When I first saw the email, I thought it was a glitch. The message from Idaho Fish and Game stated that my application for a bighorn sheep tag in the Frank Church Wilderness was successful. Only 85 tags were issued. In Idaho, nonresidents can draw no more than 10% of the total tags and no more than one tag per unit may go to a nonresident. This year, seven nonresidents drew bighorn sheep tags statewide. So the odds were long. People apply for decades without drawing and I had only applied in Idaho once before.

For a week or two, I didn’t even allow myself to believe it was real. A couple years before, a computer error overdrew nonresidents and several people had the disappointment of having their “successful” draw rescinded. But sure enough, the tag showed up in the mail.

This was an extremely tumultuous time in my life. I only applied because if it was going to take 30 years to draw, then I’d better not skip any. So with the tag in hand, I started planning a once-in-a-lifetime hunt during a career change and interstate move.

The Area

The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, affectionately known as “The Frank”, was designated under the Wilderness Act in 1980. The area owes one half of its name to Frank Church, an Idaho senator who championed its creation. Senator Church was also a sponsor of the Wilderness Act. The second part of the Frank’s full name is an old nickname of the main Salmon River. Ominous as it sounds, it actually comes from the early days when boats could navigate down but not back up. In total, the Frank encompasses over 2.3 million acres of contiguous Wilderness. It is the largest contiguous Wilderness and second largest complex under the Wilderness Preservation System in the lower 48. In other words, it is big and it is gnarly.

My unit lies almost entirely within the Frank along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. There are no roads inside the Wilderness area and wheeled or motorized transport is not allowed except for a few grandfathered backcountry airstrips, the only way to get around is by boat, animal, or boot leather.

On Guides

I’ll be completely honest here. I love the idea of killing a sheep on my own. I’m no stranger to the mountains but I’m still a complete novice when it comes to this caliber of hunt. I have no way of knowing when or if I’ll ever draw another sheep tag. So I didn’t want to waste possibly my only chance. The terrain is rugged and huge. The animals are elusive and widely spread.

Some people are all or nothing. They would never consider a guide and are willing to take the consequences. Some want an easy route. They want to know the animal they are going to shoot before they even get there. Others are more practical. They pick and choose when they’ll go with a guide/outfitter. That’s me and an outfitter was the only reasonable way to go if only because of the logistics that would be required.

I’ll caveat that last statement with I am not going into this for somebody to hold my hand. If anything, I want someone to teach me about the mountains, the terrain, and the game. I plan on doing everything in my power to be an active participant in the hunt and to make the most out of the adventure.

The outfitter I chose has vast experience in the Frank Church Wilderness. He runs his hunts with an eye toward the full wilderness experience insisting on completely unplugging from the outside world and focusing on nothing other than hunting. He doesn’t allow rangefinding or bullet compensating scopes and tries to get his clients as close as possible. The hunt itself will begin after a 50 mile bush flight and full day’s horseback ride. From there we will have a “roving camp”, staying light and moving when necessary. Once we find a suitable animal, we will do whatever was necessary to wrap a tag around him.

Moving Forward

The famous mountain hunter and outdoor writer, Jack O’Connor, once referred to the area as “one of the roughest spots on Earth” and I was going on the adventure of a lifetime there. This hunt checks several boxes on my bucket list. Like many hunters, I longed for the opportunity to hunt one of the four species of North American sheep. As stated earlier, tags are hard to get and the system is tightly controlled. I’ve also always wanted to do a horseback pack hunt and I wanted to experience the famous Frank Church Wilderness I’d always read about. Now I was to embark on all three in the same trip.

In this series, I will document my preparation, hunt, gear, and more. By the time this is published, I will be less than a week from wheels up.