recurveman
Well-known member
Good luck to everyone!! Shoot a ram and avoid the critters with claws!!!!
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Cav1
Well-known member
Ordered a brand new UTV clear back in June but it still hasn't come in so, once again, geeter and I have to take my poor old F-150 all the way down the Boulder River Road to the Boulder Pass trailhead. That always makes me nervous for some reason.
BirdManMike
Well-known member
Last time I was in there, it was cash only. The ATM charged me something like $5 to withdraw $20. The beer was $7. After paying $12 for a beer, with a dollar tip on top, the thought of stopping has never again crossed my mind even tho I drive past it a few times per month all summer. This was 4 or 5 years ago when I last stopped, tho.
I always get tricked into stopping in Thirsty Turtle in Big Timber for chow. I’ve never had a good meal, always leaving disappointed, but somehow I haven’t learnt my lesson as yet.
Good luck to everyone heading in!
shines@times
Well-known member
Well said, my fellow masochist!
shines@times
Well-known member
Or lobby for later season opening dates! Never saw sign of people or bears up on top (no where near the Beartooth Highway though) in the 1980's when 502 opened mid-November. Sub-zero temperatures flash-froze the meat and I could cache what wouldn't fit in the first pack under rocks too big for the coyotes to paw through. Maybe not today though; the dogs are likely stronger than this old fart now.
shines@times
Well-known member
Likely just one of those youngsters that you've been chiding everyone to leave alone so it can grow up.
shines@times
Well-known member
Damned impressive! I'm a day late and a dollr short of wishing you and Cav 1 a good hunt (been tied up three weeks+ trying to dispose of a couple properties), but you'll see this when you guys come out sore and bloody!
recurveman
Well-known member
only thing wrong with that picture.......I'm not in it!!!!!!
Looks great up there. Go find a ram!!!!
recurveman
Well-known member
1st ram reported in unit 500. Hope it was a HT member.
bsmith
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2014
- Messages
- 55
Been in all week, had the usual experience.....high wind, cold, snow, rain, no rams spotted, trout caught, and a midnight grizz in camp. Thankfully Mr Grizz left after a few minutes of yelling and screaming at him. Camped a little lower than planned and climbed 800’ to glass each morning but it worked out. Only ran into 3 other sheep hunters in there and some climbers. Out today to regroup and heading in on the south end of the unit tomorrow. Will post a few pics at some point. Good luck to all still in there, the winds are howling today!
bsmith
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2014
- Messages
- 55
bsmith
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2014
- Messages
- 55
recurveman
Well-known member
EYJONAS!
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2017
- Messages
- 6,714
Only the ram knows.
Cav1
Well-known member
I wish those pesky telemarketers who are so concerned about the extended warranty on my truck would offer me an extended warranty on my aging body. Every time I started trying to get into shape this summer one part or another gave out me. First, I got Planter fasciitis in both feet, then an old knee injury acted up, and finally one of four vertebrae in my neck damaged from a head-on collision at highway speeds slipped out of whack. But with a lot of PT and traction and a $100 knee brace I still managed to hobble slowly up into sheep country one more time and lost 14 pounds in the process.
View attachment IMG_0389.JPG
Geetar and I had a great hunt in absolutely stunning wilderness country. The Absaroka-Bearooth Wilderness can’t be adequately described or photographed…you have to experience it for yourself. The weather was beautiful for the most part, the summer-long drift smoke had dispersed, no grizz were encountered, and we did see plenty of sheep almost very day.
Here’s a few lessons and observations I jotted down, for whatever they’re worth.
There's still water in them thar hills.
View attachment IMG_0389.JPG
It ain't the top of the world, but you can see it from there.
Geetar and I had a great hunt in absolutely stunning wilderness country. The Absaroka-Bearooth Wilderness can’t be adequately described or photographed…you have to experience it for yourself. The weather was beautiful for the most part, the summer-long drift smoke had dispersed, no grizz were encountered, and we did see plenty of sheep almost very day.
Here’s a few lessons and observations I jotted down, for whatever they’re worth.
There's still water in them thar hills. - Especially after a summer of drought and record heat waves, I was very pleasantly surprised to find the Beartooths pretty well blessed when it came to high altitude water sources. We had no trouble finding good water close to our camps and even came across a nice little spring way up on a ridge saddle at about 9,800 feet. The Crazy Mountains or even the south Gallatins in September aren’t near as generous with water up high.
