My night with a Cougar

Image : Zach Key

As I reached the end of the Sierra, I felt like I had wings. Perhaps it was that hubris that led to my fall, but that's another story. So one evening, my friends planned to camp 35km away, but I wanted to advance a bit further. My goal was to arrive in South Lake Tahoe by Sunday morning which meant 40km days. I could do it easily at that point.

I came across a road and had the good fortune to have some trail magic. I spoke with a group of 4 hikers, everything was going well for them, they decided to turn back 300m before camping, while I continued a kilometer and found the perfect bivouac's spot, by the side of a small lake, with a sunset over the surrounding mountains that gave me chills.

Everything was going well for me. I felt confirmed in my choices by the luck I had. A hot dog in my stomach, serene and confident. I fell asleep, alone, next to this small mountain lake, with snow all around me. I slept like a baby, despite a bit of wind. I left the side walls of my tent open to avoid condensation, as I was close to a water source.

Upon waking up, I took breakfast without any stress. I was alone, I had no one to catch up with or follow. Again the master of my own schedule and free. I got out of my tent and there, I saw, all around, animal tracks, in a half-circle around my tent.

I take a picture. It's big, but it doesn't look like bear, coyote, or dog tracks as there are no claw marks. They are well rounded. I'm not sure but it really looks like cat tracks. I wait for network coverage to be sure : a mountain lion did indeed circle my tent during the night, watching me sleep through my mosquito net, and I didn't hear a thing.

I don't know how many animals crossed my path during my hike without me knowing, but it didn't stop me from sleeping alone again, many times. If this mountain lion wanted to kill me, it could have.

I guess Gaspard just wasn't on the menu that day.