# Pack Trips & Predators



## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

If you use common sense and make noise, and are diligent about following 'bear proofing' recommendations for your food and when setting up a campsite, I wouldn't worry too much about bears. We rode in bear country for years and saw grizzlies at a distance many times. Black bears would be right up by the trail quite frequently, but the horses never worried about them and the bears would either sit and watch us go by, or run away. 

Your biggest risk with cougars (and bears, too) is to your dog. When I lived in NW Montana, reports of people losing dogs to mountain lions while riding or camping were not uncommon. A healthy mountain lion is very unlikely to go after a full-grown horse or people. If you see them, they aren't hunting you. If they are hunting you, you won't see them until it's too late. Again, I would not worry overly about them. If you must bring a dog, make sure he won't take off after wildlife, even large predators. We'd usually have dogs accompanying us on shock collars to reinforce a recall if needed. We rarely had to, but it was good insurance if we'd needed to. I do not want my dog getting 20 yards ahead of us and watching him be snatched by a mountain lion, or having the dog rush a bear and killed. Other trail users are also not overly fond of loose dogs, and you don't want your dog causing someone else's horse to spook or frightening a hiker, either. 

I would worry far more about other people's loose or feral dogs and people with unscrupulous intentions (sadly not rare in wilderness areas) than bears and mountain lions. It's a good idea to carry a firearm in wilderness areas both for personal protection if needed, and also to humanely euthanize a gravely injured or ill horse (or dog). Choose your weapon carefully, learn how to use it, check licensing requirements in each state you will be passing through, and hopefully you won't have to ever take it out of the scabbard/holster.

I've always dreamed of doing such a ride as you are considering. What a fabulous experience if you are able to do it. Enjoy!


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## EquineBovine (Sep 6, 2012)

Now surely that is what been in America is all about right?! (I assume you're in America)
Traveling with your horse across the land, seeing the wilderness and the wildlife. Wow. It'd be amazing. I'd LOVE to do that...
I've got absolutely no advice expect plan well and trust NO ONE. Cougars are cute, cuddly kittens compared to some humans...


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## Greymark (Nov 16, 2016)

Thank you for the response! 

We are in Canada so I know our gun laws are nowhere near as permissive as the states, though to be quite honest, I have no idea if there are or could be exceptions made so I won't say anything for sure. Would require some more research.

Tell me more about the sinister people you meet in the wilderness...is that common? Have there been many incidents involving trail riders being attacked by humans?

I read an article last night about how INSECTS are the biggest danger you have to worry about on a long ride. There are like 70000 wolves in North America and 7000000000000 insects! I know they are my worst peeve riding in the summer, I guess it's just not something I would have ever really thought twice about in terms of severity. But they can carry a ton of harmful and potentially deadly diseases. So I thought that was kind of interesting.


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## JoCash (Dec 20, 2017)

Have you seen the Documentary "Unbroken"? I think that is the name. It's the story of 4 guys that take mustangs from the Mexican boarder to Canada. It has to do the mustang population in the US but also the trip it's self and it is really good. They don't really show any encounters with cougars, wolfs or bears so I assume they didn't have any?? It was on Netflix but they also had a website where you could order the movie. It was done really well and it is super inspiring.

I used to trail ride as a child in Oregon a lot with my parents. In that time I only saw one bear. It ran across the trail between my horse and my dad's horse who was in front of me. To me it looked massive, like as big as the bear from "Grizzly Adams" but it ran so fast no one else saw it. Just 12 year old me. This was in the Jefferson Wilderness area and probably close to or on the PCT. 

The longest stint out I ever did was 8 days out on the PCT. Never saw any other big animals like that. This was before Wolfs were reintroduced to Oregon though. My dad still trail rides extensively and he has not seen anything like that out there from what I have heard. But this is just one part of the country.

The thing about cougars, they are out there. You just don't see them.

My sister in law lives in New York State and hikes a lot. She is very worried about seeing bears in her area and apparently it is much more common in that there. They backpack camp and have all their food in bear proof canisters. Always.

