The trip was under threat of failure. We sent papers for Canadian visa in two months before the departure (in the beginning of June) but only one of our group - Sergey Samotin, got the visa. Few days left. Though we sent visa papers together and it was not our first visit to Canada, the embassy made the decision just in 45 hours before the departure. You can guess what I felt that time. Don’t trust the indicated dates on the embassy site. It’d be better to apply papers not less than in three months before the trip, especially in the season.
We flied to Vancouver several times before but that time the most comfortable way to get there was suggested by British Airlines. They say that Heathrow airport is not the lucky place for hunters who travel with guns. There were lots of cases when the airport staff lost gun’s cases and did not load them from the transit flights. But we were lucky and got our weapon in safe. The Canadian custom did all paperwork fast. It’s interesting to note but we heard about situations when the foreign police officers or customs asked to show Russian permission to keep and carry weapons. There were not such situations before, but we took all papers just in case. We weren’t going to overnight in Vancouver and just transferred to another flight to Whitehourse. At last we arrived, accommodated in the hotel and went to bed. Next day we had free time that's why spent it sightseeing. We admired the stately Yukon and made lots of pictures of the historical ship Klondike. Then we visited several guns shops. There you can find lots of things which are not in Moscow. Whitehorse means White horse. This name of the town was not accidental. It is located in the place where Yukon passes through the dangerous thresholds part. The water on the thresholds reminds White horse mane.
Next day we got up early, had breakfast and left the hotel. There were two more hunters who checked-out the hotel. It happened that those guys- the middle age guy from Texas and an active old lady from the Western state, were going with us to the same outfitter. The microvan arrived and we drove. On the way to the airport we drove to one more place where took two more Mexican guys, hunted for caribous. The representatives of the charter company prepared all papers, weighted and loaded our luggage and weapon. Then they introduced us our pilot who invited us to board. He told us safety instructions and we flied. In ten minutes, I noted how one of the Mexican guys was talking something to his fellow and pointed to something in the window. I followed with eyes the way he showed and saw what was going on. A trickle of fuel was flowing from the tank cover in the right wing. - How long did you notice it? - As soon as we took off Do you think we need to say the pilot about it? I didn’t reply and immediately inform the pilot about it. He turned the plane back. We lost about an hour while changed the rubber gasket, but the pilot thanked us. He wouldn't be able to fly back if there was not enough fuel. The second attempt was more successful, and we landed in the wide mountain valley near the town Dawson. Jim and Adrian Finky waited for us already. They drove on two giant pickups and soon we arrive to the Base camp and accommodated in the typical Canadian hunting cottage. The lunch was ready already. We discussed our plans while having dinner. The hunting territory is huge and none of the hunters interfere each other. The outfitters sent us to the places in accordance with our goals and physical conditions. Sergey and I was delivered by double-seats place to the center of the mountains where we could hunt by horses. The young 25 years old guy Lucas became our guide. But first of all Jim came to our room and asked if we agreed that Lucas would be our guides. He thought that we could be unsure in his age and his experience. If we didn’t agree he’d provide us with other ones. We agreed his first plan. We'd never regretted it. After the lunch we repacked the luggage and left all thing, we don’t need, in the cottage. Soon we flied once again under the tundra, surrounded by mountains. I even saw the herd of sheep while we were flying but we were going to another place. But in any case, it was a good sign. We both were in high spirit in anticipation of future hunt. The plane on the low-pressure balloons landed on the cleared place of tundra. Lucas with horses waited for us already. His young wife accompanied us as a cook. Two one-room cabins, one for us and another for the guide and his wife, were built in a couple of minutes’ walk from the runway. When we had dinner, Lucas told us that worked as a guide with three hunters already and followed other hunting groups for four years as the guide’s assistant. He knew that area very well and considered it to be the best for sheep hunting. We explained him that needed the good trophy. It was not matter the horns’ size we were looking for a sheep of definite color. There are two subspecies of American thin-horned sheep- Dall and Fannin sheep. Dall sheep have white wool without any gray or brown inclusions. The only exclusion is their short tail. Fannin sheep have wool with all these inclusions and other marks on the body. Sergey had the nice trophy of 14 years old Dall sheep in his collection already, that's why we needed to find another one not so white. Lucas calmed us and told that more than a half of local sheep had such marks- grayish areas of hair.
