As we continued to sidehill in the shale just beneath the clouds, the ridgeline above us got closer and closer as it 'ramped' lower and lower in elevation. While there was zero visibility in the clouds, there was perfect visibility just beneath them. We hated walking in this direction because the eight rams we were after had disappeared over the saddle behind us the day before. We finally reached ...  Read More

We stood in the deep fog having a quiet conversation. If we moved forward and the rams were near us, there was a good chance we'd scare them completely out of the country. It was a chance we weren't willing to take. We decided to lose elevation to get under the fog, so we side-hilled through rock and shale to a lower ridgeline. We were literally walking just under a thick canopy of clouds. Sometim...  Read More

Though raining, we had good visibility in the valley, but the tops of the mountains where we were headed were socked in with clouds. By the time we reached a high saddle we were standing in those wet clouds and could only see 15 or 20 feet through the foggy mist. This is the place we'd seen the rams disappear the day before, but on this day they could have been standing 50 yards from us and we wou...  Read More

My sheep hunting partner, Dan, is a lot tougher than I am. I tend to try to sit out the rain, waiting for it to clear. He gets up and goes. Of course, I follow- because as a man, I must. I can't stand the thought of someone enduring hardship that I'm not willing to endure. It was day two. We'd carried a 'spike camp' off in the direction where we'd seen rams run and disappear the day before. The gi...  Read More

It was by far the biggest dall sheep I had ever seen. The massive horns were the result of both age and genetics. We had spotted a band of rams on the top of a 'pinnacle' mountain several miles away and were simply making our way towards them. This ram surprised us. Suddenly it was right there- just above us- easy rifle range. We were thinking of flipping a coin to see which of us would be the luc...  Read More

Heavy frost and stars shining brilliantly against a black sky. The Big Dipper is directly overhead and looks almost close enough to touch. In less than 2 hours we'll have a beautiful sunrise. Jesus once criticized people saying that they could read the signs in the sky and know the coming weather, but couldn't read the spiritual signs that were all around them. It's true. While America's depravity...  Read More

As I did the calculations in my mind, I thought I could drop those 20 trees in about an hour. This was good because that was all the time I had. I was wrong. The hillside was steep, lumpy, and had high brush and devil's club. Near the valley floor, the ground had little pockets of water that didn't even seem to have a bottom. At times I couldn't even stand up on the side of the tree where I needed...  Read More

From the top of the steep ridge, I identified about 20 large trees that needed to come down. But I also stood gazing from side to side as I considered the ORDER in which they needed to come down. You see, other trees would block many of them from falling in the direction that I needed them to fall. Those 'blocking' trees needed to go down first. Also, the trees farthest from me needed to go down f...  Read More

Let me ask- how hard are you willing to WORK for what you WANT? The answer really rests upon how badly you want something. I once packed out a whole dall sheep and my camp nearly 9 miles. I was motivated. Because I REALLY WANTED to get a sheep, I was willing to sacrifice- to suffer- do a tremendous amount of work. But to want something in theory (daydreaming) and to want something in reality (purs...  Read More

I had one of those rare moments last week. We were in between rain storms so I went Into the woods behind my house and sat down on a little knoll for more than an hour. What was rare? You have to live in Alaska to understand this, but it was PEACEFUL because I wasn't swarmed by mosquitoes or no-see-ums (biting gnats). Don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed the wilderness thousands of times when they w...  Read More

A lot of people 'wish'  they were more patient. If we translated their thinking into a prayer, it might look like- "Lord, give me patience, and I want it RIGHT NOW!" When you pray for patience, God does not miraculously bestow it upon you. No, he gives you opportunities to BE patient. While taking a deep breath or counting to 10 may allow you to better control your impatience, it does nothing to c...  Read More

The grass is mowed for the final time and mowers are stored for the winter. Getting the snow plow mounted and ready to go. Still need to split and haul a lot of firewood. It's that time of year in Alaska. There's lots of snow in the high country, and we don't know if we have days or weeks before it settles here. But we KNOW it's coming. We PREPARE for those things that we KNOW are coming. Athletes...  Read More