Judges and High Country staff - Courtesy John Bradley Graber. Catherine Reed
Courtesy Mary Hendricks
High Country Hounds drew 5 couple of hounds at their North Hutton Ranch fixture. A week of cool, rainy conditions presaged good scenting conditions in the ponderosa forest. Hounds started off working a coyote scent through shrubs and downed timber in the black volcanic cinders. Industriously finding bits of scent and casting away again, the hounds worked north and then easterly climbing a hundred feet to a highland in the Cinder Lakes District. Speeding up as the scent became fresher, the pack opened and were fast away on their coyote line. Lead hound Shonto's booming voice guided huntsman and staff through a break in the barbwire fence and two gates before the hounds lost their line.
Hounds came in and rested briefly in the shade of a tall pine before casting again. This time, Avalon found and the hounds started hunting a new line along a narrow thumb of high ground. Eventually hounds ran down slope, and lost the scent. A lucky happenstance in a pile of abandoned tires provided a cache of rainwater for thirsty hounds. Then, hounds worked a fitful scent along an escarpment. Nothing was found, and nearing the finish of hunting a full circle the hounds were taken in and a lunch in the field was enjoyed by all.