For a lot of years my dad did not carry a gun in the woods. However, one time he came across some people with a horse down in a rock slide, off the trail in in the middle of boulders. The horse had a broken leg and was thrashing around trying to get out of the rocks, panicked and getting hurt more and worse as time went on . It was such a bad experience to come across he started carrying a pistol to be able to put a horse out of it's misery. Although I don't think he as had to do that since, it left a big impression.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

That is a loooooong ride! Hats off to you! I think it's a major undertaking planning a week at my favorite horse camp in Central Oregon, and that camp has individual corrals and good water, and I have a trailer full of feed and all the supplies I might need (or ever need). 
I worry about everything, but wild animals would be the least of my worries...well, I might worry about a mama Grizz with cubs. 
Take a gun. And a satellite locator like S.P.O.T. would be a good idea.


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## EquineBovine (Sep 6, 2012)

OMG CANADA!! Thats even more amazing! I'm so jealous. My little English mind is exploding 
People just suck...in my experience. You may meet no one. You meet some right bloody creeps. Just have your best 'mare' face on and act like you own the place


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## EquineBovine (Sep 6, 2012)

As for incidents of people attacking horse riders - it seems to be more like people's uncontrolled dogs doing the damage (if you do a quick google search).
But I'm paranoid as hell and after working 5 years as a nurse I've come across some pretty awful people.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Yesterday while we were on a trail ride, there were some guys target shooting for fun. They were not shooting toward the dirt road and they meant no harm. I am, however, very glad that the horses are already desensitized to gunshots. Your own horse ditching you can be a big risk with scary stuff.


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

We don’t have predators to worry about, although loose, wild deer can cause issues if they’re close by and run. Humans and dogs would give me the biggest problems.

It is scary stuff @*Celeste* . At the end of last year, I was on an open public track that runs through an estate. It wasn’t until I heard the guns that I realised that I’d ridden into a shoot. They hadn’t put out warning signs and I’d ridden in during a break. They gave me time to ride out but we both startled when the guns started up. It made me think about what would happen if he’d ditched me, as the next stop for him would’ve been the main road.


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## elkdog (Nov 28, 2016)

I've come across bears, cougars and wolves without incident. If your on a good horse that will stand its ground, so far, has worked out well. If your on a spooky horse there are two options. Hang on and enjoy the ride. Or fall off (not recommended).

The worst thing I've encountered is the bald face hornet. Little bees that live in the ground. You never see them until it's too late. The horse just starts jumping and bucking for no apparent reason.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Greymark said:


> Tell me more about the sinister people you meet in the wilderness...is that common? Have there been many incidents involving trail riders being attacked by humans?


I'm in a wilderness area several times a year on horseback. I seldom encounter more that 3 or 4 people and have never had any problems with people.

I have rode, and walked up on people who have their pit bulls off leash. I've had a few charge me....but it turned out to be bluff charges.

The thing about the wilderness is there's no security except the security you provide for yourself.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

The wilderness is not the movies. Plan for common problems, not rare ones. Getting lost, hungry, thirsty, cold, sunburned, and foot/saddlesore, prepare for those. Tens of thousands of unarmed people successfully hike and camp in the wilderness every year. The less successful ones almost always just made some ignorant decisions and got lost, and then made some more ignorant decisions. Staying alert and knowing how to take care of yourself are much more important than carrying all sorts of extra gear.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

Greymark said:


> I anticipate we'd be riding and camping a lot of wilderness in bear/cougar country. Is there any danger to be worried about?


Yes, the danger to be worried about is falling off your horse when it spooks. Falling in the middle of nowhere and having your horse run off is possibly the worst thing that could happen to you on a trip like you describe.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

I hope you will look at the longriders web site for stories and tips. You might want to plan a shakedown ride of three weeks the year before your expedition.

I have read dozens of accounts of trips like you describe. Many have blogs that track their adventures along the way, which halt abruptly when everything falls apart. Two young women started an incredible ride from the badlands of North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean. They got as far as Western Montana before one of them got completely sick of the whole thing, fell in love with a cowboy, and dropped out. The other one found somebody to haul her mule out to Oregon where she lived happily ever after. In another case, a ride came unglued when the people involved all started hating each other.

