Sunset with Lions?

So today was our last day at Thunder Ranch. After an early dinner, I wanted to cap off the relaxing last couple days with a nice hike to watch the sunset. I got a new lens before going on this trip, and I wanted another opportunity to try it out and get some cool shots. Out hiking in the wilderness to watch the sunset is slightly different than going along the beach to take in another beautiful scene... especially while alone. As I was on my way out with merely warm clothes, my camera, cell phone and a flash flight, Clint (the awesome man we had been filming the previous three days) stopped me in my tracks and proceeded to outfit me with a .44 magnum, extra ammo, and a long-range walkie talkie. He informed me they have had numerous mountain lion sightings and dusk is a prime time for them to go out looking for prey. Needless to say, I was a little nervous while embarking on my hike!

On the trail, the adventurous little boy in me was hoping to encounter a lion because then I could brag how I fended it off, but the more rational side of me figured it would be best just to make it back unscathed without having to defend myself. Initially, I wanted to do a prayer walk along with taking pictures. But upon being outfitted with a gun and with Clint admonishing me about the prevalence of mountain lions in the area, I felt it would be in my best interests to remain focused on the trail ahead and my periphery. As awesome as it is to go out and appreciate the Lord's creation, I didn't want to be careless and negligent and be unaware of my surroundings. In a sense, I was leaning on the Lord asking for His protection and for His will while I was on this hike!

On the primarily snow-covered trail there were tracks of all kinds, which made me a little bit weary about proceeding. Most of the tracks were easily identifiable as those of a deer of some kind, but there were some questionable tracks that were rather large and round... I'm not sure if those were the tracks of maybe a coyote of some kind, or indeed of a mountain lion. One set of tracks had small prints running along side those of a larger animal... so it could have been an adult lion with a cub. I'm thankful I did not find out for sure whose tracks those were. The more tracks I saw, the more intimidated I became because I figured with all the tracks there was bound to be a lot of animal activity. But I kept pressing on, and actually enjoyed taking a little bit of a risk.

I got to the top of the hill and was able to take in the sunset... it was nothing special, as I have seen dozens upon dozens of beautiful sunsets at Santa Barbara. But it was cool getting to be in what is known as the "Oregon Outback" with an element of danger of running into a mountain lion. Fortunately for me and for a mountain lion, I did not cross paths with any animals so everyone enjoyed a safe evening.

I'm not entirely sure the point of me blogging about this anti-climatical experience, but I gotta say it was a pretty cool feeling that Clint gave me the gun he uses to protect himself to protect me. Having a .44 mag across my chest felt pretty cool and it was rather exciting to take a risk and enjoy the sunset with the prospect of running into a mountain lion. Its just not something that happens too much!

The cool thing about partaking in that sunset is there was a certain rawness to it. I hope that doesn't sound too incredibly weird, but what I mean is that it was rather dangerous taking it all in. On a normal day, I don't have to worry about encountering any particular threat when I'm out in nature watching a sunset. Generally, there will be people around or it just won't be remote enough for threatening animals to be in close proximity. In this case, I was all alone, and had to rely on my senses to ensure I made it back safely. Maybe there were no lions about near where I was, but the potential of running into something wild was exciting and took me back to the days when the elements of the wild could easily overtake humans. I think that is where the rawness comes into play, I didn't take my safety for granted... as I so often do.

Even though I didn't pray or praise the Lord for as long as I wanted to, it was cool experiencing His creation is such a profound, refreshing way. And it felt pretty cool having the ability to protect myself with a .44 mag!

Oregon has been great, and it has been so much fun staying at Thunder Ranch with Clint and Heidi, they're great people and wonderful hosts. I'm looking forward to heading back home though, but first two fun-filled days in Mammoth!!