- Old lessons for traveling cross-country stay the same. Avoid the timber…also known as blowdown…whenever there’s meadows or clearings to use. Avoid walking on rocks when there’s dirt slopes. Sidehill and switchback when it’s to steep to go straight up. Never give up altitude gained unless you absolutely must. Try to avoid stepping on your tongue while climbing that last real steep pitch to the top.
- Optics can make you or break you and ought to include binos and a spotter in sheep country. My spotter is an older Swarovski 20-60x AT 80 HD from the late 90’s and it’s kind of a pig at 18 inches and just shy of five pounds. But it’s so good and I can’t afford anything better so I always find a way to schlep it on every sheep and goat hunt. Most times 20-30x would probably be sufficient. Even with quality glass when you get up much beyond 40x, let alone 60x, the shimmer of heat mirage, even in the winter over snow, pretty much negates the additional magnification. But the jump from binos to spotter is the different between finding a ram and telling if he’s legal from a distance before you put in the mileage to go after him.
- Sheep are modest. No matter how long and hard you stare at a ram that’s just shy of being legal, he ain’t going to grow an extra quarter or 3/8-inch of horn while you’re watching him.
- The old Ranger joke still applies: Pack light, freeze at night.
- Even a summer-long Montana tan will still sun burn at 10,000 feet.
- Trekking pole, hiking staff, walking stick…give it whatever fancy name you want, I’ve come to refer to mine as simply the “crutch”.
- Patrick F. McManus’ definition of a rendezvous and how well it works in the Rocky Mountains remains as apt today as when he first wrote about it in A Fine and Pleasant Misery back in the 70’s. “Every hunter knows what a rendezvous is. That’s where one hunter says to another, ‘Al, you take that side of the draw and I’ll take this one and we’ll meet in twenty minutes at the top of the hill.’ The next time they see each other is at a PTA meeting five years later in Pocatello. That’s a rendezvous.”
- The Boulder River Road still sucks and has even gotten worse in the past year.
- I quit drinking in 2003, but if anyone could truly perfect a dehydrated beer I reckon I might be tempted off the wagon long about day six and somewhere around ten thousand feet.
- Speaking of great inventions, I must note that the US Army has yet to act upon my 1988 official request for the development and issue of “Self-Propelled Rucksacks”. Let’s get with it you R&D slackers!!! It’s been better than 30 years now!!!
EYJONAS!
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2017
- Messages
- 6,714
Well I'll share a brief synopsis of my excursion and then a short story of how this hunt changed my thoughts on ever going solo hunting in the unlimited units or really any hunt changed my life.
High anticipation was upon me for this season I had plotted and planned so much before going into this trip. There was a chance to meet other fellow hunters there and there was the chance I would be solo too given opportunities and the realities of actually meeting guys that were in there a week ahead of me. Needless to say I ended up solo in a different part of the unit and it wasn't a reality to meet up once I got up there.
A brief overview:
Step 1.
On the way in I traverse through a lot of this shit. For about 2k feet up.
Life up there is great and I enjoy some great camping and eats at the Skytop Cafe. While glassing the tooths.
Saw some incredible country up there lots of goats and bears no sheep.
Now here's the humbling part....
Shortly after the goat photo I decide to move camp for the fourth time I want to get a better closer look from a different angle. I load up everything and begin the move. On the descent with my loaded pack I cross a skree/boulder field and with the winds ripping I lose my balance and go down very hard and hear a snap pop from my ankle. A ghostly and haunting familiar feeling of fracturing it from years past...... I'm screaming wondering if I can even put weight on it. Holding my boot I calm myself and try not to panic and think the worst. After about 15 minutes I decide to try and stand up in the rocks. I can walk but not great. My decision to move turned into a I need to get the f$#% outta here. So, very slowly and calculated I make it down the face to a creek bottom I begin to follow it out. It takes me about 3.5 hours to drop the 3k feet to the first major creek crossing which was absolutely horrible to do with a heavy pack and one good leg. I cross it then begin the cross country trek to my pickup crossing small creeks, dead fall, beating through brush thickets I come to the last climb up. I'm really hurting bad at this point I have many moments where I think, I'm just gonna leave my shit and come get it with some friends. I decide hell no, I'm getting myself outta here. At this point I'm about 7hrs in from when I went down. I can only take about 20 steps or so and then I have to sit. The last mile I found somewhat of an old hunting trail cut in, it was a god send without it I don't know if I would've made it that night. It takes me about 9 hours to get back to my vehicle. I was literally dragging my right leg and using my poles and my good let to continue out. It was honestly one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had, it taught me that no matter what or who you think you are in one moment you can be flat "done." So many things can happen up there or anywhere I encourage everyone to find a partner. I've done these trips solo many times 4 and 5 day excursions up there and haven't had any issues.
