Oh interesting. Passed by this area earlier today, 2 trails closed off with yellow danger tape; Crosier Mountain Garden Gate Trail and Crosier Mountain Rainbow Trailhead. A bear blocked my path coming home from a hike nearby a few months ago, and I wondered if these were closed from an attack. I need to get bear spray.
Not great news, sorry to hear it.
Authorities are searching for a third mountain lion in that area (two others were killed), so you might want to avoid the area until it’s been found. Definitely get some spray. Sabre and Counter Assault both make 40 ft sprays (I believe most sprays are 30ish ft).
I bring spray just about everywhere on hikes, mostly with mountain lions in mind. Never actually seen one but I’ve come across their scat.
Sounds like the mom (mountain lion) was previously killed, and 2 kids were killed and they’re looking for the third kid. Mixed about that, seems cold, but the policy of “coexist until you attack humans” does make some animal husbandry sense, but still leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth. Especially given the dry this year and the climate change, food sources are likely all fucked up. CPW really screwed up the handling of this.
Oh side question then, I’ve never caught bear spray, any brand recommendations or where to get it?
I’ve never had to use spray on an animal, so I can’t speak to its effectiveness, but I have the SABRE Frontiersman MAX spray – it’s $40 on Amazon or $50 at REI. It comes with a holster but I clip it to my pack with a carabiner.
So far I’ve only hiked with bear spray in grizzly country. The guy who recently fended off a mountain lion by bonking it on the head with a stick could have probably used some spray, though.
I’ve also thought about bringing regular pepper spray for when I get rushed by barking off-leash dogs…
