Mountain lions scare me. anyone had any encouters with them?

Dude, I saw a mountain lion, a cougar, bound across the road up in the podunk wilderness on SUNDAY. But no 'encounters' with them yet, luckily. They scare me too, more than the bears.

My response is based on backpacking, not bike touring. I will certainly agree with others that there are many other critters that will be insterested (and able to get into) your food than just the bears. If you are not sure if you need to hang your food and grooming stuff or not, you probably do need to. If you see anyone else hanging their food, hang yours. If you would need to travel a considerable distance to replace your food, hang your food just in case. As others have said, do not cook or eat in or next to your tent unless the weather is really bad and you do not have any other options.

Same thing happened to me on my 400K brevet in the Rockies last May. It ran across the road, then crouched on the embankment on the other side of the road and stared at me as I rode past.



Meanwhile, I picked up speed.

Just thought I should throw this in - for whatever it might be worth.

ALERT
Alaska Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert of bears while in the field. We advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears that aren't expecting them. We also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear.

It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear droppings. Black bear droppings are smaller and contain lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear droppings have little bells in it and smell like pepper.

kind of off topic, anyone watch hbo's six feet under by any chance? in the last season where they show the manner of death that the funeral home will be taking care of that episode, a guy gets it from a mountain lion while running in the california hills. It just scared the "whatever" out of me to actually see this happening, even if it was scripted.

That was a really good intro death. I was completely expecting him to keel over due to heart attack and then...BLAM! Big cat mauling.

For what it's worth, I heard that large cats prefer small children to full grown adults. I think they usually hunt smaller prey. So unless you're an 8 year old child, you'll probably be fine.

I hope this will answer all of your questions about where the wild animals are.

I couldnt figure out how they got that shot. I slow mo-ed it a few times. Must have been a domesticated lion or something. Looked like the real thing when it pounced.

This thread is still getting action and I just couldn't resist after reading some of the posts.

Here in Orange County California we have had mountain lion attacks on mountain bikers, one resulting in death. That was close into heavely populated areas in broad daylight.

I have experienced bears in Colorado, Washington, New Mexico, Wyoming and Alsaka (Brown and Black - who cares when your scared ...........). I have experienced squirels, mice, rats and marmots and other small pannier / backpack eating creatures that will knaw through your stuff if you don't hang it out of the way. It isn't just food either - toothpaste, toiletries, snacks and dirty dishes. Pitched a camp on the ocean in Baja California (Mexico) in the middle of no where and was greated by a very friendly and fearless little kangaroo mouse. I fed him Power Bars in hopes that he would burst into a mutant kangaroo mouse and guard the camp.

Last year on a hike into about 11,000 feet I awoke the next morning to find my "T" shirt shredded by very very large paws - mountain lion - so said the state game biologist. Laid my shirt down on the rock under my hanging food stash to dry. I slept in a bivy not more than ONE foot away. Glad I slept through the whole thing.

Check with local rangers, law enforcement and locals about problems with bears, rodents, etc. and always take a few minutes to properly guard your stuff. You might even find it easier just to hang your panniers in total. It isn't safe in the desert or the mountains and surrounding forests. They are everywhere!!!!

Why take a chance of getting mauled, having holes eaten in your gear or loosing your rations!

PS: Watch out for those Moose in Alaska. More dangerous than the Grizzlies!!!!
Camp robbers abound in some areas as well. If it's shiny or edible - It is gone!!!!