Hi. My name is Megan, and I jump to the worst case scenario... especially when we travel! What if the plane crashes? What if the hotel doesn't have our reservation? What if we are hiking and encounter dangerous wildlife?
I tend to Google all the dangerous animals I might encounter.
When we went to New Mexico, I was Googling rattlesnake bites. Did you know that while as long as you get treatment, you are unlikely to die from a rattlesnake bite, BUT IT HURTS SO BAD YOU WISH YOU WERE DEAD?
When we went to Northern California and Colorado, I Googled mountain lions. Did you know that mountain lions will stealthily stalk you and you're unlikely to know you're about to be attacked?
When we went to Shenandoah National Park, I Googled bear attacks. Did you know that while there are thousands of human-bear interactions every year, bear attacks are rare?
Before we went to Shenandoah, I bought bear spray. it's freaking expensive... $39.99!!!
And of course we both needed one.
It turns out that we never even took the bear spray out of our trunk. All of the places we hiked were well traveled paths and we weren't worried about seeing a bear.
In fact, the only time we saw a bear in the wild was while we were driving through Rocky Mountain National Park. We saw a bear cub frolicking in a field. It was pretty far away, but every car pulled off the side of the road to look at it.
I never saw a rattlesnake in the wild, but I'm very afraid that I will someday. There's lots of rattlesnakes in Pennsylvania.
As far as mountain lions, I have never seen one of those either. But when we hike in California and Colorado, I carry a mountain lion stick just in case. And Paul has strict orders that if one attacks me, he's supposed to fight it to the death. And vice versa of course.
Do you have bear spray, dog spray, or pepper spray?
Have you ever seen a bear, mountain lion, or rattlesnake while you were running or hiking?
I have pepper spray and an alarm. I always worry about encountering a bear where I run since some have been sighted but they are black bears and I guess they aren't the harmful ones. But still, I would still freak out if I saw one. Does that bear spray ever expire? Does pepper spray expire?
ReplyDeleteYes both sprays expire. I believe my bear spray expires in 3 years. Black bears and grizzly bears are dangerous. If you encounter a bear you are not supposed to run away or challenge it. You're supposed to let them know you're human and back away slowly.
DeleteO gosh, I've been running with the same pepper spray for years. It's probably not potent anymore!
DeleteI am always scared of bears when I run at my grandparents' house. They live in the NC mountains and they have bears there. Bears have come into their yard, and my husband's seen them. I've never even heard of carrying bear spray on a run but we don't have bears here.
ReplyDeleteI frequently see deer on my runs and occasionally snakes. Our ponds have gators but most gators stay away from people. There was a story on the news the other day about a gator being on someone's porch though! He left a nearby pond and was just lounging on their porch.
Gators sound so terrifying to me! That is definitely something I am not used to. There are plenty of bears in PA but luckily I have never seen one.
DeleteMy parents have bears come by at night, and if they don't put away the bird seed, the bear has a feast. I've never seen one when I've been up there, but they are active in the fall, trying to get all the food they can before hibernating.
ReplyDeleteOh that is scary! Are they black bears or grizzlies?
DeleteIn all the years I have lived in Northern California, I have never seen a mountain lion, I only saw a (baby) bear once in Yosemite (running across the street) and a (baby) rattle snake for the first time a couple of weekends ago at a retreat. The odds are low.
ReplyDeleteI know the odds are low but it's still so scary! There is this trail I want to run in Utah, but guess what likes to hang out there? Rattlesnakes!!!!!
DeleteI'm glad you never saw mtn lion. I am TERRIFIED.