Comments on: Mountain Lions and Hikers

By: John Soares

John Soares — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:57:31 +0000

Johanna, I love Weaverville and Trinity County, home of much of the Trinity Alps.

It is very unlikely you’ll be attacked. The statistics are on your side. Your dog may be more likely to be attacked because he is shaped more like a deer than you, and he runs more like one also.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:27:16 +0000

I live in Weaverville wich is in trinity county.
I go running on the trails behind our house with my dog , but I am very afraid that i could be attacked by a mountain lion, is this very likely?

By: John Soares

John Soares — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:39:08 +0000

Brittany, that’s quite the scary story. I’m glad it turned out well, and now you have a great tale to share around the campfire.

By: Brittany

Brittany — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:39:03 +0000

A few years ago I was hiking on Grizzly peak in southern Oregon. I was with my man and carrying my son on my back who was less than a year old. It was around sunset and we were trying to make the trail back before dark. My son started to cry and wanted to get out of the pack to nurse so I stopped and sat with him to nurse him. My man decided to hit up some fresh cold spring water. there was a little spring in some red willows on side the trail. A moment later I heard him yelling in a voice that was very deep and loud. As he was coming out of the willows a mountain lion “meorrwed” at him and was pacing around and above the spring. He was terrified but managed to be loud and make himself look big. The lion took off. We are not sure if the lion was attracted to our son’s cries or if it had a kill or was being protective around the spring. I feel very lucky that we were not attacked and I was extremely afraid while hiking out of the woods! This was my closest encounter (that I know of) in all my hiking which has been extensive. I hiked 1,500 miles on the PCT and never saw the “big cat”.

By: Should You Run From a Mountain Lion? | Northern California Hiking Trails Blog

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000

[...] hikers are justifiably concerned about encountering a mountain lion on or near the trail. Accepted wisdom says you should stand your ground and appear threatening to the mountain [...]

By: John Soares

John Soares — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:26:15 +0000

Kevin, I think that is quite rare to see two at once. I have read about such sightings, though.

I love the Burney area. I used to have family there and over in the Fall River Valley.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:11:21 +0000

I actually saw two together on a small cliff outside of Burney,CA. I hear that this is pretty rare. I’m lucky I guess. They acually stopped and stared for a moment. Probably sizing us up. Luckily we were in a vehicle.

By: Mountain Lion Killed After Threatening Hiker and Dog | Northern California Hiking Trails Blog

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:24:25 +0000

[...] Here’s some details of the mountain lion/hiker confrontation: The hiker was walking with his dog on a trail Saturday near Madera Canyon when he saw that he was being followed by a mountain lion, said Heidi Schewel, a spokeswoman for Coronado National Forest. It’s possible that the lion saw the dog as prey, she said. As the mountain lion got closer, the hiker “did everything that he was supposed to do” — shouting and making himself look bigger by waving his arms, Schewel said. When the lion didn’t stop, the hiker fired two warning shots into the air with his gun. When the lion kept coming, he shot at it, and this time it ran away. Because the lion had lost its fear of people and had become “an obvious threat to human safety,” officers had little choice but to kill it, Schewel said. Read the rest of the story at the Arizona Daily Star. Read what I have to say about hikers encountering mountain lions, including safety tips. [...]

By: John Soares

John Soares — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:23:11 +0000

Hi Ron.

I think dogs look similar to deer. And dogs often go exploring off the trail and cover more ground than we do, so they are more likely to encounter a mountain lion.

In the summer of 1999 I camped way back an old dirt road in Trinity County. At twilight I walked with my two golden retrievers on the road to get water from a nearby stream. On the way back, both dogs seemed very wary and stayed right by my side. At the time I wondered if they had smelled or somehow sensed a lion. The next day they saw a black bear near camp and they chased it away, with me hollering at them the whole time to stop.

By: Ronald Thompson

Ronald Thompson — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:15:54 +0000

John, The only time I ever saw a mountain lion (I wonder how many times mountain lions have seen me?) was many years ago. A party of us were driving up Mt. Toro, south of Salinas, CA, when a mountain lion came from somewhere and out-raced the car going uphill on the left side of the road, crossed the road and went down into a ravine with cover. It was a beautiful specimem of a mountain lion, and the highlight of our trip. The part of your article about mountain lions being
attracted by dogs concerns me. I have always gone hiking with dogs and never had any sort of problem. I now have a 80 pound boxer- mix dog that I hike with. Besides having his companionship, I feel safer with him, for if I were attacked by a mountain lion, I am sure he would cover my back, as I would cover his back. It would be ironic justice if he were to be killed by a mountain lion, for he has chalked up many notches in his collar from kills of a certain smaller kind of cat.