UNFORGETTABLE DALL

BY BILL PETTETT

“A HUNTING MAGAZINE …WAS A TREAT, AND I READ EACH ONE COVER TO COVER. I AM NOT SURE WHY OR HOW, BUT THE MOUNTAIN HUNTS IN THOSE MAGAZINES CALLED TO ME.”

As I sat there on the side of a mountain in the Northwest Territories, all I could think was that I couldn’t believe I was here. It was the fourth day of a 10-day hunt, and the experience was already beyond words.

The journey to this mountain started decades ago in the small town of Sault Ste. Marie in northern Michigan. Hunting, trapping and fishing were a way of life, and I was hooked. My earliest memories are of carrying ruffed grouse for my father and running a trap line with my grandfather. A hunting magazine in those days was a treat, and I read each one cover to cover. I am not sure why or how, but the mountain hunts in those magazines called to me. Dall sheep, in particular, made an impression on me, and I found myself dreaming about one day being able to match wits with them. I vowed to do whatever possible to make it happen.