22 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 5 SURVEYING THE SURVEYORS By John Richmond, PLS (WA, OR) A family outing combined with a little work on a project turned into a safari. On Saturday, July 2, 2022, our eldest son Stan and his spouse Barbara, with Danny Phelps came to Forks, Washington, for the holiday weekend. They enjoy letting Culley, their 2 year-old mixed Lab-English collie, run free on the homestead acreage in the upper Hoh River Valley. We drove 1/4 mile off the county road across the neighbor’s pasture, and forded a narrow, ankle-deep creek in the alder grove to reach the end of the quad-runner road, to eat our picnic lunch in the shade of 100 year-old spruces. After lunch, my spouse, Lois, Barbara, and Danny decided to walk Culley around our property. After about an hour, we could hear them returning. Stan’s effort to train Culley to come for a treat consisted of using the squeaky bulb from a dog-toy rubber ball, which he vigorously applied. We loaded up the two cars and drove back 200 yards to cross the small creek in the alder grove, parking about 50 feet away. Stan and I took the necessary assortment of lath, flagging, and markers to lay out a permanent road crossing, about 200 feet upstream from the quad-runner road. In about an hour, Stan and I had completed our surveying task and gathered up the equipment to go back to the vehicles. We walked down a good elk trail along the creek to reach the quad-runner road and the now visible vehicles. Barbara and Danny: “There’s a mountain lion on the road!” (The gravel road is about 1,000 feet to the west, so no worries?) We do not have that species of feline in this part of the world. Maybe it is a deer or a coyote? Me: “What are you talking about?” Barbara: A text message to Stan: “Cougar, and he’s on the trail where we had lunch and he’s coming this way.” Stan: “Dad, can we go directly to the vehicles?” Me: “Too many blackberry vines to tangle feet. We should tuck up close and continue on the trail.” Now we are only 50 feet or so from the quad-runner road and are intently looking at a thicket of small spruce about 150 feet further down the creek. No cougar in sight. Culley: “WOOF! Etc...” Barbara: “He’s in a tree!” We had not yet seen the cougar. Noticing that Barbara had her cell phone camera aimed toward us. Me: “Where?” Barbara: “Look straight up!” as she snapped a memorable portrait. In less than 10 minutes, we are all in the vehicles and shut the doors. The cougar shinnied back down the tree to go about his day. I did suggest that Stan no longer use the squeaky-toy in a forested locale, as it could attract interested critters with its kittenish squeals. No people or animals were injured in this encounter. On that day, my rod-person (wife for 57 years), declined to serve any longer as a “designated decoy.” John Richmond, from Forks, is a registered land surveyor in Washington and Oregon, and is a member of LSAW and PLSO. He retired in 1998 from land surveying on three national forests, comprising the final 15 years of a 40-year federal service career. He continues to stay active in the practice. The cougar’s eyes were reflected in John’s cell phone’s flash as he took the photo before the cougar went on his way. John estimates the visible portion of the tail to be 36 to 42 inches in length. John is in the orange vest, followed by his son Stan Richmond, with the cougar in the alder tree. Photo by Barbara Richmond. Featured Article
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