We made it back safely from the rugged sheep filled land up in the Brooks Range, near Kotzebue. The spot we went to this year was amazing! Beautiful valleys and river beds that stretched for miles. My name was drawn for the permit, so I was no longer providing the entertainment value on the trip, I was the hunter!
Our "runway" this year was covered in blueberries. At night when we would return from a day of scouting and hunting sheep, I would pick berries. I was able to get almost a gallon, which may not seem like a lot but it was all I could handle after the long days. 
We saw 3 "legal" sheep. That means they had a full curl horn. One on the first day even. We hiked up the steep part of the mountain and separated for a bit. I turned to Zeb when I saw it and by the time I could get him over to me, the sheep got scared and ran off. 
Aside from sheep, a caribou, and birds, each day we saw between 4-8 bears. Some were the same as the day before and some were new. On one occasion we saw a large grizzly chase a sow and 3 cubs up a mountain. That was right after we met this guy on the river bed! Amazing, it felt as though we were in Katmai National Park, except we were the only people there among a whole lot of bears.
On the third day, the weather was too bad to depart and find a new spot for the next few days so we stayed. We braved the pouring rain and headed down the creek bed to the far mountain where we had been seeing the most sheep. In the downpour, we made it to the north side of the mountain and saw some promising movement. 
Sure enough it was a 3/4 ram on the hill. As we hiked closer on the steep slope, we noticed a full curl ram next to it. We decided to make our move, as we climbed even closer, a full curl plus, popped up as well. It was amazing! If I had been able to notice what I was seeing right away, I would have had a shot at 50 yds. Since it took a while for us to register what we saw, the shot got farther away. They scurried up the mountain into the jagged outcroppings that humans need climbing gear to venture into. They are amazing animals! We hope to try again in September!
I am glad to have a patient, loving guide to share these experiences with! Hopefully I can practice a little more for next time incase the sheep is 250 yds. away again!
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