Southern Elk
Well-known member
That's crazy! I've never been in the beartooths, but they look far more formidable than any other mountains that I've seen in Montana. I hope to spend some time there one day.
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That's crazy! I've never been in the beartooths, but they look far more formidable than any other mountains that I've seen in Montana. I hope to spend some time there one day.
Schaaf
Well-known member
I believe MTGomer met with the guy last year. I'm sure he'll get on and tell a little more about him.
So... The story of Chris Shaul from what I know is an interesting one.
I met Mr. Shaul on Easter 2015 in the Myers Creek drainage, which is a tributary to the Stillwater River near Nye. My wife had to work that day, and with no family in the area, what better to do than go shed hunting with my dog? Actually that day was the first day he found a shed on his own.
The day was a rain/snow mix, turning to snow as I got a little higher. I was the only vehicle at the trailhead. There were no tracks in the mud on the way to the trailhead either.
We made a big loop and were heading back to the truck and I heard a dog barking. Figured someone else was on their way up, which was kind of weird. It was getting late and the weather was really bad. All of a sudden out of the brush comes a black lab barking at us, followed by a man straight out of Louis L'amour. I mean hand made leather clothing, mocassins, handmade leather collar on dog etc..
He told me he was camping there and had a horse, was a pastor etc.. and wanted me to come down to his fire to show me something.
When I got there, he told me more about how he'd come up from the south, bought this horse in Wyoming and rode it up to MT. He just had a shelter made out of some canvas, no real tent. I noticed all his horse tack and everything was leather. He made it all himself.
He wanted to find work on a Christian ranch where he could work with horses and teach people about God. He read some scripture and talked about the Resurrection for a few minutes.
Before I left he started asking me about how to get to Cooke and what the weather would be like. I told him ABSOLUTELY NOT, until at least mid-June, probably later. He asked about the Nye General store and what they sold etc.. He was definitely living this way by choice. He wasn't hungry or broke from what I could tell.
Before I left, he gave me some papers with some scripture written on him.
Its hard to really explain here in typed words the way the whole thing felt, but the encounter really left an impact on me for some reason. I'm not particularly religious, but it got me thinking about a lot of things, and I even kind of started to doubt whether I ever even seen him or if this whole thing ever happened. I mean.. Its 2015, there aren't cowboy preachers living nomadically off the land, in handmade clothing that you just happen to encounter in a blizzard in the middle of nowhere on Easter...
I always kind of wondered what he was up to after that...I've got to do some work, I'll tell the second half of this in a bit and put up a few pictures
I met Mr. Shaul on Easter 2015 in the Myers Creek drainage, which is a tributary to the Stillwater River near Nye. My wife had to work that day, and with no family in the area, what better to do than go shed hunting with my dog? Actually that day was the first day he found a shed on his own.
The day was a rain/snow mix, turning to snow as I got a little higher. I was the only vehicle at the trailhead. There were no tracks in the mud on the way to the trailhead either.
We made a big loop and were heading back to the truck and I heard a dog barking. Figured someone else was on their way up, which was kind of weird. It was getting late and the weather was really bad. All of a sudden out of the brush comes a black lab barking at us, followed by a man straight out of Louis L'amour. I mean hand made leather clothing, mocassins, handmade leather collar on dog etc..
He told me he was camping there and had a horse, was a pastor etc.. and wanted me to come down to his fire to show me something.
When I got there, he told me more about how he'd come up from the south, bought this horse in Wyoming and rode it up to MT. He just had a shelter made out of some canvas, no real tent. I noticed all his horse tack and everything was leather. He made it all himself.
He wanted to find work on a Christian ranch where he could work with horses and teach people about God. He read some scripture and talked about the Resurrection for a few minutes.
Before I left he started asking me about how to get to Cooke and what the weather would be like. I told him ABSOLUTELY NOT, until at least mid-June, probably later. He asked about the Nye General store and what they sold etc.. He was definitely living this way by choice. He wasn't hungry or broke from what I could tell.
Before I left, he gave me some papers with some scripture written on him.
Its hard to really explain here in typed words the way the whole thing felt, but the encounter really left an impact on me for some reason. I'm not particularly religious, but it got me thinking about a lot of things, and I even kind of started to doubt whether I ever even seen him or if this whole thing ever happened. I mean.. Its 2015, there aren't cowboy preachers living nomadically off the land, in handmade clothing that you just happen to encounter in a blizzard in the middle of nowhere on Easter...
