A Favor

There is a herd of cattle a few miles south of Base Camp feeding. Over the last couple weeks they've been calving. Lots of babies running around but not so much food after three months of grazing. The Cowboys would like to move their cattle to Jackson Hole six to eight miles north of Base Camp but they can't find water or a way to get the cows to the river. Last year Tom spent considerable time exploring Jackson Hole and he's pretty sure he remembers an old road going down to the river he found from 70 or so years ago when they hauled equipment in for the Prommel oil well that was in operation only briefly. Tom finds an abandoned song bird nest, the river, and hopefully a bobcat footprint. He's going with bobcat. Generally mud will make a critter footprint 25% larger than regular dirt or real life. Tom returns to Base Camp and calls the cowboys to tell them he's found a way down to the river. If Tom is wrong about it being a bobcat and instead it's a mountain lion, it's going to be unpleasant times for mothers and their babies.