On Sunday, May 3rd, the Tracking Intensive class crossed Snoqualmie Pass to the drier, warmer eastside of the Cascade range. The top photo is Mt. Stuart on the left and part of the Stuart Range as seen from the rest stop at the top of Indian John Hill. It's one of the most beautiful sights on that stretch of I-90.
The third photo is looking back down Tanum Canyon from the trail where we were tracking elk, mule deer, black bear, and cougar! Given that I suffer from fear of heights and a bit of vertigo, I was proud of myself for staying with the group on that sometimes narrow and always steep bit of trail that hugged the mountain.
The fact is that we were seeing such incredible animal sign and tracks that I often forgot to be scared...Our second day with Sue Morse was just as fun and educational as the first had been. I learned so much that my head still spins with new information.
The 2nd photo is the track of a large male cougar - and yes, there was enough information in the track to be certain of the gender. It's exciting to be gathered around a track like that and know that the animal hunts the very road you're standing on...and while we didn't see any really fresh cougar (or bear) sign, it was obvious that they hang out there often.
The only wildlife sightings we had were 2 elk crossing the paved road below, a pair of mule deer sneaking away from the parking area, and as we were loading into the vehicles to leave, another mule deer running along the crest of the hill. That one was moving away from a moutain biker. I got a quick photo, but it's not very good. The deer was moving pretty fast, and was a long way uphill. Still, that's more than a group our size usually sees...I wonder what saw us?
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