Exactly, Kendall.

SJ, that sort of experience makes you realize your vulnerability. I can drive to Yellowstone (and other wild places) in 2.5 hours or less. Heck, I can drive to a trailhead and be well into the mountains in less than half an hour. I've had a wolf in my backyard, ferchrissakes! Cougars regularly pass through this area; one was hit by a car in downtown Downey recently, about 40 minutes drive south of here (it wasn't badly hurt and was tranquilized and relocated). Elk, deer -- a friend of mine saw a young moose along the banks of the river the other day, where the river flows through a city park.

The very worst predators are the damnedfools and idiots who come visiting from LA, Salt Lake City, and other undescribable places. For reasons known only to themselves they have poached wild game (taking only the heads, of course), maimed or killed cattle (it's not all that hard to shoot a cow!), set fire to both public and private lands, emptied their rented RV's holding tank into the nearest creek, destroyed the silence, and in general deserve to disappear into The Wild.

Congratulations on your experience. It's the sort everyone should have.

Do you know what we call bear spray out here?
--Seasoning.