Sheep hunting is a right of passage for the hunter that just wants more. Sheep hunting can be a grueling, physically exhausting experience, yet somehow in the end, you just feel a need to do it again.
After 22 years of sheep hunting myself, I still experience the pain trekking with an overloaded pack, the complete and utter exhaustion of hiking all day, heavy. I also still wake up when it's over, ready and willing to do it again. Over and over.
For me, I love to be "On Top of the World" and feel as if I'm the first one who's ever set foot there, overlooking the grand view around me. I don't mind the physical work, though I still stop every 50 yards climbing steep terrain to let my rapid heartbeat fade and catch my breath. I no longer have mental blocks to climbing or descending near impossible terrain, I just know I can do what I can do, and one step at a time I will get there.
This article is not about me though. It's about a young friend of mine.
Harrison Gottschling is a young Alaskan who has been overcome by the ever familiar desire to take a Dall sheep. He's a new sheep hunter with an epic story of his own. It's raw and heartfelt, not without emotion or missteps.
Advice and preparation are two things to take serious before you go sheep hunting. No matter how ready you feel though, mistakes in the field are inevitable. We all know what it's like to learn things the hard way. These are the best lessons.
Whether you are a seasoned sheep hunter or a member of the Wild Sheep Foundation's < 1 Club, you will enjoy this heartfelt story of a new sheep hunter and his quest for a Dall ram.
https://soundcloud.com/user-139657843/episode-58-dall-sheep-in-interior-alaska
Follow Harrison today on Instagram @gottschling.ak
Best of luck out there! It's your world to conquer.
