I Thought I Saw a Puddycat!

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:41 pm

So, I think I just saw a mountain lion. I was coming down from Echo Mountain in Altadena around 9:30 PM tonight. I heard something big in the bushes about 30 - 40 yards away. I shined my head lamp on "boost" mode in that direction. I saw a fairly large animal. It crouched down and snarled (if that's the right word; funky noise) at me, and then bounded off. Three deer broke out of the brush to my left and ran full speed towards me and the guy I was hiking with, veering only a few feet away and sproinging up the hill.

I think I interrupted a mountain lion during a hunt. I think he was after those deer who I think were pretty freaked out when they heard the snarl or whatever it should properly be called. I've never seen a deer run towards two people before. We both had headlamps, so it's not like we were hidden or something.

I didn't get a good look at whatever snarled at us, but it was big, it freaked out the deer, and it moved very differently than the deer. My friend says he saw it and for sure it was a mountain lion. My friend was off to the left a bit whereas the animal was looking directly at me since I was shining my headlamp on "boost" at it. So, between the circumstances and my friend saying "it was a mountain lion," I think I had a close encounter of the mountain lion kind. Very interesting. Of course I left the camera at home tonight.

HJ

Post by **Taco** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 1:05 am

Hikin_Jim wrote:I've never seen a deer run towards two people before. We both had headlamps, so it's not like we were hidden or something.

Ze Hiker · Post by **Ze Hiker** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 6:35 am

maybe it was just some people smoking weed just off the trail. it's been known to make people to react hysterically and hurt their ankles

PackerGreg · Post by **PackerGreg** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 9:18 am

It probably was a mountain lion (what else could it have been - chupacabra?). Last night was a full moon and that's prime hunting time.

Or it could have been... remind me to write about the Monkey Man of the San Gabriels.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 11:41 am

Zé wrote:maybe it was just some people smoking weed just off the trail. it's been known to make people to react hysterically and hurt their ankles

Uh, yeah, I was thinking that too. Um, thanks. That was, um, helpful. Yeah.

Post by **Taco** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 4:49 pm

Don't get all butthurt now, Jim. I get shit for getting hit by rocks.

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:16 pm

Hikin_Jim wrote:So, I think I just saw a mountain lion.

*yawn*

(I kid I kid!!

)

Ze Hiker · Post by **Ze Hiker** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 7:03 pm

Hikin_Jim wrote:
Zé wrote:maybe it was just some people smoking weed just off the trail. it's been known to make people to react hysterically and hurt their ankles
Uh, yeah, I was thinking that too. Um, thanks. That was, um, helpful. Yeah.

if missed, I was alluding to FO's incident

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:31 pm

Zé wrote:
Hikin_Jim wrote:
Zé wrote:maybe it was just some people smoking weed just off the trail. it's been known to make people to react hysterically and hurt their ankles
Uh, yeah, I was thinking that too. Um, thanks. That was, um, helpful. Yeah.
if missed, I was alluding to FO's incident

Oh, sorry, my bad. I kind of tuned out FO. Any post by/about him I just skipped. I wasn't aware of the incident. Sounds like classic FO.

HJ

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:33 pm

cougarmagic wrote:
Hikin_Jim wrote:So, I think I just saw a mountain lion.
*yawn*

Yeah, yeah, Ms. Big Talk. Let's see ya try that standing on the trail in the dark with the big kitty lookin' right at ya. And that critter wasn't exactly scared of us either.

HJ

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:30 am

http://www.altadenablog.com/2010/09/mou ... n-ave.html

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:24 pm

Brave kitty. No wonder he/she wasn't particularly afraid of us.