24 replies to this topic

[skiracermom]

Did anyone see that move, "Without a Paddle"? The funniest line in the movie was when the bear was after them and one of them made the comment along the lines of, "as long as I can out run you it doesn't matter...."

I always tell that to my husband and son (who's 13 so I'm not mentally scaring him - he says the same thing about us). I had a lame ankle the last time we went backpacking so the joke was I was the sacrafice.

We always tell him to not get out of our site - never let him be in the back. A few months ago a family was up at Flagstaff mountain in Boulder and they were in the parking lot and a mountain lion snatched the small child. Right there in the parking lot with everyone there. So just be aware of your surroundings. I had been in that same parking lot 2 days before with a friend and our two kids, so it's always a wake up call. And we stopped letting him be in the front when he was little when we were in Canada and he suddenly stopped and said, "Oh, a bear...." and a bear walked across the trail right in front of him. The bear was more interested in the berries, and none of us paniced (at least outloud, inside I was freaking out) and the bear contined on his way.

Be just as cautious about startling elk who might be laying in the trees. Elk are very dangerous - drives me nuts seeing people getting closer and closer with the camera...

And the ducks on Cub Lake can be quite aggressive! (Practically sat in our laps - unfortunately that means people have been feeding them....)

[Jo]

I have also been thinking about those incidents of mountain lion attacks that have been in the news recently. I guess we need to be careful without being paranoid.

Jo

[foxfire]

Good one Lsmith!!!!! Dawn and Dusk as well as suroundings and terrain! There is always a great RMNPforums member to chime in with good advice/knowledge! Thanks for bringing that up Lorie, and thanks to all the other members as well! Have a great time hiking everyone!

[AliceH]

Gotta watch out for those ground squirrels. When we were at Lily Lake last weekend, one ran up to my daughter (we were picnicking and she was holding a chip). It startled her so much that she fell onto her bottom, and the ground squirrel ran up onto her lap and took the chip out of her hand. I had to pick the squirrel up to get it off of her. I'm normally in favor of letting wildlife do what it wants, within reason, but she was completely freaked out and crying by this point, and I didn't want her to swat at it and get bitten.

Here's a picture of her a little while before the incident. With a different squirrel.


People visiting Lily Lake just feed the squirrels like it's nothing, never mind the signs that tell you not to. And I had to stop a kid that was old enough to know better (should be, anyway, since his parents left him so they could walk around the lake, because he didn't want to go along) from throwing rocks at the squirrels.

[Jo]

Those ground squirrels can carry the plague too - another reason not to feed them!

[owenrhys]

Saw a little girl tottering around on the rocks near Alberta Falls while her distracted parents were taking photos ... scared me to death! One wrong step and she was going down the chute. They finally noticed how closed she had gotten to the fast-moving water, and just laughed it off. Parents - please keep a sharp eye on the little ones.

[Paula Frazee]

Ditto what everyone else has said. We started hiking & backpacking with our kids when they were 3 and 5 and you really do need to watch them around drop offs and water. Keep them a safe distance away and/or hold onto them when you're close to a hazard. Don't let them run ahead - a 10 year old was killed by a mountain lion in the park years ago when he ran ahead of his parents - or lag behind. I carry bear spray in Rocky now like we do in Yellowstone & Glacier. Plus, I carry a pocket knife - a man in Colorado fought off a mountain lion attack with a normal pocket knife by stabbing it in the face & eyes. Of course, these are REALLY rare cases. I've never even seen a bear or mountain lion in the park. Your kids will love Rocky, mine do.

[Jenny]

Good reminders everyone! I like my older kids (8,6) within reach and little ones in the backpacks or holding hands.

I used to hate the reins, but now that I have kids, I'm not opposed at all!! About parenting... I used to have all the answers and no kids.... now I have lots of kids but the answers aren't nearly as clear! Ugh.

[owenrhys]

About parenting... I used to have all the answers and no kids.... now I have lots of kids but the answers aren't nearly as clear! Ugh.

Right you are. You have to train yourself to think of them first, and then think of yourself ... I don't care what the flight attendants always say, you give your kids the first breath. Our first one was a climber, from the time he could walk he could climb. If you looked the other way for a minute, he'd be up a tree ... usually way up a tree. Later it became rocks, etc., ... anything he could go up, he went up. Still hasn't had a bad fall (knock on wood), but he has made my heart miss a few beats.

[Jo]

About parenting... I used to have all the answers and no kids.... now I have lots of kids but the answers aren't nearly as clear! Ugh.

Isn't that the truth! I can't believe I was so sure of how to parent before I was one. Now most of the time, I'm not at all sure of what's right! You just muddle through somehow.