[pct-l] Mountain lion sighting

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Apr 6, 2009, at 6:42 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> Re: Mountain lion sighting

I have to admit that mountain lions do make me a little nervous. Once  
while taking a walk on a road near Santa Barbara, I saw one sitting  
on a rock with the setting sun and the Pacific ocean behind him. It  
was a beautiful scene. Other than that, I have only seen prints. A  
few times I've been hiking and felt the hairs on the back of my neck  
go up. When that happens I always think there's a lion nearby. I have  
yet to see one when that happens, however. I'm really not afraid  
otherwise.

A recent animal encounter actually had me a little afraid. I set up  
my tarp in a hummingbird's territory. The hummingbird was not  
impressed and proceeded to dive-bomb me. As he came closer and closer  
I got nervous enough to go hide under my tarp until he stopped. I'm  
sure he would not intentionally run into me, as that would probably  
hurt him more than me, but what if he erred in his judgment?

Overall, while the wilderness deserves respect, I think the outright  
fear most people express is completely out of proportion. Do you  
carry a gun or knife to ward off all the cellphone wielding make-up  
artists and stock brokers on the road? You're more likely to be done  
in by one of them than anything on the PCT.