Josh and I along with four of our friends went camping up in the woods this weekend not too far from our house. We all know the risks that we take when going up there, as there are mountain lions, coyotes, wolves, etc. However, we have never once come in any sort of contact with them, until Friday night.
We left on Thursday evening and set up camp. As we were all sitting around the campfire we heard something moving in the brush behind us....a lot. So we all fired our guns once (totaled 6 guns) leaving whatever was lurking scared and it left.
The next night (Friday night) Josh and I turned in earlier than everyone else and were sound asleep by the time everyone else was in bed. I did hear Josh's buddy shoot off his AK47 once so I figured they were scaring off something again. I fell asleep again no problem.
Around 1am I woke up and my heart was beating out of my chest and I could barely breathe. As Josh and I were laying in our tent (Josh was sound asleep) I heard something outside creeping around. At first I thought it was a deer, but then as I listened...it most definitely wasn't. It was much heavier and trying to be much quieter.
Our gun was on the other side of the tent, and I couldn't move. Josh was still sound asleep and I didn't even want to wake him up. I layed there for about an hour hoping whatever was constantly walking around our tent would go away. Finally, the last straw. The animal was right by the head of our tent, and I heard a low growl. It was DEFINITELY a mountain lion. I shook Josh and whispered to him that there was a mountain lion stalking us and he needed to grab the gun and shoot.
I'm the person who loves animals, but I don't deal well with a 300 lb cat (and her cub) turning us into prey. Josh wouldn't fire the gun after he picked it up, though. I kept begging him to, but he said unless he was sure he was going to kill it, he wasn't shooting, and there was no way that we could tell for sure where the cat was.
We were sitting up on the air mattress for what seemed like for hours just shaking, holding each other, and praying. We were at the mercy of a hungry puma.....not a very comforting feeling. Josh finally got to the point where he had to go to the bathroom so bad he was willing to go outside. He held the gun against the zipper of the tent as he unzipped just in case. He lit the lantern and told me to get dressed quick. So I did. When he gave me the okay we slowly walked to the truck (they love it when you run). We got in, rolled up the windows, and locked the doors only for me to hear the cat had followed us and he was in the grass right next to us.
I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. I understand that we are in their territory, but I also learned yesterday that mountain lions, unlike bears, hunt to kill...not for territorial issues.
Josh and I both feel so blessed and are so happy that God was looking over us that night. We have now decided we're NOT camping in a tent anymore and will be sleeping in the truck with a canopy from now on.
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