>>1501608Bears are bros but cougars seriously creep the shit out of me.
>A few months ago>Drive a shitty US Forest Service road to a remote trailhead in the North Cascades to go snowshoeing in the mountains>Alone, of course>"Nobody has been in this area in months - perfect. This will be a great overnight /out/ing.">Foggy, cloudy and dark, a fuckton of snow everywhere>2spooky4u but just perfect for an /out/ing>Get out of your truck, kneel down next to the driver side door to tie your boots>Hear something fall/jump from a tree behind you and hear a weird sound, kind of like the grunt that a cat or a dog makes when it jumps down from something>Look back, see snow falling from a tree and a large branch bouncing like a spring>"Oh well, probably a marten or something." Despite it obviously being something much larger>Put on your snowshoes and start walking up the snow-covered mountain road toward the trailhead>After about 500 ft you realize that you forgot something in the truck, turn around and start walking back>Notice large cougar tracks next to your footprints>It has followed you all the way from your truck>Looks like it turned 90 degrees and went back to the woods when it heard you turn around>Keep walking back to the truck>Make noise and try to look big>See that the cougar tracks lead back to the road from the woods>Finally get back to the driver side door of your truck>Remember that the keys are in the bottom of your backpack>Notice that the cougar tracks lead back toward the tree where all this started from>Realize that it's still watching you as you frantically try to find the keys>Notice that there are actually two sets of tracks>A large adult and a kitten>Teaching her young how to hunt>mfw 