my eyelids, my mind was abuzz with the great potential held by the next day's adventure.

[hirshey]

The trek back to base camp.

[hirshey]

The morning came easily, as we all ended up sleeping soundly in the luxury of our base camp sleeping setups. Derrick and Jeff fueled their caffeine addictions with Starbucks Via's and cocoa, while I simply warmed my insides with cocoa. We shrugged on our bags and rifles (we still had wolf tags in our pockets if nothing else) and started the putting in the elevation we hoped would yield rewarding views of antlers and elk. A mile or so into our route, the boys started to feel the pulls of the caffeine on their stomachs. Both expressed the need to find a nook in the hillside. So when they started up one ridgeline, I continued around the mountain to slowly work up the adjacent slope. The reward for allowing them some space was enormous; as I clamored up the hillside, a set of bones low in the canyon drew my attention. I immediately shed my pack and sprinted to the bottom as if the entirety of Seattle was in a footrace against me. I was so enamored that I didn't even take an "as it lay" photo... I wrapped my hands around the curved horn in awe as I scanned the brush around me, and found exactly what I had been wishing for: the other horn of the mature bighorn sheep, along with a fairly intact skull.

I placed them on the skull, as if almost still incredulous that they belonged together. Grinning from ear to ear, I walked it back up the slope before dropping the caps into my pack and lashing the skull to my bag. It seemed an effortless glide up the slope to where my ridge and my companions' would meet, as I planned my reveal of my find of a lifetime. Jeff emerged over the slope first, and was sure to sidestep across the terrain for a few moments so I would see his mule deer shed secured to his pack. I smiled and acted very impressed.  As he came closer, I sidestepped so he could see the skull attached. He erupted with laughter and excitement, stating that we needed to go back and try to find the caps. I took off the pack and revealed the caps in my bag. "You mean these ones?" I chuckled. Derrick came over the hill with his own mule deer shed, and I was able to repeat the act. 

(For those unfamiliar, it is legal to retain deadhead sheep in Idaho as long as you get them pinned by a Fish and Game Regional Office... which I was absolutely going to do)

[hirshey]

🐏

[Birdgetter]

Awesome sheep, I wish it was legal to keep dead heads in Washington. My brother stumbled upon a very nice ram skull chukar hunting, it was even in perfect shape. He called our local wdfw and he got a firm no on taking it, sure is a shame it is just going to rot away.

[Rainier10]

That is amazing, congrats such a great find.

[hirshey]

Video of getting the caps cleaned up... pinned. Sent the skull up to Ken at Skull Mountain.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Br9RFkvheJQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[hirshey]

And for some reason this photo is not showing up when I post it... so pre-wash

https://www.instagram.com/p/Br9Qf2yhEHf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[hirshey]

And all cleaned up!

[CoryTDF]

 

[hirshey]

Alright... back to the rest of the day.

Derrick offered to split the weight with me since we still had a long way to hike. As we shuffled gear in packs, he started glassing some of the most remote and rugged terrain visible from our location... terrain that even intimidates the likes of us. As if taunting us, Derrick's glassing exposed the location of a great bull and roughly a dozen or greater cows and smaller bulls. We talked about potential paths to get there the following day, and continued up the mountain to view another area we suspected bull elk would like to linger. Intermixed snow flurries made glassing difficult, but when we conquered the desired elevation for the day, we were easily able to locate a bachelor group of 3 bulls right where they should be. They were bedded in a burned out basin in the snow roughly 500 feet from the top of the world. We discussed stalking options for future days, and headed back to camp amidst the collapsing fog and snow.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtP78cXh2eI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link  video of snow flurries on our way up the mountain

[hirshey]

The next morning, the coffee wasn't the only thing brewing. We knew Michael was 3 days out, which meant we had 3 days to go big and try our hand at some of the most remote, wily, challenging terrain and the bulls that call it home before we needed to temper our pace a little for our flatlander companion. We decided to make an attempt at the big bull hanging in the far reaches of where we could consider trekking in a day. While we wouldn't see daylight for another few hours, our plan was starting to come together for a big attack. We packed up Deadsleds for hauling, emergency gear for staying overnight, extra food and water and hit the trail. Daylight caught up with our motions about the time we were to start our ascent on the rocky, unforgiving terrain. This was the day I could take the safety off and potentially harvest my first bull!

[hirshey]

  sizing up the attack