Wayne in BC
New member
The canyon trail......
I could tell by little movements and his breathing that my partner was also awake in the crisp chilled air of the tent, and he knew i was as well. Neither of us spoke for 10 minutes, knowing that 4:00 am was too early with dawn still over 2-1/2 hours away but excitement had us wide awake. Hard to leave a warm sleeping bag with just part of ones nose and face enjoying the crisp air and scents of the night, each hoping the other would get up first and lay a fire in the little sheepherders stove.
Finally i spoke softly to Cliff, my close friend and guiding buddy.....
Lazy azzhole! i whispered, big puzzy! he whispered. Why are we whispering he said?
If you look closely at the pic i posted, towards the top right side there is a open grassy area high up. What you cannot see is the mile or so of trail that follows a steep canyon and is the only way to that prime feeding area for Elk, Deer, and also Bighorn Sheep. Known by us as the "Canyon Trail", it is a near nightmare for men and horses, often narrow with shear drops of several hundred feet in places. No way up the back side, the only option being climbing that mile steeply through continous deadfall in black timber from the valley floor as the pic will also tell you. The Sheep go right across the top of the talus slopes and boulders, all along the ridges above the valley, we could not.
We were hunting this rough area where i never took clients (too dangerous for dudes) for several reasons. Firstly, Cliff had guided for me the past two weeks and had to return soon to his "day job", but he wanted an Elk. Secondly, the Elk herd that lived there was almost never hunted and i did not personally hunt game that was accessible to my clients, bad for business. I had to manage the harvest in my area for the good of the herds as well as myself.
The hunters who had left camp for the Calgary airport the day before with one of my junior guides had each taken an Elk and a Black bear, due mostly to Cliff's abilities. Now with 3 days before the next group and our supplies came in, it was a break for us and a chance for Cliff to get an Elk for the freezer. In those days we thought nothing of packing the dang thing out 8 miles by horse
Continued........
I could tell by little movements and his breathing that my partner was also awake in the crisp chilled air of the tent, and he knew i was as well. Neither of us spoke for 10 minutes, knowing that 4:00 am was too early with dawn still over 2-1/2 hours away but excitement had us wide awake. Hard to leave a warm sleeping bag with just part of ones nose and face enjoying the crisp air and scents of the night, each hoping the other would get up first and lay a fire in the little sheepherders stove.
Finally i spoke softly to Cliff, my close friend and guiding buddy.....
Lazy azzhole! i whispered, big puzzy! he whispered. Why are we whispering he said?
If you look closely at the pic i posted, towards the top right side there is a open grassy area high up. What you cannot see is the mile or so of trail that follows a steep canyon and is the only way to that prime feeding area for Elk, Deer, and also Bighorn Sheep. Known by us as the "Canyon Trail", it is a near nightmare for men and horses, often narrow with shear drops of several hundred feet in places. No way up the back side, the only option being climbing that mile steeply through continous deadfall in black timber from the valley floor as the pic will also tell you. The Sheep go right across the top of the talus slopes and boulders, all along the ridges above the valley, we could not.
We were hunting this rough area where i never took clients (too dangerous for dudes) for several reasons. Firstly, Cliff had guided for me the past two weeks and had to return soon to his "day job", but he wanted an Elk. Secondly, the Elk herd that lived there was almost never hunted and i did not personally hunt game that was accessible to my clients, bad for business. I had to manage the harvest in my area for the good of the herds as well as myself.
The hunters who had left camp for the Calgary airport the day before with one of my junior guides had each taken an Elk and a Black bear, due mostly to Cliff's abilities. Now with 3 days before the next group and our supplies came in, it was a break for us and a chance for Cliff to get an Elk for the freezer. In those days we thought nothing of packing the dang thing out 8 miles by horse
Continued........
