CASTING FOR TROUT, TWIN LAKES, BIG HOLE MOUNTAINS. 



Waugh and I tried to approach him, but he 

 gave us the slip. Next day we followed 

 the crest of the ridge above where we had 

 seen the ram, and found the tracks of a 

 band of 6 sheep, but did not get sight of 

 any of them. 



Needing fresh meat in camp, we were 

 obliged to spend 2 days hunting deer before 

 we succeeded in getting one. Eight inches 

 of snow fell during the night of September 

 20. The fresh tracks in the snow the next 

 few days proved deer to be plentiful. One 

 day we found a fresh bear track just at 

 sundown, and had followed it only a short 

 distance when I caught sight of a bear 

 jumping off a log in a patch of timber. I 

 ran up, but did not see him again. Waugh 

 went to camp and got the dog, but when he 

 returned it was fast getting dark and we 

 decided to wait until the following morning 

 before resuming the hunt. Unfortunately, 

 it snowed in the night, so we could not fol- 

 low the tracks the next day. Two days it 

 snowed and stormed. The conditions being 

 unfavorable for climbing, we utilized the 

 time in tramping over easy ground to the 

 East and South of camp. Marten tracks 

 were plentiful; also fox tracks. Waugh 

 shot a red fox near camp one afternoon. 

 We saw no fresh elk or moose tracks at 

 any time in that locality, nor any signs of 

 cougar or coyote. Blue grouse were plen- 

 tiful on the high ridges and fool hens in 

 the lower timbered regions. We had no 

 difficulty in securing all the birds we wanted 

 and usually shot them with a 22 pistol. 



The snow being over a foot deep at camp, 

 and the weather continuing stormy, we de- 

 cided to move across the divide. We fol- 



lowed the Salmon River trail toward Shoup 

 2 days, and struck across the mountain, by 

 way of Mineral Hill to Alta, Idaho ; thence 

 up Hughes creek, across the divide, and 

 down to the North fork of Salmon, where 

 we struck a wagon road, which we followed 

 to Gibbonsville. From there we went by 

 wagon road to the* edge of Big Hole Basin, 

 where we turned South and went to Moose 

 or Swamp creek to near its head and camp- 

 ed. Goats were plentiful there, but we saw no 

 fresh sheep sign. After climbing about the 

 cliffs and photographing for 3 or 4 days, 

 Waugh and I decided to make a side trip 

 to Ridge mountain, the highest peak on the 

 West side of the Big Hole. Leaving the 

 main camp October 5, we crossed the ridge 

 South of camp and passed along the edge 

 of Big Hole prairie, crossing Rock creek 

 and ascending Lake creek to Twin lakes. 

 We made our camp at the upper end of the 

 lakes and spent 4 days climbing the peaks 

 and ridges and photographing. 



The day we climbed Ridge mountain it 

 was so stormy and cold that it was almost 

 impossible to make photographs from 

 the summit. Eleven sharp snow-covered 

 peaks are not far distant to the South, and 

 we could count 10 lakes within a radius of 

 5 miles. Notwithstanding the unfavorable 

 conditions, I attempted to take some photo- 

 graphs. Waugh sat on the focusing cloth 

 when not in use, and held down the camera 

 with both hands. Large fragments of snow 

 and ice were blown off the rocks on the 

 windward side of the peak, which sometimes 

 almost knocked us down. Just as I got 

 ready to expose the film a snow squall 

 passed over the tops of the peaks, which 



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