Thomas Trock

Mountain Cathedrals: The Outdoors From a Different Perspective

Bears Bobcats Cougars Wolves etc

Bears VI

Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man]. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty and remarkable acts. On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. – Psalm 145:3-5 AMP Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, …

Read moreBears VI

Bears V

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. … The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. … They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. – Isaiah 11:2, 7, 9 NKJV Many people think that bears are strictly carnivores …

Read moreBears V

Bears IV

I will lift up my eyes to the hills–from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming …

Read moreBears IV

Bear Track

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Hebrews 11:6 NLT A while back, I posted a picture of my hand holding the front paw of a live black bear (see Bears II). Pictured above is a photo of a print made by the front paw of that same species of bear. As best I can tell, the bear which made …

Read moreBear Track

Bears III Brown Bear

O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures.  Psalm 104:24 NLT You may have heard the names brown bear and grizzly bear used interchangeably. In fact, they both belong to the same genus and species – Ursus arctos. The main difference between these bears is that of location. Brown bears, like the one pictured above, are mostly located in coastal areas while grizzlies are found inland. I took a picture of a grizzly in Yellowstone National Park a while back, and if I can …

Read moreBears III Brown Bear

Bears II

Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts. Acts 14:15-17 NLT As I’ve mentioned before, I find animal tracks and …

Read moreBears II

Bears I

God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. Acts 17:24-25 An interesting perk as a biologist is sometimes getting to help people with projects different from your own. One of my favorite times has been working with folks from different agencies to live-trap black bears. Whenever I got to participate in this venture, the days always flew by far too fast …

Read moreBears I

Wolf Tracks

Yet he knows the way I have taken; when he has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. My feet have followed in his tracks; I have kept to his way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commands from his lips; I have treasured the words from his mouth more than my daily food. Job 23:10-12 CSB Seeing animal signs and tracks, along with actually tracking the critters, has held a fascination for me as long as I can remember. There seems to be a never-ending story to be read and understood all around me …

Read moreWolf Tracks

Unexpected Adventure

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28 I stumbled across this draft which, for what ever reason, I had not posted in April of 2015. Oh how I miss Star the Wonderdog. Had an interesting hike yesterday. Stardog and I trekked up a steep mountain to a natural basin of sorts. The basin is large, perhaps a mile or more across. It contains mostly small brush and grass, with occasional thick pockets of trees scattered …

Read moreUnexpected Adventure

Elk Close-Up

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming …

Read moreElk Close-Up

Huckleberries

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth. These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season. Psalm 104:14, 27 A nice perk of the mountains where I live is the occasional discovery of various foods to munch on whilst hiking about. Late summer and early fall yield a lot of different kinds of berries, many of which are safe – and quite tasty – to eat. Once when I was with our old yellow lab, Moon, …

Read moreHuckleberries

Bobcat Tracks

And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?” John 7:31 A track I haven’t seen much, especially in the summer, is one made by a bobcat. In fact I’m only certain that I’ve seen one live bobcat in the wild in my life. I may have caught a glimpse of the small cat at other times, but the images were just blurs in the timber which I can’t be sure of. Technically, an animal print is where the fore or hind foot of …

Read moreBobcat Tracks

The Two Hundred Dollar Bear

The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Psalm 145:15-16   The above picture was taken by my trail cam a few weeks ago. I had placed it near a trail which I’d hiked quite a bit with Star the Wonderdog. We’d seen some fresh animal tracks in the region, so I thought I’d see if I could capture a few pictures of the local game activity. When we hiked up to the area to retrieve the camera, I …

Read moreThe Two Hundred Dollar Bear

Elk Bait

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10      Star the Wonderdog and I were recently hiking in an area new to us. It’s a tract of land not too far from our home. In the few times we’ve explored it, we’ve seen sign from deer, elk, moose, bear, wolf, and cougar. The area has had some extensive human activity, but there are still large pockets of semi-wild country within its borders.      …

Read moreElk Bait

Living Water

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:37-39      I’ve often been amazed at how life thrives around water. Even if it’s not much water, just a little seems to draw a …

Read moreLiving Water

Springtime in the Mountains III

As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. Galatians 6:14-15      A while back, Star the Wonderdog and I were seeing lots of bear sign during a springtime hike. Quite naturally, I had bears on my mind, so I kept Star close by as we ascended the mountain. …

Read moreSpringtime in the Mountains III

Mountain Treasures I

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.  Colossians 1:16      Hiking in the Rockies, especially when setting off cross-country, can yield some interesting discoveries. Obviously, if in a high-use people area, it’s best to stay on the man-made trails. That reduces erosion and allows for people passing by to experience more fully the surrounding magnificence of creation.      Fortunately, for those like me who desire some solitude, there are still places …

Read moreMountain Treasures I