The first day of hunting met us with thick fog. It covered all valleys. But Lucas saddled horses and suggested not to waste time but to ride and to look for animals in the breaks in the dense shroud. We detected several female sheep and in the second part of the day when weather became much better we spotted a couple of young males. It was good for the first day taking into account how it started. Next day weather was fine, and we left the camp. We moved to another side. In four hours later we reached the saddle and let the horses graze while climbed the dominant height and began to examine the surroundings. We thought it’d be easy to find light sheep on the green landscape but all rocks which laid everywhere had the same color as sheep. It was always Lucas who detected the animals first. He was used to look for them in such places. He spotted the group of four males, which pastured on the remote top. We tried to examine them through the scope, but the distance was too far. There was no way but to descend to the horses and to go up the opposite hill. The rangefinder showed less than two km to the group. In two hours, Lucas stopped watching them and told that two males from the group had trophy size but he couldn’t define their color from such distance. We didn’t have time to approach and decided to go on next day. It was a good evening which we spent in good mood. We all went to bed just after the dinner because was going to get up early.
The plan was to reach the yesterday saddle before the sunrise, to check if the group of males were still there and to approach them. There was a risk that the herd would overnight in another place and we would need to look for them. But luck was on our side. We found four light spots, sparkled under the sun on the highest top. We went there. A part of the way we rode by horse, then scrambles through thick high bushes, grew along the springs on the canyon's bottom. It became really hot and we all were fully wet from sweat when reached the foot of the mountain We tied horses and began to prepare for climbing. There was no sign of the weather getting worse, that’s why we decided to leave the most part of our luggage there but to take extra water. In the last moment I followed the instinct and put the raincoat and a softshell jacket into my backpack. The long climbing began. The path led through the thick bushes and trees, which covered the lower quarter of the mountain, then we walked by stones and parts of the rocks. The last part of the way was more or less flat, but we had to walk by bulk stones. The wind began to blow when we were in the mid of the way. At the beginning I even liked it because it was hot and it helped to feel comfortable but when we reached the top, it gathered the stormy clouds, and the rain began. I praised myself that took clothes! I shared it with Sergey while Lucas covered in the material which looked like a huge bag. There was no visibility and we had to wait. GPS showed that we climbed 650 meter and did it in an hour. Good result. As soon as the clouds had lifted Lucas crawled up a little bit and immediately laid on the belly. Then he turned and showed his big finger first and then 4 fingers. Great! All four sheep were on the place. Then our guide examined them for a while and crawled down to us. The sheep were in 200 meters from us and two of them were the same size. We could choose any. The most important thing was that they were not purely white, but we could try to find more "dirty" ones. We thought that "better is a sure enemy to well.” and agreed to fire. Sergey measured the distance, it was 274 m and got the trophy of Fannin sheep by the first, accurate shot. . The sun was shining when we came to the sheep. It was nice 11 years old male, with salt-and- pepper color. It was what we needed! After the photo session lyric was over. It was time to skin and pack the meat. According the Canadian law, the hunters has to take away all meat, they got in the mountains. Each time I’m happy that it's not a moose. In such case we would need to go several times to the body and back. Unfortunately, we could carry all meat in the one time. Later in the evening we cooked what we got. What a party it was!
Next morning two planes arrived to take us back to the comfortable Base camp. We finished hunting on the third day and were the first from our group. Later I knew that all hunters were successful. Adrian called to the charter company and informed that the plane could be in the camp in two hours. We agreed. It's rare when you can change the locations so fast during the hunting trip. We had breakfast in the mountains and drank beer in the evening in bar in Whitehorse. On the next day we flied to Vancouver where spent time with pleasure. The next Canadian adventure was over. It was interesting and intensive hunt. We got the right trophy and felt bright emotions. We are ready for the new expedition.
ZOOLOGICAL REFERENCE:
Some people think that Fannin sheep are just the mixture of Dall and Stone sheep because they inhabit in the area where these two species cross. But the presence of Fannin sheep in the north regions of Yukon refutes this theory. The northern population of Fannin sheep is geographically isolated from the southern one. You can also met Fannin sheep on Alaska and in the Mackenzie mountains on the Northwest. They don't intersect with the Dall sheep population there. The Grand Slam Club consider Fannin Sheep to be the separate species. But there are many places where you can meet both kinds of sheep, as the Ogilvy mountains, where we hunted. That's why the Club administration has taken the decision that if the taken trophy has a small percentage of gray hair on the body and legs- the hunter will decide by himself how to register it in the Club.
These both species are scored for the hunter, who collects Super 20, 30 or 40 but only one of them can be scored for the GrandSlam nominations ( the collection of the North American sheep) and OvisWorldSlam ( 12 sheep from all over the world).
