Stalked by Mountain Lions - a True Story!

I was getting rid of some dead bushes in my yard recently, when the incident came rushing back to me - very vividly, as a matter of fact. That's because the bushes I was cutting down at the time reminded me a lot of the time that my husband and I had to use all of our wits to escape from two California mountain lions that we had stumbled across while hiking one day on High Mountain Road, near Lopez Lake. Let me back up a little, though, so as to give you some more details about what took place, what was going through our brains - and how we managed NOT to become cat food that day.

It all began on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in March, just a few weeks after my husband and I had been married. I'd already had two children before I met my husband and they were spending the day with my Mom, so my husband and I decided to take a leisurely hike alone together in one of our favorite areas - Lopez Canyon.

As we slowly drove up the winding, two-lane road that runs alongside the lake, gazing at the gorgeous expanse of rippling water, breathing in the freshly scented air of an early spring, and marveling at the ever-proficient water-skiers and the amazing wildlife that seemed to pop up around every turn, neither of us could imagine the extent of the challenge that Mother Nature would present us with on that remarkable day.

Once we'd made it to the first dirt turn-out where we could park the truck on High Mountain Road, we were awestruck by the buttermilk skies and the beauty of spring emerging all around us. We were definitely more affixed on the joys of newlywed bliss during our first married spring together - to the point that we were not as circumspect as we normally were when we went out hiking - love was in the air - and we did throw caution to the wind a bit that day.

After we had been hiking for a few hours, we found ourselves upon the crest of a cliff, overlooking the lake, where we sat for a little while, just enjoying what was becoming a glorious sunset, resting in the quiet that was surrounding us. After a few fleeting, golden moments, we both reluctantly agreed that it was time to end our fun-filled hike and head back to the truck.