The late Gib Mathers takes in the environment of the Natural Trap Cave in Big Horn County while on assignment for the Powell Tribune. Following Mathers’ work has helped guide current Tribune outdoors reporter Mark Davis.

Photo courtesy Dave Lovelace

Mark Davis

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Five years ago this week, Gib Mathers parked his new Tacoma near the Elk Fork Campground in the Wapiti Valley west of Cody and disappeared.

He was a popular local journalist, a former student at Northwest College and employed at the Tribune for about 12 years. It appears he went for a walk on a beautiful winter day — he often took weekend sojourns and knew the area well — but he never came back.

Park County Search and Rescue put in more than 800 hours searching the area, with Gib’s family and private citizens joining the effort. Park County Sheriff Scott Steward said it was “by far the most difficult search that our volunteers have ever had to conduct.”

It took until March 11 before his body was found. Former Tribune Sports Editor Don Cogger described how tough it was in the office for the next six weeks. Not a day went by during the search for Gib and his eventual recovery that someone in the office “wasn’t shedding tears,” Cogger told me shortly after my arrival.

I never met Gib. I was his replacement.

A friend told me a position was open at the paper and that it was “perfect” for me. I accepted an offer on April 1 and arrived in Powell shortly after, taking my seat at Gib’s desk in the Tribune’s newsroom.

It’s wasn’t an easy way to get a job. If everything was fair, Gib would still be here and I would have found employment elsewhere.

On May 5, 2017, I entered Yellowstone National Park for the first time during the park’s season opener. It was my first week on the job. Before I made it to Yellowstone Lake, I came upon a bachelor group of bighorn sheep. I parked in a pullout about a hundred yards down the road and walked back with a long lens in my hands and a smile on my face. It was my first ever photos of rams. It was also my first experience with wildlife traffic jams in the park. 

Long lenses draw the attention of passing motorists and soon both lanes were blocked by folks eager to see beautiful creatures. I positioned myself behind the railing, figuring I’d be safer there as vehicles gathered, when I heard a noise. 

I turned to see a bighorn ram barreling directly at me. I raised my camera and snapped three frames of the nervous beast running through the snow before I realized I should be getting out of the way. I’m aware of the many of the dangers in this state — bears, snakes, cliffs, rushing waters and unforgiving weather — but I never considered my tombstone might read, “killed by a sheep.”

The ram veered to my left a foot or two before we would have collided. Funny, they look so serene and harmless from a distance. Having one bearing down on me quickly taught me that wildlife — like everything in Wyoming — always look bigger close up and even the cute animals in this wild place could severely injure a person.

Immediately after the experience I met a tall, strapping cowboy named Landon Selby on the side of the road. I was still a bit shaken. He introduced himself and, as we chatted, he found out I was Gib’s replacement. He said, “I found Gib.” 

I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up and both arms were full of goosebumps. Selby, a guide familiar with the backcountry where Gib was found, told me he knew Gib and thought highly of him.

It was my first conversation about my predecessor, but far from the last. People I barely knew told me Gib stories. It seemed natural at the time, but I had nothing I could add. It was obvious he was admired for not only his writing, but for his kindness and gentle nature.

Five years later I’m still hearing from locals about their experiences with Gib. I’ve had so many discussions describing him, I almost feel like I knew him; I wish I had. Just last week I had two conversations with subjects of his stories.

I can almost see him walking north on Bent with his long gait. I can imagine him heading down some bumpy two-track in a stiff-framed 4x4 with scientists, excited to be covering the outdoors. I know he was honest and that he loved his cat, Singh Lee, and his co-workers. 

Unlike me, his words came natural with a true understanding of town, county and state. I moved here from just outside of Chicago. Powell couldn’t be much more different from my former community.

Gib was hired by Dave Bonner.

“Gib was not a ‘hard news’ kind of guy,” Dave told me. “He was an easy-going, personable colleague in the newsroom, a willing and consistent contributor to the team effort.”

The Bonner family treat their employees like extended family. I’ve seen Dave and his son, Toby, share both tears of sorrow and joy. They truly care — not only about their employees, but the entire community — which is pretty rare in journalism these days.

“There was something about the call of the Wyoming outdoors that particularly inspired [Gib] and where he found the greatest reward in his work,” Dave said. “I sensed that he triggered his own personal re-set button as he ventured out, often on his own, to report on stories or simply bask in the Wyoming countryside.”

Toby, the Tribune’s general manager and co-owner, still fights back the emotions when the subject of Gib comes up.

“It was a pretty emotional time,” he said recently while his eyes glossed over.

I have tried to be extra careful during my time at the paper. Since arriving I’ve learned to stand at a safe distance from wildlife and not to tempt an angry bull. The more I get to know the people at the Powell Tribune, the more I care for them. I’m pretty sure that’s one thing Gib and I have in common.

Yet, there are many dozens of people from this part of the state who remember him fondly and have approached me to tell me stories about their experiences. He championed many causes, like Friends Of A Legacy and Sally Montoya’s efforts to bring Christmas to area residents in need; Montoya always called Gib her “paparazzi.”

He also worked closely with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Tara Hodges, an information and education specialist for the department in Cody, said the department had a great working relationship with Gib and interacted with him often because of his outdoor beat.

“Gib always went the extra mile to make sure the data he reported was accurate and we appreciated his integrity as a journalist,” she said.

In honor of Gib, the Friends of the Powell Branch Library and the Powell Tribune conduct a contest open to the public in spring called the Gib Mathers Journalistic Writing and Photography Contest. The competition was started to recognize Gib’s contributions and professionalism to foster great writing and critical thinking and to incentivize people to get involved in journalism. 

Details of the 2022 contest have yet to be hammered out, but the contest will likely take place in April with the winners announced in May.

Since arriving at the Tribune, I’ve tried to fill Gib’s big shoes and continue to do so. I adopted some of his favorite causes, like Powell’s Christmas Basket program, and I’m always happy to hear from people who cherished Gib and his carefully chosen words.