A stroll to the Ice Cave

[Rick C]

For those interested, Abby and Keeper and I mounted the Durango today to visit the Ing Mine Ice Cave in Kananaskis Country, west of Bragg Creek and Calgary.

Unfortunately, the access road was closed to vehicles by pipeline construction and news a drilling rig was in-country exploring for natural gas . . . . sitting right on the parking lot!!

So . . . we had to walk about an hour and a half to get to the Cave area . . . making for a pleasant day for periodic dips into an icy stream.



Abby busts some ice to stretch out in Canyon Creek in Kananaskis Country.



Two Golden's take advantage of a creek crossing on a mountain trail . . . lots of bikers but not a lot of walkers today.



A drilling rig in the mountains . . . . we're walking the road but they detoured us up into the forest around them. The Cave is out of view to the right. We actually explored the canyon beyond then walked back.



Hikers here are familiar with this sign . . . . the air is stinky au natural

Rick C
www.goldentales.ca

[jiorji]

I think Abby and Keeper need hiking boots for all their trips in the mountains
hehe

[Gazoo]

How muddy is it out there? I'm itching to start biking again, and so is my new cattle dog/BC cross!!!

I don't mind a little mud but I also don't want to be accused of being irresponsible and causing trail erosion!

[Rick C]

Originally Posted by Gazoo

How muddy is it out there? I'm itching to start biking again, and so is my new cattle dog/BC cross!!!

I don't mind a little mud but I also don't want to be accused of being irresponsible and causing trail erosion!

People were biking the road but when you had to go into the bush it was pretty mucky. . . . my shoes were totally gumballed. Not great for a bike in that sense. It would be good amble for your dog, about five or six km in and the same back obviously.

Lots of cars parked at Moose Mountain for some hill climbing and a few at Station Flats and Allan Bill Pond. Don't know if they were biking though.

We just got back from a stroll around Fish Creek in Calgary this morning, exposing Abby & Keeper to civilization.

Rick C
www.goldentales.ca

[Gazoo]

Thanks, it's usually muddy way into spring.

Didn't see any grumpy hungry bears?

Also noticed your doogies were offleash in those pics and you posted the evidence

[Rick C]

Originally Posted by Gazoo

Also noticed your doogies were offleash in those pics and you posted the evidence

Just for FYI, both Abby and Keeper have their leashes on in ALL of the photo's above, monstrous 15 footers or so. . . . . I'm prone to select pictures that hide leashes but they never leave our property without them.

As an example, you can see I'm holding on to Abby's leash in the drilling rig photo and Keeper is dragging hers about 30 feet ahead (wide angle shot), admittedly technically "off-leash" in Keepers case although a controlled situation. We were walking down a gravel road with good visibility in all directions.

Keeper is strong on verbal commands and stays close in that situation . . . and out of the forest.

Abby is none of the above, a real explorer, so she was being held.

I let them pile into the water on their own, although dragging their leashes as per the pictures above. I hover over them while they take their bath and when they leave the water I take hold of them.

If we're in the forest, I'll hold onto both . . . . or when people or vehicles are passing on the road.

Both were on leash and in hand in Fish Creek today, as per city ordinances, even when in the water.

On walks on our country road, Abby gets the leash while Keeper drags hers . . . we take hold of her if a vehicle is approaching.

Rick C
www.goldentales.ca

[Gazoo]

So technically at least one was offleash

Not a big deal to me...not all laws are sensible or pragmatic.

In K-country my Aussie is rarely on lead unless we are passing horses or wildlife are close by. My BC/Heeler cross is still a little out of control so we may have to rein him in a little until we shape him up.

[Rick C]

Originally Posted by Gazoo

In K-country my Aussie is rarely on lead unless we are passing horses or wildlife are close by. My BC/Heeler cross is still a little out of control so we may have to rein him in a little until we shape him up.

Well lets see the pics man!! Just kidding.

