Pops and Cima Flee into the Canyon

Pops and Cima Flee into the Canyon is their covert departure from the ranch and the beginning of their effort to shelter in the canyon. They moved with a substantial supply of animals and provisions through armed danger, then made the route behind them difficult to follow or use. The escape was not a single dash to safety but a sequence of practical decisions: travel at night, reach the canyon, destroy the ford, conceal their tracks, and let the weather further obscure them.

Departure Under Threat

Sometime as conditions deteriorated, Pops and Cima loaded a gooseneck cattle trailer and towed a smaller trailer for the four-wheeler. They left the ranch in the middle of the night with a dozen cattle, about as many sheep, two saddled horses, two Australian shepherds, and provisions. Their departure carried the necessities of a working ranch into flight: livestock and equipment were not incidental cargo but part of the move they had to protect and manage.

The first fifteen miles to the creek road brought three barricaded ambushes. Pops fought through them, then shot three attackers farther on in the cedar hills. Violence was therefore part of the route rather than a surprise at its end. The danger also exacted a cost: attackers shot one horse and two sheep inside the trailer, making it harder to pass off their journey afterward as an ordinary drive moving cattle to a summer lease.

The Journey Into the Canyon

After the attack, the pair continued with Pops on horseback and Cima driving the ATV, which pulled a small trailer of gear and supplies. Cima would have preferred riding; she was uncomfortable on four-wheelers. But Pops was skilled at hazing and herding livestock from the saddle, and the dogs were accustomed to taking his orders there. Their different roles answered the immediate demands of the escape: Pops managed the animals while Cima transported equipment and provisions.

They traveled twelve miles into the canyon. The distance marks a transition from exposed road to a more defensible destination, but reaching it did not end their precautions. The following morning, they walked back downstream to alter the route by which they had arrived.

Concealing Their Route

Pops used dynamite to destroy the one ford across the creek. Afterward, the crossing was impassable except on foot or horseback, and then only when the water was low. This deliberate obstruction made pursuit harder by removing the easiest route through the creek, while leaving only limited ways to cross.

They also swept away their tracks as best they could, thoroughly obliterating them for two miles before leaving the rough road for the creek trail and canyon. The work took all day. Two days later, heavy rain added another layer of concealment. The escape thus extended beyond reaching shelter: Pops and Cima spent time and effort reducing the chance that anyone could follow the trail to them.