Brooks Range Wingman

Acting as his wingman, Billy guides and a longtime client & friend to a big interior grizzly in the Brooks Range of Alaska.

- Billy Molls

Barry and I were panting after climbing the spongy, tussock-infested hillside. We dropped our packs and loosened our collars to let the steamy body heat out and the chilly Arctic morning air in. “I’m gettin’ too old for this,” I jokingly huffed to my client, 25 years my senior.

“Sometimes I’d like to smack you,” scorned my hunter. He couldn’t hold his straight face for long before smirking and shaking his head.

I’ve guided Barry Barton on many hunts in Alaska. I dare say we’ve become lifelong hunting buddies. Barry is a patient, no-pressure-type client that guides like me dream of. As long as I can keep a good supply of mountain money, provide a tent that doesn’t leak or blow down, and let him have a shot or two of Southern Comfort every night, this guy can roll with the punches Alaska is so notorious for throwing as good as any client I’ve ever shared a camp with. (In case you’re wondering, mountain money is more commonly known as toilet paper. The nickname was given because it’s the only paper worth anything in the mountains.) Not only do Barry and I always have a good time, we also seem to manage filling his tags.