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Were you already a mountain 
biker? 

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Like, was that kind of your 
thing? 

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That was my thing. 
Mountain biking was my life. 

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OK, take me through the day. 
What was it like for you, just 

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waking up your normal day? 
Were you with other people? 

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So that day I remember going to 
work at the gym and typically I 

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would work early morning. 
I'd have clients starting at 

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6:00 AM. 
And a lot of times I would have 

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this kind of dead time in 
between my morning clients and 

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my evening clients. 
And oftentimes I would go 

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mountain biking in the middle 
and go go home, shower, and then

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go back to work in the evening 
just because that was how my 

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schedule kind of worked out. 
So that day I remember working 

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in the morning, I went to run by
the grocery store and grab some 

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things, but I was kind of 
running late to get to my ride 

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that I had planned. 
So I ran in the door, put away 

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the refrigerated items, left the
dry goods on the counter, and 

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then hopped on my bike because I
was trying to ride to the trail 

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because it was close by, because
I was running late, I ended up 

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driving there. 
I was going to meet my friend 

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Debbie. 
There was some other women in 

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the mountain bike group where 
Debbie and I met. 

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The mountain bike group is 
called Trailing Trolls, and they

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were going to be riding. 
But because I had very limited 

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time, I told Debbie that we were
just going to do the loop 

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quickly on her own. 
So this particular park is 

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within like quick driving 
distance from my house. 

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It's called Whiting Ranch 
Wilderness Park. 

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To do the main loop would take 
me 45 minutes if I'm, you know, 

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not stopping at all. 
So that was kind of the plan. 

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Is this a loop that you've done 
frequently? 

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Many, many times. 
This is like my home territory, 

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so to speak. 
It was just after the holidays, 

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so this is January, early 
January, so the weather was 

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cool. 
I had just gotten back into town

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from visiting my family in 
Minnesota for Christmas, so I 

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had been off my bike a little 
bit. 

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So I just wanted to kind of do a
quick loop to get the legs going

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again. 
So, you know, I was expecting to

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be back home pretty soon. 
Oh my gosh, so you're on your 

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bike. 
So I met Debbie in the parking 

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lot and because the weather, I 
had a short sleeve jersey, but I

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had arm warmers, which are just 
like a section of a sleeve so 

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that you can take them on and 
off, you know. 

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And I remember taking those off 
because the weather was actually

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pretty nice, but we were trying 
to race the sun. 

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It was afternoon, late 
afternoon, and we knew we could 

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get that loop done though before
the sun went down. 

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So that was kind of our goal as 
we started out. 

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I remember specifically passing 
a group of it was a couple moms 

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with a bunch of little kids 
hiking and I remember passing 

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them on the way in and then we 
got to a climb. 

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Oh my gosh, little kids out 
there like that. 

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Oh gosh, yeah, this. 
I mean, it's normal, but yeah, 

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in in your situation, thinking 
of little kids out there, yeah. 

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Exactly. 
Thinking back, I'm like, wow. 

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I mean, honestly, I'd rather it 
be me than any of those little 

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ones. 
But this wilderness area is 

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backs up to like a strip mall, 
grocery store. 

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There's houses around it. 
It's pretty expansive, though. 

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But it's it's part of what I 
love about mountain biking and 

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hiking is that you're in this, 
you know, suburban area and in a

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matter of minutes, you feel like
you're in the wilderness and you

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are technically, but it's very 
accessible. 

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But that's what I love about the
sport is that you can kind of 

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get away from the hustle and 
bustle of your daily life and 

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the fast pace of Orange County 
and be able to get out into the 

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wilderness. 
So it's part of what I love 

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about it that it is so 
accessible. 

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We did climb up to what's called
Four Corners, so that it's a 

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climb called Mustard. 
It's a fire Rd. 

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Up at the top of Four Corners is
where most people kind of 

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regroup and meet up with their 
friends if we're a different 

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pace or whatever. 
So I stopped there and was 

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waiting for my friend Debbie and
I saw another friend, her name's

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Heather, there at Four Corners. 
She was going to ride with us 

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originally, but decided that she
was going to take a shortcut 

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home. 
Her son, I guess, had called her

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several times asking mom, where 
are you? 

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Where are you? 
So she just felt this real urge 

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to go home instead of ride down 
the single track with us. 

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So as I'm waiting for Debbie, I 
noticed there's a couple 

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different groups of mountain 
bikers, all men, maybe like 8 to

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10 riders still kind of hanging 
out up there. 

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And Debbie got up there, we 
chatted for a couple minutes and

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the trail we were going to go 
down is called Cactus, and it's 

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probably the most popular 
downhill trail. 

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So I said to Debbie, I saw two 
guys take off down the trail. 

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I knew most of these guys are 
going to go down the trail. 

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I don't really like having to, 
you know, if you're getting held

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up by people. 
So I'd rather go before the big 

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mob of people go. 
And I said to Debbie that I was 

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going to see if I could catch 
the two guys by the bottom of 

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the single track. 
Like I said, this is our home 

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turf. 
I know the trail really well. 

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So I kind of not that I'm 
competing with them, It's more 

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that I would use other people 
to. 

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Yeah, pace yourself. 
Yeah, exactly. 

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Like, just as a goal has nothing
to do with them. 

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I went down Cactus and Debbie 
followed me a couple turns in. 

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There's kind of this blind 
corner. 

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How far is she behind you? 
Not far at all. 

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In the beginning she could see 
me, but because of the fact that

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it twists and turns, there's 
definitely parts where I'm going

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to be out of sight. 
So we're very evenly matched, 

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which is why I like riding with 
her. 

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A lot of the ladies like to stop
and talk and chitchat while they

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ride. 
I'm not that way. 

