still no sign of nelly, though there are two odd slide/drag trails coming up from the road by her house. No blood or buzzards, however, which is how I've pinpointed lion kills in the past. We did some light scouting for blood, and I'm going to hike the bear trail along the ridge tomorrow to look for track and scat. We aren't planning on tracking the cat. Rather, we're going to need to prove the lion has become habituated, and until somebody finds a missing pet that can proove a lion kill, we won't get it. I've pulled the 30.06 back down from the ranch, along with a 45. I havnt seen anything near the cabin, but it does wander along our part of the ridge, on the other half of our parcel.once we get the tag, we'll simply have to wait. A cougar can have a range of 25 square miles, and can tale up to a month to wander it's path, or it can get from one side I the other overnight. With nearly nothing but wilderness out here, were not going to be able to track the cat. Though I may try early next week after the coming snowstorm. Not hoping for much, just curious to try.
And thanks for thekind words guys, less than a decade ago, I was in one of the cubicles, and nothing has ever made me miss it except living up here having to constantly work for water, power, and even shelter as I finih this cabin. Don't get me wrong, I love it and this is where I am meant to be, but I miss getting off work, drinking a beer and playing a videogame rather than getting off work and trying to rebuild the atrter on the generator before the batteries die.
Sorry, it's been a long day on the mountain, and I'm bummed about nelly and trying to figure things out. Time for beer.