The Best Non-Lethal Protection When Hiking In Utah

When hiking in Utah, you often run into wild animals. Not too surprising as this is where they live, mate and forage. This can be a scary experience if you walk up on a cougar, mountain lion, or even worse, a bear. Backpacking through the Uinta Mountains, I ran into a cow once that wouldn’t leave me alone.  

For protection you can hike with bear spray, an air horn to scare them away, or even a gun. A wildlife expert online talked about what he takes with him when he hikes in the great outdoors, and it isn’t lethal or hard to come by.  

If I am concerned about cougars, which is rare, I carry a small “pop open” umbrella that I would use to scare the animal if necessary.    

That is an awesome idea. An umbrella pops open and makes you look bigger. Even if the animal wasn’t scared off by the it being opened, you could use it like a shield to push away if the aggression continued.

One time I took my son to the pond on the golf course over by Bloomington Hills. One of the geese became really aggressive and wouldn’t leave us alone. I finally had to scoop up my son and run for the car. A stout umbrella would have been great to have at the time. 

In fact, if I go hiking in bear country, I think I will get me one of those beach umbrellas. I would be far more effective with that thing than I would ever be with a gun. I could ward off an attack and keep the sun off when it gets hot.  

Thinking about it, I might even keep one handy on my front porch should any of my neighbors come by talking about their new multi-level marketing opportunity.