I’m not saying we shouldn’t be careful, but none of these articles (the Olympian ones are behind a paywall) suggest what you mentioned in your original comment. Yes, bears who frequent places where humans give them food can be less intimidated by humans. But, they’re not actively hunting out humans to eat, which is what you said.

I don’t have the exact figures on hand, but the number of serious injuries from bears in the last century is insanely low. And many if not most of those were caused by human negligence.

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Yeah, just say you’re scrambling or mushroom hunting and everyone will understand lol.

> There’s literally 0 mountain lion fatalities in recorded history

There have actually been two, including one in North Bend in 2018. Still, your probability of being attacked is vanishingly small.

The wildlife here is actually pretty benign compared to most places. No venomous snakes or spiders, and ticks and poison ivy are extremely rare.

Yes, we have cougars, but you’re extremely unlikely to encounter one. There have only been two fatal cougar attacks in WA in the past 100 years.

As others have mentioned, there are other risks you should prepare for instead.

This is disgusting. They care more about protecting abusers than about protecting children.

Incoming qanon condemnation in 5…4…3…

Oh who am I kidding. They don’t give a rats ass what their own team does. It’s just a tool to slander their opponents.

Getting lost and also slipping on something and / or sliding down a steep incline and getting injured.

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For some reason I read that as ghosts and was what to hear a scary story lol.

As a therapist who has been here for 50 years, I applaud your efforts. Spend all damn day in the woods, if you like. Walk and hike for miles and miles. There is no danger if you just do this one thing:

My suggestion, and not just for your MH, is to stay on the trails! Holy shit please stay on the damn trails! Trails are not going to lead you over a cliff. Trails are not going to be full of brambles and grass seed and shit that gets stuck in your fur. Trails are where the wild animals don't hang out.

But, here's my biggest cringe about going off trail: Wildlife protection. Small animals and necessary bugs make their homes off trail. Mushroom colonies, slime molds, small groundcover plants, and all that stuff is damaged when you get off the trail. This flora and fauna are adapted to make their homes away from the trails where deer and bear and other animals also commute. Every footstep off trail kills something else that isn't on the trail.

Go be in the forest. But please, for the health of the forest and to prevent broken bones, stop going off trails.

It's not that dangerous except for random cliffs you will surely encounter. it's mostly just not nice for the environment or what lives there. we have trails to confine humans and allow nature to have it's space too. you should respect that.

Just as god intended. /s

North Bend

Evergreen

SPSCC

Lacey

Campgrounds

Black bears aren't afraid of people, and when they do choose to interact, it's to the detriment of every party involved.

Looking good.

Lol the largest sanctioned child abuse ring in the world doesn’t want to follow mandated reporting laws. Shocking.

It’s what Jesus would do.

At one point, yes.

First I’ve ever heard this. You sure? Black bears generally scramble at the sound of any humans coming.

This is not true at all. May your deliveries be cold and your fries eternally soggy until you learn your lesson.

No - the people doing the job get a cut of the sale, as well as part of the delivery fee. A tip is EXTRA if the person ordering it wants to give it.

If the person doesn’t want to give a tip for whatever reason, they don’t have to. But the person delivering still needs to do their job and deliver, in order to earn their fee and cut, and to keep their job.

I mean.. there is always a small chance of something happening but I wouldn't let it stop you. I love the woods and I have done the same thing. Parked along the road where it was safe and just walked into the woods. Made a nice fire, a hot drink, and some lunch.
Could something happen? Sure. I could also trip and hit my head. Do I let it stop me? Not at all.
Hell, I almost had a vehicle run me over in a parking lot because this woman was looking down at her phone. Since I was paying attention I managed to avoid her. She never looked up either.
My point is.. there are dangers EVERYWHERE. Not just in the woods.
Keep doing what you're doing.

The biggest dangers are hypothermia and injury, the wildlife is extremely mild around here. Venomous snakes and dengerous spiders/insects are almost unheard of. I would make sure to bring a compass and paper map as backup navigation (and know how to use them,) and some emergency warm clothes in case you unexpectedly have to spend the night. I would also recommend hiking on remote and seldom used trails rather than just cutting cross country (the kind of trails with a handful of people per week.) It helps protect our wild places from human impact, it provides more safety, and you will probably only spend a few seconds in proximity to others durring the rare times you pass eachother on the trail. People in the PNW usually understand the need for alone-time and won't try to say more than a quick "hello" as they pass.

2010 in the Olympic National park a guy was killed by a mountain goat.

Not dangerous at all. Might stumble across humans tho. Very dangerous animals.

This headline should be rephrased as “Lawmakers were incapable of doing a strict law that obligated everyone to report child abuse cases”. Not religious people in particular, the loophole is open for everyone as long as can claim that is a protected speech because of the constitution