The primary cause for hiker fatalites differs from area to area. In some areas it's fatal falls. I'm not positive, but I think in general hiker fatalities are often weather related or humans ignorant of weather related issues.
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The primary cause for hiker fatalites differs from area to area. In some areas it's fatal falls. I'm not positive, but I think in general hiker fatalities are often weather related or humans ignorant of weather related issues.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lv...0tvbo1_400.jpg
This comment is full of win!
[QUOTE=t. She thinks I'm nuts, so it's good to hear that I'm not that crazy![/QUOTE] Nobody said you're not crazy, just not to worry about mountain lions. (or cougars, pumas, catamounts, panthers, etc.)
Mags - I LOVE the Cpt Picard pix.
So what worries me the most about hiking the CT is fires - last year there were a lot of forest fires in Colorado, I did hear on the news this morning that there should be less fires in Colorado this year because of 'above average spring snow pack'. With the Pine bark beetle killing so many of the pine trees, Colorado looked like a tinder box last year when I was there. What I don't know is what is the risk along the trail. Mags - do you have any info on this?
The area around Denver is just slightly below normal levels over all.
Southern Colorado (e.g. the San Juans) is pretty low, though.
Wait and see is about all we can do right now.
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_state.htm?CO,W
I saw a mountain lion in Roxborough State Park which connects to the Colorado Trail. It followed my wife and me for about 30 minutes, but was never a threat. It seemed about as curious as we were.
A few months later, a mountain lion attacked a dog in Roxborough State Park. There is no way to know if it was the same lion or not.
When I hiked from Durango to Silverton in 2008, I encountered a mountain lion a little past the Dry Fork Trail on the CT (Just outside Durango). I had stopped to take a look at my map and the trail bended to the left 30 yards ahead of me. As odd as it sounds, I felt a presence and looked up and there was a mountain lion trotting towards me. We made eye contact and it stopped; I then proceeded to yell at it and it took off. The hair on my arms was standing straight-up.
It was a really special experience for me.
Actually, mountain lions have human encounters much more than humans KNOWINGLY have encounters with mountain lions! They are ambush hunters/stalkers masters at concealing themselves. Ever see those wildlife documentaries where lions, cheetahs, leopards, tigers, etc sneak up on their prey or just to check something out? Mountain Lions in N. America do the same. They are there MORE OFTEN than we realize. BUT, BEFORE YOU LET A NEGATIVE IMAGINATION RUN AWAY THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS. If Mountain Lions regularly saw humans as potential meals humans would be in real trouble in the woods and in the mountains and we would see MANY MORE attacks and human fatalities. Mountain Lions in the wild are not inclined to attack adult humans! Statistics across N. America STRONGLY PROVE this. Those ideas of large ferocious cats stalking and preying upon humans are the product of uninformed artists, writers, and makers of Jollywood movies who are basing their ideas in ignorance and fear.
Hmm... Then there is this: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/...n_x.htm?csp=34
LOL. The deer do coexist with mountain lions - deer are weary and watch out for them and then - THEY RUN!:D
Ever wonder why horse jockeys whip the horse and the horse runs faster?
Predatory Response.
Rare, indeed. But it happens from time to time.
"The oversized cats are responsible for only two confirmed deaths and 14 attacks causing injury during the last 20 years in Colorado, according to the state Division of Wildlife."
http://durangoherald.com/article/20110507/NEWS01/705079946/-1/s/Where-lions-tread
Just got back from 3 days in mountain lion habitat.
Occurred to me that Neoairs sound just like Cat Crinkle Tunnel Toys.
http://www.amazon.com/SmartyKat-Crac...crinkle+tunnel (Ooooo! Cat tunnel is lightweight. If it were a little wider and made of silnylon, it could be a fine bivy sack.)
My sister asks during lunch, "Do you think this Hickory Smoked Flavor Tuna pouch smells like cat food? Do mountain lions like tuna like house cats do?"
Went to bed probably smelling slightly of cat food and sleeping on the perfect crinkly large cat toy. Mountain lions pouncing on my crinkly pad crossed my mind a couple of times, but slept fine.
When I got home my cat was all over my backpack like it was a new catnip toy. She spent 10 minutes rubbing on it and rolling on it and marking it as "hers". (Good thing she is not a sprayer!)
Maybe I had a nocturnal mountain lion encounter, and slept thru it? Naw. Probably not… but who knows.
Happy hiking and sleeping! Driving to/from the trail head is up there with dangerous activities.
I know this is an old thread, but I just watched something last night called "Man-eating Zombie Cats" where the wild cat populations are becoming infected with Canine Distemper Virus - including Mountain lions. These infected cats have much different behavior and are not afraid of humans. Anyways, the show also stated that if mountain lion were the size of an African Lion, they would be 10 times more dangerous.! So of course, it was midnight last night while I watched this show and then they mention Salida, CO and a mountain lion that enters someones house and devours their dog! So visions of me on the CT this summer as a midnight snack start dancing in my head. Thankfully this thread exists! I agree that lightning is probably the biggest danger (or possibly dying from massive overeating in resupply towns - haha) -
I was reading what to do in case of an encounter. Don't turn around, don't run, try to appear large and talk firm and make noise. Not to reassuring since I would probably be paralyzed with fear. Most PCTers are way more nervous about mountain lion encounters than Bear encounters and I agree.
Okay, just thinking out loud. Still can't wait for our CT trip!
You gotta watch them shows with a skeptical eye, especially during weeks like now -- It's Monster Week:D
I don't doubt this disease issue, but those shows are always hyping stuff for ratings; then you got the mega shark and Mermaind "documentaries" :rolleyes:
How do they get away with calling them shows a "Documentary" is just depressing to me.:(
P.S. They call the mega shark a "Megalodon"...geez:rolleyes:
That's true with so many animals, if the black bear was as big as a polar bear it would be more of a threat; I'm not saying it would be the same as the threat presented by a polar bear, but it would definitely be more of a threat. And if a moose was the size of a dog it would be less of a threat.
BTW, that reminds me of my thoughts on the green and brown anoles, those are some very small lizards, but they are very aggressive. They are always making threatening postures that looks like they're doing push-ups, they even make that gesture at me as I walk thru my garden; I actually have to walk right up on them before they run:D
If those things grew to 10 foot long I'd be the one running:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blXmYtPXrQ4
I'm pretty sure that big cats have seen me even though I've never seen them. They are stealthy and like to stalk their prey. It isn't likely that they would attack a 6'1" man especially with a pack on since they like to strike from behind and have a shot at the neck. If I was a 5' tall person or if I hiked with kids I would be more concerned. As things stand, it is a non issue for me even though some freak thing could happen. But some really unlucky incident could occur anywhere at any time, perhaps with higher probability in civilization than in the backcountry.
Heartfire and Krewzer saw a mountain lion on their thruhike last year.