Boulton Creek trailhead after a good day of sking. Here’s hoping this wasn’t the last one. Apr 18, 2011
I hope we can ski a few more times yet, but with work, and other obligations, you never know. We found a few hours to spare yesterday and had a lot of fun in PLPP, although it was short.
Pocaterra trail between Whiskey Jack and Packers. Apr 18, 2011
Starting at Boulton Creek, we headed up Whiskey Jack. No grooming was done on Sunday night, so all trails have fresh snow. The tracks were still good and it was still cold enough for wax to grip well.
At the top, both directions looked enticing, but we chose Pocaterra, and skied to the Packers junction. We spent some time enjoying the surroundings, the sun and fresh air, knowing we may not be back for many months.
Descending the access trail from Boulton Creek to Whiskey Jack. Apr 18, 2011
Remembering how much fun we had on Saturday, we skied down Packers. This trail is rarely in such good condition, especially the first big hill. And no ice flows.
Originally, we had planned to ski all the way down Pocaterra, but the snow was ultra-deep on the section between Packers and Lynx. When I ski that long downhill, I want to be flying, not working.
Just a note to anyone sending in emails, bear with me if you don’t see your update right away. I’ll get them on as soon as I can.
I don’t know why the apostrophes in the photo captions are sporadically coming out wonky. I’m trying to get it fixed.
Tragedy
Bighorn sheep
A reminder to drive carefully – our precious wildlife is at stake. This is a situation which brought tears to my eyes.
Coming back from PLPP on Saturday, we saw four bighorn rams on Highway 40, just a few K from the end of the road as you leave. The usual place where you frequently see them. They all had massive horns, and had obviously lived long lives. We had seen them earlier in the week in the same place and all were healthy. Except now, one of them had a broken front leg and was in obvious pain while trying to walk. His leg was just dangling. This scene was heartbreaking and highly disturbing. I am surmising that he was hit by a vehicle.
A conservation officer was directing traffic, and I learned yesterday that the ram was put out of his misery. I understand the laws of nature, and it would be fine if he had succumbed to a wolf, cougar, or bear, but to have it ended like this is so wrong.
There are signs posted along the highway to warn drivers that sheep could be present. Please heed them.
On the bright side, at least this sheep was able to live his life with only wolves, cougars, and bears after him. If he lived out of the park, it would be a different story, and he’d have men with guns after him as well, especially with his magnificent horns.
That is sad. One of my colleagues once said to me “oh, you’re one of those people that do 90 through the park aren’t you?” I wanted to smack him, but I’m not that big.