Pick Wire Canyon - Bobcats and Dinosaurs

On Wednesday morning, I changed camping locations.  I drove down the dirt road 11miles to Pick Wire campground, this being a formally designated campground provided by Federal Grassland Management.  Driving a bus, I need roads to get me to where I am to camp.

My new location was also free, although they had official, designated campsites and a vault (air dropper) toilet, there was no electricity or drinking water.
From this campground I could see where I had just come from.  I was on the third hill from the right.

While not as expansively scenic, this new campground had things to do.  Namely, interesting places to explore.  What it is perhaps most well known for is having the longest dinosaur track site in North America.  To see the dinosaur footprints, I had to hike 5.7 miles to the site.   With my faithful dog, Nala, and a backpack full of essentials (filled with too many water bottles...), we headed out to explore.
Here we are making the descent into the canyon.  Snow is still on the ground even when the temperature is a glowing 70 degrees.

It was a beautiful day and the natural wonder of the world lay before us.  I had read about this being rattlesnake, scorpion and tarantula country so I spent a great deal of time looking at the ground ahead.  On the side of the trail I did spot dozens of holes that I have confirmed to be tarantula burrows. You can see the faint shimmer of their silk around the right side of the opening.

About 2 miles into our trek we started noticing petroglyphs (Indian drawings carved into the canyon walls).  The trail we were on was mostly sandy at one particular stretch.  So Nala and I were unintentionally being stealthy, besides her constant panting.  50 feet in front of me and without a care in the world, a bobcat hops onto the path ahead of me.  What happened next 7 seconds went something like this...I see Bobcat hop onto road (a miracle in itself because I am constantly looking down at the path looking for tarantulas, scanning around from side to side to see the canyon walls on one side of the trail and the river to the other side)  It takes three or four steps towards me.  I had stopped when it initially hopped onto the road.  It stopped a second after I did.  We stared at each other for a full second and a half.  I was trying to figure out what it was...a coyote? a strange dog?  a hyena?  The bobcat was probably going "what the...isn't today Wednesday?  Isn't it winter?  Nobody is suppose to be hiking now."  It wasn't until he turned and bolted up the hill that I saw his bobbed tail that I knew instantly what he was.  I reached for the camera in my pocket like I was quick draw McGraw.  I have been well conditioned and mentally prepared for impromptu pictures  and I pulled the revolver...ahem, camera smoothly out, and in one fluid motion pushed the power button and pointed the camera at the fleeing cat and then pressed record.  Perhaps I should say, I thought I pushed record because I thought I had the camera in video mode.  In reality, it was in photo mode.  And when I pressed the button, all I heard was a shutter sound instead of the tell tale beep that signaled video recording.   I knew catching a speeding cat without some very specialized setting adjustment would just capture a blur.  When I heard the shutter I quickly brought my camera down and switched it to video.  By the time I pointed the camera again the bobcat was gone.  Here is the shot below.  I have circled two spots I think may be the bobcat.  (Click the picture to enlarge)

The lower shot seems to capture a fleeing animal with triangular ears, but the size seems too small and the muzzle seems longer (almost fox-like).  The bobcat I saw had spots (probably why the irrational initial guess as to hyena) and was about knee high to me.  I know without a doubt it was a bobcat.  The bobbed tail and the very cat-like way it bounded up the hill confirmed this.  I allow for this to be a potential identification only because I could have been 'leading' the shot because I knew there was a slight delay from pushing the button to actual recording.  (and I thought I had it on video)
The second, higher up, more centered circle has the spots and is on the same course straight up the hill.  (Initially, I had predicted the bobcat would run up and back, trying to go the opposite direction as me.  It just went straight up between the two big rocks.)
A third possibility is that neither are the cat and he was actually blurred beyond recognition or behind a rock when the picture was snapped.  In which case it is a nice shot of rocks with petroglyphics on them.  I will return to this subject in more depth in another post.
For the record, here is a photo I found online to show what the bobcat I saw looks like.  I never saw mine sitting.

So for the rest of my hike I was on high alert scanning the trail ahead and the canyon side of the trail like an over-caffeinated mad man.  The camera was in my hand, not my pocket.  I debated the merits of video and still photo in my mind.  Video would be the best.  At least I could point the camera and then later the motion of the animal could be clearly scene.  Unfortunately, the rest of the hike was wildlife-free.
I finally made it to the Dinosaur tracks.  To tell you the truth, the bobcat incident had me so jacked up the tracks seemed almost anti-climatic.
We cross the river to see the 4 legged brontosaurus and two legged allosauras (carnivore)

I am pulling ice out from the edge of the running water.

The allosaurus track

Evidence the dinosaurs exhibited herding behavior. 

 Evidence I saw said evidence.

Nala.  Stick that tongue back in your mouth.

 Walking in their footsteps.

Heading back

Dino tracks weren't the only tracks around.
Only today did I really look at this photo.  I was snapping it because of the antelope tracks.  But there are horse tracks (you can ride them to the dinosaur tracks if you own one and are too lazy to make the 11.4 mile hike) and bobcat tracks. (Click photo to enlarge)  Human footprints too.

It wasn't until my return trip that I started really noticing these tracks.  Originally I thought they were made by Nala and her freakishly long toe nails.  At the beginning of the hike she frequently ran ahead to scout things out.   This track was made when the ground was wet and the mud dried.   (Updated Edit:  The pics below are NOT the tracks of a Bobcat.  To see that I do know a Bobcat when I see one,  go to my post The Bobcat : http://www.trustedcompass.com/2011/06/bobcat.html)

Same for this one.  In fact, probably 50% of the trail had these tracks.  Again, I didn't really look at them until the walk home.

Also, there were high numbers of cat droppings sitting in the middle of the trail every 50 - 100ft in places.  I am familiar with cat droppings.  I don't feel like posting pics of cat scat on my blog at this time.

By the time I climbed back up the trailhead at the end of the hike I was made painfully aware of how out of shape I was.  In hindsight, I see that over the winter I have had very little opportunity to get out and exercise.  I have been confined to the bus with brief walks to let Nala do her business.   This hike was technically easy, mostly level and it was only a slightly warm day.  I drank plenty of water.  But the fact was that I jumped from walking less than a couple of hundred yards a day to over 11 miles.  My feet hurt, Nala was in obvious discomfort, carrying her beloved tennis ball while maintaining a lopsided gait, borderline hobble.  If I stopped to take a picture she plopped down, panting.  Yes, she received water every time I got myself some out of the pack.  That final incline just drilled it all home.  My backpack probably weighed only twenty pounds but managed to but a hurting on my shoulders.   I caution that if you make this hike, be prepared.  Summer would be even tougher.  It is motivating to go 5.7 miles away from home and know there is no other way but to hoof it back yourself.   No hitching a ride.  No calling someone for help on your cell.  It was only uncomfortable until the last mile or so.   Fortunately, I recovered quickly.  By the next day, I felt only trace aches of the previous days hike.