They Grow Up So Fast

Hiking with Kobae

Tracking

Easier to follow if you're looking towards the sun as fresh tracks shine. Rabbit. Large lizard track. Probably a Collard or a Leopard. You can see the tail dragging if you enlarge the picture my clicking on it. A small lizard has passed prior to Kobae's arrival determined by the lizard track disappears where Kobae has stepped on top of it. Looking straight down on Kobae tracks (harder to see), then he crosses a hard surface, then looking into the sun again and the track shines. Snake.

Footprints

Sunday Night at Kane Creek

Sunday at Hunter Creek

Sunday at Kane Creek

As Tom is returning from town a violent rainstorm hits. All up and down Hurrah Pass dirt bikes, ATV's, side by sides, and SUV's are pulled over trying to find shelter. Tom tells each of them they have to leave now and get across Kane Creek before the runoff water reaches it and they all depart for Kane Creek. An hour or two later Tom gets a call that there are many people trapped on this side of Kane Creek and heads out to see what he can do, if anything.

Not Today

Frequently Tom will share a resting place in the shade with Kobae but not today.

Wednesday Hike with Kobae

Tuesday Hike with Kobae

Returning from town Tom opens Kobae's gate and they are off for their daily hike. As the day heats up Kobae has been a man on fire for the last fifteen minutes almost running at times. Finally he finds what he's been searching for. Shortly after resuming hiking the sun comes out behind the clouds and the day heats right up again and Kobae's luck continues. Enjoying Kobae's playing in the water hole for 30 minutes or so Tom has not kept track of how much daylight he has left and has forgotten his head lamp. Once it gets dark Kobae will not move and now it's a race against the setting sun to get him back before spending the night in the desert or hiking back to get the truck and returning to try and pick him up and put him in the back. A half mile from the lodge Kobae is done but the combination of Tom clicking his cell phone light every 30 seconds and the full moon rising over the Anti-Cline gets Kobae motivated to continue the hike and at 8:30pm with the very bright light of a desert moon behind them Kobae and Tom return to the lodge.

Tuesday at Kane Creek

Arriving early Tuesday morning, Tom and three of the stranded folks shovel and pound mud attempting to find a way through. After about two hours of road building Tom is about to give the truck a try to see if he can get through when San Juan County shows up with a blade. Shortly after vehicles begin stacking up on the other side which tells Toms that Hunter Creek is not open and finally everyone that's been stranded out here since Sunday late afternoon will be able to depart shortly.

Monday at Kane Creek

Tom finds a couple stranded on his side of Kane Creek and heads for the normally dry creek to see if he can find a way through. Arriving he finds this. Giving the creek four hours to go down they return in the afternoon again trying to get to town. Right after Tom ends filming two motorcycle riders show up who have come up from Lockhart Basin and later three more. As evening approaches there are seven people on this side of Kane Creek and eight more trapped between Kane and Hunter Creeks.

The Great Escape

Tom is working around the lodge and sees Kobae circling his yard ready to go hiking but Tom has some things he needs to finish before that can happen. A while later Tom surveys the yard and doesn't see Kobae anywhere. Walking over to the yard the gate is closed but there is only one set of footprints coming out of his house and no footprints going back in. Tom goes back inside, canteens up, gloves, and a head lamp in case he's out there all night. Circling the yard Tom finds where Kobae has broken a wooden stake and crushed the fence escaping over the top. After half an hour or so of tracking Tom finds Kobae headed for the dead end canyon. Tom joins him for an hour or so hike and then it's steer him back to the lodge and fix the fence. No more wooden stakes. Might work for Dracula, but this is Kobae and iron stakes from now on.

The Island

Ten minutes down to the island. Upstream, against the wind, 38 minutes back.

Midnight Hour

Little Up

Little Up, not so little anymore, is the Side-blotched running the show and establishing who gets what territory. Who's Up and What's Up spend most of their time on the back porch but occasionally all three still visit up front when Kobae comes to eat.

The Machine

The Colorado chipmunk center is a sunflower seed machine.

It's In His Head (Big Day for Kobae)

All the years Kobae has been here he's had a fascination with certain things. One solar light he doesn't like. Percy, the tube worm he would push off the front porch into the flowers everyday until a wall was built to elevate it above Kobae's reach. There's a sign on the way to the Wind Caves Kobae insists on knocking over every time he passes it. He'll wade into the river but he won't cross a stream of water half an inch deep if it's flowing, even a little, no matter what. One such fascination is a steep (though not looking so much on camera) slope by the Sand Hill in a dead end canyon on the way to the Wind Caves. He's apparently made it twice. The first time seven years ago because Tom had to help him down and a couple years ago after Tom had bailed him out of another down hill and was still getting sand out of his boots. Tom never saw him make it either time, but had to rescue him both times on the way down. During those seven years he has failed to make it hundreds of times. But not today. Congrats Kobae.

Thursday Sights

A drip, different deer track than yesterday, this deer's back feet step in the track of it's front feet, Kobae returning before the lightning comes, but not before the rain and bow.

You're Killing Me

Somedays Kobae likes to wade into water. Other days, not so much.

Starting Over

Two hard days of rain for a tracker is like Earth starting over. Hiking with Kobae Tuesday Tom saw no tracks. On the Wednesday hike Tom finds Grey fox tracks, two side by side tracks (somebody finally made it through Kane Creek) and Kobae tracks. Later in the day he finds a White-tailed deer track to include bushes it was eating and fallen foliage beneath.

Next Up

All day Wednesday Tom has heard the monster rocks falling off the Anti Cline, a result of two days torrential rain, and bouncing all the way to the bottom. Here's one that's not far away.

Kobae Six Hour Hike

Two Days of Rain

Sunset

It's In His Head

Visiting the Copper Penny Mine

I'm Getting Closer to My Home

Apologies to Grand Funk Railroad.

Don't Quite Fit