Retreat

Trudging through the deepening snow, I recognize it is now about 6" deep where it was  about 4" when I started. The temperature is in the 20's with my moustache icing up as I work my way up the canyon. The blue sky is cloudless after the overnight snowstorm and the sun is just hitting the mountain tops. It's a beautiful morning and my trek up the canyon has been peaceful with my footfalls silenced by the snow. Suddenly, I notice a lot of activity.

The unblemished blanket of snow is all tracked up and I look up to see something just above me on the slope.

Warning:  By hitting "Read More" a graphic photograph follows.



Intrigued, I approach the object and recognize it being a young mule deer and immediately pop my earbuds out. Mountain lion tracks surround it and when I get close, I see how the young deer had been killed, opened up with the choicest pieces already removed and eaten. Other less palatable entrails lay out on the snow and I remove my glove to reach down and touch inside the deer. It is still warm, but not steaming, as I stand to scan around me.

Was the lion crouched behind a nearby tree preparing to protect its kill? I grab and open my knife, wishing it was 10 times bigger, as I cautiously survey the area. Not seeing any eyeballs staring back at me, I shift my attention to the tracks. It is apparent the young deer had been higher on the slope, up in the brush, when the cougar attacked. The snow tells the story how after being killed, it had been dragged down the slope to its present resting spot where the puma began to feed. I notice how the lion had walked around the dead deer in the small clearing until I finally see where the cougar took bounding leaps in the snow. Torpedo-shaped body impressions in the fresh powder, about 8' apart, show the lion leaping away towards the heavier treed forest. I wonder if my approach had startled it to bound away?

Regardless, the lion's route of departure happens to coincide with my planned trail run into The Enchanted Forest. But, there is nothing enchanting about pressing my luck, so I opt for an alternate trail for retreat.

Fortunately, the clearing is at a crossroads of trails so I elect to take the trail in an uphill and opposite direction. I remain disciplined to walk and have my head on a swivel during my escape. After some distance, I resume running and listening to my playlist.

The next day, coyotes and other scavengers already had the yearling nearly consumed with only hair and larger bones strewn about the area. 

The circle of life.  Nature's way of giving and taking back life to earth...albeit sometimes cruel and not pretty, it has to be...

What an incredible system.