I was wondering what kind of wildlife one encounters on the PCT. On the AT, the bears in Shenandoah and New Jersey and the moose in Northern New England are often some of the memorable experiences on the trail. What do people see on the PCT? I am sure that there are quite a few mule deer and rattlers. How about bighorn sheep? Elk?
Bankrobber
I saw a bighorn sheep in 2002. It was at the water cache at scissors crossing. Lucky me, I caught it on video. BEAUTIFUL.
I’ve only seen 2 bears. Both were running away from me. The people who see bears on the PCT are typically those who (1) do not use hiking poles (2) do not listen to radios. I do both.
Yep, lots of deer, lots of snakes. Also lots of marmots and chipmunk-type animals.
Oh, and there was that goshawk that slammed into my head when it tried to kill me. And the grouse near the Canadian border that didn’t want me to walk past it.
yogi
less bears in jersey.They just brought back bear hunting,killed nearly 300 last week.I guess one leaned on a lexus.
Onlyone
Okay, so now there are only 2900 bear in New Jersey. Still plenty to go around.
Harry Dolphin
We saw a lot less wildlife on the PCT than we expected, especially after the abundance we saw on the CDT. (A line in the McVeigh video I found to be very true, “We saw more wildlife on the CDT in a week than we saw on the entire PCT.”) There are lots of snakes, lizards and horny toads, but we didn’t see our first deer for 600 miles. We did see a few other deer up north, but nothing like the number you see on the AT. We saw two black bears in California’s Section P, and a fox and a couple of coyotes, but that was about it. There weren’t even a lot of interesting birds - mostly just crows and ravens, though we did see an osprey just north of the Hat Creek Rim.
Ginny
Just thought I’d throw this in. Point Reyes National Seashore, near my home, is one of the best places for spotting wildlife in the west. I’ve seen four bobcats, a mountain lion, smelled skunks, seen many raccoons and rabbits. A coyote approached me, as if it expected to be petted. I’ve seen many more. A golden eagle, red-tailed hawks, egrets, blue herrons and other waterfowl. And deer: three kinds. Many of them. 400 or so elk.
And waterfowl in winter? Lower Klamath Basin Wildlife Refuge. Hundreds of bald eagles. Hundreds. And just about anyhthing that flies and swims.
Jim Keener
I hiked several short sections of the PCT in 2002 (the JMT, Lassen Volcanic and the Cascades). We did it that way due out time limit but also because each place is os different. Must admit the only place we had any real interaction was in the Sierra’s. Got charged by one bear and saw 3 more. Loads of lizards and chipmunks (among other rodents). Also had a good few snake encounters !
Saw plenty of signs in the Cascades warning us of Grizzly bears. Not sure I’d of liked to run into one of those :eek:
Jim - Hiked for a few days in the Marin Headlands just north of San Fran, prior to heading into the Sierra. Now that’s a place to check out. And Muir Woods.
Ross - England
You got charged by a bear? How did you stop him from charging, take away his credit card? :tongue
Seriously, I’d like to hear about how you responded to get out of that situation. It sounds pretty dangerous.
Ardsgaine
Ross, I hiked 19.5 miles yesterday in the Headlands. Beautiful. I camp there from time-to-time. Walk out my front door with the pack on my back. Let me know if you head this way.
Jim Keener
How did I stop him charging…take away his credit card. Yes, ha ha ha (I think i left the door flapping in the breeze for that one).
We were told to have a pile of pine cones ready to throw at any bears who came close. No time for that. It charged, got real close and as we were paralysed with fear and couldn’t move, he (or she) stopped, turned around and ran away.
Yeah, so that’s my bear advice. Be scared, alllow for the onset of paralasys and all we be OK.
Ross
Ross - England
I figure I could probably do the skunk thing, and repulse the bear with a very bad smell.
Note to self: Bring an extra set of pants when hiking in bear country.
Ardsgaine
Haha!! The grouse at the border! Yogi is NOT KIDDING! That fellow is really brave!
We saw lots of wildlife -5 bears (most in N. Cal), one mt. Lion, many incredible birds, especially some rare woodpeckers, dung beetles, rattlers, Marmots, jumping mice, Red Hawks, Ravens, Cacti, spruces, cottonwoods, manzanita, western redcedar, took a side trip and saw GIANT sequoias, ponderosas, white spruce, agave, losta crazy fungi, lichen to DIE FOR! The list goes on and on! There was not the density of birds like on the AT, because of much less trees- OH, ELK & Mountain GOATS! Madrone, foxtail, somebody stop me, i have things to do… thanks babe 
Tha Wookie