In the Back Country.

When you go into the back country on horseback you never know what you will come across or what will come across you! We were heading out to the abandoned cabin to camp for the night. My best friend Elvis, and I camped out there a lot. It was our little get away. We had to ride the fence line anyway. Fix the barb where it had broken or got brush stuck in it. When we rode the north line we ended up about a mile from this old and abandoned cabin.

It was a beautiful August day, and we started out just before sunrise. Cowboy, one of our ranch dogs came with us as he is a glutton for any adventure. It was an easy day because we didn't find any breaks or issues in the line. We could hear coyotes howling in the distance, and watch deer and rabbits run. There was a gentle breeze that stirred once in a while and the flies where seldom. We both chewed on a piece of wid rye. Our horses enjoyed themselves as well. Happily moving forward knowing the way to the cabin. It was a good life. We would ride back home through the west fence and then down the south side tomorrow.

We broke off from the fence line and headed to the cabin. It was past a couple of mountain ridges filled with pine, oaks and cedars. There were blueberry bushes and also blackberrys along this trail but none ready for harvest.

When we arrived at the cabin, there was a couple of small mountain lions lounging on the porch. They were young which meant the mom might be around as well. Cowboy stayed by us and started barking non stop. He seemed to know better than approach wild cats. Elvis pulled his rifle out straight away but they scattered at the cock of his gun! He shot into the air as a warning. Our horses only pranced a little to the side having been trained to know, after the cock was the bang. Cowboy stopped barking at the sound of the gun and ran to the porch sniffing. He ran around the cabin and came back. "All's clear" I said to Elvis. "Good boy Cowboy!" I said and threw him a peice of beef jerky I had in my pocket.

We unloaded our horses and set up camp. The cabin was made of logs, and still had all four walls. The roof was rotted and mostly gone so you could be inside and see the stars at night.

We made a small campfire out front and heated up the stew my mom had packed for us. We also had some of my brother's moonshine to add to our fun. It was a starry night and after telling bad jokes and throwing stuff at each other, wrestling, singing old Elvis Presley songs and howling a lot we wore ourselves out. We checked on our horses, made sure they had water, extinguished our little camp fire, and went into the cabin to watch the stars and fall asleep. Cowboy slept inside with us.

It was still dark out when I heard Cowboy growl. The air was crip and the stars were still bright. I heard the horses rustling and neighing like they were upset. Those dang mountain lions I thought. My head spun when I got up from partaking in the moonshine earlier. I swigged down some water to help clear my mind and wiped a little on to my face. Elvis woke suddenly, sat up and said, "Whoa!" and swayed alittle. "Brian, what's up?" he asked. "Not sure yet." I said. I got my headlight on and grabbed my rifle and quietly headed out to the porch. We always slept with our boots on just in case we needed to act fast in the night. My dog Cowboy stayed by my side growling, not moving forward without me. Nothing on the porch. Could be a racoon or skunk. Being so far deep in the back country a person should not take chances.

I shined my light on the horses. Nothing I could see over there. Elvis came out with his headlight and rifle. Cowboy stood behind us growling, so we figured there was something out there that Cowboy did not want to confront.

"Let's check out back," Elvis said. We crept along the side of the cabin like we were planning on a shoot out like in the old west. Rifles loaded and ready. And there we saw it. Back at one of the old pear trees. A black bear sitting on the ground eating the pears that had fallen. She didn't seem concerned about us at all until Cowboy moved forward and started barking.

The bear stood up suddenly and seemed very confused with our lights shining on her. She covered her eyes and fell back and growled and stood up again. In her confusion, the bear starting coming towards us! Cowboy was barking and we were shouting and waving our hands.

"No No No No NO!!!"I turned my light away for minute and shot my rifle above the bear. It suddenly turned left and ran off into the woods. " Wow that was close!" I said taking a deep breath.

"Yea," said Elvis and he walked over to the pear tree and picked us both a pear. "Good dog Cowboy!" We praised and petted Cowboy as he proudly wagged his tail. We walked over to the horses. They had settled down.

"Quite a trip this one. " Elvis said. "Yea," I said. "Mountain lions and a bear on the same day! Wow!" "And with a hangover at that!" Elvis said smiling.

We both relieved ourselves before heading back inside. "Better mark this area good!" Elvis said half jokingly.

We layed back down on our bedrolls and watched the stars. It seemed we had just dosed off when I heard birds chirping. "Morning already?" I said rubbing my eyes. I went outside and checked the horses. They were happy to see me and the morning grain. I went around back to check things out. There was an old orchard in the back but only a few trees still produced fruit. The peaches were finished and the apples weren't in yet. But this one old pear tree was covered with pears!

We made coffee and gave Cowboy his rations of beef jerky. We had brought an empty basket for stuff we find and this time it was pears. Mom always canned what we brought home. We were hoping it was gonna be blue,or blackberries but we didn't find enough ripe this trip. Maybe in two weeks when we come back. We picked some good looking pears off the tree and filled our basket. The bees were just starting to gather and we got finished picking just before they took over the tree.

"We're gonna have to talk to my dad about that bear and the lions." I said.

"Those mountain lions were gorgeous." Elvis said. I wish I had taken a pic of them before we scared them off!"

"Well I hope we don't see any of them again!" I said saddleling up.

"This place gets wilder every year." Elvis said. I'd sure like to move out here. Fix the roof and get the well going. Become a mountain man." He puffed himself up to look rugged. "If we come out more often, maybe we can discourage the critters."

"I don't know" I said. "We need to talk to my dad about that."

It was another beautiful day in the back country. We rode the back trail to the pond for a swim. The water was still and the sun sparkled on the water. Dragonflies fluttered around us. Rainbow trout would leap suddenly out of the water hoping to catch a dragonfly or fly or mosquito. The water was cool and refreshing. Even Cowboy went in for a dip!

It was mid morning when we headed to the west fence. We watched eagles fly and heard the cry of Redtailed Hawks. A couple does sprang along a head of us across the pasture and leaped right over a six foot barbed fence. The rye and wheat were high and looked like gentle magic carpets or a wave on the ocean. Fortunately the fence was in good shape.

When we got home mom made us sandwhiches and took the pears to wash.

"I just read a recipe about chocolate pear tart!" she said. "How does that sound? Brian can bring one over to your house if you're not here when they are ready."

"Sounds great Mrs H!" which is what all my friends call my mom.

We told her about the bear and the mountain lions and she gave us that, "you boys should never go outside again" look." She slide open the kitchen window and a slight breeze brought in the smell of the marigolds in the window box.

"Me and Elvis are going to meet up with Barney." I kissed my mom on the cheek. "I'm taking the truck!"

"Take a shower first!" mom said.

"We're gonna help him unload some stuff at the dump so we"ll shower when we get back!" I said.

"See ya Mrs H." said Elvis and kissed my mom on the cheek."Off to another adventure!" and we headed out to town.