On the pastureland - 3000 acres - that is next door, the foundation for the Goldentales stories on my website, I do let Abby and Keeper run free and that's where I've grown to know Abby so well.

She grows bolder and bolder and stretches the rules way too much and doesn't listen well enough. That's why she's on a leash - in my hand - everywhere else.

She would definitely bring a bear back. In fact, she'd go looking for one to bring back.

She's went toe to toe with a juvenile, inexperienced, moose once up in the pastureland hills . . . . fortunately, she lived. On another occasion, a bull moose was on the other side of our fence destroying a thicket of willows when he made a move to charge the barking Abby and Keeper. My wife managed to arrange an orderly retreat, including Abby.

Another time on a long walk up in the pasturelands we were on the other side of a rise when a GROWLING 2000 lb bull surprised us by coming over the hill . . . . we all just started walking off at an angle, Abby being a perfect angel and listening to our whispered pleas, and fortunately, the bull was mad at something else because he kept on going over to his herd. We didn't know he was in that pasture. Surprise!!

Ah, the stories you live to tell . . . .

Rick C
www.goldentales.ca

[Gazoo]

Myself and a friend mountain biked almost INTO a fair sized black bear...he stopped........... looked at us with wide eyes ...............and then b/c we scared the bejeebers out of him ....he ran away at a full tilt like his a$$ was on fire....

Took a couple of minutes to compose ourselves after that.

[Rick C]

Originally Posted by Gazoo

Myself and a friend mountain biked almost INTO a fair sized black bear...he stopped........... looked at us with wide eyes ...............and then b/c we scared the bejeebers out of him ....he ran away at a full tilt like his a$$ was on fire....

Took a couple of minutes to compose ourselves after that.

At the point where the Spray River empties into Spray Lake, my father and I were mountain biking and scared a black bear. It ran into the forest and, as we were standing on a nearby bridge getting our hearts in order, we watched him leap off an escarpment and belly flop into the river, swim to the other side and up the other embankment. Unfortunately, that was right where we were headed but we didn't see him again. Biking in the mountains is scary because you come up on critters so fast. . . . .

Anyway, you'll be interested in the story below in today's Calgary Herald:

As Abby & Keeper and I were driving down Highway 549 on Saturday, we were thinking of going either right (which we did, to the Ice Cave in Kananaskis) or left, to the Sandy McNabb area west of Turner Valley where this story took place, a cougar attack!!! We were hiking Windy Point, past the point where the highway is closed for the winter, a month ago.

Hiker fights off tenacious cougar

Sorcha McGinnis
Calgary Herald


April 11, 2005

When a 32-kilogram cougar pounced on him over the weekend, the irony was not lost on Peter Bysterveld.

Allergic to and tormented by his parents' Himalayan cross cat since childhood, Bysterveld was determined to fight off the cougar that lunged at him Saturday, sinking its teeth into his left leg.

"I'm more of a dog type of guy," he explained. "I've never taken a liking to cats. They haven't done much for me.

"I didn't want to be taken out by a cat."

The SAIT network engineering student and his girlfriend, Sarah McKay, both 23, escaped serious injury when they came across a pair of cougars that just wouldn't stay away.

The couple was hiking in the Windy Point area of the Sheep River Wildlife Sanctuary, about 20 kilometres west of Turner Valley, when they encountered the cougars around 4:30 p.m.

One of the animals remained seated, while its companion stared intently at the two humans, pacing on all fours.

"It started running towards me. I couldn't find any sticks or rocks so I started yelling," said Bysterveld.

Wanting to protect his girlfriend, Bysterveld ran "full speed ahead" down the path, eventually tripping.

"When I fell to the ground I thought I was in trouble. My first reaction was to cover my neck."

That's when the cougar leapt.

"I was basically rolling around and wrestling with it," said Bysterveld. "I felt its teeth dig into my left calf. I think I might have kicked it with my leg."

After about a minute, the six-foot-two, 210-pound man mustered enough strength to send the feline flying.

