Cougar Hunt- Hardest Thing Matt Has Ever Done

So last Saturday was an adventure of a lifetime for Matt, his brother Toph, and their brother-in-law Regan.

First of all, Toph, Matt's brother, got his name drawn for the TAG for this Cougar Hunt a few months ago and was so excited. Matt and Regan wanted to go along for the memories but also for the "LAME MALE ADRENALINE RUSH" they get when they go hunting. Toph had a friend from the valley who had hunting dogs and that is where the excitement begins.

So last Saturday, they all had to wake up around 5:30 AM and get ready, get the sleds ready and loaded and meet Toph's friend, his four dogs, and a few other friends, at 7:30 AM up the canyon. And that is where the LONG DAY STARTED.

I guess they were on sleds from about 7:30 till about 4:00 PM, trying to find fresh tracks. The dogs were out trying to cut tracks. Matt, Toph and Regan finally got radioed, that by the sound of the dogs bark, across the canyon, that they probably had one "Treed." They rushed to the top of a ravine on sleds and hiked down the canyon, but then had to hike an hour, up the other side of the canyon. Matt said this hill was HORRIBLE; one of the hardest things he has ever had to do. It was pretty much straight up. And they had to pull themselves up with the surrounding bushes; pulling themselves up 3 feet and then sliding down 2. It took them about an hour to get up that hill. As they almost reached the dogs at the top; they heard the cat hissing. Then it jumped from the tree and ran back down the hill they had just climbed up. He ran down about 200 yards, and was treed again; up about 30 feet. This time Toph was ready to shoot. Toph aimed about 8 inches below his eyes with a HANDGUN 22, got off about 4 shots, probably hit about twice. Then the cat jumped again, 30 feet out of the tree, took off another 200 yards, with the dogs chasing him the whole time. Matt said the cat was so fast, that they felt like they were hunting a ghost. So he was treed again, 30 feet above the ground, and Toph got 3 more shots off. This time the cat FELL OUT of the tree, breaking branches on the way down, and ran down another 200 yards, to the bottom of a ravine; with the dogs still following. In the bottom of the ravine there was no cover for the cat to hide. So everyone rushed down to the ravine to help the dogs and there the Cougar was finished off.

Because the cat was so big and there was so much snow, it was impossible to take him out to have him weighed. They guessed he was about a 7 ft. cat and about 175 lbs. So in terms of Cougars, this cat was HUGE! They skinned him and his cape weighed somewhere between 30-40 lbs. I am sure if you all know Toph and Matt, this story will get better and better everytime it is told.

The way back was not easy either; trying to get the cat out, the snowmobiles, and the dogs back to the trucks before the snowstorm came in. And Matt knew I was at home freakin out because it was now going on 10:30 PM at night. They actually did have one guy hike back and call me, so I did not call SEARCH AND RESCUE. They still did not get home till about 1:00 AM the next morning and by then the kids were in bed, so they had to wait till morning to see the Cat. They were so excited and did not want to wait till morning. And also, to top the long day off, on the way home, Toph got in an accident because of deep snow and excessive speed; trying to get to the nearest 24hour burger joint. LONGEST DAY EVER. HARDEST DAY EVER! And Toph says if Regan had not been there to help him pack the cat out, he was thinking about leaving it behind. He is quoted saying, "IT IS ME OR THE CAT" as they were all struggling to get out of the canyon and get home! DOES NOT SOUND LIKE A FUN DAY TO ME! My kind of fun is sitting on a beach or at a pool relaxing in the warm sun.