How hard can ice fishing be, right? The first time my warm weather fishing buddy and I attacked the ice fishing scene, we did it with an axe and a couple of full length fishing poles. The resulting comedy of errors was both hysterical and immensely frustrating, ended with a tiny crappie frozen to the ice and embedded a desire to get it right.
I could scarcely believe it when I checked the drawing results. After just 7 years of applying, I had drawn a coveted Montana mountain goat tag! Helping my odds of drawing dramatically was the fact that the hunting area began 22 miles from the nearest trailhead, deep in Bob Marshall Wilderness, requiring the services of an outfitter or a ton of miles backpacking. With limited resources, a stubborn Do It Yourself (DIY) streak, a willingness to learn and an unrealistically positive outlook stoked by hours of reading Cameron Hanes stories, I decided this would be the perfect indoctrination into the solo backcountry backpacking cult. Continue Reading
I must just have a penchant for being miserable. Whenever I plan my hunts, I feel compelled to find a trip that will strain my physical and mental limits, and then shove me past them. My search for a bighorn ram in Montana’s backcountry certainly fit the bill.
I promised myself that if I ever had the opportunity to hunt bighorns, I would do it the right way. I’d climb high and hunt hard to find and kill a mature ram. My plan was to use horses to pack camp into the backcountry and hunt the high alpine basins on foot. We left the wall tent and wood stove at home, and brought the backpacking gear with no room for anything extra.