Making Tracks

So, I went hiking this past weekend with a bunch of friends. We had a great time, but we all agree that we pushed it a little too far the second day in and have some pretty battered bodies because of it. I'm not going to talk about the trip right now though, because I'm tired and might very well go to bed before it even gets dark out!

However, I just want to note that, while in ... Ok, I don't know where we were - Devil's Glen I guess, we had to climb up the escarpment through the ski resort. I can now say that I have been on a black diamond ski run! (I walked UP it, and it was brutal)

Upon our ascent up this black diamond run, we passed a sign that said something to the effect of 'Caution: Predatory Animals are active in this area' or something like that... I didn't actually see the sign myself.

I did however see a very large animal track a few minutes later and am now absolutely kicking myself that none of the four of us standing around looking at it thought to take a picture of it! We all sort of just assumed that it was the front paw print of a small black bear and continued walking. BUT.... I'm reconsidering.

This is a black bear print:

Its got 5 toes, and usually leaves claw marks. Google it, you'll see lots of examples.

What we saw did not have 5 toes. It had 4 toes.










It looked a whole lot more like this:


That's not a bear... that's a big cat. BIG cat.
That, or we've been had by a really big dog with no claws.
What do I know? I'm no expert. But I'll probably stick with the cougar story.