Moo and I head back to the woods today as well. About 8 inches of fresh powder. Maybe this is our chance to track a Fisher-cat. We headed right up the ridge trail. The going was not that bad at all. With regular ski poles,
goretex Montrail trail running sneakers and gaiters we made our way as quick as usual. For the first 15 minutes Moo would only be a bit ahead of me. He would turn around and look at me with hie eyebrows up as to say,"What are we doing". But after that he warmed up to it all as if there was no snow at all. In snow like this I will check his feet, ears, etc. often just to make sure. It is not often that he feels cold at all. With his warm custom made
Polartec jacket he stays just about as warm as summer. We swear by his new jacket. It was a bit more than usual but great quality. Check out
http://www.dogcoats.com/...
The snow was stuck to everything. We broke the entire Ridge Trail. I just plowed right on through it all. Poles help greatly to keep the slipping to a minimum. The archways arch is usually down but since it was only one day later it was still up. It looks great with all the snow on it. This is pretty much a transition place from the Ridge Trail down to the lakes.
After doing about 3/4 of the loop we were at the Big Pines area. There was where we first saw any good tracks. I looked close and decided it has to be a Fisher-cat's tracks. When Moo came upon the tracks he took immediate attention and followed them. Here and there he went looking, searching for something. Then on a decent I saw Moo book it to this distant boulder area. From the distance you could see a dark cave like opening. An surely when I got down there I could see the same tracks lead into it. Moo was all over it. I know Fisher-cats are quite mean and have brutal claws. So I did not want anything to happen. I called to Moo,"Out, Out, lets go". It took him a few calls from me but he did come. We never did see one and probably will never see a Fisher-cat. They are quite the secretive animals.....
About a month prior to this day my wife, Moo and I were hiking the horseshoe shaped Ash path in Breakheart. At one point Moo was just about up this small tree. He was very very interested in something. When we got closer and looked it was the remains of a deer leg. A good guess would be a Fisher-cat took it up the tree with it since they are quite the carnivore. How else would a deer leg be hanging up in a tree like this? I know I wouldn't pick it up and hurl it.
