As a teenager in the 1950s, with a love of hunting, I was exposed to many sheep hunting adventures in the hunting press. Jack O’Conner wrote extensively about sheep hunting in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In1957George Landreth wrote a story for Outdoor Life magazine about sheep hunting in Mongolia and then in 1960, Elgin Gates wrote about his epic hunt on the Chinese border for Marco Polo rams. I was hooked! In 1963, at 24 years old, I went to our local grade school to watch film by an Alaskan guide about hunting sheep, moose, and big bears. I struck a deal with him for a drop camp in the Alaska Range to hunt Dall sheep on my own. I gave him a $100 deposit on the $450 hunt price. That summer he called and informed me the Alaska legislature had passed the guide law, and he would have to guide me for $1,000. That was financially out of my reach, and I cancelled, and he sent back my deposit. My sheep hunting dreams were put on hold indefinitely.
In 1965, in a public lottery, Oregon let the first legal Bighorn sheep tag. I was in that first draw and myname has been in the hat every year for 57 years. I am still waiting!In the late 1990s I started applying for sheep tags in six western states. Now, 20-plus years later,with apile of bonus points, I am still waiting!
In 2006, I joined Oregon FNAWS, thinking maybe if I gave back to the sheep world, karma would bring mea sheep tag. After 15-plus years and lots of dedication to sheep conservation, I received our Oregonchapter’s Lifetime Service Award at this year’s spring banquet. (But no sheep tag.)
In August 2018, at age 79, I finally was able to book a sheep hunt. I booked with Harold Grinde at GanaRiver Outfitters and was put on a waiting list. One year later, Haroldcalled and said I was on the firsthorseback hunt for 2020. I sent the required deposit and waited.
COVID came, the border to Canada closed, and I waited some more.
I’d had my aortic valve replaced in my heart in 2017 and then in early 2020 I was told I needed a full kneereplacement. Because of COVID, surgeries were being postponed and cancelled and I spent two yearstrying to juggle my surgery between sheep hunting times. I received my new knee on November 1, 2021with eight months to rehab before my July 15th2022 sheep hunt.
One week before my scheduled departure for Canada, Harold called me and said because of floodingissues his horses were delayed getting to camp. They would be a week late so now I would be doing abackpack hunt!
On July 13, 2022, Iflew from the Portland airport to Edmonton, Alberta on the first leg of my 60-yeardream. I was finally going sheep hunting!
The Makenzie Mountains are AMAZING! Gana River Outfitters are AMAZING and Harold Grinde is moreAMAZING yet! After dinner on the first night in base camp, Harold assigned guides to the other fourhunters and then announced that he would be my guide. How special is that?!
The next day Harold flew out in their Piper Super Cub and set up camp. I was flown out later and landedon a knife-edge ridge top. That was exciting! As per regulations, we couldn’t hunt until the next day (afterflying) so we spent a leisurely evening in camp.
The next morning, we hiked to a vantage point above our camp and glassed for sheep. There were eightrams in a group a mile away across the canyon. We watched them all morning as they fed toward us. Weworked our way toward them to close the gap. At mid-afternoon, we were 400 yards away and I shot thelargest ram in the group of eight. He was a mature, full curl, nine-and-a-half-year-old. I was happy beyondwords.
The pack out of that canyon was brutal! I’d thought that hiking four miles a day had me in good shape, butI neglected to factor in the fact that I am 82 years old. The years take their toll and aftera few hours, the stamina was gone! Thanks to my super guide, we made it back to our camp and spent the night. The nextmorning the Super Cub flew in and took us back to base camp.
I spent the next nine days loafing, hiking, horseback riding and revelingin the awesome beauty of PalmerLake and the Makenzie Mountains.
It took 60 years, but I finally realized my dream to be a sheep hunter!
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