disastrophy

Fuck Cougars, I personally don't hunt, but I spend a lot of time in the woods in Western WA, and nothing sends chills up my spine like a cougar. At least three times I've been followed by them, evidenced by paw prints (one time was in snow, another in a muddy area), birds flushed toward me from bushes 50 yds away, and the general prey response that grips your body when you can subconsciously sense a predator nearby, yet of those three times I never laud eyes on a cat once. In fact the only time I've seen a cougar was when I was driving up a gravel mountain road near dusk and managed to sneak up on him by coming around a bend just as he managed to slip into the brush along the shoulder. I've been close to bears and coyotes, but neither made my hair stand on end like knowing a cougar was watching me but not showing itself.

Yeah, I know they are generally more curious than aggressive, and I have heard the stories of cougars with tracking collars resting for hours just 20' from popular hiking trails, probably just to watch the people go by all day. But the first time I had a "feeling I was being watched" rush over me and then had it confirmed on my walk back to the truck seeing paw prints crossing over and walking next to the trail that hadn't been there on my way in was one of the most primal reactions I've ever experienced. Just gut-wrenching, hair raising fear and realization that you are not the top predator.

When I'm with another person I don't fear much as I figure that only a very desperate cat would attack two or more humans as prey, but being alone I do worry about making the wrong move or cornering a cat in a way that may cause it to show itself aggressively.

Chicken Feet at Dim Sum places are the bomb! --100% White Guy Here