Reply #51: You were lucky...

[Mythsaje]

And these days bears aren't much of a threat in the lower 48. I guarantee if you had encountered a cougar, on the other hand, you may have been subjected to a total re-evaluation of your position on the subject. They don't, as a rule, tend to attack groups. But a lone, unarmed human, or even a couple of humans (mated pairs will sometimes hunt in unison), could become prey if the cougar(s) saw the opportunity.

Firearms are the only things that allowed us to tame this wilderness as quickly as we have. Without them, the west would still probably be mostly pristine.

Alaska is STILL mostly wilderness on the scale of what the rest of country USED to look like.

No joke.