I always kind of wondered what he was up to after that...I've got to do some work, I'll tell the second half of this in a bit and put up a few pictures
Here is a link to the story.
....This May I snow shoed into the Beartooth at the approximate time Chris died. I was it approximately the same elevation, general region he was in. There are some pics above. You can see just how snowy it was at that time.
I saw the story in the paper when they first found him and knew immediately from the description who it was.
The next weekend after it was in the paper, i headed up the Stillwater from Woodbine, got a ways up, and climbed a good bit up a mountain to view the river valley hoping to maybe see a horse. At the end of the day, I ran into the lady that heads the USFS trail crew, Ally/Allie (sp?) She told me that prior to him being found deceased, he had been camping above Sioux Charlie and told her he wanted to ride to Cooke, and that she warned him about the snow levels.
Anyway, we talked about him a bit and traded info of what we knew, and I headed out.
July 20th rolls around and its time to go do a bit of sheep scouting.. unbeknownst to me at the time, the horse had been found the day prior to our departure. Made a 5 day, 30 mile loop through the mountains and were heading back, on what was supposed to be a relaxing evening of fishing along the river and camping a short 3-4 miles from the truck for a quick jaunt out in the AM after more fishing. As we're walking, suddenly there is horse sign, alot of it. Like what you would see at an outfitter camp, at the end of hunting season, grass eaten down all over, etc.. It took a minute or two to catch on to what was going on, because the trial crew had been in the area recently, but turned up another trail and it was obvious they had not cleared this section, so I knew it wasn't their mules. Then, there it is, under some trees, the saddle, just like pictured in Oak's link, with the cross on the cantle, handmade saddle bags, that same ancient Bible in handmade leather cover he read the scripture out of hooked to the saddle horn. We marked it with ribbon, GPS, and I sent a 'check in' message to the wife with my spot to be triple sure we had the location marked. Took photos, video, etc.. and started yelling for Grace, as we made our way out (we didn't know she'd been rescued a few days before.) We took some of his writings, just like the ones he'd given me and the Bible figuring they might have some value to the family and headed for the truck.
We used the phone at the Soda Butte Lodge in Cooke to call the Park County Sheriff's dept. and met up with a deputy in Gardiner around midnight to give him the belongings we brought out. At that point we found out that some locals from Cooke had found Grace and located the tack, but didn't have the means to get it all out.
Below is a link to the story of them finding Grace.
Out of respect for the dead, its probably not appropriate to put up pictures of all his belongings.
This song that I found in his saddle bag really hit home though, considering the circumstances of his death.
http://www.ktvq.com/story/32572606/injured-alone-in-the-wilds-amazing-grace-is-on-the-mend
I saw the story in the paper when they first found him and knew immediately from the description who it was.
The next weekend after it was in the paper, i headed up the Stillwater from Woodbine, got a ways up, and climbed a good bit up a mountain to view the river valley hoping to maybe see a horse. At the end of the day, I ran into the lady that heads the USFS trail crew, Ally/Allie (sp?) She told me that prior to him being found deceased, he had been camping above Sioux Charlie and told her he wanted to ride to Cooke, and that she warned him about the snow levels.
Anyway, we talked about him a bit and traded info of what we knew, and I headed out.
July 20th rolls around and its time to go do a bit of sheep scouting.. unbeknownst to me at the time, the horse had been found the day prior to our departure. Made a 5 day, 30 mile loop through the mountains and were heading back, on what was supposed to be a relaxing evening of fishing along the river and camping a short 3-4 miles from the truck for a quick jaunt out in the AM after more fishing. As we're walking, suddenly there is horse sign, alot of it. Like what you would see at an outfitter camp, at the end of hunting season, grass eaten down all over, etc.. It took a minute or two to catch on to what was going on, because the trial crew had been in the area recently, but turned up another trail and it was obvious they had not cleared this section, so I knew it wasn't their mules. Then, there it is, under some trees, the saddle, just like pictured in Oak's link, with the cross on the cantle, handmade saddle bags, that same ancient Bible in handmade leather cover he read the scripture out of hooked to the saddle horn. We marked it with ribbon, GPS, and I sent a 'check in' message to the wife with my spot to be triple sure we had the location marked. Took photos, video, etc.. and started yelling for Grace, as we made our way out (we didn't know she'd been rescued a few days before.) We took some of his writings, just like the ones he'd given me and the Bible figuring they might have some value to the family and headed for the truck.
