Christmas Tree Hunt

The weather had been chilly for our area. On this particular day it was below 30 when Becky and I left the house to pick up our daughter and her one year old to go look for a herd of Nobles and maybe take out a couple of the younger bulls (a lead bull would simply be too big). Winds in Eastern Oregon were blowing dust over the Cascades and the temps were in the low 20's when we reached our destination more than an hour up Hwy 224 into the upper reaches of the Clackamas River drainage system. Fresh snow was everywhere, but not difficult to get around in. We all worked up a sweat as we pushed through the brush and up the hillside through the Douglas Firs and Hemlocks. The younger ones headed back to the truck to get out of the quickening breeze and snow that had begun to fall.





Pretty soon Becky shouted that she thought she saw a few Nobles heading over the next ravine and into the thickets beyond. I followed Becky's voice and sure enough! There they were. Becky had snuck up and caught them off their guards. They couldn't move. I dispatched two and we drug them down the hill by their extremities.