03/29/06 Two stranded cows Part I

Two Stranded Cows Sometimes the gain doesn't outweigh the pain, but you do the job anyway. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to tell you what I mean. The ice, mud, and snow are pretty much gone on the lower part of the ranch now, so I had a big discussion with my winter laziness and decided I better start working with some of these young horses. It was while I was out with one of the colts that I looked across the valley and was reminded of an incident that happened about thirty-five years ago. We used to summer our cattle in that mountain basin across the Columbia River and I could see the bare, snowy open area where two cows and calves got stranded. The cows were missed in the fall roundup and we never looked in the right places after that to find them. They were working some ground between the forested area and a bluff when they got snowed in. Some friend checking the elk herd in a plane saw the cows and told Dad about them. Dad had another pilot fly him over the area the next day and was able to explain to my uncle where the cows were. Little did my dad and uncle know that the plan they made that night would just be the start of about three different plans that would be used, revised, and have more twists and turns than the logging roads we were going to use to get the cows out of the mountains. Plan one was to haul horses up to the same elevation as the cows, ride across a drainage, and bring the cows back to the road. Well, man plans and God giggles, but the horses were loaded the next day anyway and the total failure of plan one will be tomorrow's story. I'm Jeff Keane.