On the best side, sheep camp can mean different things to different people, and it can all mean the same thing. For those who make a living there, it’s more than just a job site. The locations are a mixed bag—from spectacular backdrops and sweeping vistas to challenging, cushy, spartan, or outright hazardous settings. It’s where school is in session and you’re the teacher—sometimes the emotional-support dog, sometimes the motivational speaker, and sometimes the ass-kicker. It’s a place where sharing knowledge and expertise drives toward a common goal. What could be better?
Sheep camp comes in many flavors—from a fly-in lodge (rare), to an old outfitter's cabin (rustic but dry and comfortable, all things considered), to a pack-in wall tent or plywood box, to a one- or two-man “find a level piece of ground and hope there’s water nearby” tent setup for ten days. Regardless, every one of them is a welcome sight after a long day of grinding it out to see what that day’s excursion had to offer.
Photo by Colby Hartman
For those who sign up to attend sheep camp, the best-side list is much longer. Adventure, anticipation, hope, learning, and testing our physical and mental limits are all on tap—not to mention our prior hunting, glassing, stalking, mountaineering, survival, and listening skills. Lifelong friends are made at sheep camp. That’s the nature of spending many days isolated and in close quarters, relying on each other, where food and shelter enter the equation as much as—if not more than—the job at hand: finding the right ram.