{"id":1718,"date":"2022-05-01T21:06:36","date_gmt":"2022-05-01T21:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monteithshop.org\/?p=1718"},"modified":"2023-06-26T19:18:13","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T19:18:13","slug":"a-brief-encounter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monteithshop.org\/es\/tracks-and-tales\/a-brief-encounter\/","title":{"rendered":"A Brief Encounter"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Owens River Valley at 4,000 feet, the Sierra Nevada\u2019s eastern slope explodes toward peaks reaching between 10,000 and 14,000 feet in just a few miles. While fairly regular in outline, the Sierra Nevada are not made up of smooth, straight edges nor are they a stagnant feature on the landscape. Since their formation by a series of uplift events and volcanic eruptions around the time the dinosaurs blinked out, the Sierras have been continually shaped by erosion, volcanism, and glaciation. This mountain range, like many in the west, has a way of humbling you. The vastness of the place, a sea of granite spreading in every direction, dwarfs the human presence. This feeling is amplified while searching for the remnant populations of Sierra bighorn that have endured both the natural and human-caused changes of the Sierra Nevada.<\/p>\n

\"A
Map by B. Regan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I roll from my tent, my aching muscles and stiff joints remind me of the difficulties of studying bighorn sheep. Its day three of our approach to the Big Arroyo herd, a particularly remote group of Sierra bighorn that occupy the southeastern edge of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national park. Todd and I break camp and set out before the sun has crested the high peaks around the alpine basin we called home last night. We\u2019re headed for the Kern River, which forms a deep incision dividing the Sierra Nevada into the main Crest and the Great Western Divide. Here along the steep cliffs of the Kern trench and its tributaries, we hope to find sheep.<\/p>\n

We choose a spot on an exposed knob above the Big Arroyo, a glacial fed arm of the Kern, from which this herd draws its name. Rummaging through chaotically \u201corganized\u201d packs, we extract our telemetry equipment which picks ups radio signals emitted from a transmitter attached to the sheep of interest. We can a hear a signal coming from one of our collared ewes\u2014she should be within our line of sight. We temper our excitement; we know that the signals from these collars have a way of bouncing along these steep canyons walls as well as the sheep do.<\/p>\n

We begin the slow monotonous scans of the rock face across the canyon. Even with our 60x spotting scopes, the rocks have a way of growing horns. Hours pass, our bodies cramp from our hunched position while our hands, the only bit of skin we leave exposed to the harsh alpine radiation, sweat and burn. We listen for the collar\u2019s signal and reposition over and over hoping to reveal a new crease in the cliff face that might be hiding the white woolen \u201cwhale\u201d. Our eye lids, mirroring our hopes, sag with each additional pass.<\/p>\n

Unexpectedly our radio crackles. Lacey and Elsbeth\u2014another survey party is within range across the canyon. We split up on day two so we could each scan the steep canyon walls below the other.<\/p>\n

Lacey: \u201cJaron, Todd. It\u2019s Lacey, do you copy?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A delay as we fumble for our radio while our eyes adjust from squinting through our scopes.<\/p>\n

Todd (groggy): \u201cYeah, go ahead Lacey.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Lacey: \u201cWe\u2019ve got a strong signal from 538 in the bowl at the mouth of the canyon\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Surprised, we recheck our signal. Another delay. We can\u2019t let ourselves believe we\u2019ve been deceived again.<\/p>\n

Jaron: \u201cHey Y\u2019all. We hear that too, but it\u2019s tough to tell in here what\u2019s bounce or not. We\u2019ve covered the upper canyon pretty well; we\u2019ll reposition and see if we can help you out\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Elsbeth: \u201cCopy that\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

We pack up our scopes and tripods and begin to pick our way down stream. Remembering the grace with which bighorn sheep move from crag to crag, reminds us of our fumbling nature and newcomer status.<\/p>\n

The bowl begins to open itself to us, but our view is broken by the snags of ponderosa pine crippled by ever worsening drought and the incessant munching of the mountain pine beetle. We decide to make do and again, unearth our scopes and telemetry equipment. Suddenly our radio explodes:<\/p>\n

Lacey: \u201cJaron, Todd, we\u2019ve got a visual. Top of the bowl, east side.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Our spirts rise. Briefly.<\/p>\n

Lacey: \u201cThere\u2019s seep of moisture just west of\u2026\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

The radio cuts out.<\/p>\n

Lacey: \u201cThey\u2019re on the move. Headed west. Fast.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Todd rushes to get the legs under the scope and keep his from shaking. I reposition and opt for binoculars to help Todd zone in.<\/p>\n

Elsbeth: \u201cJaron, Todd, do you have them?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Todd: \u201cNot yet. Where are they?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Lacey: \u201cCrossing the talus in the middle of the bowl. We\u2019re going to lose them below us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Jaron: \u201cLacey, did you get a count? How about group composition?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Lacey: \u201c12 maybe 13. Tough to tell they keep bunching up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Jaron: \u201cI\u2019m on \u2018em. They\u2019re coming out of the bottom just below that brushy gully.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Todd:\u201d Jaron, what\u2019s your count?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Jaron: \u201cGive me a second.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Lacey: \u201cWe got 7 adult females, 5 lambs, 1 yearling female. Tough to say though, I think we missed some. We\u2019re moving to try and reposition.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Todd: \u201cOkay, I got em, but they\u2019re headed for some timber. I don\u2019t think we have long.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Elsbeth: \u201cWhat do you have?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Jaron: \u201c13.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Todd: \u201c14. Shit.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Jaron: \u201cThey\u2019re about to crest the ridge on the west side of the bowl.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Todd: \u201c6 adult females, 5 lambs, 1 yearling female, 2 yearling males?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Lacey: \u201cWe\u2019re back on \u2018em. You think that last one is a ram?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Todd: \u201cCould be an adult female. I can\u2019t see the base of the horns\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Elsbeth: \u201c14, definitely 14\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Jaron: \u201cThey\u2019re about to reach the tree line, were almost out of time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Todd: \u201cI can\u2019t get another count. They\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Lacey: \u201c7 adult females, 5 lambs, 1 yearling female, 1 adult male. I got a good look as they spread out going into the trees. I think that\u2019s our count.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I can practically hear Lacey and Elsbeth sigh from across the canyon, as Todd and I do the same.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the survey any of us wanted, but despite all the effort it takes to get here, sometimes there is only a flash.<\/p>\n

The next morning, we stretch and groan before shouldering our packs for the long hike out. Climbing over peak and pass we begin to extract ourselves from this deep canyon and our own deep frustration. The effort for us to observe these animals is nothing compared to the effort they\u2019ve needed to persist in this vast wilderness. Like the other subspecies, Sierra bighorn were once prolific throughout their range. Now it often feels like searching for a needle in a haystack. This herd in the Big Arroyo is small but thriving, perhaps benefitting as much from their remoteness as we struggle with it.<\/p>\n

Jaron Kolek is an avid backcountry skier, rock climber and recreationist. Seeking to understand the impacts of his own outdoor pursuits, his master\u2019s work focuses on the effects of recreation on Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep.<\/h5>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Owens River Valley at 4,000 feet, the Sierra Nevada\u2019s eastern slope explodes toward peaks reaching between 10,000 and 14,000 feet in just a few miles. While fairly regular in outline, the Sierra Nevada are not made up of smooth, straight edges nor are they a stagnant feature on the landscape. Since their formation … <\/p>\n

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