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Like I'll talk in the parking 
lot when we start, I'll talk in 

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the parking lot when we're done.
That's about it. 

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And Debbie is the same way. 
Like we're there to ride, we're 

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not there to. 
It's go time, Yeah. 

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Why are we even here? 
Let's. 

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Yeah, exactly. 
I mean, I've ridden with people 

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where I remember riding with 
this New Girl and she was 

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stopping to pick flowers and 
like, show me the I'm like, OK, 

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we're not. 
We're not on this, you know, 

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like our goals are not the same.
So yeah, yeah, yeah. 

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I ended up not riding with her 
again just so I really liked 

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riding with Debbie because we 
were very similar in that way. 

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So as I am coming down the 
trail, I see I come around a 

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blind corner and I'm shocked to 
see this guy basically standing 

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right in the middle of the 
trail. 

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At that point, the trail is, you
know, 12 to 18 inches wide. 

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There's really not much room to.
So to be stopped in a blind 

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corner A is dangerous with the 
pace that people are coming down

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that trail. 
And so I was really surprised to

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see him there. 
So I grabbed the brakes, tried 

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to slow down so I wouldn't hit 
him. 

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And I said is everything OK? 
And he said, I found this 

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abandoned bike and I noticed 
he's straddling a bike and then 

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there's another bike next to him
propped up up right against the 

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bushes. 
OK. 

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Yeah, so it kind of threw me 
off. 

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I honestly thought this is one 
of the two guys who just left 

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from Four Corners. 
Four Corners is very exposed, 

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kind of like tabletop area where
you have trails going down from 

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all directions and one that goes
up. 

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So what I thought is that this 
is one of those two guys and his

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buddy is pulled over to go to 
the bathroom. 

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Like it would be kind of a weird
place to stop, but. 

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But he tells you it's an 
abandoned bike. 

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Yeah, so I thought he was just 
joking around. 

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I really didn't take it 
seriously. 

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And of course, hindsight's 2020 
looking back and like, Dang, I 

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should have stopped, you know, 
but at the time it just didn't 

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compute that this guy is 
serious, that he just found this

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bike, you know, And so I, I had 
braked to slow down. 

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He says this to me. 
And then I kept rolling because 

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I, I really thought he was 
kidding. 

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I think that too, and I'm not 
trying to make excuses. 

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If I could go back and redo 
that, I would have stopped for 

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sure. 
And it has nothing to do with 

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the fact that, as you'll hear 
later, later in the story, that 

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may have saved me. 
OK, right. 

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It has nothing to do with that. 
Yes, I regret not stopping. 

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But just the context of it as a 
woman in mountain biking, you 

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know, 31 years old, whatever, 
it's a very male dominated 

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sport. 
You don't see that many girls 

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out there, women. 
And often times you'll have guys

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where they're trying to make 
conversation with you, you know,

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just because they want to meet a
girl who rides, you know, 

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honestly. 
And to be frank, I mean, my 

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husband was one of those people 
that we met mountain biking. 

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You know, he's like, whoa, I 
want a girl who rides. 

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So that's part of it. 
I get it, but that was kind of 

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what I thought is going on. 
He's making a joke, trying to 

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engage with me. 
I don't really want to engage 

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with him, so I kept going, you 
know? 

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So you're thinking potentially 
that the bike being down could 

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have been a tactic to pick up 
well. 

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No, I thought, I thought that 
they had stopped, that his 

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friend was going to go to the 
bathroom because at four 

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quarters there's no place you 
can go. 

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To the bathroom all. 
Right. 

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So I thought that's what was 
going on that like I'm just 

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trying to put two and two 
together. 

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And you're so focused on the 
ride, you're just like, all 

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right, let's just. 
Go Yeah, yeah, I just, yeah, I 

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don't have time for this. 
So I continued. 

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Debbie was right behind me and 
saw me interact and then keep 

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going. 
So she also kept going. 

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I can't remember if she had 
exchanged any words with him or 

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not, but she just assumed 
everything's good and kept 

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riding as well. 
So we picked up speed again and 

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it's very narrow kind of roller 
coaster like single track. 

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I came around a, a little 
corner, there's a, a berm, 

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there's some bushes. 
It's like a, a burn maybe this 

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high and some thick bushes. 
And then on the left is a ravine

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that goes downward. 
So you're kind of on this trail 

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like this. 
I came around the corner and I 

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remember seeing a flash of 
movement over my right shoulder.

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And my first thought was that it
was a deer, because that has 

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happened to me before on a 
narrow single track with high 

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00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:06,760
bushes. 
A deer came out right in front 

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of me and jumped across the 
trail and almost hit me. 

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I mean, you would have been 
seriously injured obviously, in 

198
00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:13,160
that case. 
But that was my first thought 

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00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,280
because I saw a movement and I 
saw a reddish brown fur. 

200
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Then I felt the impact and 
basically the cat had been maybe

201
00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:29,240
5 feet away from me when it 
pounced and it basically grabbed

202
00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:33,840
onto my back like my shoulders 
and immediately try to bite down

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00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,920
on the back of my neck. 
So as this is happening, I liken

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it. 
I've never been hit by a car, 

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but that's what I would imagine 
it like. 

206
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Like the impact of it was by far
the worst part of it. 

207
00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,360
It wasn't the claws, the teeth, 
it was the impact because the 

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00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:55,240
impact was incredibly powerful 
to where I was slammed to the 

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00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:59,480
ground like chest down. 
And obviously the the wind is 

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knocked out of me, right. 
But as soon as I felt that 

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00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:06,560
something has a hold of me, 
obviously not a deer, right? 

