Nearly slept in this morning but decided to take the hounds for a little walk. Bad idea! I backed up next to the wilderness and dumped six dogs, then headed up the trail hoping to strike a lion or bear track. Well they struck the later and away they went, deep into the wilderness.
I stayed in behind them for about five hours then got a little tired and shut down to look for the cheese and crackers. And wouldn't you know it I left all the goodies in the truck, which made for a long day.........
Lots of laughs Vise, just be glad you weren't with me today. I shook those hounds out around 7:00 AM and got back to the truck a little after 4:00 PM., and only stopped a couple times for a few short minutes. Those hounds were deep into the Wilderness and long range on the radio when I pulled up and turned back, so I still haven't figured out tomorrow's battle plan as yet. A horse would be a big help tomorrow if they aren't at the trailhead, but I'm not holding my breath. I just hope that bear ran out from under them or it may be a few days before I get them back, might even have to go find a mule.................
As for next weekend, I gotta find my dogs and heal before I think that far in advance..
I had five hounds after that bear Vise and they were all loaded up and blowing down the track. Matter fact I walked in those tracks for seven or eight miles yesterday. They had been on the chain for nearly a week and wanting a track bad, in top notch shape and the kind of dogs a guy shouldn't have in that country without a tough saddle horse.......my bad I guess!
Last weekend a hunter and I rigged a hot boar in six inches of snow, a bear that we had caught and released in 'September so we drove on looking for a larger track. We found that track in nearly six inches of snow that had been down for four days, and the track had melted and frozen and was at least a day old and maybe more. I told my hunter if that boar had a den nearby we'd catch and kill him, but if he were traveling we'd be gathering dogs up for two or three days in pretty much roadless country.
He commented not to do anything I didn't want to do, and I turned my two red dogs down the tracks, followed by four young guns. We cut the run off and walked inot trailing hounds that afternoon before dark and heard them go out over the top of that drainage, and according to the GPS he had we had walked 9.4 miles. We picked three dogs up that night, and the next three the following afternoon and was lucky to get any of them back in that country. So to answer your question learn what you are up against and what your capabilities are before you send dogs out, cause once they are off the radio it becomes a crap shoot!
Best Regards, ike
And thanks Blacktailstalker, hopefully I'll have a little luck tomorrow.......
Got up early this morning and pushed in about eight miles and met all five of my hounds coming down their backtrail. They were pretty happy to see me as I shook my pack and knelt to give them all a big hug. Each came in howling and barking and whippin their tails, then lined out again down the trail as if to say, "ha old man, we still have eight or nine more miles to go so don't get too comfortable." I only felt bad that I didn't have the legs or a horse to get into them yesterday, but it isn't the first nor will it be the last time that I came up short and they didn't.........
GLAD TO HEAR YOU GOT THEM ALL BACK SAFE AND SOUND BEST OF LUCK LARRY
"IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENGLISH RUN WHAT YOU BRUNG" NITE CH CH PR SECOND NATURES BUCK(RIP) PR IDAHO LIGHTFOOT BLITZ RIP PR SEC NATURES LIGHTFOOT BLUE CRUIZ
PR SEC NATURES LIGHTFOOT JESS
PR SEC NATURES LIGHTFOOT DADS BRAVEHEART
SEC NATURES EMMA
Thanks guys, and once again, it was good to see their tails waging down the trail ahead of me headed home. It looks like I'm still in the hound business ha!
Ike, I feel ya man. You ever been down in Brush Creek above Vernal, or Ashley Creek Gorge, no raods go down into these canyons, and steep is an under statement, these are the time we all sit back and wonder why we even bother hounding. The worst is when you can hear them baying a bear and can't get into them unless you go up canyon about 2 miles and wlak into them. Fun times.
