In our lives each one of us gets an opportunity sooner or later to have an unbelievable experience that is indelibly burned into our memories. It seems that I have been blessed with lots of these during my time out on the mountain with many of you over the years. However, I just got back late last night from an incredible sheep hunt on the Escalante that I will always remember with Layton, Utah, hunter Cal Bambrough, his sons Kade and Matt, as well as my guiding partners Brett Caldwell and Bryant Johnson. Believe me, the Bambrough's are as knowledgeable of hunters as there are around and are also very seasoned guides so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to take Cal on his "Once In A LIfetime" hunt when he called me several days after the Utah draw last spring to guide him. For months Cal trained for this hunt as he and I chose a date on the calendar that would work best for both of us. Then, in September, just days before we were to leave for his hunt Cal got really sick with some health issues that put him in the hospital and down in bed. Most of you can imagine the heartache and emotional distress he was experiencing. The doctors just plain told him he couldn't go. We were forced to reschedule Cal for the last of the Utah sheep hunt. Because of this change we didn't know whether I would still be able to help guide him or if both his sons could go. Well, to not complicate the story more everything suddenly came together at the last minute and although Cal was far from being at full physical strength, we led him into the canyons of the Escalante, some of the most inhospitable terrain anywhere in North America, last Tuesday night. His dreams of finally taking his desert ram were fulfilled late Thursday evening with both his sons there by his side in an exciting hunting moment for everyone. What an adrenalin rush for all of us!
It was sheer determination to complete his life long goal that kept Cal pushing himself through canyons and sandstone obstacle courses that would simply force most people to turn around and quit. What an undescribable experience! I can't say enough about the mental will power that Cal demonstrated on this hunt. It was HIGH DESERTS privilege to have the opportunity to be there in camp with you Cal. You were an inspiration. CONGRATULATIONS on a beautiful desert ram. There's no doubt in my mind that Cal will someway find a way to go on a Stone sheep hunt one day in the near future to complete his FULL CURL. No one would be more excited than me to hear his name called at the FULL CURL SOCIETY drawings in February. It was my honor to be there by your side when your desert ram went down. Thank you.
Randy
HIGH DESERT WILD SHEEP GUIDES
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