Cattleman Gary Siddoway said the bovine brigade assembles Oct. 3.
“The first day of the big gather,” he explained. “So there's going to be—every rancher—and riders are going to be up on Mirror Lake Highway gathering everything that they can, that's close to the road or that they can just grab in one big push.”
Riders will be searching for stragglers in the weeks following the gather. Siddoway estimated there are five to six hundred head of cattle in all.
During that time, people may encounter cows on far eastern Summit County roads and trails. Siddoway recommends slowing down, whether you’re on a bike or in a car.
“Typically, a cow is going to get out of your way if you're riding a bike,” the cattleman said. “The biggest thing I would put out there is just when we're gathering and you see horses and people driving cattle down the road, or dogs working, just kind of stay out of their way and let them do their thing.”
And in open range, cattle have the right-of-way.
“So if people are driving too fast and they hit a cow, they just bought that cow,” Siddoway said.
Cattle usually head back up into the Uintas around June, though ranchers’ U.S. Forest Service permits vary.
