[pct-l] Cougars

[patti kulesz]

cougars on the trail? NONSENSE!
 
Sugar Moma  

 


________________________________
 From: Steve Rolfe <steve.rolfe at comcast.net>
To: 'PCT listserve' <pct-l at backcountry.net> 
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 9:32 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Cougars
 
I live on Cougar Mountain in the city of Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle.
There is a Tiger Mountain about 5 miles to the east.  Both got their names
from the cougars that live here.  According to our local newspaper there has
been quite a bit of research on the whereabouts and wanderings of cougars in
our area.  As I remember the research determined that cougars were not
uncommon, but very stealthy.  One could be next to your backyard fence and
later in the day several miles away.  They are almost never seen even though
they are often very close to us.

I've never seen a cougar while hiking or in the wilderness, but startlingly
I saw one in my backyard about 5 years ago.  I live near a greenbelt, but
not on one.  The cougar had to go through several yards, jump the fence on
one side of my yard and then jump the fence on the other side of the yard.
The dog never noticed the cougar.

The Elementary School in my neighborhood is called Cougar Ridge Elementary.
At least once there has been a lock down because of a cougar sighting.

There are large wildland parks on both Cougar and Tiger Mountain with
numerous trails and lots of hikers.  Presumably there are quite a few
cougars that live in the area.

As I remember according to the research there is no record of a cougar in
our area attacking anyone.

Interestingly enough I've seen a bobcat twice in my backyard and once
observed a bobcat kitten in a tree very near the elementary school just
sitting there for an hour waiting for its mom, I suspect.

Personally, I'm afraid of the raccoons.  I have strawberries in the
backyard.  The raccoons love them.  The yard is very dark at night.  Once I
walked into a family of raccoons.  They were not friendly to me and they
weren't the least bit interested in leaving.

Steve


-----Original Message-----
From: CHUCK CHELIN [mailto:steeleye at wildblue.net] 
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 6:26 AM
To: PCT listserve
Subject: [pct-l] Cougars

Good morning,

It seems every year there surfaces concern and discussion about cougars.  My
experiences with cougars is severely limited because in spite of the fact
that I’ve been hiking the mountain west since the Eisenhower administration
I’ve never seen a cougar in the wild, on the hoof – so to speak.

I’ve seen lots of tracks, but tracks aren’t very threatening, and I’ve never
seen where the tracks end.  One morning on the PCT just north of Chinook
Pass, near Sourdough Gap, I stopped to get some Peanut M&Ms out of my pack
when another NoBo hiker passed me.  After chatting for a while he continued.
Within 5 minutes I had my treat in hand and I also continued.  I was looking
at the other hiker’s tracks in the fine trail dust, and within ¼ mile I was
surprised to see 7” diameter cougar tracks covering his.  I hurried on
hoping to sight the cat but it either heard me, or just had its curiosity
satisfied because the tracks left the trail.  Mid-day I overtook the other
hiker and asked if he had seen the cat, but he hadn’t.

I’ve encountered freshly-killed deer that were partially eaten and covered.
I’ve heard cougars scream in the night – chilling, but harmless.

Once in far NE Oregon I crawled into a high-up cave and found an empty bed
that had lots of hair that looked like it came from a yellow Lab dog, but
again no cat.

Another time in C. Oregon near Stormy Lake below Irish Mountain, I was
hiking along in the middle of the day when I instantly felt that prickly
feeling of impending danger.  Seeing nothing ahead or toward the sides I
spun around, fully expecting to see an incoming tawny ball of teeth and
claws.  Nothing – not even crickets.  I have no idea why I got that danger
warning, but I’m absolutely certain that over the years I’ve been watched
innumerable times, and probably followed – I won’t say stalked, just
followed.

Numerous times on trails around Mt. Hood where I train I’ve seen cougar
territory-markings on the trail tread consisting of two, foot-long scuff
marks.  Supposedly they also scent-spray the same place but I’ve never
smelled any.  Once I encountered the same markings on the PCT in N.
California near Grizzly Peak which can be seen here
http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=425760

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=425761

Cougars are carnivorous sight-hunters and don’t really rely upon their
noses.  It’s very unlikely they would have any interest in anything in your
food stash, and wouldn’t approach even if you hiked dragging a pork chop on
a string.

People love to relate stories about cougar sightings, and those people are
either incredibly lucky or incredibly imaginative – I leave it to you to
decide.  Sensational media loves to cover such stories, but considering the
number of hours that people spend in cougar habitat every year, and the
dearth of reports, it’s clear to me that the chance of a experiencing a
difficulty – or even making a sighting – is vanishingly small.

On the bottom of this site
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=167914  are comments about cougars
by a prominent and experienced outdoorsman.

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/


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