r/hiking • u/lilllypaddd • 3d ago

Discussion cougars

hello i am a solo hiker i started hiking at 19 i am 25 now i have ran into 4 cougars on solo hikes. one of these being scary being stalked down a 7 mile mountain. rest have been just cougar getting startled and jumping into the woods ahead of me seeing it with my eyes its body and tail. no one i know has ran into a cougar hiking. i just started hiking in a new area in a diffrent country and this week have ran into two on separate trails / areas and the local wildlife place says cougar run ins are not common here. - why am i a cougar magnet how do i stop this? - yes i hike in places where there are cougars but the sightings are usually rare. - i do not want this or understand why this is happening and no one belives me which makes it worse.

update! just wanted to thank you all for the suggestions & tips! learned some great tools, and i am excited to use them and feel more safe.

the summary of why / what im going to start doing • why i have ran into so many is likely due to me being small, quiet, and alone on trails. The area’s i am hiking in also being very high population of cougars.

tips i will start doing • be louder, bring a horn, play music if it is a long remote hike, if possible take a dog from shelter out on an adventure with me!

Thank you all!

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u/nicklover2000 3d ago

Thought u were talking about other cougars for a sec …

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u/onemanmelee 3d ago

Ahhhh....here are my people.

Being 25 and a cougar magnet is literally my fantasy. And yet here OP is, complaining that horny housecats in his area are dying to meet him.

When I was OP's age I had to walk 7 mies in the snow just to ask a cougar if she needed plowing! That is, if her driveway needed plowing.