[pct-l] Mountain lion sightings on the PCT

[Amanda Gardynik]

In section F.  Between golden oak spring and robin bird spring, there was a
stretch were we could see cat(cougar,mountain lion, or whatever it's called)
prints on the trail for a few miles.  We didn't see a Cat or anything, but
it was enough to make us pick up the pace and get out of that section
quickly.

Edan

On Mon, Apr 7, 2008 at 9:30 AM, Tom Bache <tbache at san.rr.com> wrote:

> Warnings to beware of mountain lions are common in the San Diego County
> backcountry.  They seem more serious than I¹ve seen elsewhere.  Curious, I
> bought a book that attempts to catalog all reported mountain lion attacks
> in
> North America from the beginning of European settlement through 2001.
>  Some
> of the facts seem worth sharing, so I¹ll pass them on.
>
> As all hikers know, mountain lion attacks are very, very rare ­ the author
> could only find 104 since 1900, including 12 fatalities. But there is
> evidence that attacks may be increasing ­ the author catalogs 61 for the
> 12
> year period 1990-2001. Here's an interesting PCT connection --  Cuyamaca
> Rancho State Park (the PCT passes along and through its eastern boundary)
> is
> by far the U.S. leader in threatening mountain lion encounters.
>
> Some facts are startling in view of the overall statistics: 8 of the 61
> attacks in 1990-2001 were in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, including one
> fatality (December, 1994). There was another serious encounter in June
> 1988.
>
> Most surprising to me is that park authorities felt compelled to kill 12
> (!)
> threatening lions in the 12 year period 1987-1998.  I suppose that is why
> there haven¹t been any serious incidents since 1998, though people still
> see
> tracks and get a glimpse of one occasionally.
>
> There are certainly mountain lions around Warner Springs.  The locals see
> them occasionally.
>
> I spend a lot of time in our local mountains -- especially in the Warner
> Springs area. But I've never been lucky enough to see a lion down here.  I
> did see a big one near Raymond Meadows (north of Ebbetts Pass) on my solo
> hike through that area last June.  It was in an open area and he (best
> guess) crossed the trail about 70 yards in front of me and headed up the
> steep slopes of the volcanic peaks just west of the trail.  My mind still
> holds a picture of him jumping on a big rock and showing me a full profile
> for a few moments before jumping down out of sight (I was too mesmerized
> to
> dig my camera out of my pocket).
>
> Can you walk past a mountain lion and hike on up the trail without
> glancing
> back occasionally?   I couldn't.
>
> Tom Bache
> San Diego
>
>
>
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