We used the phone at the Soda Butte Lodge in Cooke to call the Park County Sheriff's dept. and met up with a deputy in Gardiner around midnight to give him the belongings we brought out. At that point we found out that some locals from Cooke had found Grace and located the tack, but didn't have the means to get it all out.
Below is a link to the story of them finding Grace.
Out of respect for the dead, its probably not appropriate to put up pictures of all his belongings.
This song that I found in his saddle bag really hit home though, considering the circumstances of his death.
http://www.ktvq.com/story/32572606/injured-alone-in-the-wilds-amazing-grace-is-on-the-mend
Southern Elk
Well-known member
Thanks for sharing your story MTGomer. That's really interesting.
Bucksnort31
New member
Thanks for sharing all this... Great pics! I posted the Newbie question a while back and my interest in sheep hunting... which is now goat hunting. Only because I want to go sooner than later. And these pictures are so good! They give you a feel for what it's like. Even though I doubt I can feel the lactic acid your body is feeling in these pics!
Carnage2011
Well-known member
That's an incredible story! Thank you for sharing.
C Bow
Active member
WOW, Thanks for sharing. A horse named Grace and a dog named Mercy. Amazing story Thanks for sharing.
duckhunt
Well-known member
Very interesting story.
Gerald Martin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2009
- Messages
- 8,643
Truth stranger than fiction.... amazing.
Looking at the forecast...
Today is the day the mosquitoes DIE. Hopefully some unsuspecting backpackers don't share in their fate. It's going to get nasty up there today/tonight. I'm pushing back a scouting trip by a day to let it clear up a bit.
Today is the day the mosquitoes DIE. Hopefully some unsuspecting backpackers don't share in their fate. It's going to get nasty up there today/tonight. I'm pushing back a scouting trip by a day to let it clear up a bit.
Slick
Member
I'm very curious about something. I read this story and it got me thinking... A few years ago while attending school in Bozeman I traveled back to my parent's place in Minot, ND. This was ~3 years ago now. I have a tendency to pick up hitch hikers and while traveling through Williston this older gentleman dressed head to toe in denim, western boots, and a felt hat had his thumb up. I pulled over and he hopped in. He only needed to go a few miles, but was frustrated with the lack of work. The only book he had with him was a bible, and he told me he was coming up from the South. I don't think I ever got his name, and if I did my memory lacks me now. He had worked with horses in his youth and into his adult life. Raising, training and selling them. He never said anything about being a preacher, but he came to ND looking to work on a ranch. I told him that heading to Montana might give him a better chance of working as a hand on a large operation. He then asked about the Bob Marshall wilderness, a place that he could go live and die. The mood turned a bit sour when he started to speak like this, but he wanted to know how to get there, what it was like, etc. I haven't been able to read all the links, but the wheels in my head started spinning and I wonder if this wasn't the same guy.
Edit: Was just able to read the news stories and it doesnt sound like the same individual. Crazy none the less. Thanks Gomer!
Edit: Was just able to read the news stories and it doesnt sound like the same individual. Crazy none the less. Thanks Gomer!
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teej89
Well-known member
Wow... that's a great story and that song he wrote... couldn't imagine what he was going thru as he wrote that.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!
Southern Elk
Well-known member
MTGomer, please post up pics and a report when you get back from scouting. This is one of my favorite threads. Good luck to everyone giving it another shot this year!
Aussie_hunter_JD
Well-known member
I'm curious guys,
What constitutes a legal ram? I've heard people throw around the term "full curl" but i've seen rams taken on the internet that don't look like full curl but maybe Im thinking of the wrong thing.
Also what are the consequences of taking a ram an inch too short?
What constitutes a legal ram? I've heard people throw around the term "full curl" but i've seen rams taken on the internet that don't look like full curl but maybe Im thinking of the wrong thing.
Also what are the consequences of taking a ram an inch too short?
