Quote Originally Posted by BladesNBarrels View Post
Reminds me of 1998, Roxborough Park, that later was written up in Reader's Digest:


LOUVIERS, Colo., May 1 -- A savvy hiker is recovering from deep cuts suffered when a mountain lion attacked him in a Colorado park but rangers say poking the cat in the eye may have saved the the man's life. Roxborough State Park Manager Susan Trumble says the hiker was not killed or more seriously hurt because he did everything right in terms of staying calm and fighting back and I think that's why he's here today to tell the story.

She says the condition of 24-year-old Andy Peterson was upgraded to good by doctors at Swedish Medical Center. Wildlife officials are trying to find the animal today. The 30-minute standoff, which began when the mountain lion chased after Peterson as he ran away, came to an end when he jammed his thumb into the lion's eye and stabbed him with his pocketknife. Peterson, a regular visitor to the 3,200-acre park southwest of Denver, was nearly three miles into his hike when he came upon the big cat. Rangers say it was the first attack since the park opened in 1987. Finally Peterson was able to pull his Swiss Army Knife from his pocket and stab the animal, which caused the cat to momentarily retreat. Soon after the lion returned, Peterson's thumb-in-the-eye defense worked. Rangers say as the cat ran off, Peterson ran toward the visitors' center yelling, 'Call 911,' until a nurse came to his aid and another hiker went ahead to call for help. ---
"The Devil on Carpenter's Peak" in Outdoor Life was also a good telling of the events of that day.