When thru-hiker Jessica “Dixie” Hawkins was hiking the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) several years ago, she came across a mountain lion on the trail and used an unconventional tool to scare it off: a harmonica. Spoiler alert—it worked!
Hawkins was in the New Mexico backcountry when she suddenly saw the young cougar in her path. She stopped and stood her ground as the mountain lion looked at her curiously. The two stared at each other for a bit, then Hawkins starts rummaging around in her pack for something. Is it pepper spray? Nope, it’s a harmonica.
“In this clip I was thru-hiking the Continental Divide Trail through New Mexico, and while I was walking and talking on the phone a young cougar was lying down on the trail right in front of me,” Hawkins explains. “It popped up and I hung up as fast as I could and started recording. The sound you hear at 00:42 is a harmonica I’d been carrying in my shoulder pocket. I thought if I made a sound it’d never heard before it would opt out of attacking me. I guess it worked?”
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Watch as a thru-hiker scares away a mountain lion by standing her ground and playing a brief tune on her harmonica:
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