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Thread: Mountain Lions

  1. #1
    Senior Member RandyRhoads's Avatar
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    Default Mountain Lions

    Spent a night in my hammock up in the Mendocino forrest this weekend. I was pretty far removed from anything. Just me and my little brother. I was up most of the night holding my gun worried about big critters eating me in my sleep. Don't thick populations of lions in my area so I rarely have to give that a thought. A tent is one thing, hear something, you can grab your gun and quietly get ready. Now in my hammock I felt a new feeling of danger. I was basically a giant meat cocoon suspended between two giant diving boards. I kept hearing branches around me cracking. All I could think of was a lion pouncing down on the hammock and gnawing on me before I could even get remotely close to a position to fire. I guess i'm kind of a puss. When I'm in the water, i'm always worried about great whites, and jaws music plays in my head on repeat. Now when i'm on land in the mountains, it's lions.

    So do lions ever attack people in their sleep, or do they only go after people they can stalk?

    What are the chances of them pouncing on a hammock while I sleep?

    What can I do to ward them off? Any tips for night? If i'm going to spend 5-6 months hiking through mountains, I want to feel a little better. Maybe I just need to get the sand out of my....?


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    Not a Mod finallyME's Avatar
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    It's more like a bear burrito.

    Don't worry, after a couple days on the trail, you will forget about it.
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    Senior Member RandyRhoads's Avatar
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    That's what I was told about sharks after a few dives. Countless dives later and I still think i'm gonna need a bigger boat.

    But even if I do forget about it i'm still curious about the possibility of being pounced on in the hammock. Do they attack sleeping prey?

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    Senior Member RandyRhoads's Avatar
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    Resident Wildman Wildthang's Avatar
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    Randy if a hungry cat comes along, he will eat you whether you are asleep or not. A large campfire and a good large mean azz watch dog is the best way to ward off cats.
    When I hiked the Winding Staircase mountains in southeast Oklahoma, I always heard from the locals that there were a few cougars around. I always kept a large campfire in front of my shelter and rocks or trees to the back of the shelter when possible. I always slept like a baby and kept my knife in my hand as I slept. Actually a good knife is in my opinion a better weapon if you are attacked by an animal in your sleep because you probably have a much better chance of stabbing and cutting an attacking couger or bear than getting a shot off with a gun.

    Just my opinion for what it's worth!

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    Senior Member RandyRhoads's Avatar
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    Thanks, but a fire will be out of the question for most/all of my 211 mile hike. And a gun wont be legal to bring so a knife will be it....

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    Resident Wildman Wildthang's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RandyRhoads View Post
    Thanks, but a fire will be out of the question for most/all of my 211 mile hike. And a gun wont be legal to bring so a knife will be it....
    Borrow Ricks hong and nothing will mess with you!

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    Randy the only story I can offer you is one told me by a veterinarian friend of mine. Happened about 20 years ago if memory serves me near Rifle, Colorado. The "Doc" is an avid elk hunter and makes at least one trip a year to western Colorado. One day, after stalking through a lot of wet grass, he stopped to remove his boots, wring out his wet socks, and dry his feet a bit on a big rock warming in the morning sun. He said he hadn't been there long when he got the uneasy feeling that something was watching him. He turned around to find a mature lion crouched motionless just yards away. Well he was bow hunting and had no firearm, so he nervously grabbed his bow and an arrow to defend his ground if necessary. I guess the fact that the lion realized he'd been spotted and all the commotion with the bow must have spooked it off. Mind you he is a practicing veterinarian with significant large and exotic animal experience. He knew what he saw! I informed him that I had always heard mountain lions would typically head for cover if they see, hear, or even smell a human. He concluded that there wasn't anywhere left for the lions to disappear into (in the lower 48 anyways) so they were likely left with little alternative when someone comes into these last bastions of wilderness. I think if you practiced a routine similar to those suggested for travel through bear habitat; it would do a great deal to reduce the attraction of your campsite to lions, bears, skunks, or whatever else goes bump in the night. Always a good idea to hike with a companion for a number of reasons. Even having a good dog is better than attempting it solo, but it adds to the logistics. I think you are at greater risk of a two-legged problem than a four-legged one but that's only my opinion.
    Last edited by Cast-Iron; 08-12-2013 at 05:19 PM.