I'm thankful that my injury really was minor to what could've happened. How everything worked out was truly a blessing after the incident, given I already had my camp packed, routes, logs and rocks placed in areas for support and a small faint trail at the end that took me right to my truck. It was unreal, this isn't a sob story or some look at me deal. This is reality of solo alpine hunting, it's dangerous. I hope people read this and think twice about it. This forum is a great tool to network for hunts and trips, I've met some phenomenal people on here and some are good friends now. I encourage people to do that especially for this hunt.
*a happy little stream, in a happy little mountain scene
I can't wait to get healed up and back up there, I'm on ice right now and keeping off it, I have a torn tendon and a small fracture on the ball. I'll be up there again soon but it won't be solo ever again.
BTW I'd rather eat Johnsonville summer sausage and puke my guts out for 2 days walking outta there again 100 times over than the trek I just had with a fractured ankle.... that's no lie.
Good luck to everyone out there and be safe
High anticipation was upon me for this season I had plotted and planned so much before going into this trip. There was a chance to meet other fellow hunters there and there was the chance I would be solo too given opportunities and the realities of actually meeting guys that were in there a week ahead of me. Needless to say I ended up solo in a different part of the unit and it wasn't a reality to meet up once I got up there.
A brief overview:
Step 1.
On the way in I traverse through a lot of this shit. For about 2k feet up.
Life up there is great and I enjoy some great camping and eats at the Skytop Cafe. While glassing the tooths.
Saw some incredible country up there lots of goats and bears no sheep.
Now here's the humbling part....
Shortly after the goat photo I decide to move camp for the fourth time I want to get a better closer look from a different angle. I load up everything and begin the move. On the descent with my loaded pack I cross a skree/boulder field and with the winds ripping I lose my balance and go down very hard and hear a snap pop from my ankle. A ghostly and haunting familiar feeling of fracturing it from years past...... I'm screaming wondering if I can even put weight on it. Holding my boot I calm myself and try not to panic and think the worst. After about 15 minutes I decide to try and stand up in the rocks. I can walk but not great. My decision to move turned into a I need to get the f$#% outta here. So, very slowly and calculated I make it down the face to a creek bottom I begin to follow it out. It takes me about 3.5 hours to drop the 3k feet to the first major creek crossing which was absolutely horrible to do with a heavy pack and one good leg. I cross it then begin the cross country trek to my pickup crossing small creeks, dead fall, beating through brush thickets I come to the last climb up. I'm really hurting bad at this point I have many moments where I think, I'm just gonna leave my shit and come get it with some friends. I decide hell no, I'm getting myself outta here. At this point I'm about 7hrs in from when I went down. I can only take about 20 steps or so and then I have to sit. The last mile I found somewhat of an old hunting trail cut in, it was a god send without it I don't know if I would've made it that night. It takes me about 9 hours to get back to my vehicle. I was literally dragging my right leg and using my poles and my good let to continue out. It was honestly one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had, it taught me that no matter what or who you think you are in one moment you can be flat "done." So many things can happen up there or anywhere I encourage everyone to find a partner. I've done these trips solo many times 4 and 5 day excursions up there and haven't had any issues.
I'm thankful that my injury really was minor to what could've happened. How everything worked out was truly a blessing after the incident, given I already had my camp packed, routes, logs and rocks placed in areas for support and a small faint trail at the end that took me right to my truck. It was unreal, this isn't a sob story or some look at me deal. This is reality of solo alpine hunting, it's dangerous. I hope people read this and think twice about it. This forum is a great tool to network for hunts and trips, I've met some phenomenal people on here and some are good friends now. I encourage people to do that especially for this hunt.
