Josh Duplechian

Projects: This Solitary Life

Deep in the back country of southeastern Idaho a dying tradition struggles to exist daily. Most sheepherders involved come from small high-altitude villages in Peru. Once in the United States on H2A work visa’s they will contribute to the heritage of Henry Etcheverry. Etcheverry, owner of Etcheverry Sheep Co., comes from a long line of Basque immigrants in Idaho. His father, Gene Etcheverry, started the family business many years ago after migrating from Spain. What was once a small

operation with little pay is now a lifetime of savings for the Peruvian migrants who come to work for three years. Those who travel through this part of the country might never stumble across these hidden shepherds as they live a lonely lifestyle with their band of 2,300 sheep.

Many sheep camps are set up by Etcheverry and his men deep in the mountainous backcountry where many will not disturb his sheep while they graze on public lands for the majority of the summer.
   
A cloud of dust envelopes Jose Leco Guadalupe as he drives 2,300 head of sheep down to the corrals with the help of his dog and several other herders on the south fork of Toponce Creek in late August. Guadalupe, who is originally from a small town in Mexico, has been working for the Etcheverry Sheep Co. for nearly 10 years and continues to send money home to his wife and two children.
  
Henry Etcheverry, owner of Etcheverry Sheep Co., keeps a close eye on lambs entering a truck to be shipped to Colorado for slaughter last August on the South Fork of Toponce Creek. Etcheverry boasts that his lambs are some of the healthiest and largest lambs in the business.
     
  
Semi-trucks back up to the corrals in the early morning hour to be loaded with lambs. After each lamb is inspected they will be moved to Colorado where processing takes place.
   
A late night dinner is prepared by Jimy Díaz and Miguel Alaya inside their sheep camp after moving 2,300 head of sheep into the corral at the south fork of Toponce Creek. Each camp is outfitted with a propane stove and stocked canned goods to prepare a warm meal each night after a full day of tending to the sheep.
  
To prepare the ewes for the harsh Idaho winters shearers from Roberts,Idaho arrive at a familiar located historically known as Skinny Dip to shear the wool from the eyes and udders of ewes in late October.
     
  
Border Collies are the hidden helpers of the Peruvian sheepherders when they are in the back country tending to their band of sheep. Rarely seen and rarely heard these dogs are a tool used by the herders to help manage up to 2,000 sheep at once.
   
The brisk October weather at Skinny Dip near Soda Springs,ID keeps Jimy Diaz,25, bundled up during a days work in the back country. On days when the crew is crutching it is Jimy's job to effectively communicate with other Peruvian sheepherders nearby in order for the operation run smoothly.
  
Sifting through recently shorn ewes Miguel Alaya captures one who escaped the shearing truck on a brisk morning in late October. Alaya captures those who escape by hand, carrying them back to the corral where they will have their heads and utters shorn in preparation for the winter.
     
  
Henry Etcheverry, owner of Etcheverry Sheep Co., counts lambs by hand before sending them out to the back country where they will continue to mature throughout the summer. After every 100 sheep Etcheverry yells out to his foreman Jose Leco Guadalupe who will mark the sheep count on a piece of cardboard.
  
It is important for the herders to prepare the wagons prior to heading out into the backcountry. Miguel Alaya will get his own band this year after spending last season helping out where Etcheverry needed him.
   
A ink imprint on each new lamb allows Henry Etcheverry to label a number to place them with their new band of sheep before heading out for the summer. Etcheverry remains very active in all aspects of his company rarely claiming a day off.
     
  
Peruvian sheepherder Miguel Alaya peers out of his new sheep camp while making last min- ute adjustments to his future summer home before heading out for the season with his band of sheep. Alaya will get his own band this season after helping out where Etcheverry needed him the most in the previous season.
  
Bottle feeding a young lamb is one of several jobs assigned to Alejo Díaz during time spent on the winter camp in Rupert, Idaho. Sheepherders must keep a watchful eye on the lambs that might not take to their mothers milk and feed them by hand.
  
Peruvian sheepherders Alipio Colqui,left, and Edward Laco Córdoba compare size on lambs recently born inside winter camp in Rupert,Idaho. All of Etcheverry's sheepherders will spend the winter in a camp where they deliver lambs until the end of March. Once the lambs are born they are placed under a heat lamp until they can be put back with their mother.
     
  
Keeping a watchful eye on all of his sheep is what Miguel Alaya does while passing time in the afternoon near the Blackfoot Reservoir east of Soda Springs. This year he has already lost several sheep to coyotes,disease, and rattlesnakes.
   
After a long day alone in the back country near Soda Springs,Idaho Miguel Alaya takes time to wash up before cooking dinner around 9 p.m.. Alaya will often leave camp around 6 a.m. spending the majority of his days keeping close watch for predators near his band of sheep.
   
Miguel Alaya, who is from a small town in central Peru, hauls a bag of salt to the top a of a mountain where his band of sheep will sleep at night. The salt is used to keep the sheep close to the top and fprevents them from wandering over the backside of the mountain. Twice daily Alaya climbs the mountain until he moves his camp to another location.
     
  
Storm clouds loom in the distance as Miguel Alaya and his horse Cuto embark on their twice-a-day journey to the top of a mountain near the Blackfoot Reservoir. From the top Alaya can keep a watch on his band of sheep and make sure they stay up top until the morning hours when he moves them back down the mountain to graze.