Reported and Photographed by Jessi Dodge for the Buffalo Bulletin.
Early each summer ranchers from around the county make their annual trek up the mountain, bringing livestock out of the hot and dry flats into the cooler grasslands to graze for the summer months. For the Curuchet family, moving just over 3,000 sheep takes about a week and only works with the contribution of the whole family. Mike and Kris Curuchet and their three kids, Joe, 13, Jamie, 12, and Ben, 10, all rode along either horseback or on four-wheelers to help drive the sheep.
With everyone helping out, from kids to grandparents, each person has a role in making the move happen. Beginning on their ranch east of Kaycee, the sheep are pushed through town, toward Mayoworth and up the mountain to their final summer destination. This year, dry weather encouraged the trip and high temperatures forced only early morning and late evening travel. The family and the sheep moved through Kaycee in the early morning on June 10 and continued preparations for their trek uphill.