[pct-l] Mountain Lion Encounter

[Maxine Weyant]

I solo-section hike about 200-350 miles on the PCT every year.  The first 2 years, I took a can of bear spray along, mostly to appease my husband.  Having a fairly large can clunking at my shoulder or hip and getting caught whenever I took my pack on or off was really tiresome.  One day a woman on horseback warned me that a bear up ahead had spooked her horses, so I opened the velcro on the top of my bear spray holster. Never saw the bear but I forgot to close the holster.  The can must have slipped out when I was bending down to get water out of a loud rushing glacial stream, never heard it or saw it.  It was so freeing to be rid of that thing.  Never again, unless I hike in Grizzly country.  

Smaller pepper sprays won't do much good for a charging bear, and a lot of them emit a cloud that could blow back into your face.  There is one that emits a stream that can be deployed from about 10 feet away.  I've never used it, but it's made by Sabre, it's their maximum strength (Red) spray and it supposedly has 25 bursts. You can read about it on Amazon.  Unfortunately you can't fly with pepper spray or air horns, even packed in checked luggage. 

Dys-feng shui-nal