[pct-l] Mountain Lion Encounter

[leslie at atfore.com]

This is a very timely thread for me. I'm starting a long solo section hike
this weekend from Kennedy Meadows (south) until September 6.
I'm not very fast so I'm hoping to get up around Chester, but will be
happy just to stay on the trail for that long!

I'm also female and  short (5"3')--albeit not all that slight-- and live
in Northern Calif and have occasionally seen mountain lions in the hills
behind my house and once on the trail--far away from me.  I was once
stalked by a leopard on a range preserve in Africa. I can tell you that
there is nothing as bone chilling as the almost nonchalant but very
persistent  interest in a large stalking cat. I never looked at my two
house kitties quite the same way again.

All that said, I was not nervous at all about the idea of doing this hike
alone, until the whole mountain lion thing blew up.  I think about these
kinds of issues in a statistical way-- I'm more likely to be killed or
hurt driving to Kennedy Meadows from  the SF Bay area or mugged walking
around the city  than be hurt on the trail. That said, statistics only go
so far when you are alone in a tent and there is a noise outside.

My plan mostly involves stacking rocks outside my tent every night.  I
love the idea of a small mini air horn. I may pick one of those up.  I'd
also been toying with the idea of a go-lite umbrella mostly because I have
to be careful about sun exposure. I've revamped  my clothing choices, lots
of neon for me this trip. That ought to be funny. And my pack is purple so
I'll not likely be seen as a deer.

I think there are things we can do to make ourselves less prey-like and I
am by nature very cautious so I will likely do them all. :-)
But ultimately what it comes down to, for me anyway, is that life has
risks, and I choose to do the things I want, take all the safety measures
I can, and then accept that sometimes bad things happen to good people.

I think that is a good question, should MukMuk have moved? Or should I
move if this happens to me?
I know how terrified I would be if I were in Muk Muk's position. to me it
sounds like she did exactly the right things for her. I hope she's okay
and I hope she keeps hiking.

Leslie



On Jul 24, 2013, at 6:44 AM, Lindsey Sommer <lgsommer at gmail.com> wrote:

Sigh, honestly, THIS is the only thing that has been holding me back from
solo backpacking as a slight female. I don't worry about bears, or really
other people at all (it helps that I carry a large knife), but being from
the country in northern california, I'm always aware of mountain lions. The
more I hear about this stuff, the more I decide I DON'T want to put myself
in this position. Scary stuff.

I'm wondering, would it had made sense for her to move on that night and
get out of their territory? Or would that have made the situation worse??


On Wed, Jul 24, 2013 at 2:19 AM, Maxine Weyant <weyantm at msn.com> wrote:



I think about cougars a lot, as a short female who often hikes at night.
If you look at the statistics of cougar attacks on humans, short females
or toddlers running or moving quickly are more likely to be viewed as prey
to them.  They often attack the back of the head or neck. In parts of South
Asia, some farmers wear hats with eyes and a face on the back, presumably
to confuse tigers who might be attacking from behind.

I sometimes think our backpacks make us less accessible to them, but I've
been thinking that in the sections where I use my GoLite silver umbrella, I
probably look less prey-like to a cougar.   It certainly freaks out dogs
and horses.

Lately, I've been considering purchasing a 1.4 oz mini air horn.