It would have been nice if there were pictures, seeing an animal in the wild is a very exiting experience and you are very lucky to spot a mountain lion and next time don’t forget your camera.
Yes, it would have been great to take a picture, and a movie would've been even better, but I just didn't expect to see a big animal in the middle of the AT south of Harpers Ferry 40 yards away from me. For some reason my first reaction was to clap my hands to scare it off rather than try to pull my camera out of my pack.It glanced at me before rapidly loping off the trail and eventually across a low ridge. I kicked myself for scaring it, and then I kept looking over my shoulder for the next two miles hoping it wasn't stalking me.
GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss
I ran into a hiker in 08' who was convinced a Mountain Lion ran across his path just before the Priest in VA. He was quite shaken up about it. He was hiking NOBO focused on making some miles and it crossed the path in front of him close enough for him to see it all...he said their was no doubt it was a Mountain Lion, not a Bobcat...said it was the size of a person and quiet. Crossed the path and went on its way into the woods. I also spoke with a woman at Fontana Village where her home is close by and has a small ornamental pond she said on certain years when the Mountains get really dry she regularly sees a mountain Lion drinking from her pond in the morning..on those years she says her dogs live inside the house. A created story from her who knows, she said she has taken pictures.
Friend of mine from Stoneville, NC (30 miles North of Greensboro) shot and killed one on his farm raiding his chicken coup. Caught it coming over the fenece with a couple of chickens in its mouth.
Tridavis
I have a nice photo of 4" pug marks - if I can get it out of my phone...
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
I agree....These cats can travel accross every kind of land, and it seems to me that the wilderness of the east looks like a pretty good place to find a home. I have been all over Gila Wilderness looking for them and I did not see a single one, but I suspect big cats saw me!
I have seen three in Conn and my brother saw one in VA (I believe) during his 07 GAME.
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other one thing." Abraham Lincoln (1855)
Horse cawks.
NOT hard to believe! Over the past few years hikers & hunters have seen a Mountain Lion/s in the "AT" area in the Long Mtn Wayside area, where the AT crosses Rt 60 in Amherst County VA (a few miles -N- of Brown Mtn Creek Shelter)
Cherokee Bill ..... previously known as "billyboy"
Some friends of mine saw two on the PCT in Washington, and I saw on in California.
I didnt realize they were so common along the AT, but I figured there were a few along the route somewhere.
While the number of cougar reports have increased , it's still considered a marvel to see one in the wild. I have no doubt that's what I saw bound across the Skyline Drive while driving near Dickey's Ridge in 1990, and have no doubt that other reports of sightings are legit.
I spoke to a section hiker in 2009 that swore he saw a mountain lion in the same area north of the Preist that turtle fast described above .
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
Would not stay off the trail because ofem! 1000's of folks die in auto accidents every year, but we still getin our cars and drivem!
If U ever see one you'll know it, as it's tail is as long as it's body, but still its rare one allows U to seeit! Like a Bear, their sense of smell is awesome!
Oh, they will stalk their prey for a long didtance, before making the kill...........................
"A pine needle fell in the forest: the Eagle saw it, the Deer heard it, and the Bear smelled it"...................
Cherokee Bill ..... previously known as "billyboy"