Any suggestions with horse rentals?

[onceinalifetime]

Hello there.
Here is my dilema. I am planning a trip somwhere in the rockies, most likely Willmore, for around 10 day sheep hunt. Never done sheep hunting before, but I would love to organize one for my dad while his health is on his side. This year I will go do some scouting as I picked few drainages trough web and map searching. My question is if you are planning to treck in 15 -20 km, for 10 days, obviously you need to bring lots of gear. This is where the horses come in, and i understand that taking horses requires lots of work. Is it worth doing it yourself, i really would love to DIY, but any suggestions would be welcomed :)

We have lots of hunting experiance with all the game, except sheep. Always wanted to do it, and not just for the trophy, but bigger part for the advanture and beauty of Rockies.

Thank you in advance for you suggestion!

[densa44]

You need an honest answer here. If not, and that would be my guess or you would already have horses or friends who do, I would say for sure to go with an outfitter.

They earn their money, and not just with the horses.

You need to be safe, especially for your dad, nice you want to take him on this trip, so you don't want to spend your time trying to solve horse problems.

[alpineguy]

I have to agree with Dens44, if you are not experienced with packing and riding horses don't go there. If horses are what you need for your trip then hire an outfitter to drop your camp and pick you up.

[drake]

15-20 km is childs play even with a heavy pack.....hike it in, way less to worry about!

[onceinalifetime]

You guessed right, i am not expert with horses. Never packed a horse in my life. My dad has been around horses before, long time ago, but more for work then packin was planning to bring our big canvas tent and maybe stay for 2 weeks. That tent is heavy and big, so thats were idea for horses came in, but i am looking in other options. Found few good treads regarding best hiking gear, tents and those kind of things on these forums. Lots of great info. When you say you trecked in 20 km into willmore, is that good, or need to go more for sheep? Also, with a 60lb pack on you back, how much can you cover in a day?

[Huntnut]

We did it a couple years ago only we hired the horses. He took us in to where we wanted to go and 2 weeks later he came and picked us up. The only thing we wish we would had done differant was rent an extra pack horse or two for a wall tent and stove. It rained/snowed for 7 days straight-made it hard to dry things out.

[270WIN]

Definitely hire someone to pack you in and out. You need to get plenty of experience with riding, packing and generally understanding what makes a horse tick before you undertake a pack trip on your own. The Willmore is not the place to get that experience unless you have someone with you who is already very experienced. You and your dad will have a much more enjoyable and safe hunt if you let someone else who has lots of horse knowledge look after that aspect of your hunt.

[ishootbambi]

When you say you trecked in 20 km into willmore, is that good, or need to go more for sheep? Also, with a 60lb pack on you back, how much can you cover in a day?

do your homework and learn about sheep and their habits before you go. the best sheep hunters hunt with their heads, not their feet. if you can learn what sheep need at what time of year through sheep hunters willing to talk and online info about sheep biology, you can see likely looking areas if you know how to read a topo map.

things like.....rams will not be with ewes in august on the opener. if you see ewes and lambs on a slope, keep hiking as there are very rarely rams on the same mountain. rams in august prefer north facing slopes for shade and have escape cover nearby. they like windy slopes to keep the bugs at bay. rams are seldom in the main drainages as thats how people acces the mountains. look at least 1 and usually 2 drainages off the main ones to get away from the crowds. all of this realtes to knowing how to read that topo map..... your brain will tell you a lot without having to go hike it to see it. once you have the intel, then get out there. if you can go over the summer yourself to scout it out, it may make it easier on your dad for the opener.

as for packing, there are a couple guys in the grande cache area that will drop you off for a fee. if you have your heart set on horses, thats the way to go IMO. i wouldnt want horses myself in the wilmore. they require more work, and you have to return each night to take care of them which means climbing a mountain each morning. i like to climb once and stay up there myself, but thats personal preference.

as for backpacking. the last time i went i was 36. the guy i was with was 47. we covered 22ish km in a day with 56 pounds on him, and an even 50 on me. your condition will determine how far you can go and how fast. 20 km will get you far enough in in some areas.....read those maps. good luck.

[onceinalifetime]

Looks like the best thing to do is to pack good set of boots and go out there and do some scouting, just to experiance trecking in the mountains. It will give me better idea when I prepare for a longer trip.

I would like to read some books about sheep biology, any recomendation? Anything Alberta related?

[270WIN]

Anything you can find by Valerius Geist (sp?) on sheep should suit your needs pretty well. For just a good read, you'd be hard pressed to find anything much better than Jack O'connor's writings.