We’re headed for the middle fork today, to explore a new area, film, (soak in the hot springs), and to visit with The Great Old Broads for Wilderness. Yes, you read that correctly. Darn good name, huh? We couldn’t pass up the chance to go meet them when we heard they were going to be out for a few days as a part of the protest going on against the helicopter capture/collaring of wolves in the wilderness. Yes, you read that right too, there is a protest about to happen in the wilderness. Not something I would have expected to run across out here.
It’s long and complicated, and I don’t want to get into politics on this blog, but in short, Fish and Game want to be able to dart and collar wolves if and when they see them, while they are out in the wilderness flying around for their annual elk counts that they do every year around this time. That’s all I’m going to say. Period.
So we will be away for 4-5 days and when we get back I’m sure there will be stories. I know there has been a lull in blogs lately. Its been a lull in winter. Things are melting rapidly. It seems spring is approaching at a breakneck speed, weeks earlier than it usually arrives. I half expecting to begin to see green-up on the hills, and hear songbirds returning to the brush along the river.
Yesterday, I heard a sound I couldn’t put an animal to. I was standing on the edge of a grassy flat, enjoying the day and watching Isaac disappear over the next ridge with the remote camera. The first time I heard it I wasn’t even sure if my ears were hearing correctly. It was eerie. Like a low, far-off, yowl of pain? Anger? I had no idea. I didn’t hear anything more for twenty minutes or so, and nearly gave up, thinking it must have been my imagination. But As I was walking around I heard it again. This time louder, and fiercer. I cupped my hands behind my ears to focus the sound better, and it echoed around the canyon, sounding like a monster on the prowl. After going through the possibilities of a bear come out of hibernation early, and a mountain lion in distress, I settled on the idea of Bigfoot. I began to scour the steep face of the mountainside across the river from where I stood, and found nothing, and only heard the sound once more, before giving up and heading back to the cabin, with the hairs on the back of my neck tingling.
When Isaac returned from setting up the remote camera, he rushed in the door and said, “Something’s happening out there!” as he b-lined for the big camera and batteries.
“Something that growls low and loud?” I asked, jumping to my feet.
He stopped and looked at me, “You heard it too?”
I half expected to look out the window and see Sasquatch barreling down the canyon, ripping trees out by their roots and bellowing as he went.
“I saw two bobcats on the river ice, I think they’re mating”.
So we grabbed cameras and lenses and batteries and sound gear, and raced back to the point above the river where Isaac had seen the cats, and watched…and watched…and watched. We waited patiently for a few hours and never saw them again. But I will never forget that sound, and I still can’t quite believe that all that sound could come out of a Bobcat.
