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salish
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salish
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PostFri Jan 21, 2005 12:58 pm 
CascadeHiker wrote:
Salish, that Watson-Anderson area is the same place I had a cougar stalking me. When the hair on the back of my neck stood up, I made a quick turn to look behind me and all I really saw was a flash of brown when the cougar saw me turn. Not a good feeling. I'm sure we all have been watched or even stalked by cougars if we spend any time in the mountains at all. They are very curious animals. The worst concentration of cougars though is in Pullman. Dem's the evil kind. hockeygrin.gif
Wow, that's interesting. What I left out of my story- because I thought it might sound somewhat suspect, is that I thought I caught a glimpse of something brown and moving in the tree line above the ridge we were hiking over, and the area I spotted this in was pretty close to where we saw the cougar track converging with ours, or at least no more than a couple hundred yards. We figured the cat was stalking us for the dogs. For the record, this was "below" the normal trail, which winds up the ridge and hugs it fairly high. We cut right across the snow at a lower elevation in a straight line for the meadow on the NE side of Anderson Lake. It's a small world, eh?

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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Snowshoe Hare
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Snowshoe Hare
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PostFri Jan 21, 2005 1:51 pm 
The Old Goat wrote:
Snowshoe Hare wrote:
Whorefrost is such a rude name....they should call it Courtesanfrost don't ya think? agree.gif
Or perhaps "hoarfrost"? wink.gif
Yeah, perhaps. rolleyes.gif rolleyes.gif rolleyes.gif

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jenjen
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PostFri Jan 21, 2005 2:02 pm 
I had a cougar cut across the trail in front of me on the trail to Goat Lake several years ago. We looked at each other, and he (she? it? It didn't seem polite to ask and I really didn't want to get any closer) went on his way. I've seen several bears while hiking. Well, I guess what I really see are big fuzzy butts hightailing it into the woods across the meadow from me. I've never had any trouble with them - I actually think they're kinda neat. The critters you really have to watch out for are racoons. The only critter to ever steal my food bag was a racoon. The most freaky animal encounter I've ever had while backpacking was while I was camped solo along the Chilliwack river (that's just a bad stretch of trail for me). I had just set up the tent and unpacked everything and was making dinner when I heard a snuffling sound. I turned around to see a skunk inside the tent exploring things. hairy.gif I stayed really still while he (she? it?) snuffled through everything and then left. They're really cute little things and all, but I really like them best at a distance.

If life gives you melons - you might be dyslexic
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Stones
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PostFri Jan 21, 2005 2:51 pm 
I haven't called it hinking since high school. I never met any animals while hinking but my dog used to watch. clown.gif But seriously, my only significant encounter with an animal on the trail was on a solo backpacking trip in the Sierra years ago. I had hung my food in a tree but not quite well enough. About 4 am a big black bear walked by my tent. I could hear him breathing. He shinnied up and with a few swipes he had my food bag. He smugly ate the goodies right then and there. I could hear him tearing and crunching away. The bear left me with a granola bar and a can of Spam (luxury item) and a long days hike to the car. I ran into a sympathetic horse packer on the way out sipping on a can of Coors. He kindly spotted me one of those cold ones. Boy was that ever good.

