MARK PARSONS/COURTESYThe best habitat for Dall sheep is not easy for hunters to traverse day after day. Mark Parsons spent five days tracking rams in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

“One does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted. … If one were to present the sportsman with the death of the animal as a gift, he would refuse it. What he is after is having to win it, to conquer the surly brute through his own effort and skill with all the extras that this carries with it: the immersion in the countryside, the healthfulness of the exercise, the distraction from his job.”

— Jose Ortega y Gasset

It can be hard to explain to some, but there are times when the kill is not the most important part of a hunt. Winning the challenge presented by the hunt, that is the biggest reward. The trophies then become like pictures to remind the hunter of the adventure.

Those kinds of situations typically do not come up on hunts within Texas, but for Texas hunters leaving the state for a hunt it can be a reality.

From the time he booked an August Dall sheep and woodlands caribou hunt in Canada’s Northwest Territory, Whitehouse’s Mark Parsons knew there was no way he could adequately prepare in East Texas. He tried by working out with a trainer for 10 months, including training with a 40-pound weighted vest a month before the 10-day hunt.

Once in Canada and almost immediately when the hunt with Stan Stevens — Mackenzie Mountain Outfitters started, the 57-year-old hunter realized he was in for his toughest hunt ever.

“It was hard and there were a lot of times you think what did I get into,” the retired dentist said following his return home.

Having hunted various conditions around the world, Parsons said he booked this hunt in part to prove to himself he could still succeed over a physical challenge.

“The biggest reason was the physical challenge, was I physically and mentally able to do that at my age. Everything I do I have a goal, am I able to drive myself to do this kind of thing,” he explained.

Parsons, who did not start hunting until he was 37, added he wanted to accomplish the challenges and ultimately get on the game and make the shots.

“The animals will always be a reminder on the wall of what I went through,” Parsons said.

The adventure began with two commercial flights that took him from Texas to the remote community of Norman Wells. From there was a float plane to a base camp and then a helicopter ride and a hike to a spike camp about 100 miles from the edge of the Arctic Circle.

The hunt was going to be in elevations from 2,800 to 6,000 feet. Parsons described that part as like walking the elevations in a ski resort in Colorado. That was not the issue. Wet weather making loose rocks during the sheep hunt slippery and marshy conditions on the tundra tracking down caribou was.

“It rained every day. The guide said it was the rainiest week he had seen. It snowed on us and we got hailed on on top of the mountain. There were some days we had fog where you couldn’t see the top of the mountain,” Parsons said.

He said that preparing for the hunt, a hunter could semi-prepare for the elevation. There is nothing you can do about the rocks and tundra until you experience it.

“The guide talked about people coming up and quitting. I am too stubborn to quit. I told him I was too old, too cheap and too stubborn to quit,” Parsons said.

The daily rain throughout the hunt was so bad it shortened the morning hunt hours, although with daylight lasting until 1 a.m., days glassing for sheep on the mountain were still long.

The sheep was the first animal on the list since finding a mature ram is difficult. If there was time left in the hunt, Parsons would go after the caribou.

The daily hunt routine was to leave camp and hike upward to a vantage spot where they would glass the range. Continually walking on the loose rock made the treks up and down the mountains difficult and tiring.

“The physical part of the hunt is walking on the rocks. You are not sure they are going to stay,” Parsons said.

The hunt started looking for a specific ram that had been spotted in an area. After two unsuccessful days of glassing, they moved the spike camp to another area, but it was not until the fifth day that they spotted a mature sheep.

“When we started, you couldn’t see the top of mountain because of the fog,” Parsons said.

They walked to where they could watch a pair of valleys. The hunting party was about to make a move when the guide yanked Parsons to the ground. He had spotted a mature ram 600 yards away.

They attempted to close the gap, but by the time they got into position the ram had gone over the ridge.

“We got up to look again and saw another one. It came broadside at 80 yards. It was like it was trying to die,” the hunter said. Using the first rifle he ever hunted with, a Remington 700 in a .270 caliber, Parsons dropped the mature 7-year-old ram.

As the saying goes, that is when the work began as the ram was field dressed and hauled back to camp. Meat in all the camps was either sheep or caribou, both of which Parsons said he enjoyed.

After a day hampered again by bad weather, Parsons was finally airlifted back to the base camp to caribou hunt. It looked like it might be a short hunt when spotters saw a good bull just above the camp. Mountain caribou are the largest of five subspecies recognized in North America.

Although it was 8 p.m., the hunt party immediately left the camp, but by the time they climbed the ridge the bull was gone.

“The caribou were not running full (rut) yet,” Parsons said.

That meant more spot and stalk was planned for the next day. After a short boat ride the next morning, the big bull was spotted again bedded about 1,000 yards away.

“That is where I got introduced to the (tundra) grass. I didn’t like it. It made me want to walk on the rocks again,” Parsons said.

Bogging down in the swamp-like conditions, the hunter closed to within 400 and admitted that was as far as he could go. Although he was comfortable shooting only to about 225 yards, Parsons was facing a shot at 350 yards plus when the bull moved.

“I knew how much the bullet would drop, but I missed a couple of times. I have no idea if I was high or low because you could not see where the bullet hit,” he said.

A third shot hit its mark and Parsons had a true monster caribou.

Other than the meat Parsons shipped back to Texas, the caribou and sheep were donated to an organization in Norman Wells that gave it to local needy families.

In retrospect, Parsons acknowledged the challenges of the hunt were more suited to a younger body, but looking back he is not sure he could have mentally handled it 20 years ago. For a goal-oriented person, this was the time for such a place.