I couldn't help but go back again to try and find the champion bighorn that I saw in the distance the day before. I only saw the group briefly yesterday, and I wasn't sure if they went on the other side of the ridge because of me -- even though I was nearly a mile away and easily a thousand feet lower -- or if they were just going that direction anyways. So, today, I decided to start earlier and approach the same area from a different angle. Hiking up, I wasn't sure if they'd be there at all or which specific route I'd take... and a few miles in and just a few hundred yards off-trail I thought I spotted one very close by. But, it was just a deer and her twin babies. Since I had the long lens out of the bag, I pointed it up the cliffs, and I saw a few small rams in one of the same spots. Now I had to decide my route and hope they'd stick around a little longer than yesterday -- and hope that the big guys were around again. Time to store the big lens away again and begin the big climb up.

Yesterday's hike was at times super sketchy and dangerous, and today's would be more of the same. Should I risk going directly up the *easy* route that might give me a much closer shot of them?? But, that would almost certainly spook them. I decided to scramble up from the east to try and keep myself concealed, even though I wouldn't get the ultra close-ups that I really want.

The climb was very tough and arguably foolish for me to pursue. Hiking up was bad enough, but getting back down was going to be really really tough if I couldn't navigate to one of the easier ways off the cliffs. The weather was changing and rain was visible in the distance, so I felt the pressure to push forward relatively quickly. I reached the top of a high ridge and realized that not only could I not see the ridge where the trio had been earlier... but that also meant I would not be able to descend in the way that I had hoped. I sat down, setup up the camera, began to scan the cliffs and started eating a snack. Very soon I heard some rocks tumbling. Was that from bighorn climbing or was it a rock naturally coming loose? I couldn't see anything. Then another round of small rocks falling and I knew they were there. It can be very hard to see them at times, and now that I was more focused on the source of the sound -- I spotted three really large rams.

Eventually I would see eight rams in total. The biggest was clearly the leader, and everyone was inclined to follow his lead. My impression is that they were making their way higher after coming down very early for water and grazing. They all noticed me, but didn't seem particularly reactive. There was no way for me to get much closer, and I quickly needed to start thinking about an exit strategy with rain fast approaching. The idea of going down the same way on wet terrain was impossible to consider. Thankfully, the northern face gave me an easier option down, but that would mean circumnavigating a lot of terrain to get back to the trail. Rain came and went, and in retrospect I could have stayed up high for longer -- but I was not willing to roll the dice between possible lightning, cold rain/snow and an unknown route down. Hopefully I can get back up there once more before I leave the area. The biggest ram is perhaps the most impressive I've ever seen in person. Super gorgeous area, awesome hike and fantastic opportunity to view such majestic creatures in their natural habitat!