*a happy little stream, in a happy little mountain scene
I can't wait to get healed up and back up there, I'm on ice right now and keeping off it, I have a torn tendon and a small fracture on the ball. I'll be up there again soon but it won't be solo ever again.
BTW I'd rather eat Johnsonville summer sausage and puke my guts out for 2 days walking outta there again 100 times over than the trek I just had with a fractured ankle.... that's no lie.
Good luck to everyone out there and be safe
BAKPAKR
Well-known member
Wow, I am sorry your hunt ended that way but I am glad you made it out. I wish you a speedy recovery.Well I'll share a brief synopsis of my excursion and then a short story of how this hunt changed my thoughts on ever going solo hunting in the unlimited units or really any hunt changed my life.
High anticipation was upon me for this season I had plotted and planned so much before going into this trip. There was a chance to meet other fellow hunters there and there was the chance I would be solo too given opportunities and the realities of actually meeting guys that were in there a week ahead of me. Needless to say I ended up solo in a different part of the unit and it wasn't a reality to meet up once I got up there.
A brief overview:
Step 1.
View attachment 194843
On the way in I traverse through a lot of this shit. For about 2k feet up.
View attachment 194845
Life up there is great and I enjoy some great camping and eats at the Skytop Cafe. While glassing the tooths.
View attachment 194846
View attachment 194848
Saw some incredible country up there lots of goats and bears no sheep.
View attachment 194849
Now here's the humbling part....
Shortly after the goat photo I decide to move camp for the fourth time I want to get a better closer look from a different angle. I load up everything and begin the move. On the descent with my loaded pack I cross a skree/boulder field and with the winds ripping I lose my balance and go down very hard and hear a snap pop from my ankle. A ghostly and haunting familiar feeling of fracturing it from years past...... I'm screaming wondering if I can even put weight on it. Holding my boot I calm myself and try not to panic and think the worst. After about 15 minutes I decide to try and stand up in the rocks. I can walk but not great. My decision to move turned into a I need to get the f$#% outta here. So, very slowly and calculated I make it down the face to a creek bottom I begin to follow it out. It takes me about 3.5 hours to drop the 3k feet to the first major creek crossing which was absolutely horrible to do with a heavy pack and one good leg. I cross it then begin the cross country trek to my pickup crossing small creeks, dead fall, beating through brush thickets I come to the last climb up. I'm really hurting bad at this point I have many moments where I think, I'm just gonna leave my shit and come get it with some friends. I decide hell no, I'm getting myself outta here. At this point I'm about 7hrs in from when I went down. I can only take about 20 steps or so and then I have to sit. The last mile I found somewhat of an old hunting trail cut in, it was a god send without it I don't know if I would've made it that night. It takes me about 9 hours to get back to my vehicle. I was literally dragging my right leg and using my poles and my good let to continue out. It was honestly one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had, it taught me that no matter what or who you think you are in one moment you can be flat "done." So many things can happen up there or anywhere I encourage everyone to find a partner. I've done these trips solo many times 4 and 5 day excursions up there and haven't had any issues.
I'm thankful that my injury really was minor to what could've happened. How everything worked out was truly a blessing after the incident, given I already had my camp packed, routes, logs and rocks placed in areas for support and a small faint trail at the end that took me right to my truck. It was unreal, this isn't a sob story or some look at me deal. This is reality of solo alpine hunting, it's dangerous. I hope people read this and think twice about it. This forum is a great tool to network for hunts and trips, I've met some phenomenal people on here and some are good friends now. I encourage people to do that especially for this hunt.
*a happy little stream, in a happy little mountain scene
View attachment 194866
I can't wait to get healed up and back up there, I'm on ice right now and keeping off it, I have a torn tendon and a small fracture on the ball. I'll be up there again soon but it won't be solo ever again.
BTW I'd rather eat Johnsonville summer sausage and puke my guts out for 2 days walking outta there again 100 times over than the trek I just had with a fractured ankle.... that's no lie.
Good luck to everyone out there and be safe
Cav1
Well-known member
Glad you made it out of there safely and here's hoping your injuries heal quick, EYJONAS; I'm sure you have other tags to fill in a few weeks. To those of us who do a lot of solo hunting, that's a really sobering story and an eye-opener. I don't go solo near as much as I used to just because of the possibility of something like that happening.
