Just south of the Arctic Circle, the sun hardly sets this time of year. It's been cold. 36 degrees today with a stiff wind, driving a slanted rain hard against the talus and shale of the Northern MacKenzie Mountains.
The MacKenzies split the Northwest Territories from the Yukon, running 582 miles long and 494 miles wide. Only two roads venture into the vast range, both of them in the Yukon, ferrying mining trucks to the largest tungsten deposits in the world. With no roads on the NWT side, Mark and Jonathan traveled by plane to reach the Arctic Red River watershed. Actually, it was five planes: San Francisco to Edmonton, Edmonton to Yellowknife, Yellowknife to Norman Wells, and Norman Wells to the Arctic Red River.
Arctic Red River Outfitters are the only guides in the 10,000-square-mile area, offering only fly-in backpacking hunts. The guides met Mark and Jonathan with a bush aircraft in Norman Wells and flew them into base camp. From there it was another short flight to where they'd begin the backpack hunt. The area is so remote that much of it has never been hunted.
Five days in with wet, cold weather and sleeping in tents, Mark and Jonathan couldn't be happier. They say their gear is keeping them warm and dry, and they've seen vast numbers of game. Still, they haven't spotted Jonathan's ram yet.
A young sheep dwarfed by the MacKenzie Mountains. (Photo by ARR Outfitters)
"We're feeling very optimistic," Mark says.
The phone went silent, the satellite signal lost.
We'll keep you updated when we get another phone call. Until then, we'd like to know: Does this hunt sound like fun, or would you prefer something a little less "epic?"