Mooove slowly and don't hug cows, hikers told

[Tom Rankin]

Thought this was funny!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060830/od_nm/switzerland_cows_dc

 

[Paradox]

And never ever try to tip a Swiss cow!

 

[Tim Horn]

If you hike on BLM land out west you should heed the warnings. I'd rather confront a bear than a herd of semi-wild cattle. Once a herd starts grazing on their own they begin to take care of their own security. Soon they start to see humans as another possible predator (wonder why?) and take exception to humans walking near their circle. Now usually I am not afraid of cows but when a bull confronts you and you have nowhere to get away to(over a fence ect) well you are at high risk of injury. For that matter if the herd is used to being fed by a farmer, a person not in a vehicle, can be injured by the excited cows running over to get food and inadvertantly being squashed between the excited heifers!!! 200 pound humans are nothing to an 800 pound cow.

 

[Snowflea]

On my Colorado Trail thru-hike last month, I hiked through 8-10 herds of cattle... lots of cattle. These animals were nothing to be afraid of and definitely not "cute" like guernseys and jerseys, just really freaking annoying because they tore up the trail and peed/pooped *everywhere.* Vile creatures!!

I mentioned in another post that cattle grazing is allowed in some designated wilderness areas Out West; I saw them in the La Garita.

Tim, I'm pretty sure the male cattle encountered on BLM and FS land are neutered. Sure hope they don't let non-castrated bulls out on public lands! YIKES.

Now, if you're hiking on private farmland, that's another matter. Reminds me of a sign on the VT 100 course near Woodstock that says something like "If you think you can cross this field in 10 seconds, don't. The bull can do it in 9."

 

[drewski]

that sign is on the road by cloudland farm...

Drew

 

[Paradox]

I took classes on this stuff in cowege.

 

[peak_bgr]

Boy, that's going to raise hell with my social life.

 

[trailbiscuit]

We bumped into a number of cows on the AT in Virginia. Climb a stile, end up in a field of cows. Until that point, we'd done 95% of our hiking in New England. That doesn't happen. So, waddaya do? Cows don't really understand the concept of backpacking. In fact, I don't think they understand the concept of anything. It's a weird feeling.

At one point we had a 5 minute stand off with a calf that had no idea what to nake of us. But, he was right in the middle of the trail staring at us. With cows all around. How to you move a calf without ticking off mom? So, we just stood there and waited for him to move...in the rain.

We also met a woman who was treed by a small herd. Good times.

 

[Edelweiss]

Two years ago Dick and I hiked the Haute Route from Chamonix, France to Zermat, Switzerland. During one short afternoon "bushwack" through a meadow, we encountered a herd of Swiss cows, complete with bells. I managed to get this picture. The cow slowly approached while I continued to shoot. We moved on before he got too close. A unique experience!

 

[Mike P.]

While hiking in Stelvio National Park in Italy (alps near swiss & austrian border - we stayed in Austria post-hike) we came across a herd, just cows below treeline off the trail & a bull & a few cows above treeline while descending. He stood his ground & we went off trail well above him & came back onto the trail well behind him too.

 

[Tim Horn]

Just wanted to add a note from the Wyoming department of the BLM.
"Most of the cattle ranches using public lands are cow/calf operations. That is, the rancher has a base herd of cattle, the majority of which are cows (bulls are also included in the herd). The primary purpose of the range cow is to produce a calf."
So bulls are present in most range herds. Also it should be noted that herds like this are not fussed over by ranchers and they become responsible for their own security. Many of us are used to domesticated dairy cows. However cattle on the open range are a different critter and should be treated with caution and respect.
Not unlike how you would treat a bison.
Now if you run into the other grazing situation..." A variation from the cow/calf operations are stocker/yearling operations where weaned calves and/or yearlings are grazed on private and public lands." You should be able to hike right by them as long as they don't think you have a salt lick on you.
Just a word to the wise.

 

[MattC]

Writing about the Catskills in 1910, John Burroughs had this to say: "The most annoying animal to the camper-out in this region, and the one he needs to be most on the lookout for, is the cow. Backwoods cows and young cattle seem, always to be famished for salt, and they will fairly lick the fisherman's clothes off his back, and his tent and equipage out of existence, if you give them a chance."

It's from this essay: http://www.catskillarchive.com/jb/heartsouthern.htm
which is a great read and quite funny in places. Just imagine having your camp food raided by a "backwoods cow."

Matt

 

[king tut]

My only thought about that headline?

Well, maybe the women just aren't that pretty out there.

 

[audrey]

Oh, great! We are planning an Escalante trip in April. I'm thinking about cougars, rattlesnakes, and scorpions, when what I really have to fear is COWS! Seriously, half the hikes in my book contain multiple references to closing the cattle gate behind you.

 

[DougPaul]

Oh, great! We are planning an Escalante trip in April. I'm thinking about cougars, rattlesnakes, and scorpions, when what I really have to fear is COWS! Seriously, half the hikes in my book contain multiple references to closing the cattle gate behind you.

Saw nary a cow when I went through the area a few years ago.

Besides, many of the man-made water sources that humans take advantage of are actually there for the cows...

Just bring your filters/purification gear...

Doug

 

[Snowflea]

We did see one herd of cattle in Escalante--on the side of Hole-in-the-Wall (is that the name of it?) Road.

I've encountered quite a few cattle (and sheep) herds in my hiking, both on the AT and in CO, and have always found them to be docile and dull, nothing to be afraid of. I found that a few loud "MOOOOOs!" will usually get them out of the trail.

In contrast, while running on dirt roads here in Vermont, dairy cows, especially heifers, will often run along with me--on the other side of the fence! Cracks me up every time.

 

[sardog1]

When you see a herd, 'tis best to check the equipment on any males before proceeding near them. My wife and I had a near miss in the Black Hills when a bull popped up too close for comfort. We managed to elude him, but it left a lasting impression.

And now for a funny cow story. I was hiking in WA with two dogs, a terrier and the guy pictured at left. I entered a pasture and scanned for cows -- none in sight. Not ten minutes later, a herd of about eighty Holsteins appeared from a distant swale where they'd been grazing. They came over to me at a trot, the whole mob. With two dogs it was a handful, as I had no leash.

I got up on a low levee that ran the length of the pasture, but the cows bunched up shoulder-to-shoulder on the levee right behind me. The parade continued until we hit a barbed wire fence. Couldn't pass over or under with both dogs in hand. Figured that I'd follow the wire down to a river and swim with the dogs around the end of the fence. But then the cows made a semi-circle around us and pressed us against the fence.

At this point the Shepherd had had enough. He broke free from my grasp on his collar, gathered the herd up and drove them back to where they started from. He left them and came back to me. He had never had a herding lesson before that day, and I had always discouraged any interest in stock and wild animals because he worked as a SAR dog. The one day that I needed it, he knew what to do.

 

[DougPaul]

We did see one herd of cattle in Escalante--on the side of Hole-in-the-Wall (is that the name of it?) Road.

In contrast, while running on dirt roads here in Vermont, dairy cows, especially heifers, will often run along with me--on the other side of the fence! Cracks me up every time.

You should be happy that they were on the other side of the fence:

At Island in the Sky (Just N of Canyonlands and not all that far from Escalante...), we had very dark cows/steers run down the road in front of us. Very dark night, no white lines along the side of the road, switchbacks ahead with steep drop-offs, and the rental car had poor headlights. It was a slow and nerve-wracking drive...

BTW, this was 35+ years ago--the road is now marked much better and I didn't see any livestock near that road on a more recent visit.

Doug