212
00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:10,600
So I I knew right away the only 
thing that could do this is 

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mount lion. 
I'd never seen one in the wild, 

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really never. 
My husband has seen a few, but 

215
00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,120
no. 
And this, this area is known to 

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have a lot of mule deer, which 
is their preferred prey. 

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And so we knew they were there. 
There had been, you know, here 

218
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and there we'd have reported 
sightings like every few years, 

219
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whatever. 
You have a reported sighting at 

220
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a park. 
They put up a little paper sign,

221
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but there were signs at the 
entrance of every park that said

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00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:41,280
warning, Mountain Lion country. 
You know, you're like, Oh, yeah,

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00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:45,040
At that point, before this 
happened, I would have thought, 

224
00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:47,480
oh, that'd be cool. 
You know, that was kind of my 

225
00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:51,360
mindset on it because I never 
really thought of them as a real

226
00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:54,640
risk to humans. 
Sure, because you're always told

227
00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:56,600
they're elusive. 
They don't want to be seen. 

228
00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,400
It just never would have 
occurred to me that this could 

229
00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,120
happen. 
I've learned a lot about 

230
00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,440
mountain lions since and now, 
you know, but I'll, I'll talk 

231
00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:08,120
about that later. 
But before this, I never would 

232
00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,360
have been worried about mountain
biking. 

233
00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:12,440
I did tend to always ride with 
people, though. 

234
00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,120
So, you know, there's some 
awareness that, OK, be good to 

235
00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:18,800
go with someone else, be good to
have a cell phone, stuff like 

236
00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:19,520
that. 
Yeah. 

237
00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,920
At the time, my husband rode 
solo all the time, deep into 

238
00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,680
wilderness hours, you know, and 
I never would have thought 

239
00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:31,920
anything of that either. 
So that impact where I hit the 

240
00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,600
ground and realized it was a 
Mountain Lion, I noticed that 

241
00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:42,560
the cat seemed to be trying to 
move around my neck like it was 

242
00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:47,160
originally on the back of my 
neck, clamped down and he would 

243
00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:49,680
let go and readjust. 
Oh man. 

244
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,720
Working his way around. 
So during this, you know, I'm 

245
00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,120
alert and awake and I'm 
screaming. 

246
00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,960
Debbie came down the trail 
behind me. 

247
00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:04,760
At the time that the cat jumped 
on me, I was not within sight. 

248
00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:10,600
She was very close by, but she 
said the screams were not like 

249
00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,120
anything she'd ever heard. 
Not like a normal scream, you 

250
00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:15,600
know, So she knew something was 
wrong. 

251
00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:20,200
The cat basically went from the 
back of my neck to the side, 

252
00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:23,800
like kind of moved around, ended
up on the side of my face. 

253
00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:28,040
So one thing went in at the 
bridge of my nose, one thing in 

254
00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:31,440
my upper lip and then the other 
two things here. 

255
00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:36,240
And as he closed down, I liken 
it to a hot knife through 

256
00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,040
butter. 
You know, it was, it was so easy

257
00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:44,080
when he did that that it 
literally took this whole cheek 

258
00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,080
off in one flap. 
Like he just went and I could 

259
00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,920
just feel it like peel away, you
know, which was, I mean, just 

260
00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:54,560
you can imagine the power in 
their bite. 

261
00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,400
But I'm understanding he's 
making his way around. 

262
00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:03,280
Are you how aware are? 
You I'm very aware of what's 

263
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:07,360
happening 'cause when he was on 
the back of my neck, my first 

264
00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,160
instinct, I mean, I don't I 
didn't really know much about 

265
00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,480
melons, but I think of like, you
know, you hear people getting 

266
00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,000
attacked by sharks and punching 
them in the nose. 

267
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:20,080
So that's what I tried to do is 
I tried to punch over my 

268
00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,160
shoulder to try to hit it in the
face. 

269
00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:26,280
I could feel myself making 
contact, but it was having zero 

270
00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,960
effect. 
And obviously I'm screaming. 

271
00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:33,920
But what happened is as he's 
moving around, I didn't realize 

272
00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:38,400
this part of it, he would 
readjust, drag me, readjust drag

273
00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:40,840
me. 
So he ounced on me, on the 

274
00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,360
trail, immediately started 
taking me down into the ravine. 

275
00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:49,480
O as Debbie got there, he was 
already dragging me by my head 

276
00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,080
down into the ravine, like 
through the cactus, through the 

277
00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:56,200
scrub oak. 
And so she first of all got off 

278
00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:58,000
her bike. 
What was the time frame between 

279
00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,200
you getting hit and her getting?
There, I mean it was almost 

280
00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,000
immediate, within seconds. 
So she was. 

281
00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:02,640
She was. 
Pretty. 

282
00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,360
She was right there, I would say
no more than 20 yards behind me.

283
00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:08,760
Yeah, she's right there. 
Yeah. 

284
00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,720
So she got off her bike, through
the bike at the Lion to try to 

285
00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:16,160
scare him off. 
Had no effect once again. 

286
00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:21,760
So she tried to grab a hold of 
my one of my legs and basically 

287
00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:26,960
dug her heels in to the soft 
dirt and as he's dragging she's 

288
00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:31,000
trying to pull back. 
So essentially, they're in a tug

289
00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:32,720
of war. 
Oh my gosh, with. 

290
00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:36,720
My head in the middle so, but I 
will say that the fact that she 

291
00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:43,120
held onto my leg is one of the 
most integral parts of my 

292
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,360
survival. 
Had she not done that, they're 

293
00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:51,200
very capable of taking me away. 
I mean, they can take like a 

294
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:54,200
full size sheep and jump over a 
six foot wall. 

