Show s n Doing ing j THE GREAT GR n OUTDOORS RS 1 By Stan By Wo tWo spent n R sunny Saturday afternoon in Park City visiting with history batory hobbyist t. t Fraser Eraser Buck Mr Duck thick told us of ot many of that colorful little mining towns town's wn's early-day early events Once ody get pets him go Ing dad will talk about Park City's past for hours hour his hi son ion Kenny said with a smile On the home we pulled up into Ted l d Crittenden's yard at ath h Hoytsville wildcats snarl snarled ed fighting ilo bogs t rolled tolled around Inthe Inthe in inthe the snow and halt dozen a dozen a-dozen hunt hunt- tens tors stood to together ether discussing their days day's ad adventures The hunters we wa learned had been teen up on Kio tre slopes educating th lr ir hounds hound They looked cooked a bit bushed by now but their hounds w.-re w. re still fresh tresh- and were fighting viciously over possession of a slightly ragged elk head Wish my dog would go after atter CATS with that much enthusiasm enthusiasm Ted fald caul wistfully Ills His friends snickered We watched Cliff Vernon and andRay Ray snap a picture of ofa ofa a R rather reluctant old wildcat wildcat- then moved on At Coalville 15 gents had Just returned to town after aCter attempting to catch Summit County's celebrated celebrated celebrated cele- cele mountain sheep That wandering bighorn was seen here just a couple of days ago said Conservation Officer Officer Earl Bagnell but but we couldn't locate him today I think a party of rabbit hunters pushed him off a ways ways lies Hes been chased a lot lot and hes he's smart theorized Oil Gil Porter I Earl volunteered a bit more of I hl hU his areas area's current outdoor news Remember how our moved out about bout the time Um of the November bird hunt 1 W Well e 11 they're Just now to show ur again I I One of these first days well we'll make our our u upper per Bear River I moose and elk counts M e eJust I Just above Round Hound Valley we stopped to talk with trapper tl-apper Hoyd Green Floyd nord had had a good day Down at Devils Devil's Gate Oate iiI his dogs had treed a young bobcat bob cat tt which he shot In the back of his pickup I truck besides beside the cat were a afine afine afine fine brown mink half dozen muskrats and muskrats and a cat call catl catlI f I This Thia Is the first Ive I've ever seen Floyd said referring refer I ring to the beautiful cousin of the racoon by Its fancI fancier fanc fanc- I ier name Caught it up In the rocks at Devils Devil's Gate Oate This I male here wasn't the only cat in that area Judging from the sign The only other local oat cat weve we've seen was trapped by a friend in Ogden Canyon six years ears ago lie He caught It alive in a big square cage type cage type trap That one was about the size of a kit fox and was about the finest looking animal weve we've ever seen After Atter It had bad been in captivity for a while it became quite tame and could be held in the arms This friend Gar Workman spent several months trying to catch that wary nocturnal crea erea ture One spring days day a few tew months before he finally succeeded succeed succeed- ed ed Gar was exploring the ColdWater Cold ColdWater ColdWater Water fork of Ogden Canyon when he came upon some Ibon bones s beneath a ledge Being the curious curious curi curl ous type he picked them up for ifor fora a closer examination Lodged deeply into one of them which them which turned out to be part of ot an elks elk's backbone Gar backbone Gar found a centuries old flint arrowhead Returning to Round Valley trapper Floyd Green told I u us that he has trapped 13 bobcats bobcat bob bob- eats cats so far this winter Says he Ie caught nine of em behind behind his hi hi home right there at Ent Enter At Morgan im John and and Bert Wilkinson Wilkinson Wil Wil- kinson had Just loaded up their and together with Willis Packard Doc Martineau and some of f the Jeep boys motored off up Lost Cre Creek k for tor an overnight overnight over over- night stay slay at the Francia Francis Cattle Ranch nanch So theres there's a section cross-section of local town small-town activity on balmy winter days Had we been city big folks wed we'd have probably spent such a day d-ay at Alta Atta or Snow garbed Basin Basin garbed in fancy toga togs and down slopes on a pair of ot boards s splitting Hare marksmen Lorin Halls falls George Carr Kent Williams Wil Wil- llama liams and Gale Allen hunted hares near Snowville Saturday I shot a box of shells Lorn Lorin reports The four of ot us killed trilled 20 or 30 rabbits e Dill Bill and Bob Dob Hartman hartman Hart Hart- man nan tra trapped ped four tour bobcats In five live days over in the 1 East allt Canyon I country They roped one of ent em I down and hauled it home alive The cats cat's not only alive in fact but acts extremely vigorous and healthy especially when tome some somebody body gets within clawing range rang I Bome-I hobbyist Max Oar Gar Oarlock lock reports comIn across acro tracks track lIke Ive I've never seen een be fore fore up up pert near to the top of Strawberry The tracks were fresh Ma lat Maz relates and they were made by three animals animals animals-an an adult Mutt and two I small ones These creatures are a toed four-toed affair with little tittle threet three three- t cornered marks back at the heel of ot each of their tracks After lookin through some books at home Im I'm if It they might've been made by Iby wolverines wol wol- verines I known wolverine migrated migrated mig mig- I rated through this area three years rears ago Could we webe be I some tar far far northern animals Inhere in inhere inhere here Just as sure as one of lifes life's greatest Joys joy I Is II to sneak out on the wife for a hunt with the boys The jackrabbits in the Snowville Snow Snow- ville me area were beginning to get smart by the time we finally got out there after em There were still BUll plenty to be seen but they refused to sit Around within shotgun shotgun shotgun shot shot- gun range Most of our fleet flop flop- eared victims were wele nailed at scope and rifle distances About thirty miles milea southwest ot of Snowville we bounced through Kelton telton This ghost town is situated situated sit sit- beside the original Union Pacific railroad line Une Well travel ed Wendell points out that It was once the livestock livestock- shipping center for for that whole desolate ate area All that's left of old Kelton Is a handful of fallen buildings and a little fenced In graveyard The place Is surrounded by nothing but acres and acres of snow-covered snow sage flats speck flats speck specked ed with rabbit track tracks A few miles south of Kelton the ten of us made an unsuccessful f ful l rabbit drive A coup couple e of the boys did comb upon a a fresh lion track though And a pair of ot bobcat bobcat bobcat bob bob- cat spoor too had to took look that one up Wonder If jf these I helped explain the the absence absence absence ab ab- ab- ab sence of game Part of our our hike w was s over a westward winding stretch of the theold theold theold old U. U P P. P Railroad bed Some small wooden trestles still stand here We refueled at Park Valley at atan atan atan an type old general st store re Back Dack lin In Snowville we watched Henefer Henefer- ite lie Bill DIU Hurst load his trail semi er with er with the last of Jack Jack- rabbits What a huge heap of hares Most of these rabbits came out of 0 Idal Idaho o Bill told us Strings of hunters herd them Into wire enclosures out there then then kill em with clubs Bill Dill said that he was dell deliver vel lug ing the bloody bodies to Laramie Laramie Lara- Lara mie Wyoming On the return trip we saw lots lotsof lotsof lotsof of huntera hunters ln including hunters including two parties partle of ot em overhead in ski equipped airplanes Several pheasants were noted feeding along the gravel road south of Howell Also got our first look at the Thiokol lay lay- out with out with its it's colored brightly buildings scattered all over the Box Elder County hillsides Its It's lots of fun tun to ride and and roam but ut you always find wore snore game near home home I STAN |