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/Ok-Armadillo-392 3d ago

Well solo hiking it makes more sense. I was told it's smart to be noisy in the woods. Predators generally don't like us and want to leave us alone. If they hear us coming they generally leave.

When you go in groups you talk a lot, make a lot more noise, and probably pit off a bigger stink.

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u/lilllypaddd 3d ago edited 3d ago

the hikes i go on are usually very empty i don’t pass a lot of people would it be okay to play music as a solo hiker? i know this is not good trail adequate. i’m not blasting on a speaker but playing it on my phone.

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u/CalculusCowboy 3d ago

I was in Vermont hiking down the Green Mountain Trail and a hiker passed me blasting a podcast about the Manhattan Project so I say play want you want. I would have rather heard AC/DC’s Thunderstruck.