Staring up at the steep rock chute and cliffs above me, the revelation suddenly hit me that I had been making a mistake for many years in my sheep applications. This summer, my son, Mark, drew the only sheep permit in Oregon's Hurricane Divide, famous for producing 200-point plus rams, such as "Spot," "44" and others. I had applied there myself many times over the last four decades but had never been drawn. So, I accompanied Mark on his hunt.
Standing there at the bottom of that mountain, I had to finally admit that I was no longer capable of climbing and hunting as hard as success in this unit requires. I am shocked that I am writing this, but
I was lucky that I hadn't drawn one of these once-in-a-lifetime permits, and simply wasted the opportunity. Thankfully, I still have time to evaluate my health and current capabilities, and change my applications to match. You may need to do the same!
This self-assessment should be done long before the application deadline to make sure that any permits you draw allow you the maximum chance of success. You have to be honest with yourself. I can tell you from first-hand experience, you don't want to wait until you arrive to discover that the hunt is beyond your ability or outside your interests.....
