Mission Accomplished!

Today, we returned to Boden Canyon to check my trail cam that we had set up 9 days ago.

 We had seen tracks in the area that were suggestive of cougar, but there were some big dog tracks in the area, also.  This one is not showing claws like a canine would.  We continued to head up the canyon where we had seen positive cougar tracks a few weeks earlier.

 That is not a sabre sticking out of my pack, but the camo stake I made to place my trail cam on.

 After trying a few different spots, we settled on this one.  Our fear was that someone might see it and take it.

Cougars use trails and dirt roads as paths of least resistance, so we wanted it near a trail.

So today, we came back to check the camera, trying to keep our expectations in check.

First animal was this Gray Fox sniffing around the rodent holes in this spot.

His eyes are glowing brightly!  But then next came the animal we had been really hoping for...

Jackpot!  A cougar strolled by on February 17, 7:54 PM.

Then 4 days later, at 8:25 PM, a cougar, probably the same one, came by and paused to make a scrape and urinate.

 This is the "scrape" the cougar made before urinating.

Gail used her French "nez" to see what cougar urine smells like.  The verdict - 100% cat pee, not foul, but like cat fur.

We can't wait to place the cam back in the area early next week!