Episode 97: Alaska to Africa (Part 1)
Mike opens by re-introducing Joe and welcoming Derrick Miller, the friend whose thrown-out back nearly derailed the 2023 Alaska float hunt detailed in episodes 40 and 41. With both hunters in the room, Derrick offers his side of that story, including a few corrections. They also compare notes on lessons learned for next year's repeat trip: bringing an oar frame and life jackets this time, and camping longer in the most productive stretch of river rather than splitting time across multiple camps. Joe then gives a full health update, a year and change past his May 2025 liver transplant. He's back to full-time fieldwork, hiking 25-30 miles a week for his job, and harvested the biggest bull elk of his life last fall with his son on his first hunt. In an almost unbelievable twist, Joe learned he'd drawn a coveted Wyoming bighorn sheep tag in one of the state's best units on May 21st this year, nearly the exact anniversary of the day he learned a donor liver had become available. He walks through his scouting so far (including two humbling day trips that put the physical difficulty of Absaroka sheep country in perspective), his general hunt plan with Derrick, Bryan Ferguson, and his brother, and his goal of finding rams in drainages most hunters and even local outfitters can't reach. Derrick, who's also scouted mountain goats in Montana this summer, admits his own biggest worry for the sheep hunt isn't the animals, it's the exposure on narrow, high mountain terrain. Next week we’ll hear much more from Derrick about the oft misunderstood and sometimes confusing world of African big game hunting. Topics covered: Recapping and correcting the 2023 Alaska caribou and moose hunt Lessons learned for next year's repeat Alaska trip Joe's health, one year-plus post liver transplant Drawing a Wyoming bighorn sheep tag on the anniversary of his transplant call Scouting and planning a backpack sheep hunt in the Absarokas Links Outdoor Ruhls Podcast: www.outdoorruhls.com Connect with Outdoor Ruhls Email: outdoorruhls@gmail.com Instagram: @outdoorruhls YouTube: Outdoor Ruhls Next week: Derrick Miller takes over to talk African hunting, from high-fence operations to true wilderness safaris, the writers who inspired him, and where he'd send a first-timer.
