# Of Cougars and Cliffs. Or, There and Back Again.



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

“I swear cat if you try to sneak in here one more time, you’re gonna get it!!! If I don’t kill your bigger cousin today….well, you know…” I yelled at the motel cat as it slunk out the door. This stupid thing had already snuck into the room 3 times, and I had had it!
“Ready to go Chris?” I asked.
“Yeah, just let me brush my teeth” he replied.
We loaded into Brett’s truck in the dark, our breath curling around our faces. 
“Jay is gonna meet up with us at the Notom junction, he has some untried dogs he wants to get on a kill” said Brett, jumping into the cab. 
Driving down the road, we reveled in anticipation, hoping to cut the tracks of those two cats again. Finally, we spot Jay’s truck waiting for us on the side of the road.
“Hurry up! Another **** houndsman just turned up the road 5 minutes ago! C’mon!” yelled Jay out the window, firing up his truck. 
As we turned out onto the desert headed to the mountain, Brett floored the gas pedal. Truck roaring in the frigid night we flew around each winding bend. 
“Now, I really hate driving like this through open range, holler if you spot any cows.” Jay stated, oblivious to the internal panic that this phrase instilled in my drowsy mind.
After 10 minutes we stopped by Brett’s horse trailer to pick up his hounds. Three rangy, long legged beauties that would, hopefully, be the heroes of the day. Quickly returning to the road, we finally caught up to the other houndsman’s truck. As he continued on the road, refusing to pull over, we balanced our frustration with understanding. Luckily, as we approached the final fork in the road, he went right, and we went left to the cougars we had located yesterday.
“Yeah, houndsman….they’re all ***holes!” grinned Jay, as we pulled up alongside him. 
“Now, so you know what to expect. Once the dogs jump the cat, it is usually pretty quick before they tree ‘em. Maybe ½ mile or so. We should be wrapped up by early afternoon.” Said Jay. I should have known right then that something was terribly wrong.
We slowly crawled up the road, excited at the fresh layer of powder from the night before. Just as dawn broke over the desert cliffs, Brett stopped the truck. No mean feat, considering he lost his braking power the day before. 
“Woohoo! Look! That is as fresh as they come! Lion!” whooped Brett. 
In a moment of inner dialogue, I thought of Mr. Burns: “Smithers, release the hounds!”
Quickly, Jay and Brett collared the dogs with GPS trackers and threw them on the trail. 
“Hey Brett, look at this new pup I picked up yesterday. Beauty, ain’t she?” said Jay, bringing out a 7 month old Plott hound, tiger striped black on orange. 
“Gorgeous, let’s see if she’ll hunt” replied Brett, leading the unnamed pup to the trail. The rest of the pack had taken scent, lining up on the trail howling and baying. The sound of 7 hounds singing in the early morning light was a thrilling new experience.
Looking over at Brett I said, “You know, my wife’s gonna hate you right? You’re a bad influence on me! In just a day and a morning you have given me a few new vices! We haven’t even started and I’m already hooked!”
“Yeah, but you love it and you know it!” he grinned, taking off up the steep juniper slope as though it were a level track, quickly disappearing up the mountain.
“D’you know that he missed the Olympic qualifiers by less than ½ a second when he was at Utah State? He’s a heck of a track runner, just a natural athlete” admired Jay. “Here, have a donut. We’ll just wait and see what Brett finds before we hike up that *@** hill”.
Sitting on the truck bed, I quivered with anticipation thinking about the upcoming chase. I really was hoping to do this with my bow. 
“Jay, do you copy?” crackled Brett on the radio.
“What’s up, Master Guymon?” quipped Jay.
“This cat has been all over this hill, the dogs are about 1 mile southwest of the ridgetop, dropping down into this canyon. Looks like a few of them are stuck on some ledges.” 
“Alright, we’re headed up” replied Jay.
“K, I’m gonna go catch up with the dogs on the trail” said Brett.
Traipsing through the knee deep snow, we labored our way up to the top of the hill. Cutting Brett’s tracks, we followed across the ridge and dropped down into a canyon. 
“Wow! Looks like a second lion was jumped here! The first cat is a nice one, but this one is a monster!” laughed Jay. “We’ll see what happens.”
Slipping down into a ravine, I laughingly wished for a pair of skis. As we entered the twisting, slickrock canyon, the tracks told a story of a cat, cornered by hounds and leaping up to safety. Three of the hounds made their way up and over, continuing in their pursuit. The other three were stuck. As we made our way up to an exposed outcropping of rock, Jay managed to pick up the dogs on his GPS. “Alright, they are only 400 yards away down in that canyon. You stay here, I’ll go get them unstuck.” 
As Jay wound his way down the steep slope, my brother and I stopped to take in the majesty of the desert landscape. I hadn’t been down in the desert in the middle of winter before, and I was just stunned at the contrasting beauty of pink sandstone and crystalline snow. 
After 45 minutes, we spotted Jay working his way back with 2 of the dogs. 
“Well, looks like Wiley and Crone are stuck 300 yards away from the cat. Brett says it is ledged up on some cliffs 1.14 miles southwest of here. There is a road at the bottom of the canyon he’s in just .6 miles away. I’m gonna call back my other two dogs, then we’ll head back to the truck and get down below Brett” wheezed Jay. I did not envy him that last hike he made!