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    Senior Member RandyRhoads's Avatar
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    Thanks. What's the two legged problem, a bear standing on its legs haha

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    It's a long story but I much prefer to have something as a break behind me. I don't think I could ever be at ease in a hammock
    so the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law and you want me to believe that somehow more laws make less criminals?

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    Senior Member RandyRhoads's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by randyt View Post
    It's a long story but I much prefer to have something as a break behind me. I don't think I could ever be at ease in a hammock
    That's my thoughts as well. Easy to defend something while backed into a corner. I love everything about the hammock but I never saw this coming. Now it's too late, there's a lot to be said about feeling as safe as possible. Feeling like you're going to get mauled all night doesn't give much rest.

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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    The odds of an attach would be pretty small, I would think.....unless you go looking for trouble, leave food out, and such.
    So, buy a lottery ticket.....can't be lucky twice, right?

    The second night you generally are so tired, you really don't care what happens.
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    You guys have some active imaginations. Those limb snaps and leaf rustles are generally possum or raccoon or some other nocturnal critter. One whiff of you and they will most likely trot off in the opposite direction although I have had deer walk through my camp before.

    If it's a real concern for you then you can fashion a fladry fence around your camp. I don't know whether it will work on big cats but it seems to work on wolves. Add a bell or two and you should know if anything is intent on coming through.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=flad...w=1680&bih=909
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    Even after years of hammock camping my wife is still a little freaked out by it. like finallyME I told her we were basically bear burritos and there was nothing we could do if we were chosen as a midnight snack.

    When tarp camping and hammock camping my senses always going into overdrive compared to tent camping. I have talked to quite a few friends and they are the same way. And by this I mean we sleep lighter than normal.

    Must be something about feeling safer in a structure even if it couldn't stop a rampaging 3 year old.

  16. #16

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    I woke up earlier this year to something sniffing my hammock. Rocked a little on purpose and it left and I went to sleep again.

    My brother and his friend had a panther jump the trail in front of them a couple of months ago. It stretched and headed down the trail.

    My veiw is if a what ever attacks you it won't matter what cloth thing you are in. We have had plenty of gators walk though camp. That a 12' gator walks through camp and you are a hanging snack is just something you deal with. The fact that no gator has eaten someone in a tent or hammock is something comforting though. LOL

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    Senior Member Winter's Avatar
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    I don't think I'd hike where you can't carry a handgun.

    When we tarp camp here, it's remote, and bears only come by the camp, never into the camp. We do leave food accessible to them, but, if they have never eaten human food, they are not attracted to it. IMO. Fried trout in garlic butter smells vastly different than a dead fish. The smell o humans is a threat.

    Big kitties may not have these issues. I don't know.
    I had a compass, but without a map, it's just a cool toy to show you where oceans and ice are.

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    Senior Member RandyRhoads's Avatar
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    Omg sourdough I think I pissed myself. Awesome.

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    Senior Member RandyRhoads's Avatar
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    Well I'm hiking the John muir trail, and hopefully the pacific crest next year. No guns carries through either. I guess I have to just deal with being part of the food chain like entering the ocean. Apparently bear proof canisters are not only recommended but also the law. Sounds like its unheard of to hike the whole thing without an encounter.

    True the "cloth thing" won't matter if it wants to eat you, but in a tent if something rustles the side of the tent you can roll over grab the gun and at least have a foot or two buffer between you and it. The hammock is pretty much the same as sleeping on a downed log. Any sniffing or investigation is basically directly on you.

    Hunter- stranger things have happened. A guy got hit by a white shark here. Within a couple weeks he was back in the water. Got hit again just a few miles away from the first attack. Got back in the water a few days after that. Talk about unlucky. Or lucky..

    This solo 3 week hike is going to reek havoc on my kind and nerves, but hopefully ill come out of it refreshed, stronger, and feeling like a new man...
    Last edited by RandyRhoads; 08-12-2013 at 10:35 PM.

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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Of course, if you wake up in the tent with something standing on top of you then it's pretty moot where the gun is.
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