El Paso de las Pumas

[Whatever they are, they pass under this log]

Okay, I'm stretching the facts.  At this point in time, El Paso de las Pumas is a fanciful fabrication. 

But when I found the area I got a very good feeling.

Not because it leads to a creek, but because it's kind of a trunk road that receives trails from an adjacent catchment and ridge and leads to numerous trails beyond the creek. 

It's actually a pass between a cliff and a steep slope choked with timber and windfalls.

[The cam in a Pelican 1060 case with bear guard.]

I didn't have a camera mount that would work on that horizontal log.

I needed an adjustable mount that would allow me to point the camera down and to the side -- looking down the trail.

Greystoke on Homebrew Trail Camera Chat provided the design and my neighbor Richard provided parts and welding skills.

[We made mounts for 3 cameras -- 

each adjustable in vertical and horizontal planes, 

with a lag bolt for attachment]

I set a camera there last weekend, and in a few weeks I'll know if el Paso has been stamped by pumas and bears, or just heavy-footed gray foxes.

[A view down the trail -- not picturesque, 

but hopefully a well-used beat of large carnivores.]