Lucian Spataro made it across the continent on a well financed and crew-documented journey.

Bernice Ende has ridden something like 20,000 miles on various US adventures.

One of my favorites is the incredible story of a young woman and her friend who left Los Angeles with him driving an old Toyota pickup and her riding an Arab gelding. He drove ahead every day scouting the route, getting supplies, and making sure they had a suitable place for people and horse to spend each night. He turned out to be a gifted photographer, so the photos and videos of their adventure are sublime. She rode or walked every single one of the 3,700 miles in 8 1/2 months, ending in New Hampshire. They fell in love and got married. Search for linnykenney to read it for yourself.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

JoCash said:


> Have you seen the Documentary "Unbroken"? I think that is the name. It's the story of 4 guys that take mustangs from the Mexican border to Canada.


Yes, great story and there's a thread about it somewhere here on the forum. Of course the name you meant is "Unbranded." (Unbroken is the WWII survival story of Louis Zamperini. He spent 47 days in a tiny life raft after his plane crashed into the Pacific, only to be captured and tortured for two years in a Japanese prison camp.)


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## JoCash (Dec 20, 2017)

Joel Reiter said:


> Yes, great story and there's a thread about it somewhere here on the forum. Of course the name you meant is "Unbranded." (Unbroken is the WWII survival story of Louis Zamperini. He spent 47 days in a tiny life raft after his plane crashed into the Pacific, only to be captured and tortured for two years in a Japanese prison camp.)



Thank you! I used to have such a good memory.........Not sure what has happened to it over the years lol. "Unbranded" is the movie I was talking about. I have watched it a few times and it always inspires me to get up and go see a part of the country I have not seen before.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

JoCash said:


> I used to have such a good memory.........Not sure what has happened to it over the years lol.


Well, at least you have the integrity to be consistent. I can't remember the names of my own family, my address, or my telephone number. In person I consistently find myself blathering nonsense because I can't remember the actual facts.

However, for my imaginary friends on the internet, I like to put on like I know something, so I have to resort to extensive time on "Duck Duck Go" (the search engine that doesn't track you) so I can appear to be a fountain of information. Some day one of my imaginary internet friends will actually meet me and be very disappointed.


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## EstrellaandJericho (Aug 12, 2017)

What do you do if you lose your horse in this situation? Just curious. I guess you would need to make sure your horse will come back to you... lots of "come" games... and a GPS tracker.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Most North American predators are very shy. Cougars (not the type at a bar, the feline sort) tend to be ghosts... you may catch a glimpse of them ahead on a trail and then they're gone so fast you can talk yourself out of believing you saw it.

Wolves I have no experience with, but I would think the same applies.

Bears - I'd worry a bit more. They're leaving their dens in the spring (May up north, where you are) and tend to be aggressive because they're hungry and it sucks having to get up after a nice long nap... but also the mommas have babies.

I'd be more worried about wild hogs, if I'm being honest, especially SOWS with piglets. Those we just shoot without asking questions around here and while I've yet to ride right up on a pack of them, we've heard them in the woods a reasonably close distance away, and all but our oldest, gives no flips about anything horse were concerned. They were on high alert and restless the entire time we heard them (We were waiting on hubs to put out 50lb bags of deer corn last autumn. I was holding Trigger and Gina both and they were a handful, ready to be gone, gone, gone from there. Superman just did not care. He stood there half asleep with my 16 year old son on his back, drinking a water and crackling the freakin' empty bottle over and over. I guess he's made up his mind if it's his time to go, it's his time to go ).


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## Greymark (Nov 16, 2016)

I've been combing the long riders site quite diligently! Lots of great info there. 

Yes we have seen Unbranded!

We're still a year or two away from the actual event...right now it's just an exciting plan...we want to do something monumental before getting tied down with a mortgage...kids...life..lol.

I've never heard of wild boars up here...maybe too cold? I understand they're a quite a problem in parts of the US.


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