Alternative Hiking Areas

[Hikin_Jim]

In all seriousness, I wonder if pepper spray is in order? I imagine bear pepper spray would work on a bull.

You'd have to have nerves of steel though. The bull charges you. You hold your ground. He bears down on you like a freight train on a Yugo. You give him shot of the pepper spray just as he gets in range and roll quickly right or left, letting the thundering locomotive go straight up the middle. You hope.

Sounds like a lot of fun.

[HikeUp]

Sounds like a lot of fun.

You go ahead, I'll wait here and watch.

[zippetydude]

Maybe we could hire a rodeo clown to run escorts through there.

The funny thing was, I could see him from the switchbacks above, and even picked out a big white rock to hide behind just in case he charged. As I made my way on down the ridge and up the far side of the canyon, I thought I had already passed the spot, so I assumed he had moved on. Then, WHOA!, there was a bull right in front of me.

One day I may talk my wife into traveling to Spain for the Fiesta de San Fermin. That madness of the Running of the Bulls has somehow always appealed to me. (They say you're most alive right before you die.) This could have been some good practice!

z

[Hikin_Jim]

Zip, perhaps we need to arrange for there to be more bulls on the route for your next trip so as to facilitate your training.

[AlanK]

One day I may talk my wife into traveling to Spain for the Fiesta de San Fermin. That madness of the Running of the Bulls has somehow always appealed to me. (They say you're most alive right before you die.) This could have been some good practice!

Sexism has taken a back seat, so your wife is welcome to run with the bulls too. Soon, her options may be even greater than yours. Women have been demanding a Running of the Cows for women only (I am not making this up).

[Perry]

By the way, there was a big bull grazing right past the San Gorgonio Wilderness Boundary sign (about 1/2 mile beyond the pass you mentioned). Lucky for me, he was just as startled as I was when I suddenly popped around the bend. He ran away just as I was looking around for a big rock to hide behind...

That's wild! It's bad enough that us runners have to watch out for bears, mountain lions, and possibly surprising bighorn sheep (which I've done before, fortunately I had the high ground). Now there's bulls too.

I'm on YouTube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=htfyOpI3VVY
I don't know how my friend Tim can manage to eat a pound of grapes and not have any problems.

[AlanK]

I don't know how my friend Tim can manage to eat a pound of grapes and not have any problems.

I was going to suggest that you eat 2 lbs next year and then beat him, but that seems a bit risky.

[Hikin_Jim]

Women have been demanding a Running of the Cows for women only (I am not making this up).

.

[Hikin_Jim]

That's wild! It's bad enough that us runners have to watch out for bears, mountain lions, and possibly surprising bighorn sheep (which I've done before, fortunately I had the high ground). Now there's bulls too.

Actually, Perry, why go all the way to Spain? We can set up our own event here. What with wildfires, hunting season, illegal pot farms with armed drug lord guards, and hikers with swords, we ought to be able to give those Spainiards a run (oops, no pun intended) for their money. I can see it now -- "The running of the trails -- the bulls are the least of your worries."

[Perry]

There seems to be a lot of stuff going on in the mountains. <rant> I'm curious what percentage of these pot farms actually have armed guards or booby traps. 3 out of 4? 1 out of 4? It's really ironic that marijuana is associated with violence. I do know if they legalized it we wouldn't have these problems, and alcohol consumption would decrease (and possibly the use of addictive pain killers that are derived from opium). </rant>