Standing on that outcropping, Jay began to howl and yell out his dogs names. “See that on the GPS? They are headed back. Only ¾ of a mile away now.”
Within minutes, we could see the dogs working their way up the mountain towards us. As we trekked back to the truck, we quickly began to peel off layers of clothing. “Crazy how a little hiking can heat you up so quickly!” I noted. It must have been 0 degrees up there. Returning to the truck just after noon, I gratefully wolfed down a few granola bars and inhaled a few water bottles. “Well, you know we didn’t have to work too hard for that buffalo, so Karma’s making us work a bit extra for this cat!” I said. Truthfully, I was loving that long chase.
As we wound our way off the mountain and around the desert buttes, we finally found the canyon with Brett and the dogs. Coming to a quick stop, Jay found the tracks of the larger lion crossing the road apparently running like the devil himself was after him. “Dang that is a HUGE cat!” Jay was only missing drool dribbling off his chin to complete the picture of a total madman. He wasn’t missing it by much.
“You guys finally here?!! I’ve been napping long enough!” crackled Brett over the radio. “Just be sure to stick to the right side of the canyon along the ridgetop, the cat is ledged up over on the left. 
“Now, all you have to do is pull the action back and then shoot, if you need to use the pistol” Jay said, handing me his 9mm. Grabbing my bow and handing the camera to my brother, we took off up the ridge. 
The anticipation was building up. What if the cat jumped and got away? The dogs have had it trapped for nearly 4 hours at this point. Would there be time to catch it again? What if I miss? What if I fall off the cliff as I shoot? And a thousand other questions raced through my mind as my heart leaped to my throat. 
Panting, I finally caught sight of Brett. Following the motion of his arms I looked to the cliffs. There was the cat, on the edge of a sheer drop, the kind you can only find in redrock country. 
“Bowl around the ravine here, and hurry, the cat is looking to jump!” hollered Brett. 
Part climbing, mostly sliding I flew around the ravine and began to skirt the edge of the cliff top over to Brett. Peeling off my coat, I didn’t want to be hindered when pulling back my bow. My heart sank as I watched the cat leap 15 feet down to a tiny ledge. Luckily, the dogs quickly followed suit. With 4 snarling hounds singing in its face, and a 50 foot drop behind him, the tom was truly trapped.
Cresting a small bump, there he was. Hissing, snarling, and spitting in my face, all I could see was its head through a gap in the rocks 10 feet away. “Brett, do you have a shot over there? I have nothing over here.” I gasped.
“Yeah, get over here quick, he’s looking to jump! Chris, you filming?” said Brett.
“Yep! I got it all! I just can’t see the cat from here.” My brother replied.
“Here, hand me the camera” whispered Brett, as he loomed over my shoulder. There, 5 feet below me, was 140 lbs of coiled steel, full of venom and hate. Miraculously calm, I drew back my bow. Placing the 10 yard pin right at the bottom of the cat’s belly, I released the arrow. 
At the shot, the cat screamed, slipping off his precarious perch. At the realization of death, the cat leaped off the cliff. 
“I think that was a little far back, gut shot. But the cat’s finished” exclaimed Brett.
As I sat on that tiny ledge watching the cat expire, my legs turned to jelly. In two days I had killed a bison and a cougar! Wow! 
“I’ve got to grab the dogs so they don’t jump off after the cat, meet you down there”
“Ok, Brett. Looks like I’ll have to finish him with the pistol, hate to see him suffer like that.” I replied.
Half falling, half collapsing with shock, I scrambled down the snow and mud. With the dogs restrained by Brett I approached the cat for the final time. ****ing the 9mm, I put the coup de grace in him, and observed the sadness of such an incredible creature’s death. It was done.
“Yeah, I forgot to tell you that a cougar’s vitals are further forward than most game. He would have died shortly, but thanks for letting him end it quickly” whispered Brett, almost reverently. 
“Yeah, I was meaning to ask about that, but I forgot in the rush of the moment, sorry.” I replied.
“Congratulations, that is definitely a tom. And a great cat at that! He won’t make the book, but he’ll miss it by a hair only. Prolly weighs 130-140 lbs.” 
“I don’t care about that, he is just a gorgeous animal!” Nothing was going to get me down, I was floating on air.
As we took countless photos, I admired the courage of the cougar’s final leap. From the bottom looking up, my nerve turned liquid as I realized what I had just done. 
As we gathered up the dogs, and loaded up the cat we made our way down the canyon. Meeting Jay back at the truck we all just basked in the moment. Right then, the other houndsman came down the road. After quick congratulations, we found out that he had been trying to chase a cat out here for a week without luck. We commiserated with him as the sun died over the foreboding cliffs of the Henry Mountains.
Back at the motel, we packed everything up onto my jeep. Spying the invasive feline slinking past my tires, I grinned wickedly. “Alright, the governor issued you a pardon, for now!”
Driving home in the middle of the night, it was all I could manage to thank the lovely Lady Luck. 2 days, two incredible animals, and a lifetime of remembrances.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

