>I just wanted to update everyone
>who may have followed....
>Got a repeat PET Scan, clear,
>meaning Cancer is dead! Doc
>prescribed Tagrisso, a Chemo drug
>designed to eradicate EGFR genetic
>Cancer mutation. My body is
>still weak, so it will
>be another 6-12 month before
>I back to "normal", but
>thank you for your prayers!!!
>
That's the best hunting story in this thread! Keep up the fight, hope you recover quickly!!!
A couple of my more recent memorable hunts... So many to choose from, but white sheep have me transfixed.
My wife and I went on a fly out sheep hunt here in Alaska, it was our 3rd sheep hunt. Going into it we were pretty cocky, having both taken a smoker ram, back to back the years before. Both were on draw tags here in AK. This was our first OTC hunt.
Long story, with many ups and downs. Including being charged by a sow with cubs, no rifle in hand... dislocating my shoulder 2x, having a wolverine steal meat out of our camp, sleeping on the mountain sans any sort of gear at a kill site, and packing out two really nice double broomed rams... about 8 miles from the strip, 3 of it involving a glacier crossing. We'll just say our cockyness hasn't waned. haha
A few yeas ago I drew a sheep tag for an area near my house. I hadn't drawn a sheep tag in a long time, and had gone on many successful OTC sheep hunts in between. The area the tag was for is a land of giants, but the herd numbers were down from years past. I had high hopes, but knew reality could set in if I held out for a true giant ram. The tag was a bit easier to draw, but would also be the hardest of the 3 "seasons" to hunt due to prior pressure and weather. A buddy and I hiked in the day before the season started. we made it to our first check point , and were consequently fogged in for 3 days. Not good on an 8 day hunt. The following 4 days included a lot of highs and lows, passing on rams, and watching the largest ram I've ever seen walk away at 600 yards through a cliff pass.
We left at the end of the week, heads hanging low, but with some sense of accomplishment. Having passed on rams that many would have taken, and just seeing the giant was almost enough for me to accept reality that I'd have my first un-punched sheep tag. The season was open for another 6 days, but a really bad storm was blowing in and it was a long ways back to where the rams live. I went back to work for two days and finally gave into my temptation of giving it a go again, the weather was breaking, and things were looking up. On short notice (and during the work week) I couldn't find anyone who could tag along. The wife dropped me off at the trailhead, and off I went by myself.
The next morning I was 16 miles from the trailhead watching a ram we'd seen the week prior living on a 1500' high cliff face. He was now in a very good spot. I waited him out all day until he came down out of of the cliffs and put a bullet in him... He was a true giant. My buddy came up that next day and helped pack him and camp out the following.
I would say that just about every sheep hunt I've been on was very memorable. Something about white sheep and the misery that goes with them that forges unforgettable memories.