Day 4 - Thursday

Thursday was an absolutely breathtaking day. The sun began to peak out after the storms the day before and the fresh snow glowed in the mountains. The cats did not move much because of the storm but the elk sure did - we saw about 100 elk on Thursday.

Day 5 - Friday

At just a bit over 1/2 way through the trip, the cats really started to move. We caught this cat for fun - a female - and snapped some pictures of her. We headed up to a small village some 30 miles away to use the phone and Ron called his wife. He came back from the phone to tell me my lion hunt would be continued next year. The Idaho F&G sets quotas on certain units in Idaho and once the female lion quota has been met, they close the lion season. Well, as my luck would have it, they got their 7 females that day and closed the season. Though I was a bit disappointed, the good part is that Ron gives his clients another full eight day lion hunt the next season at no charge when this happens. So I get to enjoy this hunt all over again next December! We spent the rest of the day looking for bobcats and riding snowmobiles through miles of mountain trails. We caught another cat in the tree and took some more photos.

Our hunt is over - for now. We made arrangements with Ron to come back next year on Dec. 26 where we will be bringing you this hunt all over again. This early closing of the lion season has only occurred twice in the last ten years and there are talks of increasing the quotas or doing away with them altogether. But despite that - my hunt was still a success. I saw four lions and had the chance to run them with dogs over miles, across streams, and deep snow. This hunt would challenge any triathelete. At the end of the chase is one of the West's most majestic creatures not but a few feet away. Besides the four cougar, we saw about 300 elk, 150 mule deer, many bald eagles, and some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever encountered. We snowmobiled through the high country - often having to stop for elk that were using the same trails - and spent every hour of daylight outside in the mountains. At night it was a different home cooked meal prepared by Ron; dishes such as elk Swedish meatballs, pork roast, and his special elk-burgers. Though there was no electricity in this remote mountain log cabin - we had hot showers every day and even got to soak in a hot tub - compliments of a naturally occurring hot spring located directly next to the cabin.

I can't wait to come back here for another eight day hunt next year and get after a big tom. Many hunters never even get to see a cougar on their hunt and I saw four in four days of hunting and that included about a day and a half of storms. It was just a matter of time before the cat we wanted would surface - but this year it wasn't meant to be.

Ron has a couple of slots available for '98 and If you are interested, you can e-mail him at [email protected]