Cougar Country

[guySmiley]

Well I'll be showering at my university gym. I work out and shower there everyday anyway :P. Won't the fact that I'll be there in the dark. I'm pretty small 5 foot 6, and alone and out there every night make me basically cougar prey? There have been cougars spotted in the area several times in the last 5 years.

Mtn lions have a strong preference to chase down and kill their prey. A human, which isn't really on a cats menu anyhow, in a hammock isn't acting like food.

I know most people are going to think your plan is crazy stupid, but personally, I think it sounds like it could be an interesting experience.

If you go through with it, you should keep a journal. You'll come through with an understanding of functional homelessness that even a thru-hiker doesn't have.

You'll likely make yourself a social outcast. Most women aren't too interested in homeless guys. It sounds like you're plenty young and can do stuff like this without long term consequence.

Good luck!

[Montalaskan]

Mtn lions have a strong preference to chase down and kill their prey. A human, which isn't really on a cats menu anyhow, in a hammock isn't acting like food.

Although this is true, I've seen what my cats do to the little block hanging off their tree house. WHACK WHACK WHACK.

Considering a mountain lion is about 1000 times more powerful than my cats, I don't want to be the object of their whacking.

[Oper8or]

I would be shocked if you ever saw one. The bulk of the cats stay in the high country and away from large population centers.

They say that. Supposed to be true about bears too. Anything can happen but I'm with you. Cats are a lot more leary around humans.

[Oper8or]

If you go through with it, you should keep a journal. You'll come through with an understanding of functional homelessness that even a thru-hiker doesn't have.

You'll likely make yourself a social outcast. Most women aren't too interested in homeless guys. It sounds like you're plenty young and can do stuff like this without long term consequence.

Good luck!

1. It would make a great theasus.

2. Get a woman to be homeless with you. In all reality, if you do this, some of the people who have no choice might pick up on the idea and sleep better than people in houses. Can you imagine that? It would also be a chance to test yourself, find your limits, and be a stronger person with a better understanding of what is important. Importance based on survival and wants. You'd find out what a good balance is.

On a side note. I was considering the same thing. If I take a contract job in Nashville then I will stay in a campground that has a shower and bathroom. Hang in meh hammock (I would also take a tent just in case). Yeah I know.. Saves money, saves on travel, saves on my back, and also keeps me out of harms reach in an area I'm not familiar with. I would have to be very careful about what foods I keep, etc, etc, etc. I think I would walk away with a much better perspective on what it takes to survive based on needs not wants. I'm up for the challenge. I would welcome it.

[HangingKayaker]

That is not what I was expecting!! Too funny.

[Pipsissewa]

Cody Lundin lived in a wikiup out in the woods all through his college days. He said he got very lonely. But learned--obviously--a tremendous amount while also setting him on his life's path. I think your fear of cougars would be a minor issue in a long list of much bigger issues. Good luck.

[Cannibal]

An adventure! Love em.

Adventures carry risk, as many have already pointed out. The greatest IMO, being the one about chasing away potential...uhhhh...'friends'. College aged and no place for activities? Personally, I'd pass on the adventure for that reason alone. Still, if it works for you...go for it!

Cougars would be my least concern in camp. Getting to and from camp would concern me more; cats key on movement, then attack from behind. Watch a house cat hunt sometime and you'll see that cats are ambush predators, not really hunters in the sense of stalking prey over distances. As others have also said, you are not on their menu unless the circumstances are just right.

People (most) are terrified of sharks. But, they feel safe at the beach in shallow water. Take a low flight over a crowded beach sometime and look closely at the water; there are sharks everywhere. Some just a few feet from unknowing swimmers. But, humans aren't on the menu. Maybe just a taste, but not something they go after. Very few shark attacks each year considering the number of potential attacks. Number of big cat attacks are tiny.

Not saying it shouldn't be a consideration, but you should also watch out for frozen ice falling from aircraft.

[mbiraman]

One other thing. I would change your perspective from "homeless", to "living simply" and being environmentally responsible- low carbon footprint. I think that better suits UVIC folks,,,,,,,,the girls, (-;


bill

[Bradley]

One other thing. I would change your perspective from "homeless", to "living simply" and being environmentally responsible- low carbon footprint. I think that better suits UVIC folks,,,,,,,,the girls, (-;
bill

+10

Not having a street address does not equate to homelessness . . .
. . . Home is where you hang your hat.

Once my home was mobile, it was a truck and camper,
some times I parked at rest stops and other times,
Outside the fence at work,
other times just off the side of a long lonely road.
And then one day a horseshoeing client quizzed me until
I revealed and he insisted I park inside his field with the horses,
he even offered power, which I refused

Once when back to the coast, I looked at those same spots
with Hammock eyes . . . and would have done the same, with different equipment.

Oh yea, showers were at every truck stop, and other places as well.
Stealth . . . can be easy and fun, and character building.

So if you don't have a hat . . . buy one and hang it somewhere,
and say quietly . . . "Home again, home again"

[pizza]

I've heard you find a lot of cougars around VFW's.