Over the Christmas break, Cody took a customer from Boise, Idaho up to Vernal to go Mountain Lion hunting. Cody's cousins are experienced mountain lion hunters, own and train the dogs, and were happy to take Cody and his friends. It was quite an experience! They didn't actually kill any, but they were able to see a few chased up trees by the hounds. (just like the same ol' dog and cat chase in our own neighborhoods, eh? Goldie LOVES to chase cats up trees!) The mountain lions were so beautiful (and very angry) that Cody didn't mind the early morning and freezing cold temperatures (20 below) so much.
These dogs are amazing! Cody's cousin Dustin would take each dog, once they found mountain lion tracks, and have them sniff the trail. They would go off in different paths and talk to each other. Once one dog caught up to a lion, it would change its bark to a hound howl and they would come together to form a pack around the lion. You can see by the picture that they chased it up a tree. What surprised Cody was that the dogs actually climbed right up after it! The lion would swat at the dogs and if the dog fell out of the tree, it would climb back up again. It was a great experience,
especially for someone who doesn't love to hunt, but would just rather appreciate the animal in all its furious glory!