295
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:59,400
I am not a problem for that cat.
So the fact that she was able to

296
00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:04,280
slow his progress in just taking
me away was a big part in my 

297
00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:07,000
survival. 
I would say so. 

298
00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:09,920
He makes his way around to my 
face. 

299
00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:15,360
I'm screaming bloody murder. 
I remember Debbie yelling at the

300
00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:21,720
cat and saying the F word over 
and over and I'm like, I've 

301
00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:25,400
literally never heard her swear.
So I mean, I think. 

302
00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:27,640
That, Is this what it's going to
take to get her to cuss? 

303
00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:29,000
I know. 
Yeah, exactly. 

304
00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,760
But I think it's, it's 
fascinating to me how our brains

305
00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:37,240
can have separate trains of 
thought. 

306
00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:41,480
Like I can literally be thinking
I've never heard Debbie swear 

307
00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,680
before as I'm being attacked by.
My life, Oh my. 

308
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,640
Gosh, as I'm realizing, my face 
was just torn off as I'm trying 

309
00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,760
to think, what am I going to do?
Like just the fact that our 

310
00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:55,080
brains go into this hyper mode 
of like managing all this stuff,

311
00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:58,960
I think is incredible. 
So other mountain bikers had 

312
00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:03,000
come down the trail. 
They had heard the screaming and

313
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,240
Debbie was yelling at them do 
something throw rocks. 

314
00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,839
So one guy went up to try to get
a signal 911 call. 

315
00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:15,839
Another guy actually did get a 
signal, made a 911 call and one 

316
00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:22,160
of the guys threw a rock at the 
lion and first one hit it in the

317
00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,760
like rear flank, next one hit it
in the shoulder and 3rd rock hit

318
00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:29,040
it in the head and at that point
he let go. 

319
00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:33,440
So he was latched onto you like 
was he still trying to get a 

320
00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,360
better grip or was he still 
trying to drag you away? 

321
00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:39,280
Or was he just holding you down?
So he was constantly dragging. 

322
00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:42,520
So every time he would readjust 
his grip, he'd dragged me, 

323
00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:44,440
readjust his grip, dragged me 
some more. 

324
00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:49,240
So he's like doing both things. 
So after he had clamped on here,

325
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:51,920
he did end up getting me by the 
front of the throat. 

326
00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,480
So my husband like used to have 
a martial arts school. 

327
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:56,640
I used to take classes from him.
One of the things they tell you 

328
00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,960
if you think you're going to get
choked out is to like close your

329
00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,200
chin down to your shoulder and 
try to protect that space. 

330
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,320
So I did try to do that. 
Didn't have any effect because 

331
00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,280
once he got a hold of me here 
and closed down, I mean, it was 

332
00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:15,080
a matter of seconds. 
I start seeing that like things 

333
00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:18,480
are starting to go black. 
So I am saying goodbye to 

334
00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:20,400
Debbie. 
I know I'm going to die. 

335
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,080
This is it, right? 
Like I can feel things fading 

336
00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:27,160
out. 
And that was when the rock 

337
00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:30,960
throwing started. 
So I did black out. 

338
00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:34,840
I remember kind of being 
disappointed that there was no 

339
00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,720
tunnel of light. 
No like film reel of my life. 

340
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,640
There is nothing. 
It was just this darkness and 

341
00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:46,160
that's it. 
But I will say one thing I found

342
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:50,960
kind of fascinating is the fact 
that I felt completely at peace 

343
00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:56,160
in a weird sort of way. 
Like I it wasn't as though I had

344
00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:59,160
resigned myself to the fact that
I was dying. 

345
00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:04,320
Like, Oh, well, this is it. 
It was, it was I, I don't know. 

346
00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,920
I can't really explain it, but 
in that moment where I knew this

347
00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:12,280
is this is it, it was just like 
this piece, like, I don't know, 

348
00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,120
it's very tough to explain. 
I've heard of other people in 

349
00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:16,720
similar situations that I had 
to. 

350
00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:18,920
Say that I felt that way too. 
Really. 

351
00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:20,360
Yeah, totally. 
Yeah. 

352
00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:22,440
So it's very interesting because
you would think that would be 

353
00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,440
the most panicked, no? 
You would. 

354
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:26,720
I wasn't at all. 
I was. 

355
00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,840
I was just very OK, here we go, 
right? 

356
00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:32,880
This is it I. 
Had that's how it felt, yeah. 

357
00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:36,200
Like that was, you know, it was 
kind of like, and maybe I would 

358
00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:40,320
feel differently if I didn't 
have my daughter at the time, 

359
00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,200
you know, like maybe that would 
have changed how I fault in that

360
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,440
moment, but I just. 
That's exactly how I felt like 

361
00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:49,640
OK, that's it I guess. 
Were you in pain? 

362
00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,800
Do you remember feeling pain? 
No, I was not in pain. 

363
00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,600
I think adrenaline and 
everything kicking in. 

364
00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,200
I have been told also that 
facial injuries I guess are not 

365
00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:02,320
like they bleed a lot, but 
there's they're not as painful 

366
00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,320
as other injuries. 
And that wasn't the worst of my 

367
00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:10,240
pain later was not the the 
gnarly facial injuries. 

368
00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:14,560
So after I blacked out, the 
rocks were thrown. 

369
00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:20,040
The cat after the third rock let
go and took off and I came to 

370
00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:22,880
Yeah. 
It was that a big rock. 

371
00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:25,920
I mean, softball science, they 
said, yeah. 

372
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:31,720
So again, without what all of 
those guys did 911 call throwing

373
00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:34,200
the rocks, all of. 
It was the time frame before it 

374
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:35,240
let go. 
You're could you? 