Let me stand next to your fire
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Odonata
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PostFri Jan 21, 2005 7:08 pm 
Critters, let's see, there's been plenty. Some of the stranger ones I can remember. Mountain beaver at Otter lake tried to drag off a food bag only three ft. from us while we were cooking. It kept coming back again and again. A Large marmot in the N. Cascades found my gold bond powder while I was fishing and took a dust bath in it right in my camp while I watched from a raft. In the Fisher lake/lower Ptarmigan lake area, off trail in very early June I came across a newborn critter of some sort. It was either a goat or an elk I guess. It was spotted white and brown. About the size of a good sized dog with long legs. It was laying down hiding until I got within 10 ft of it when it bounded off awkwardly. My youngest brother who was with me said "That was really ugly". We moved quickly out of the area to give it some space. A fox near Tunnel Creek TH in winter. Bears seen on Tonga ridge, Surprise Creek trail, PCT near Trap lake, up the N. Fork Snoqualmie (Lots of bears up there!), lots in the N. Cascades. It is a lot more common to see bear tracks or scat than to see an actual bear. Racoons are not too unusual (at low elevations), but they are certainly persistent. Here is one from a Fishing trip to the coast I took in December. Some of you may know this guy well if you have been to the Kalaloch camp ground, or any where else on the coast, I think he gets around.... All these critters can bite ya, but most seasoned folks have learned to fear a special type of hairy beast. The Mice! They will chew holes in yer sweaty clothes, shoes and pack. They will run accross your face at night if you sleep outside (Big Heart). They will get into your food bag, tent or car. They will lick all your cups and bowls left out. They are EVERYWHERE paranoid.gif ! And the worst part is, you can't run for hills, cause your already there. The horror.
Coffee hound
Coffee hound

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naturealbeing
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PostFri Jan 21, 2005 7:38 pm 
I came across a tiger on the Skyline Divide Trail on Mt. Baker. Just my luck I had my camera with me. Heres the shot. OH! By the way would anybody be interested in a bridge I have for sale?
Mt. Baker-Skyline Divide tiger
Mt. Baker-Skyline Divide tiger

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naturealbeing
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PostFri Jan 21, 2005 7:47 pm 
On a more serious note. I did have a close encounter with a bear cub. You read about it in an earlier post of mine. Here you go: https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=108159&highlight=#108159

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Timber Cruiser
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PostFri Jan 21, 2005 9:11 pm 
Just yesterday I was out in the woods and I suddenly found myself surrounded by at least four squirrels (is there a scientific name for a group of squirrels?). Fortunately they were feasting on piles of spruce cones they had cut last season and did not have any ammunition to drop on me. They were reduced to chattering, what I am sure were obscenities, at me until I moved on.

"Logging encourages the maintenance of foilage by providing economic alternatives to development."
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JimK
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PostFri Jan 21, 2005 9:31 pm 
Of course there is a name for a group of squirrels. In fact, there are two, a dray or a scurry. I like an ambush of tigers (I'm a bit concerned since seeing that photo of one near Mt. Baker). My favorites are a murder of crows and an unkindness of ravens. Animal Group Names

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Dayhike Mike
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Dayhike Mike
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PostFri Jan 21, 2005 10:27 pm 
Some great pics in here! Love the raccoon and all the tigers (though I'm surprised they wander that far away from the I-90 corridor). Naturealbeing, sounds like you had a really neat encounter with the bear. Thanks for the links to the story and pics -- I'd missed them the first time around.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke "Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
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naturealbeing
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PostSat Jan 22, 2005 12:03 am 
The pleasures all mine Dayhike Mike. Glad you enjoyed the story and pix.

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Trevor
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PostSat Jan 22, 2005 12:04 am 
I get quite paranoid in the evening while hiking back solo to the car with a flashlight. I allay the paranoia by thinking that the cougars and bears have retired for the evening.

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hikermike
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PostSat Jan 22, 2005 12:33 am 
Creeps! I think we chased the poor poster off!

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Snowshoe Hare
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Snowshoe Hare
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PostSat Jan 22, 2005 1:05 am 
Trevor wrote:
I get quite paranoid in the evening while hiking back solo to the car with a flashlight. I allay the paranoia by thinking that the cougars and bears have retired for the evening.
"I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks. I do I do I do." - Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz. I think that "poor poster" may have been joshing us anyway. But he fits right in with bad grammar and spelling. embarassedlaugh.gif

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Jamin Smitchger
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PostSat Jan 22, 2005 2:00 am 
I often see animals when I am out in the woods; however, they seem to disappear or hide during hunting season. bawl.gif Low protein alert. Low protein alert. wink.gif

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