"I picked it up by its front and hind legs and tossed it about 15 or 20 feet," he said.

But the cat came back.

"It was still looking for some action. It took a couple of strides forward but I guess I made myself look big and scary enough and it just kind of backed off," said Bysterveld.

McKay, meanwhile, was watching from above. "I just kind of froze. He took care of the whole situation," she said. "I'm lucky it didn't go for me."

Finally free of the cat, Bysterveld yelled at McKay to run up to the road, a short distance away. They caught up with each other and made their way to her car, about five kilometres away.

Bysterveld barely noticed his injuries -- teeth and claw marks and scratches -- until he arrived at Black Diamond Hospital. Staff cleaned Bysterveld's wounds, gave him a tetanus shot and marveled at his good fortune.

Alberta Fish and Wildlife officer Ron Wiebe called Bysterveld lucky.

"He was a smart man and handled himself well," said Wiebe. "He fought back very hard and got the cougar off him."

The area where the attack occurred has been temporarily closed. On Sunday, officers attempted to track the animal using dogs and DNA samples taken from Bysterveld's clothing.

"We'll look at all our options," said Wiebe. "It won't necessarily be put down."

Wiebe said it's possible the pair that Bysterveld encountered was a mother with its young, or a grown male and female.

With about 800 cougars in Alberta, sightings are common. Cougar attacks, however, are rare.

Last August, five-year-old Chance Stepanick of Vermilion fought off a cougar that sauntered into his family's campsite just outside of Jasper.

The animal knocked the little boy to the ground and gnawed at his back before being scared away.

On Jan. 2, 2001, Frances Frost became Alberta's first recorded cougar fatality when she was attacked in the Minnewanka Lake Recreation Area, about 12 kilometres north of Banff. Park officials shot the male cougar while it was still over Frost's body.

The only other previous attack in Alberta occurred in March of 1962, when a six-year-old boy was attacked by a cougar in a residential area in Hinton. He survived.

smcginnis@theherald.canwest.com

If You Encounter a Cougar:

- Stay calm and keep the cougar in view. Pick up children immediately, since the noise they make could trigger an attack. Back away slowly and make yourself look as large as possible.

- Never run or turn your back.

- If a cougar shows interest or follows you, respond aggressively. Show your teeth and make a loud noise.

- If a cougar attacks, fight back.

Source: Alberta Sustainable Resource Development

Rick C
www.goldentales.ca
http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgar...0-b1807da71df6

[Gazoo]

Originally Posted by Rick C

Hiker fights off tenacious cougar

Wanting to protect his girlfriend, Bysterveld ran "full speed ahead" down the path, eventually tripping.

Yeah sure buddy.....you ran away.........

to PROTECT your girlfirend.....

Good strategy.........

Or maybe you panicked and ran away

If they just would have backed away slowly and not given any ground they would have been fine.

It's almost unheard of for a cougar to attack from the front in a territorial situation, which it sounds like this was.

Once he ran he became potential lunch.....dumbass.

Thats one good thing about hiking with dogs...I'm sure my two would give a cougar or bear a run for for their money in protecting me.

[Rick C]

Originally Posted by Gazoo

Yeah sure buddy.....you ran away.........

to PROTECT your girlfirend.....

Good strategy.........

Or maybe you panicked and ran away

If they just would have backed away slowly and not given any ground they would have been fine.

It's almost unheard of for a cougar to attack from the front in a territorial situation, which it sounds like this was.

Once he ran he became potential lunch.....dumbass.

Thats one good thing about hiking with dogs...I'm sure my two would give a cougar or bear a run for for their money in protecting me.

I'm sure Abby & Keeper would watch me be mauled and eaten!! Maybe they would surprise me.

I believe his version of events though. Not everyone is cougar savvy - in fact, most people would fail that test. Doesn't make him smart, but I think he did what he did for the reasons he said. Eventually he got down to fighting for his life. . . . . and surprisingly won.

Rick C
www.goldentales.ca