For now, here is a link to the album on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 728&type=3
I'll get the videos uploaded soon


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## Briar Patch (Feb 1, 2010)

Another amazing write up! Congratulations on your hunts - awesome!


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Nice story there johnny! 
And ya, there are hunters , and there are houndsmen.

You just dont know how nutty/crazy hound guys are til you hang with them for a while.


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

Yep, always an adventure. Thanks for sharing your story JC.


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## elk22hunter (Sep 7, 2007)

Very good Writing!


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

Hey, I am an English teacher and I want you to know that I am proud of you for having written these stories. Excellent craftsmanship!


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Thanks BirdDogger. I am headed to law school in the fall, so I hope that I can write!


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

So, my cat is a good sized cat.....but Brett went out with his tag yesterday and killed a MONSTER! Seriously, ridiculously big cat!!!! He's on here as biggamehunter something or other.....he definitely should post that bruiser up! If you want a cat,(ToUA)......this is the guy to talk to!


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

here's a facebook link to the cougar shot video. There are a few more minutes of us skirting around the cliffs before this, but they are taking forever to load!
https://www.facebook.com/photo...5450729¬if_t=like
and here's the bison videos:
https://www.facebook.com/photo...?v=10151377711280729


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

I'm not able to load the cougar video. I'd love to see it. Great stories. Us flatlanders have to live through you guys sometimes.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

Is this Brett, Brett Guymon? If it is I have a picture of that big cat!


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

Ok never mind I looked at your pictures and it is him. Hes an animal when it comes to hound hunting. Hopefully this weekend we can get on a big cat. Here is the one he got on Saturday 12/29.


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## svmoose (Feb 28, 2008)

Great write-up. I couldn't get your video to load for some reason though. Brett's Cat is huge!


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Now that's a cat :!:


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Yeah, it's Brett Guymon...dude is an animal! Hmm as for the videos, do you have facebook?


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Ok, here is a new link for the cougar video.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151378345885729


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