375
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,960
Did anybody ever tell you? 
Honestly, I have no idea and I 

376
00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:42,200
don't think anyone else would 
either, just because of everyone

377
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:46,360
has that adrenaline gun. 
I mean, the guy who who called 

378
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:48,560
911 said he couldn't see my 
head. 

379
00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:52,120
All he saw was my head was 
completely engulfed in the 

380
00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:54,000
lion's jaw. 
So that's what they're seeing. 

381
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,880
Like, not a fun thing to come 
upon on the trail. 

382
00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:02,040
Do you remember? 
Anything like the smells? 

383
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:03,640
No. 
Nothing at all. 

384
00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:05,960
Nothing. 
Did you feel the like the fur of

385
00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:06,720
the? 
Nope. 

386
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,600
Debbie said it stunk really bad.
I don't remember any smells. 

387
00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:14,680
And I think that too is part of 
that survival, part of the brain

388
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,320
where you're literally just 
focusing on what matters for 

389
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:21,320
your life and anything that 
doesn't matter, your body just 

390
00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:23,520
tunes it out. 
Yeah, because she said it was 

391
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:27,000
very stinky. 
Like gamey, smelly smell. 

392
00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,400
It never once even looked at 
her. 

393
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,960
She was kicking at it, screaming
at it. 

394
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:39,120
Never once lost focus from me. 
She was close enough because she

395
00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:42,480
has my leg, right? 
So if the cat's here and she's 

396
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:46,560
there, it she was close enough, 
the cat could have done once why

397
00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:49,880
she's done right. 
Never even looked at her, like, 

398
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:55,360
so focused on trying to get me. 
Yeah, so very. 

399
00:21:55,360 --> 00:22:00,640
And a lot of times mountain 
lions will drag prey alongside 

400
00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:02,560
them. 
They don't back up like a dog. 

401
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,520
They're going to drag alongside,
you know, so like their rear 

402
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,640
would be closer to Debbie and 
they're dragging that way, so. 

403
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:12,840
Do you remember any other 
feelings? 

404
00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:16,160
Like even just do you remember 
the sounds at all? 

405
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,720
Do you remember what the the 
lion sounded like or anything at

406
00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:22,120
all? 
No, I remember the screaming 

407
00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:28,280
happening, and I wasn't aware 
that I was being dragged down 

408
00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:32,000
into the ravine at all. 
I thought that I was still at 

409
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:36,080
the trail. 
And when I came to, as soon as I

410
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,560
came to, I felt like I was 
underwater. 

411
00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:42,480
Like I literally felt like I was
drowning because of the blood. 

412
00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:46,040
Yeah. 
And so I had my helmet strap and

413
00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:49,280
I was trying to like get it off 
because I just felt like I had 

414
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:53,000
my camelback, the strap, this 
strap, I just wanted stuff off 

415
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,680
because I couldn't breathe. 
And so we were taking off helmet

416
00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:59,640
and WS help. 
And then they were as soon as I 

417
00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:01,760
came to the, a couple of the 
riders came down. 

418
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:03,240
They helped carry me up to the 
trail. 

419
00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:05,800
So when I was attacked, I was on
the trail, And then when I came 

420
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:09,000
to, I'm basically up at the 
trail or they brought me up to 

421
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,800
the trail. 
So I don't remember any of that 

422
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:12,840
dragging down into the ravine 
part. 

423
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,480
Yeah, almost like a drowning 
feeling. 

424
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,560
So they helped me to sit up and 
then I could kind of catch my 

425
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:20,920
breath. 
I started to be able to get 

426
00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:24,600
little bits of air. 
And I just remember, you know, 

427
00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,600
being a personal trainer, I 
mean, I teach like breathing 

428
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,640
techniques and stuff like that. 
So I was trying to focus on 

429
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,920
diaphragmatic breathing. 
Slow your breathing down. 

430
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:34,600
Slow. 
Your breathing. 

431
00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:36,560
Down like try to manage. 
It that's impressive. 

432
00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,480
Well, just you think about if 
you're only getting a little bit

433
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:41,680
of air and that the feeling is 
panic, right? 

434
00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,960
But I'm, you know, you're trying
to like, OK, I'm getting some 

435
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,200
air, like, calm down, let's slow
it down. 

436
00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:49,840
So your instinct in panic was to
try to calm yourself. 

437
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:54,200
Yeah, cuz I knew that's probably
my best chance at being able to 

438
00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:59,360
get more breath, as if I like 
try to manage the breathing a 

439
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:04,800
little bit better, you know. 
So just, I don't know, that was 

440
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:09,560
kind of what my, my thoughts 
went to and they had propped me 

441
00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:13,360
up against the berm where the 
cat had jumped from so that I 

442
00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:16,560
could sit upright. 
That was kind of my first real 

443
00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:18,760
awareness again of what's 
happening. 

444
00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:23,120
I looked around and I thought 
the people I were seeing were 

445
00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,280
paramedics because I had no clue
how long I had been out right 

446
00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:29,160
and I didn't know about the 
other mountain bikers. 

447
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:31,880
So I looked around and didn't 
realize that oh, these are just 

448
00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:33,880
other mountain bikers who came 
to help. 

449
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,720
Oh my gosh, how? 
Many people were around, so it. 

450
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:44,240
Was me and Debbie, and then 
there was two solo riders and a 

451
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:49,160
group of four other riders. 
So one of them had gone up, but 

452
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:54,320
all of them were involved in 
some capacity in saving my life 

453
00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:58,840
and like to go back and hear the
actual 911 call like in that 

454
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,640
moment. 
And you just hear, you know, the

455
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,400
fear and justice. 
Yeah, probably. 

