when I board the bushplane that will
transport me back to “normal,” a bitter-
sweet uneasiness takes hold. The high I
got from the stalk and shot that ended
the months-long quest and physical trial
is gone. The magnificence of the high
country has begun to fade. The meat will
soon be consumed and what remains,
along with the trophy, are memories to
be processed, treasured and eventually
embellished. For a time, I feel joy and ful-
fillment and relief that it’s done, but also
sudden emptiness, as with a dream that
ended too soon.
Back at base camp Dave and I posed
for a photo with the ram horns, and the
next day I sent it to our mutual friend
Dwight, who had brought us together 12
years earlier. Dwight texted back, “Nice!
Looks like you REALLY WORKED for it.”
Facial expressions caught on camera
range from weirdly deceptive to truly
revealing, yet in that shot I thought we
looked pretty normal. But Dwight was
onto something. Behind the elation,
though I didn’t know it then, I had to be
wondering, “What next?” ah
ROLE MODEL
Veteran sheep hunter Jim Craig says,
“I got a passion for sheep after reading
about them. At first I didn’t know much,
but I read a lot of stories.”
Of course Craig wasn't alone devour-
ing hunting exploits from the likes of
Charles Sheldon and Jack O’Connor.
That's where the dream started for a
lot of us, and after meeting the retired
farmer/contractor/gunshop owner from
Indiana this spring, I've decided he's my
new mountain-hunting role model.
Following a pair of unsuccessful hunts
in Montana and British Columbia in 1970-71, he went on to amazing exploits of his
own. Since Craig prefers to downplay his accomplishments, let's just say that tal-
lying up his rams and slams will involve all your fingers and toes and then some.
Says Craig, “Sheep hunting requires effort and dealing with pain, both physical
and mental. But no matter how much punishment you go through, your body holds
no grudges, and you feel great when you accomplish it.” In 1994 Craig was mauled
by an Alberta grizzly, but returned the next year. In mid-2001 he suffered a major
heart attack, but despite the cardiologist’s objections, went sheep hunting that fall.
“I never did this for attention—never recorded any of the rams—I just liked to
hunt, liked the vastness of the country where sheep live. Many times I came home
thinking I wouldn’t do that again—but soon knew I had to go back. It’s not easy, and
that’s what makes it so much fun.” These days Craig likes to take kids hunting and
to share treasured taxidermy and memorabilia in his personal hunting museum.