High Sierra Topix

Hi folks, curious if anyone has successfully dealt with anxiety around mountain lions and bears. I've had many blissfully ignorant/peaceful years backpacking and viewing bears as "large raccoons" as the rangers say and not even considering mountain lions, but I think I've had too much internet time. Even knowing the minuscule statistical risk, I remain plagued with the "what if I'm the first" thoughts. Has anyone worked through this before? I miss solo backpacking peacefully!

We have a whole section on our website about this. The odd thing is that people worry about Lions, Tigers and Bears, which are extremely rarely a safety issue in the Sierra, but they don't worry about river crossings, hypothermia, or getting lost. Those are the things that are much more likely to kill you.

Focus on those.

I had a mountain lion wander through my camp up in Idaho. I was more in awe than afraid. He paid no attention to me.

John

statistically irrational fears are incredibly common but can be tricky to overcome. you already know that the object of your fear is vanishingly unlikely to happen, but the fear persists because it's not based entirely in facts.

a couple ideas:

-- i'm not sure what you are finding online, but i suppose you could start by not googling "bear attack"! we have access to way too much information now, and it's easy to go down rabbit holes that don't serve us.

-- bear are everywhere in the sierra, but the *vast* majority of sightings are confined to just a few overly popular locations: parts of yosemite, near some popular (and forested) west side trailheads, and along parts of the JMT (rae lakes, vidette meadow, etc). i'm sure this list is missing a few hotspots, but the point is that avoiding these places will decrease your chances of an encounter even more. since you have a high sierra trail permit, i might as well come clean and say that i've seen two or three bears in the first 10 or so miles of that trail, but as a solo backpacker you will not be "solo" for long in that stretch. it's very popular (which is also why you are more likely to see bears).


ultimately, continued exposure is the only real solution that i can think of. after a few intense sierra thunderstorms, i've developed a bit of a lightning phobia. all i can do is keep going and continue to prove to myself that i'll be ok!

Just look at the statistics. There have been fewer than 50 verified mountain lion attacks in CA since 1890, and only six have been fatal.

The first documented case of a deadly bear attack happened in 2023, according to CA Fish & Game. https://apnews.com/article/first-califo ... ials%20say

Animals to be cautious around are mule deer. https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks ... 300940.php



www.backpacker.com/survival/deaths-in-national-parks/

The color for vehicle crashes doesn't match the pie chart, but it is 17.3%.

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See, now thanks to this thread, you have many other, more probable things to be terrified of! We're so helpful

You might instead google: "what foods will make me taste terrible?"

LOL. I once had a face-to-face encounter with a mountain lion in the Simpson Meadow area of Kings Canyon. We both "headed for the hills" after the initial shock (fractions of a second). No one was harmed in the making of the adventure. The chances of running into critters is incredibly small.

This thread reminds me of two things.

Years ago I was hiking solo on the ever popular Bubbs Creek trail. While passing a young couple heading the other direction, they stopped to tell me there is a rattlesnake about 100 yards up the trail. My mind converted that 100 yards to nearly a mile, wondering if I would step on the thing.

The other thing is that I put out trail cameras to watch wildlife. Mountain lions and bears are common, along with a host of other animals. I usually check them about every two months or so. And when I do it doesn't escape me that the camera I am now on my knees to check has close-up views of mountain lions it just might cause me to look over my shoulder a bit more than I normally would.

balzaccom wrote: ↑Wed Apr 30, 2025 6:51 am We have a whole section on our website about this. The odd thing is that people worry about Lions, Tigers and Bears, which are extremely rarely a safety issue in the Sierra, but they don't worry about river crossings, hypothermia, or getting lost. Those are the things that are much more likely to kill you.

Focus on those.

My bad! I searched before posting this and couldn't find what I was looking for. Will look again.