[cdt-l] big cats in the divide basin?

[jonathan at phlumf.com]

What you saw was most certainly the Great Divide Panther of legend. This
amazing animal is reported to grow to lengths of 25feet or more, and weigh
nearly a ton. Sightings of this elusive creature have been reported since
the time of the conquistador explorations.... and depictions of it appear
in native art going back centuries. It is thought to be descended from the
great cats of the ice-age (saber-toothed tiger, etc.), specially adapted
to live in the harsh desert environment. It is said the great cat can
bring down a cow or horse with one swipe of its mighty paw... no telling
what it might do to a scrawny hiker - count your blessings!

Plaster castings of paw prints, samples of fur, and blurry photos of this
monster have been criticized by some experts to be fraudulent, but those
who've seen it first hand have no doubts the creature itself is authentic.
Willard Hayes of Farson, WY is one local expert on the cat. "I seen that
cat a few times, and I can tell ya, it weren't no hallucination", he said
in one interview. Willard has spent endless hours scanning the desert
horizon, and playing sound recordings at night of what he believes to be
the cat's mating call. "It sounds a lot like a lady screaming while she's
fallin' off a cliff", he says.

Too bad you didn't have your camera out.

-Jonathan

> hi all,
>
> do big cats exist in the divide basin?  i could have sworn i saw one
> perched
> up on a couple rocks about 5 miles north of Bull Springs (about 6:30 a.m.
> this past thursday).  it was about 1/8 of a mile away and i observed it
> for
> about 30 seconds before it spotted me and fled.  not sure what else it
> could
> have been (lots of rabbits to eat, thats for sure).
>
> the divide basin was ok.  thanks to Jim/Jenny for the water info left at
> south pass city (and to Nitro for passing on Pi's info).  it rained on me
> twice (off and on all day on tuesday), including an incredible 3-4 minute
> wind/rain storm that pelted me with horizontal rain just as i hit the
> paved
> road (before 287).  it was one of the craziest 10 weather minutes of my
> hiking career.  man........it was intense.  could do nothing but laugh and
> laugh and smile.
>
> caught a ride in a semi-truck leaving Lander.  It was hauling 65,000
> pounds
> of pure sugar.  couldn't believe the truck pulled over (didn't even bother
> sticking out my thumb).  the driver said he picked up a hiker last year at
> the south pass road crossing (an older fella).  any ideas?  has to be one
> of
> us, right?
>
> gotta run.......lots of trail chores and food to eat.
>
>
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