Then the hounds are put on the scent. Good lion hounds can follow a three day old scent. If the hounds can line-out on a old track, it promises to be one heck of chase. A lion could have traveled over all types of terrain and be thirty miles away. Hardly a run for the weak hearted.
Some guides put their client on stand-by and call when a fresh snow falls.
A few southwest guides, like Clint, have dry weather dogs so they can run lion spring, fall and winter. No two cougar hunts are the same. Mountain lions have little lung capacity. So if you find one close to a kill, it should be a short chase. But a healthy cat that hears the hounds at a distance, may give you a run you will not soon forget.