[pct-l] Night hiking and rodents in food, p.s.

[Josh]

Julian,
I think pretty much everyone knows, and it's been mentioned a couple times
already, the odds are astronomically low.  UR specifying DEATH...how many
"Attacks" of any kind have there been in that same timeframe?  How many
"encounters" have there been where there was no actual attack, just a
confrontation?
 
I'm not sure how or WHY a couple of people are exaggerating the idea of
being attacked by a mountain lion when the initial statement (which someone
has so conveniently chosen to remove from the conversation) was that a
weapon of some kind (be it a pocket knife, or pepper spray, or a gun) would
be a good thing to carry while on a solo NIGHT HIKE along with a flashlight
& compass and a couple other items.
 
Not sure of the exact #, but "Billy Goat does NOT have 32k PCT miles!  Just
for those who don't know who George Woodard AKA "Billy Goat" is, or have
heard of him but don't know much, here's an interesting LA Times article:
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/25/local/me-billygoat25
 
Josh

  _____  

From: Julian Plamann [mailto:julian at amity.be] 
Sent: Friday, April 03, 2009 1:05 AM
To: Josh
Cc: mark v; pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Night hiking and rodents in food, p.s.


Only 7 or 8 people have been killed by mountain lions in California in the
last ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN YEARS of official record keeping... I wouldn't
worry too much about it. You're many, many, many times more likely to be
maimed or killed by any random dog walking down the street or trail... or by
an infected blister on your foot.

For the most part, the mountains are not something you have to arm yourself
against. I wonder how many mountain lions Billy Goat has been stalked by or
even glimpsed from a distance in his 32,000+ PCT miles?