Wild Cats in the Forest

Shyla and I have settled into our winter schedule, riding together at sunrise, with some breaks for play in the midst of our ride.

Then, I leave Shyla at home while I go ride solo, often riding to faraway trail cameras to check them. This year has been extraordinary because I've been able to ride trails that are usually swamped with several feet of snow at this time of year.

In the photo below, I rode past one of my trail cameras on a trail that I've *never* been able to ride in January or February in past years. It's a place that gets almost no sun all winter long so the snow usually piles up over the winter months. My huge tires leave behind a 5" wide packed trail that the animals like to use for easier walking than in unpacked snow.

Yesterday, Taryn asked what I wear and carry on such cold and snowy rides. You can see in the photo above that I'm bundled up. I have a stocking cap, a neck gaiter, three layers on my upper body, two layers on my legs, winter cycling boots with chemical toe warmers, mittens, pogies (big mittens that go over my handlebars), and chemical hand warmers. I have tools for fixing my bike in the under-the-saddle wedge pack on my bike. I have a down sweater in a frame pack that is in the "triangle" of my bike, and I have high energy food and an emergency beacon in yet another pack attached to the front of my bike. My camera is in my backpack.

That is tons more stuff than I carry for a summer ride but I must be prepared for getting stuck somewhere due to a mechanical problem or an injury. Hypothermia or frostbite could become problems very rapidly. That's why I have so much stuff with me, including the satellite-based emergency communicator.

Here is the same spot as I rode and made a nice tire tack a few days later. After some fresh snow had fallen, a bobcat walked carefully in my tire track.

A week after that, a collared mountain lion passed the same camera. Notice how she is walking as if she's on a balance beam, to keep her huge paws in the 5" wide packed trail left by my bike tires.

The wild cats (and I) are the only animals continuing to use this path during the winter. Even the cats don't use it very much - these two cats each used my tire tracks for about a half mile before heading toward less snowy locales. Starting around April, many bears will parade past this camera after they leave their dens. An important bear-marking tree, a pine sapling, is just behind the mountain lion in the photo above.

It's starting to feel like spring will be here before we know it. Every year, I look forward to my first photos of bears (and often their tiny cubs) and, around the same time, seeing the colors of the first wildflowers in the forest.

But, for the sake of Mother Nature, we need to get a lot of snow before true springtime arrives. Shyla loves the snow so she's looking forward to it!