Mountain Lion Sighting in the Wilderness

[east or bust]

Had my first mountain lion sighting last night, and as an added bonus it was out in the wilderness, and there were two!

I was out for a paddle on one of the dammed lakes in Tonto NF. This one consists of a main lake body and then about 6 miles of narrows. We semi-recently received a decent amount of rain which meant the falls and washes are flowing, making the narrows even more beautiful than normal.

I made it to the end, below the dam of the higher lake at about 7pm, about 7.5mi from the put in. At this point all of the boat traffic had been done for over an hour and it was just getting dark. I knew it was going to take longer on the way out navigating through the various log jams in the narrows in the dark but was ok with that, headlamp came in handy for a couple sections. Around each bend I'd turn on the lamp and scan the shoreline/walls for eyes. At about 9:45 I picked up a pair of eyes at water level from a good distance. Shut off the light and stealth paddled until about 75 yards.

When I turned the light back up I lit up a patch of mesquite where the eyes were, nothing. Panning left I picked the eyes up again, now 50ft up what I would consider a cliff. Immediately knew these were not sheep as not one rock was displaced. I was still too far to make out bodies at this point, but the animals continued another 20-30ft up to a ledge on the cliff. Now they were doing their best disappearing act, heads low and bobbing up and down, just barely peaking over the edge to scope me out.

I turned off the light and sat quietly for a few minutes, intently listening for any sound of movement. Nothing. I paddled a bit closer, now I'd estimate the distance between myself and the cliff at 40 yards. Turned the light on again. One was still peaking over the ledge, the other had now begun to move down the cliff. I imagine they were cornered up there and rather uncomfortable. The creature that moved down the cliff now turned and bounded back up. Finally I got the view I was waiting for, a great look at the flank, tail and all. It was a fucking cat, and a pretty big one too! Still can't believe how quiet they can move over that terrain, in the dark to boot.

Now wondering whether it was a mother and ~year old kitten, or perhaps two siblings recently departed from their mother.


Who else has got some stories?

[schindlerpiste]

Feb. 5, 2018. Park City

[Fritz]

Yesterday in Boulder :


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[mall walker]

Last winter I was training for the Grand Traverse, which starts at midnight, so I did some big ~10k' vertical training days starting at midnight. One of them it had snowed maybe 4" and was still lightly snowing; cuz the GT is pretty flat, my first 5 miles were on an unmaintained winter road. For the whole way the only tracks on that road besides mine were some unmistakable mountain lion tracks, which must have been pretty fresh because with all the snow things were filling in quick. Spooky af, though I never saw the cat.

[JongDoe]

Yesterday in Boulder :


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Serial, right in the road? I love bog cats, but I might be afraid of those big guys.

[evdog]

Was that Roosevelt Lake or Apache Lake?

I saw a lion while riding the Coconino loop back in 2012. After climbing up Mingus Mtn in the dark we got to a forest road at the top. I was ahead, and in the dim light of my camping headlight saw something bound across the road about 40-50ft in front of me. It was about the size of a deer but had a long tail. When Schillingsworth caught up I had him shine his headlamp up toward the hill above us. Saw 2 eyes staring back down at us. Spooky.

[m2711c]

none of these animals are properly social distancing..... wft? is really that had to just #staythefuckhome ?

[Shredhead]

I spend a lot of time outside at sunrise.
I’ve seen two, both at a distance.
Probably countless have seen me.
I always have my dog. I’m not sure he’d be a big help in an attack, but I’m sure he’s deterrent.

[schindlerpiste]

My bobcat looks like a kitten compared to those beasts

[Kenny Satch]

Yesterday in Boulder :


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That's amazing and scary. Damn

[PB]

Magnificent animals. I mean, just the tails alone ......

[The SnowShow]

That's amazing and scary. Damn

Those were seen at 19th and Iris. That’s a long ways into the city

[ill-advised strategy]

Last winter I was training for the Grand Traverse, which starts at midnight, so I did some big ~10k' vertical training days starting at midnight. One of them it had snowed maybe 4" and was still lightly snowing; cuz the GT is pretty flat, my first 5 miles were on an unmaintained winter road. For the whole way the only tracks on that road besides mine were some unmistakable mountain lion tracks, which must have been pretty fresh because with all the snow things were filling in quick. Spooky af, though I never saw the cat.

I slept out (no tent) next to the trucks on a fire on the vermejo park ranch, probably around 00/01. It was on a dozer line with a lot of fine fine talc dirt we called “moon dust”. I woke up to cat tracks everywhere, right next to my head, on the hood of the truck...everywhere.

Thanks for letting me live, big kitties.
Good kitties.
We putz ur firez out and leave now, kthxbye.

[Fritz]

Serial, right in the road? I love bog cats, but I might be afraid of those big guys.

This was in NW Boulder.


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[Fritz]

Those were seen at 19th and Iris. That’s a long ways into the city

That’s pretty much where that photo was taken so they’re definitely in town.


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[The SnowShow]

More lions in Boulder city limits (maybe the same 3)? Not my pic.

[AK47bp]

Holy shit. For something usually allusive strutting through front yards in the day is bad news. Kids out there playing or something. Shit.


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[hutash]

Never seen one myself, but did have one trip on our tent lines one night. Damn near collapsed the tent. Found a big tuft of hair on the line and big ass paw prints.

[The SnowShow]

Holy shit. For something usually allusive strutting through front yards in the day is bad news. Kids out there playing or something. Shit.


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Yep.
Maybe they’re just making sure people are staying the fuck inside.

[BCMtnHound]

Agreed. While they are just magnificent to see, I can't imagine their lives being long ones if they have staked out the urban area as their territory.

[Danno]

More lions in Boulder city limits (maybe the same 3)? Not my pic.

Are you sure this is a new pic? Because I saw this or something very like this around the same time as the other pic.

At first I thought they must be fake, but they're not.

[pepperdawg]

I slept out (no tent) next to the trucks on a fire on the vermejo park ranch, probably around 00/01. It was on a dozer line with a lot of fine fine talc dirt we called “moon dust”. I woke up to cat tracks everywhere, right next to my head, on the hood of the truck...everywhere.

Thanks for letting me live, big kitties.
Good kitties.
We putz ur firez out and leave now, kthxbye.

Damn.....

[nickwm21]

Never seen one myself, but did have one trip on our tent lines one night. Damn near collapsed the tent. Found a big tuft of hair on the line and big ass paw prints.

The only time I saw one (two actually) was in your neck of the woods. I used to hop some fences and hike the ridge behind town from the Ventura "V" to the Botanical Gardens. I saw two mountain lions a few hundred feet away near the radio towers up there. Then when I was coming down off the ridge, VPD was running some exercises at the old shooting range at the top Grant Park. I had to sneak past them. That was the last time I hiked that route....

[The SnowShow]

Are you sure this is a new pic? Because I saw this or something very like this around the same time as the other pic.

At first I thought they must be fake, but they're not.

Not sure if it’s a repeat from then.

[The SnowShow]

I would assume lions leave you alone if you’re in a tent, since they wouldn’t mistake you as prey? Or are they like bears and can smell any food you might have?