Are California hiking trails teeming with mountain lions?
The weather is finally cooling down to acceptable levels in Southern California’s wine country. That means, instead of staying indoors running the air-conditioner and writing angry letters to The Cartoon Channel protesting their ever-increasing lineup of Japanimation, I can actually go outside and frolic with nature. Hiking the hills surrounding my house is how I like to express this frolicking. Out on the trail I’ve seen deer, bobcats, coyotes, fox, squirrels, rabbits, tarantulas, lizards, snakes, frogs, fancy-style woodpeckers and a cornucopia of very interesting, but often bloodthirsty insects. We also have mountain lions. Although I have never seen one myself, I know that they’re out there because there is an alarming sign at the trailhead warning of the extreme mauling you could experience if you were to ignore the correct procedures for dealing with mountain lion encounters. For instance, the sign lists ideas like, “Do not panic.” See, that’s just the OPPOSITE strategy I would ha
