Runners
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freaking crap!….... i was running on the adirondack trail today. no one on the paths what so ever. it was pretty sweet to be the first to place new foot prints in the fresh powder. didn't have to bring any maps or concentrate much on trail markers. but i packed sufficient amount of gels and 2 water bottles with me to last the day. climbed about 1300ft. i usually stay on the AT trail til i reach the tower on bear mountain. today was different...
sooner or later the AT trail comes to a pretty sweet opening which would reveal the west mountain and dunderberg mountain. had to take a pause as the scenery was great. after a little i started moving again. i reached the point where the AT trail splits with the handicap accessible trail. BTW that handicap trail is littered with enormous stones..... don't ask. well after the trail splits, i came a cross "dog tracks." i thought oh sweet! lost dog?(mind you i love dogs). i kept going... kept going. i'm about 3mi from the nearest park ranger station and from my car. so i kept going kept moving. PAAAAAAUUUUUSE! in the distance... say around 1500ft i see a freaking enormous BIG CAT. i highly doubt it was a bobcat as it was larger than german shepard. fear kicked in and i just stood there for what seemed like an eternity.. didnt breathe as i assumed this was it.i'm about to die doing what i love. hairs on my neck stood. cold sweats. and stomach tightened so hard i thought i was going to have diarrhea. not sure if the animal had seen me but i freaking flew down the east side of the mountain. i dont think i've ran that fast ever in my life. Garmin watch says i was moving at 5:39 pace. i didnt bother to look what was behind me. made it back to my car in less than 20. locked my doors.
had no idea big cats were native to my area. thought mainly in the rockies and canada. i don't think i'm going to go back for a while lol. btw when i got home, i changed..... remember i mentioned diarrhea. well there were tracks.
GOOD NEWS: survived! tights worked great and so did those microspikes
bad news: big cat caused my plantar to flare up like a mother. i'm hobbling at home right now.
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We have mountain lions also on the AT in NJ haven't come across one but I know they are out there. I usually just run into black bear from time to time while hiking. They don't bother you as long as their cubs aren't around. Prob would have shit myself as well if I ran into a mountain lion. Glad that worked out for you.
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We have mountain lions in Washington State as well. Although, we call them cougars. I occasionally find cougar tracks on my cabin property in the Blue Mountains of SE Washington, in what is commonly referred to as "cougar country" by the locals. They're really the only thing I'm concerned about up there. I have a Pyrenees, that patrols the property, just for the purpose of keeping the big cats out. I've seen him chase off bears so I think he's up to the challenge. Glad to hear you made it out alright, man. What always concerns me with the big cats is that you rarely see them first. They usually stalk from behind, and attack without warning. It's pretty rare to see one in the wild – I've only ever seen one -- so all things considered, you're actually really lucky. Again, glad you made it back relatively unscathed.
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Wow. That's terrifying! Glad you made it out alright. Time for some plantar rehab, I guess.
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Yea, I love that story. I have heard stories about wolves in Canada as well. My favorite trail in Gatineau park is called the "Wolf Loop," but I haven't encountered any yet.
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The closest I've ever come to wildlife is the odd skunk here and there in the morning and an elk across the river when I was running in Canmore, AB.
I did scare the hell out of myself hiking with my wife in Southern Alberta - we were going along and talking about how lovely it was when I said, 'yeah, this meadow looks exactly like the ones you see bears in in nature pictures'…
We ran the rest of the way back to town.
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Glad you are ok llvlaglne
Mountain lions are native to my area as well. I've only seen one once in my entire life, but it was enough to scare the bejesus out of me. Moose are the animals that give me the most grief when on the Utah trails. Huge, dumb and scare easily.
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I ran a snow obstacle course 10k a couple weeks ago with my wife. The obstacles were kind of hokey, but it was fun to get out of the valley and into the hills. It was near Park City, UT. Man was it scenic although I miss the "scenery" that goes with racing in the summer months.
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Beautiful area. Race looked like a blast
Good thing bout running in the winter… You don't need as much water.... But depending on the type of snow, that will determine if it'll be fun or not
Was that fresh and powdery? Wet snow? Or hard and packed?
Looked like you had tons of fun man
Sent from my iPhone
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The snow was pretty much hard packed. There were a few spots that felt like running in sand, but for the most part they groomed the trail pretty well. It was nice not to have to worry too much about water.
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Do you guys run with water? I never have. Even when running for a couple of hours I don't bring water.
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Anything over 5 miles and I carry water. I like the Nathan handheld. It's small enough, but with a decent sized pocket for keys and grub. The handheld is good up to about 16 miles for me. Any longer distance and I try to stash water or run loops.
