Two Wheels of Freedom

The sun had set an hour before entering Big Bend National Park. Unknown to this traveler, the nearest campsite was another thirty miles through near pitch black desert roads. Aside from my headlight, the only source of illumination was the pale moon. A ghostly dim silhouette of the distant terrain foreshadowed my journey. Following the signs, I headed for the nearest campsite.

The road began to take me straight into the Chisos Mountains. After a few miles, another sign appeared: “Bear and Mountain Lion Country”. This invoked a powerful emotion: a primal fear. Not a superficial, I’m going to be late to work fear, but the thought of a ferocious beast tearing flesh from bone, becoming devoured. Back and forth, up the switch-backs, I soon arrived to the campsite. After clumsily tipping my bike on a boulder and a painful expletive, I pitched my tent.

The next morning I arose from my single man tent, shaking from the overnight near freeze. The sun began to reveal its wonderful promise of a new day on the peaks of the Chisos. I located a trail map, packed by day bag, and began my exploration. I spent most of the morning cruising on my motorcycle (mostly above the posted speed limit), and stopped at a secluded trail.
At the beginning of the trail, there was another sign: “Beware of Mountain Lions”. My motorcycle, being the only vehicle parked at the entrance of this secluded trailhead, ensured me that I was alone. I had previously seen television shows about mountain lion attacks. The thought of a bear encounter did not bother me mostly because bears make a lot of noise and generally avoid humans. However, the thought of a lion, stalking, sneaking, hiding, and waiting, was unnerving.

I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy the hike. I was on constant high alert, pausing every few hundred feet to listen to my surroundings. After a short while, I stopped to assess a familiar noise of rocks and earth crackling ahead of me in the dry creek bed. I picked up a large rock and proceeded slowly around the bend. With my heart pounding, and my knees shaking, I rounded the corner to meet my stalker. In that moment of total anxiety and human courage, I looked to met my match; a small Grey Fox.

I was more than relieved. I sat down where I stood, and enjoyed the moment. I had the jump on the little critter. He noticed me shortly after I saw him. He then stopped dead in his tracks and observed. For those few moments, we were just two animals in the wild. One man and one beast.