Aug 1 woke up at 2 am to untangle a horse and catch another. It's hard to get back to sleep as China is eating just ouside the tent. Up at 5:30 to water the horses, then saddled up and hit the trail at 7:30. Four caribou are spotted and we turn our heads 120 degrees and there are two dozen ewes, lambs, and banana rams. We made a stalk anyway just in case there happened to be a legal ram hanging on the fringe. We get up and around them to glass the next range over and find two other bands numbering 7 & 9 so the spotting scope comes out and there is one in the farthest group, which is a long way off, that may be legal. Even with the spotting scope it is hard to tell. Rain moves in, a tarp comes out and I have a cat nap while the weather passes. There is no time to make a stalk on the far group so we head back to camp and the rain starts again and low cloud moves in. I'm tired.

Skylined

Aug 2 Got up at 6:30 to a light drizzle that turned into a heavy drizzle for an hour and a half. It stopped and we set out on foot at 9:30 up one drainage to the east. I found a grizzly claw but lost it on top when I took my camera out of my bag. We came across the same large band of ewes and lambs, as well as another band of six. It was cool and overcast but the wind chilled the hands. We explored a little more and found some beds out on a gnarly finger, with a comanding view and a couple of escape routes. This place is christened "Monarch Point". The wind is gusting enough to push us around a little and a storm is moving in fast. Small wet flakes start falling and cloud moves in restricting visibility. We head back to camp but come face to face with a big hairy beast up top. What the hell is this thing doing in sheep country? We are not even close to where there is a Limited Entry season for them. If this thing is this far north, then maybe there should be more tags given out.

Bloody Bison!

We head back down the hill to find the old tattered fly camp is inhabited! Two hunters from the coast have walked in, making a couple of caches along the way. Luckily no one got their knickers in a twist and we got along well. Aaron has been here before and is looking for something special while Curtis has a bow and is looking for his first ram. We shared info on the area, ate dinner and were swapping lies around the camp fire when all the horses turned and stared into the bush with their ears up and forward. We hear a branch snap as we grab our rifles and flashlights, but whatever was there is now gone. We have a game plan now to help each other out. Tomorrow Aaron and Curtis will pack up the mountain and head west while we go east. If they are not back in four days we will go looking for them. Aaron recommends the next drainage over. I go to sleep with a good feeling.

Ewes and lambs