Читать книгу 101 Hikes in Southern California. Exploring Mountains, Seashore, and Desert онлайн

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Here are some basic tips for dealing with this potential hazard:

• Hike with one or more companions.

• Keep children close at hand.

• Never run from a mountain lion. This may trigger an instinct to attack.

• Make yourself large: face the animal, maintain eye contact with it, shout, blow a whistle, and do not act fearful. Do anything you can to convince the animal that you are not its prey.

Ticks

Ticks can be the scourge of overgrown trails in the coastal foothills and lower mountain slopes, particularly during the first warm spells of the year, when they climb to the tips of shrub branches and lie in wait for warm-blooded hosts. If you can’t avoid brushing against vegetation along the trail, be sure to check yourself for ticks frequently. Upon finding a host, a tick will usually crawl upward in search of a protected spot, where it will try to attach itself. If you are aware of the slightest irritation on your body, you’ll usually intercept ticks long before they attempt to bite. Ticks would be of relatively minor concern here, except that tick-borne Lyme disease, which can have serious health effects, has been reported within Southern California.