456
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:07,840
I think you sent it to us. 
Yeah, there was a about a 22nd, 

457
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,240
I think. 
We got a lady that has tacked on

458
00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,520
Mount Light interface. 
Her face is almost gone. 

459
00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:16,440
I need people out here at White 
Ranch, Cactus Ridge, Whiting 

460
00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:18,120
Ranch. 
She's in bad condition. 

461
00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:20,720
I would get somebody here now. 
OK, Yeah. 

462
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,200
So that was 1. 
Of the two calls that was made 

463
00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:27,400
that day, Wow, Yeah, it was a 
day, that's for sure. 

464
00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,120
Where's the? 
So the the rock hits the 

465
00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:34,040
Mountain Lion, it let's go. 
Does it? 

466
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:36,640
What does it do? 
Does it stop and look? 

467
00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:38,480
Does it run off as far as 
people? 

468
00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:43,080
Knew it ran off, they just saw 
it let go and take off and then 

469
00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:46,360
I came to shortly after just 
because he released the grip 

470
00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:47,720
here. 
It's like a vice grip. 

471
00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:52,480
So then after I came to, I'm 
sitting with my back to the 

472
00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,280
berm. 
I then realized, OK, there is no

473
00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:59,320
paramedics here. 
But then I remember being aware 

474
00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:01,480
of the weight. 
Oh man. 

475
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:05,040
So it wasn't even. 
About pain or anything. 

476
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,720
It was almost like someone 
stapled A stake to my face and 

477
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:10,240
it's just like hanging, you 
know? 

478
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:14,880
Like you could feel the weight 
of it and the that feeling felt 

479
00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:17,240
so foreign to me. 
I remember one of the guys took 

480
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,800
AT shirt and gave it to me just 
so I could hold that up because 

481
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:25,840
just the feeling of that was 
like, you know, like that's 

482
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:27,360
probably not good. 
Could you see? 

483
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,200
Out of that eye. 
So that was 1. 

484
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:33,680
Of my concerns because I could 
tell this whole left side was 

485
00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:37,560
like mangled and that was one of
the first things I did is I 

486
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,680
covered my right eye to see if I
could see out of my left and I 

487
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:43,040
could. 
So that was that was the first 

488
00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,200
point where I was like, that's 
lucky, yeah. 

489
00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:47,680
Yeah, and. 
And honestly, we're that was 

490
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:49,160
where I thought, OK, I'm going 
to be OK. 

491
00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:51,480
Like when I could see I still 
have my vision. 

492
00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:53,200
Not that the vision, I don't 
know. 

493
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:55,840
But for me that was just like 
one on the checklist. 

494
00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:59,960
OK, I can handle this. 
You know, like I just remember 

495
00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:05,640
having that sense of relief. 
Yeah, even though, you know, 

496
00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,720
it's just another thing to deal 
with if that did happen. 

497
00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:10,320
But I was very. 
It's funny how your sense of 

498
00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:11,280
relief. 
Changes. 

499
00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:12,680
Yeah, it's all you know, like 
all. 

500
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:14,040
Relative. 
All relative. 

501
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:17,640
Totally relative, yes. 
Yeah, so I was very relieved to 

502
00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:19,600
see I could. 
I still had vision. 

503
00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:25,000
It took from the 911 call to 
paramedics being on scene in a 

504
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,120
wilderness park. 19 minutes. 
What? 

505
00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:30,960
Yeah. 
That is by far the fastest I 

506
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:32,600
have ever heard. 
Unreal. 

507
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,120
I think the fastest beyond that 
it was maybe I think 3 1/2 hours

508
00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:37,480
is what I've been. 
Wow, I know. 

509
00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:39,080
I feel like. 
Listening to some of these 

510
00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:41,960
survival stories where they're 
like, you know, I had to hike 

511
00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:44,560
out 10 miles. 
I'm thinking I had it good. 

512
00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:47,360
I had it good. 
They, I don't know about that. 

513
00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:48,600
Well, they. 
Did have. 

514
00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,800
They did have to make the 
decision on whether to switch 

515
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:56,240
the gear from the your regular 
vehicle to like the more off 

516
00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:59,360
road vehicle. 
And because basically what they 

517
00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:05,440
would have had to do is either 
park on this roadway, hike all 

518
00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:09,640
the way up and then back down 
the trail or take the off road 

519
00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:13,200
vehicle up to Four Corners and 
hike down from there. 

520
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,240
So as far as I remember, they, 
they did drive to Four Corners 

521
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:19,880
and hike down from there. 
So I remember seeing these 

522
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:22,920
paramedics carrying one of 
those, yeah, like stretchers. 

523
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:24,120
Yeah. 
Yeah, exactly how? 

524
00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:25,000
Far. 
How far of? 

525
00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:27,360
A hike you think it was from 
where they parked to to you. 

526
00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:31,400
It's not that far. 
That trail is pretty short and 

527
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,160
then it goes down onto a fire 
Rd. 

528
00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,920
So there's like, it's just like 
a funnel windy little section. 

529
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,720
It's not that far. 
So the I remember seeing them 

530
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:43,960
come down the trail and one of 
the paramedics crouched down in 

531
00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:48,280
front of me and was wanting to 
try to, you know, check my 

532
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:51,640
vitals and start an Ivy. 
I remember watching him and his 

533
00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:55,680
hands are like, and I'm like, 
that was where I thought maybe 

534
00:28:55,920 --> 00:29:00,160
I'm worse than I think because 
this guy like seems really rat. 

535
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:02,240
You know, that kind of worried 
me a little bit. 

