myfatcat

I ride dump truck hill through Griffith Park several times a week, usually early in the morning, often as the sun is coming up. The last few weeks there's been a large coyote near the gates where dump truck hill meets the road from Travel Town. I've seen him there 4 - 5 times now, usually around the trash can by the gate.

At first he kept his distance. The last time he trotted close to me, 5-8 feet away. Today, he looked like he was going to come right at me as I was riding up the hill. He didn't growl or look menacing, but he was definitely headed straight for me. When he was a few feet away, I yelled as loud as I could. He turned away and I hit the gas and pedaled up the hill faster than I have before (good for my time at least!).

I feel like I need to carry something to protect myself, just in case he gets more aggressive. I'm not thrilled with the idea of carrying pepper spray or an air horn with me but I feel like I should do something.

Anyone else have experience with coyotes in the park? Any thoughts on what to carry to scare him off?

I once saw a bobcat up there, but he was more scared of me than I was him. He took off pretty fast.