@chalupacabre

Today I learned cougars mark their territory with poop and spray. Both stink terribly.

I'm not worried. After hiking 46 years over 200 miles per year, I only saw two cougars. Backpacking in Olympic National Park at 22.

@LiterateHiker They're also the biggest cat to purr and the do it loudly. I had a job where I could scratche them behind the ears and they'd purr loud enough so people about 10-15 feet away could hear. Didn't pay well, but it was a fun job!

@BudFrank

If I saw a cougar or rattlesnake, I would not faff around taking photos.

Look up:

1. Cougar in Washington State, images

2. Pacific Rattlesnake, images

@LiterateHiker I know you wouldn’t. Just teasing you. You have such amazing pictures. I wouldn’t want you to waste one with the motion-induced blurring when you were running away

@BudFrank

Running is the worst thing you can do with a large predator. It makes you prey.

Stand your ground.

Make yourself look as big as possible.

Look strong and fierce.

Slowly back up. For a half-mile if necessary,

If you have an umbrella, kneel down and open it in the face of a charging grizzly. Amazingly, this worked in Glacier National Park. The grizzly stopped, sniffed the umbrella and walked away.

@bobwjr

I am always careful. In 46 years of hiking, I only saw two cougars: at age 22 in Olympic National Park.

I never hike alone. Cougar are unlikely to attack a group.

For me cougar = no hike, rattle snakes = no hike. Heat wave probably means stay close to home and go walking during the early morning or some-such. Summer heat in Arizona means rattle snakes (and dangerous heat exposure) = no hike. To be sure, there are some great alternatives (walk around the sidewalks and street at 6 am for example, to avoid the heat and snakes) but I'm a big wuss as to those dangers.

@kmaz For me, desert = no hike, summer in desert = no hike. It be 100°F here at midnight in August. August = go away and hike in Colorado.

@MsKathleen
That makes sense. Where I am the height above sea level is about 4000 feet so it’s cooler here at certain times of day and a walk around the neighborhood at those times in the summer so is possible.

@kmaz Yes, where I go in Colorado is at about 5300’, so walking is possible every day in summer, even though it might heat up too much at some point in the day. A nice walk along the Arkansas River with Lucy the German Shepherd makes every day a good day.