536
00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:05,760
I mean, granted it probably 
didn't look good, but that 

537
00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,520
worried me a little bit. 
Well, I found out after the fact

538
00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,920
that they had two helicopters 
flying the Avnet sheriff's 

539
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:14,440
helicopter and one from the fire
department. 

540
00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:19,720
One of the pilots, as they're 
looking down a saw what they 

541
00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:23,400
thought might be a body 
someplace else, just up the 

542
00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:25,240
trail. 
Oh my gosh, really? 

543
00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:29,880
Secondly. 
Saw the cat crouching down just 

544
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,320
down the hillside from where the
paramedic is working on me like 

545
00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:35,840
it was going to come back. 
Right, so the paramedics? 

546
00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,200
Knew that the cat was still 
nearby. 

547
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:41,360
I didn't know that. 
That kind of makes sense. 

548
00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:43,400
We're a bit more adrenaline. 
Like. 

549
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,680
Let's get her out of here. 
Were they armed? 

550
00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:48,080
No. 
Sheriff's deputies. 

551
00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,160
There wasn't, I don't believe 
there is sheriff's deputies on 

552
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:55,600
the ground yet, but they came in
pretty quickly along with 

553
00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:58,320
paramedics. 
So they did have someone. 

554
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:01,560
Yeah, they did have people on 
the ground with firearms. 

555
00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:05,360
But basically they got the IV 
started. 

556
00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:10,760
You know, they do a judgement on
Glasgow Coma Scale. 

557
00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:15,080
How lucid are you? 
And because I do remember 

558
00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,720
everything except for the 
portion where I was passed out, 

559
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:21,600
I remember when the paramedic 
came up, I told him I have low 

560
00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:24,120
blood pressure. 
Like, you know, trying to tell 

561
00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,400
him I have a blood clotting 
disorder, trying to tell him 

562
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,960
details that would help him. 
Like you're not freaking out 

563
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:34,120
because my blood pressure's in 
the basement when that's normal 

564
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,960
for me or whatever, you know, So
I was very alert. 

565
00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:38,280
How? 
How were you able to? 

566
00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:41,840
Talk with your with them after 
it latched on your throat. 

567
00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:43,720
Well, we'll get. 
To that. 

568
00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:50,640
But the injuries I had, I had 
like 20 thing marks around my 

569
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:54,240
neck, you know, So 5, let's say 
5 bites. 

570
00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:59,680
At some point later on, they 
found like when they checked 

571
00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:04,560
everything, esophagus, trachea, 
voice box, carotid artery, 

572
00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:08,920
jugular vein, nothing was hit. 
So that's why, yeah. 

573
00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:12,480
Otherwise, no, I wouldn't have 
been able to talk. 

574
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:16,640
But and then two, I don't know 
for a fact, but I do have a 

575
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,240
blood clotting disorder that 
makes me more prone to clot, 

576
00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,840
more prone to clots. 
Debbie said that she was picking

577
00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:28,920
off like huge clots off my face,
which I don't know if that ended

578
00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:33,800
up playing a role in helping me 
at all with blood loss. 

579
00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:36,240
I didn't end up needing a blood 
transfusion. 

580
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:40,880
I have no idea honestly, but I 
think there was many, many 

581
00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:45,280
things that all worked in my 
favor, you know, I would say so 

582
00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,680
I would. 
Say so Yeah, so they the. 

583
00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:53,360
Paramedics then loaded me up and
they said they couldn't get in 

584
00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:55,360
there with the helicopter, so 
they were going to have to hike 

585
00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:57,400
me out. 
At this point I did start to 

586
00:31:57,400 --> 00:31:59,640
really feel a lot of pain, 
mainly in my neck. 

587
00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:04,760
Like I just felt such strain, 
you know, like all the muscles 

588
00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:07,320
in my neck, super painful. 
This. 

589
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:10,200
I don't remember feeling a lot 
of pain with regards to the 

590
00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:14,800
injury, but that as they're 
hiking me out, that was not 

591
00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,360
feeling good at all. 
I'm like, oof, this was it just 

592
00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:19,400
like the shaking? 
And all the yeah, they had AC. 

593
00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:23,240
Spine like collar on me and 
everything, but it was just 

594
00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:27,600
super uncomfortable. 
And then, you know, they had 

595
00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:31,120
just made it a short way up the 
trail and I heard one of the 

596
00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:35,200
paramedics say, I think he's 
coming in and the fire 

597
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:40,160
department helicopter pilot 
figured out a way to set down on

598
00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,840
the Super narrow area. 
There's power lines and stuff, 

599
00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:46,480
Super narrow section of trail 
literally touched down. 

600
00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:50,800
They slid me in. 
And yeah, so that I was super 

601
00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:54,880
thankful for 'cause, I mean, 
straight flight to the hospital 

602
00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,720
and didn't have to, you know, 
endure the hike out and all 

603
00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:00,680
that. 
Why do you think this? 

604
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,400
Attacked you. 
What was the What was its? 

605
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:04,880
Did you startle it? 
Cat. 

606
00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:08,000
So it had been stalking you for.
A while no, I think. 

607
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:12,000
That from what we know, it was 
bedded down on that berm. 

608
00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:17,600
There had been riders passing by
like not necessarily with the 

609
00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,160
cat there, but the cat was in 
the vicinity. 

610
00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:23,280
And I've talked to riders who 
rode in the middle of, you know,

611
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,880
before this happened, never 
attacked them. 

612
00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:28,360
But where it was bedded down 
right off the trail. 

613
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,440
One of the wildlife experts I 
talked to from UC Davis was 

614
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,720
saying it's like a cat could be 
sleeping, a house cat. 

615
00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:40,240
And you drag a, a piece of yarn 
in front of it, it's going to. 

