dustinf
Active member
Well Men, prepare for disappointment. Obviously, I'm sitting in front of a computer and not up on the mountain for the opener.
In 4 days of scouting it became painfully obvious, it's just physically impossible for a lone person to get a sheep out of those mountains.
I came off the mountain Friday to regroup, and thought of finding a packer in the Red Lodge area that could assist if I did kill. I eventually decided it wasn't a financial possibility for me this year.
I also explored the maps and information from the biologist, and the only feasible way for me to hunt/pack out a sheep in the unit was to glass the rock slides along the Beartooth Highway. Basically, sit in my truck and glass the mountain hoping to catch a ram crossing into Montana from Wyoming. This really isn't how I hunt, or how I wanted to spend the week.
After some brief discussion with my Wife, I decided to leave Montana Friday evening, saving a week for a possible return later in the season.
Here's my pictures and a brief summary of my 4 days on the mountain.
Tuesday morning just on the trail. I covered 9 miles to my camp for the night, and then spent the evening bushwhacking, exploring a possible route to the area I thought may hold sheep. Couldn't find a safe way up.
My first night camp spot, and by far my favorite.
Wednesday I climbed up further, to explore another possible route. Luckily, I crossed paths with a fisherman who had just fished the lake I hoped to hunt near. He explained the route up, and warned of the near vertical last 25 ft. That required hauling his pack up with a rope.
A view from the climb.
With detailed info of the route from the fisherman, I decided to hang my camp and just carry up a days worth of supplies to the lake I hoped to hunt. Well that was a wise decision, even with the light load it took me almost 3 hours to travel the 2 miles up to the area. At this point, I'm 14 miles and 3400 vertical feet from my truck. Reality started to sink in.
I spent Wednesday and Thursday morning exploring the area. There was no sign of the sheep yet, and according to some locals I talked with Friday the sheep are still in Wyoming.
In 4 days of scouting it became painfully obvious, it's just physically impossible for a lone person to get a sheep out of those mountains.
I came off the mountain Friday to regroup, and thought of finding a packer in the Red Lodge area that could assist if I did kill. I eventually decided it wasn't a financial possibility for me this year.
I also explored the maps and information from the biologist, and the only feasible way for me to hunt/pack out a sheep in the unit was to glass the rock slides along the Beartooth Highway. Basically, sit in my truck and glass the mountain hoping to catch a ram crossing into Montana from Wyoming. This really isn't how I hunt, or how I wanted to spend the week.
After some brief discussion with my Wife, I decided to leave Montana Friday evening, saving a week for a possible return later in the season.
Here's my pictures and a brief summary of my 4 days on the mountain.
Tuesday morning just on the trail. I covered 9 miles to my camp for the night, and then spent the evening bushwhacking, exploring a possible route to the area I thought may hold sheep. Couldn't find a safe way up.
My first night camp spot, and by far my favorite.
Wednesday I climbed up further, to explore another possible route. Luckily, I crossed paths with a fisherman who had just fished the lake I hoped to hunt near. He explained the route up, and warned of the near vertical last 25 ft. That required hauling his pack up with a rope.
A view from the climb.
With detailed info of the route from the fisherman, I decided to hang my camp and just carry up a days worth of supplies to the lake I hoped to hunt. Well that was a wise decision, even with the light load it took me almost 3 hours to travel the 2 miles up to the area. At this point, I'm 14 miles and 3400 vertical feet from my truck. Reality started to sink in.
I spent Wednesday and Thursday morning exploring the area. There was no sign of the sheep yet, and according to some locals I talked with Friday the sheep are still in Wyoming.
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