It was early winter, that time of year when big game hunting has ended and it is still to early for snow skiing or snowmobiling and life is starting to get a little boring. I was just beginning to get a case of cabin fever when my cousin called and invited me to Utah for a pursuit only Mountain Lion picture taking hunt. Now I was more than ready for a new adventure and I was only to happy to accept his offer. That next weekend, off to Utah I went with my snowshoes, little instamatic camera and of course wearing my cowboy hat, you know, the one I favor the most.
Upon my arrival I was met with the howling of dogs, which I mentioned to my cousin, who quickly informed me that it was not howling dogs, it is baying hounds. Well OK, to me noise is noise and a dog is a dog, and it don't matter what you call it, oh well. That evening as we sat relaxing, looking through all the photo albums with magnificent Mountain Lions pictures that he and his dogs, err I mean hounds had treed, I knew right then that if we actually treed a Mountain Lion that I would do what ever I had to do to get that once in a life time picture of a Mountain Lion. Well that next morning before day light, off we went, heading up the mountains behind his place, the hounds were as excited as I was that cold, crisp morning, just to be out in the mountains, eagerly anticipating another adventure.
We hadn't walked very far when Darrell's lead dog, I mean hound, started sounding off about a hot trail. My cousin Darrell checked the track and said it looked like a good one and the hounds were going the right direction. Yep the "right direction", now I didn't know it but Darrell said those hounds don't look at the track, just for scent, and that he had some hounds that were so good at sniffing out a track that if they went the wrong way, they would trail that lion right back to where it was born. So off we went, up one side of a ridge and down the other side and up again then down, in our snowshoes through the snow. I don't know if any of you have walked in snowshoes up down any mountains before, but I'm here to tell you, it sure ain't what you'd call a walk in the park.
Just when I was thinking all this up and down the mountain stuff wasn't as much fun as I had imagined it would be, Darrell stopped, and cocking his ear up the mountain said "Ole Cinder has one treed". Now I didn't know for sure which dog, I mean hound, was Ole Cinder, but boy I sure was in love with that dog about then, cuz now we could stop all this up and down traveling.
We continued to climb up the mountain towards the ever increasing commotion of several dogs, I mean hounds, telling the world about treeing that mountain lion. At last we came to the top of a small ridge, there it was, what a scene, all the hounds (Ha, did you notice, hounds not dogs, I think I'm getting it straightened out now) running and jumping around in the snow under a tree with a beautiful tawny looking mountain lion sitting in the top of it. Darrell said the lion was a medium sized female. Well I don't know about "medium size" cuz that lion was looking pretty dog-gone big to me. Well luck was with us because she had treed up in a small scrub oak tree, that would make it easy for me to get great pictures, you know, the once in a life time picture, I thought.
Well I was so excited, I may have been yelling louder than the hounds, as I approached the tree to gaze in wonder at my first up close "In the Wilds" mountain lion. What a beautiful breathtaking site she was, just sitting up there in the upper part of the tree, watching the hounds carry on. There she sat with sleek powerful flowing muscles, attentive eyes watching everything, her tail swishing back and forth, gently, almost like a flag in a gentle breeze. The ultimate picture of wild Mountain Lion.
I hurried and helped Darrell gathered up all the hounds and tie them away from the lion's tree, on the uphill side, just in case she jumped out, maybe she would be inclined to run downhill. Now I was all for that downhill idea, what with all that snowshoeing we had done earlier, up one ridge and down the other, up and down, up and down. As we walked back to the tree I got out my little instamatic camera and started taking pictures. Darrell said "Lions don't pay no mind to humans when there's hounds around". So with this in mind (him being the expert and all) I went over by the tree and started taking pictures, then all around the tree, then under the tree looking up still taking pictures.
I'm here to tell you that little old scrub oak had more branches than you could shake a stick at, which made a good clear picture of that beautiful lion almost impossible. I mentioned my problem of taking a good clear picture to Darrell and he recommended that I climb up the tree a little to clear all the lower branches, he was sure I could get the once in a life time picture I wanted from there, besides lions don't pay no mind to humans when there's hounds around.
Well this was that once in a life time chance for me to take some great pictures, so I only hesitated a moment when I start to climb the tree. Now that ole lion she just took a glance at me then continued to watch the hounds. Man I'll tell ya what, Darrell must be right, she didn't even lay her ears back or give me a second glance.
There she was, just sitting in the tree, all I had to do to get that best picture of a life time, was make my way around one more branch. To do this though I would have to move in closer to the trunk of the tree, then move back out on that branch for the perfect spot to take my once in a life time picture.
Now I'm here to tell ya, as best as I can remember, I was crouching down on that last branch next to the trunk of the tree taking one more picture before I moved farther out on the branch for my once in a life time picture when my foot slipped just a little. Well when my foot slipped I straightened up and grabbed at the tree trunk to keep from falling, (falling out may have been the better course of action) and that's when all hell broke lose.
My reflex movements to keep from falling out of the tree caused that beautiful peaceful mountain lion to came unglued. That ole lion started in to hissing and spitting and breaking branches, Darrell was a yelling, and I was just trying to keep from wetting my pants, when the one thing happened that you don't want to happen when you're in a tree with a mountain lion (not that most normal people would be in the same tree as a mountain lion), enough was enough for her, here she came, down the tree.
Now we had a situation, with her wanting to leave that tree in a big hurry and me in her way, I'm here to tell you, I was more than willing to get out of her way, but evidently I just wasn't moving fast enough for her. Now I thought I was getting out of that tree pretty dog-gone fast, without killing myself that is. Then just when I thought I'ma gona' make it out of this tree alive, my cowboy hat was knocked off my head. At first I thought it was knocked off by a branch, until I looked back to see how close that ole lion was.
To this day I really hope it was a branch that knock my hat off, but when I looked up, that ole she cat was a snarling and hissing and taking bites out of my hat like it was her last supper. I don't know for sure, but I'm thinking that ole mountain lion thought she had ripped my head off and was working it over pretty good. Ok, one more picture, then I got out of that tree in the most unceremoniously way, falling, landing on my back in the snow. As I was lying there in the snow, watching that lion work my poor hat over, I had two thoughts - #1 That was close and #2 That sure was a good cowboy hat.
After I landed on the ground, she figured she had enough, enough of us, enough of that tree, enough of the hounds and enough of my poor hat. Yep she'd had enough, cuz here she came, out of that tree (don't worry lions don't pay no mind to humans when there's hounds around) or so I had been told.
Well this time she didn't pay me no mind (she already figured she'd killed my hat) as she leaped out of tree and beat feet into the snowy woods without so much as a howdy-doo or kiss my tail good-bye. Now my last picture ended up a little blurry, probably from me laying on my back in the cold snow, not cuz I had just about been worked over by a mountain lion, nope that wasn't it, remember (don't worry lions don't pay no mind to humans when there's hounds around).
So folks was my mountain lion adventure worth it? Well I'm here to tell ya!
Was my picture of a life time worth it? You be the judge of that.
Thanks for your time, and remember what Smokey Bear says
