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| Hiking | 6.60 Miles |
260 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.60 Miles | | | |
| 260 ft AEG | | | | |
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[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | Better late than never...
There are two reasons why I decided to type this triplog:
1) Because I think all photosets that have a mountain lion should have a triplog - except those photos that came from the zoo or a trailcam. That's cheating! Those people should be ashamed of themselves. They probably cheat at checkers and root for the Patriots.
2) Also, I want to ask about Instagram (yeah, you probably see that one coming).
Anyway, the whole reason that I went to Big Bend Nat'l Park is because I wanted to see a puma. I was talking to my friend, A.H., and I asked him if he ever saw a mountain lion. He said, "yeah." Then I asked him where. He said, "Flagstaff and Big Bend." Here's how the conversation went:
Me: Have you ever seen a mountain lion?
AH: Yeah.
Me: Where at?
AH: Flagstaff and Big Bend.
Me: Is Big Bend cool?
AH: Yeah.
I was sold. I did my research on Big Bend and kind of knew where I was going and what to see. I just got my first digital camera for my birthday and I hardly used it, so I wanted to try it out. It was a Fuji 3-zoom ($80), I believe.
I stay for 3 days and put a lot of miles on my shoes there. I mainly hiked in the morning and rested during mid-day and hiked in the evening. I met a family that was stranded on one of the trail near the hotel. They were about a half mile away from the hotel. It was 2 old ladies who got tired and a guy was their son and was a bit older than I. They needed me to guide them because I had a flashlight as it was getting dark. My batteries died in my camera, which sucked because I saw a plethora of vinegaroons and scorpions - I think they were Texas burrowing scorpions. I also saw a plethora of javelinas that were not shy and came within 4ft of me.
They thanked me for the assistance, and since they were southern, offered me to stay with them and food and stuff. I declined. The guy, since he was roughly my age, wanted to join me on some hikes. I thought that was okay, except I began to follow me around EVERYWHERE the next day. I got weirded out and told him that I'd meet him at 3pm to hike with him later that day and ditched him.
On my last hike, I left mid-day and hoped to see a puma. I passed two backpackers, and within 15 seconds heard some deer huffing at me. Oddly, when I was walking away, they were huffing louder and followed me a bit and stopped. When I looked back at the deer, I saw a young mountain lion just sitting there about 20ft from the trail, looking all dumpy-lookin' in the tall grass. (See photo) I did a double-take and thought, "Aren't mountain lions supposed to be elusive?" [New paragraph]
I guess the deer were trying to warn me about the mountain lion and that I was dangerously approaching it. It actually looked fake to me because it sat so still. I back-tracked to get a better photo because I knew if I didn't get a good photo, no one would believe me.
Without disturbing it too much, I spent about a minute or two getting my photos and left soon after. I was curious what the lion did after I left. When I returned, I saw the deer huffing nervously and the mountain lion laying in the grass. By the way, I've never heard deer huff that like before, so it shocked me when I heard it and didn't know what it was.
At the end of the hike, I saw my stalker near the trailhead, as if he was waiting for me. At least this time, I was stoked and would have been happy to see the Westboro Baptist Church protesting my grandma's funeral at this point. I told him, and later his family, about the lion encounter. They were impressed. He stated that he was on the same trail and just got finished his hike and was looking for them.
Anyway, I also saw a mojave rattler on the road and some other stuff but lost a lot of my photos due to a computer crash. The end...
Part 2:
What's up with Instagram? I was told that I should go on it to post my photos. I tried to sell my photos through istock and another site (I think it was shutterfly), but you have to take a test before submitting photos, and I failed. People told me that Instagram would expand my world a bit and help me get connections. I always saw instagram as a website for teenagers and an excuse for insecure women to pretend to be celebrities by posting endless selfies to get positive affirmations because they got sucked into our westernized cultural ideation that bases a woman's self-worth on her appearance and not her achievements or inner-strengths.
Anyway, I figured that I should give it a try. The internet can never have too many snake photos, and I'd be happy to help spread the joy. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
