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egends of the Hunt L By John Seerey-Lester T Charles Sheldon would brave subzero temperatures in the Denali wilderness of Alaska, where he would ultimately spend three years hunting and exploring the region, which through his efforts eventually became Mount McKinley National Park. S handsome caribou with long antlers leading the herd single-file through the fog. He crouched behind a tree and watched as they approached, walking within a few feet of the hidden ptarmigan. The animals had pushed some of the snow to one side and spent some time feeding on exposed lichens. After a while the entire herd laid down. Sheldon was about 400 yards away when he circled around to get nearer and position himself for a shot. He took off his snowshoes and lying down, crept inch by inch for at least a hundred yards. He was now close enough for a shot, but he needed the bull to stand up first. he solitary hunter glassed the Alaskan landscape and sighted caribou some four or five miles below him on the snow-covered flats. He trudged down and over the hummocks, his snowshoes making the going difficult. In places, his weight broke through the hard crust of the deep snow as he slid and slipped toward the flats. Every now and then he would flush willow ptarmigan that would quickly disappear in the vast landscape. Finally, he could see his quarry through the dense wall of spruce trees. The year was 1907 and the hunter was Charles Sheldon. Sheldon was pleased to see a P O R T I N G C 26 L A S S I C S