never_catch
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I just read the "Scores" thread in the General section and thought instead of hijacking that thread I'd start this one. This is an essay I had to write for my writing class I'm taking and is about...well you'll figure it out ;-)
A Ute Trees a Cougar
Winter unleashed its fury as my father and I left home for the most memorable hunt of my life. All I had desired for my twelfth birthday was to be at his side when he pursued a mountain lion, also known by football fans as a cougar. As he drove us south on Redwood Road, I could hear the hounds? howling and barking the entire way in the back of his truck. Dancer, Dumpster, Spazz and Ollie knew where we were going and were as excited as I.
Upon arrival, we parked the truck and began unloading snowmobiles in the most miserable winter conditions I have ever seen. After warming up the sleds, we tore off down the trail. Within thirty minutes the hounds sounded off, signaling that they smelled something to chase. We flicked on our flashlights as we stiffly crawled off our sleds and began searching the snow for tracks. Dad found tracks and said they belonged to a big lion. We released the dogs and listened to them follow Dumpster up and around the mountain for nearly an hour before they were out of earshot. After another hour of trying to keep warm, the sun finally rose to warm my delighted and frozen face. Dad gave me an idiot's guide to his radio tracking system and we located the dogs a mile away.
We drove our way toward the dogs until the sleds could go no further; we then set out on foot through the deep snow to find them. I could hear the hounds? barks growing louder with each step and the anticipation placed a machine gun in my chest where my heart once pulsed. Finally I caught a glimpse of Dancer jumping and barking at the base of a giant tree. As I peered up, up into the tree, I locked eyes with the lion. Surprised to see me, he immediately jumped down fifty feet into the deep powder. I stood in complete shock and watched my domesticated canines swarm the wild feline.
After a ground fight of mere seconds, the cougar evaded the dogs and began running down a deep canyon to my left. My father and I ran to the edge just in time to see the lion make it to the bottom and start up the other side. The hounds were on the lion?s tail the entire way up until the lion finally treed again. We hiked our way over and watched the lion for more than two hours.
We did not shoot the treed cat, as dad had only a pursuit tag, but that day was by far the most fun of my life. Seeing that predator at such a close distance in the wild was an amazing feeling such that I will never forget.
I wish I could have gone into more detail but there was a max word count I couldn't go over...anyways lets hear about you guys most memorable hunting stories!! Any species, kill or no kill, whatever you want to tell us about
GO KOBE GO!!
~Z~
A Ute Trees a Cougar
Winter unleashed its fury as my father and I left home for the most memorable hunt of my life. All I had desired for my twelfth birthday was to be at his side when he pursued a mountain lion, also known by football fans as a cougar. As he drove us south on Redwood Road, I could hear the hounds? howling and barking the entire way in the back of his truck. Dancer, Dumpster, Spazz and Ollie knew where we were going and were as excited as I.
Upon arrival, we parked the truck and began unloading snowmobiles in the most miserable winter conditions I have ever seen. After warming up the sleds, we tore off down the trail. Within thirty minutes the hounds sounded off, signaling that they smelled something to chase. We flicked on our flashlights as we stiffly crawled off our sleds and began searching the snow for tracks. Dad found tracks and said they belonged to a big lion. We released the dogs and listened to them follow Dumpster up and around the mountain for nearly an hour before they were out of earshot. After another hour of trying to keep warm, the sun finally rose to warm my delighted and frozen face. Dad gave me an idiot's guide to his radio tracking system and we located the dogs a mile away.
We drove our way toward the dogs until the sleds could go no further; we then set out on foot through the deep snow to find them. I could hear the hounds? barks growing louder with each step and the anticipation placed a machine gun in my chest where my heart once pulsed. Finally I caught a glimpse of Dancer jumping and barking at the base of a giant tree. As I peered up, up into the tree, I locked eyes with the lion. Surprised to see me, he immediately jumped down fifty feet into the deep powder. I stood in complete shock and watched my domesticated canines swarm the wild feline.
After a ground fight of mere seconds, the cougar evaded the dogs and began running down a deep canyon to my left. My father and I ran to the edge just in time to see the lion make it to the bottom and start up the other side. The hounds were on the lion?s tail the entire way up until the lion finally treed again. We hiked our way over and watched the lion for more than two hours.
We did not shoot the treed cat, as dad had only a pursuit tag, but that day was by far the most fun of my life. Seeing that predator at such a close distance in the wild was an amazing feeling such that I will never forget.
I wish I could have gone into more detail but there was a max word count I couldn't go over...anyways lets hear about you guys most memorable hunting stories!! Any species, kill or no kill, whatever you want to tell us about
GO KOBE GO!!
~Z~