616
00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:40,880
Yeah. 
Wow. 

617
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:42,240
Yeah. 
Interesting. 

618
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,560
Yes, I. 
Think that when I'm coming 

619
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:49,120
towards it down the trail, they 
have that like kind of want to 

620
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:51,000
stay away. 
Soon as I pass it, it's like, 

621
00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:52,960
oh, that looks like fun, you 
know? 

622
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:58,680
I mean, I'm not their desired 
prey, obviously, but what we 

623
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:01,440
found out after the fact was 
that the abandoned bike did 

624
00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:06,320
belong to a mountain biker who 
was attacked and killed by the 

625
00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:08,080
same line. 
Wait, what? 

626
00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:11,239
Yeah. 
So the helicopter pilot who saw 

627
00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:13,560
what he thought was a body was a
body. 

628
00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:17,639
And as far as we know, his name 
was Mark Reynolds. 

629
00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:23,440
As far as we know, he may have 
been riding the night before he 

630
00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:26,760
was attacked and killed. 
He was riding solo, so at some 

631
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:31,159
point his bike, he had stopped 
right on that section of trail. 

632
00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:34,719
The bike was like either down 
the hillside or propped up right

633
00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:38,320
there. 
And yeah, so we have talked to 

634
00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:42,320
people who had ridden that trail
between when he was attacked and

635
00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:45,920
killed and when I was attacked. 
But what? 

636
00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:52,800
How long was that so? 
That was the night before, so 

637
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:55,199
OK, now I'm. 
Either the night what was that 

638
00:34:55,199 --> 00:34:58,240
guy doing there on the bike when
you that was his buddy. 

639
00:34:58,640 --> 00:34:59,760
No, he didn't know him. 
He just. 

640
00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:01,280
Found he just he found the 
abandoned bike. 

641
00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:04,200
Oh my gosh, what I hear. 
So it took them off. 

642
00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:06,640
He was riding just like you. 
Yeah, well. 

643
00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:10,480
We think he had stopped and that
he was actually going to the 

644
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:14,120
bathroom or was stopped looking 
at his bike and that that's when

645
00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:16,560
he was attacked, when he was 
stopped and like crouched down. 

646
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:19,400
I since have gotten to know us 
again. 

647
00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:22,400
I know. 
I mean, that was really unreal 

648
00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:24,960
for me because I didn't find 
that out until the next morning.

649
00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:27,240
It was in the newspaper. 
That's how you found out? 

650
00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:29,360
Yeah. 
You you saw it in the news. 

651
00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:30,360
Yeah. 
What did that do to you? 

652
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:31,480
What was your what were your 
thoughts on? 

653
00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,400
I mean, it was. 
Like, obviously devastating news

654
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,320
to hear. 
And I think, did you have a 

655
00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:41,480
survivor's guilt? 
Thing happening or not really 

656
00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:42,960
and. 
Maybe that makes me callous. 

657
00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:45,200
I don't know. 
I mean, I'm just honestly super 

658
00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:50,120
thankful to have survived. 
I think that made me even more 

659
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:54,560
thankful because here's this 
young fit at the, I believe he 

660
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:58,280
was 35 at a time, like mountain 
bike racer, like, super fit guy,

661
00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:01,680
right? 
Very healthy, strong, who was 

662
00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:06,480
overcome by the cat. 
So I think it just really made 

663
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:10,800
it real for me, like, how 
fortunate I am to have survived 

664
00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:12,240
that. 
You had people with you. 

665
00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:13,880
Yeah. 
It's that was the. 

666
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:15,440
Difference, to be honest. 
Yeah. 

667
00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:18,920
That was the difference, Yeah. 
It was really, really tough news

668
00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:23,880
to hear. 
So we think that because of 

669
00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:27,880
that, that cat normally wouldn't
see humans as as prey, but 

670
00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:33,240
because it was successful in 
killing Mark, now we're on the 

671
00:36:33,240 --> 00:36:36,160
menu, so to speak. 
And that's kind of what the 

672
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,840
behavior and, you know, animal 
behaviors believe. 

673
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:42,520
Oh. 
My gosh, yeah, I'm super. 

674
00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:48,600
Sad I have gotten to know his 
family shortly like maybe within

675
00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:52,200
a couple months. 
I've met his mom and dad. 

676
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:55,000
And how did that happen? 
Did they come see you or they? 

677
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:56,360
Came. 
Out. 

678
00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:02,960
They came out, you know, for 
various reasons, but I just sent

679
00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:09,800
out an invite if they wanted to 
come over to my house. 

680
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:12,160
I was not really going out in 
public at that time because it 

681
00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:14,800
was pretty shortly after the 
accident. 

682
00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:19,400
And I just tried to think to 
myself, what, what could I say 

683
00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:22,560
as a survivor? 
Because that's rough, right? 

684
00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:29,800
You're, you're there to pick up 
your son who passed away by the 

685
00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:32,520
same lion. 
And you're meeting a survivor 

686
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:34,200
like I, I think that'd be pretty
rough. 

687
00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:38,960
So the only thing is I figure I 
could give them information that

688
00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:41,160
no one else could in that sure 
some. 

689
00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:42,800
Closure or something? 
Yeah, that it. 

690
00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:45,640
Happened super fast. 
I didn't see it coming. 

691
00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,600
I didn't have pain per SE in the
moment. 

692
00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:54,600
And that, like when I blacked 
out like that all happened very 

693
00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:57,320
quickly, you know, That was the 
only thing I could think. 

694
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,520
Wow, Yeah. 
Wow, so 'cause I think. 

695
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,720
You know, most people would 
think, I could imagine that, 

696
00:38:03,720 --> 00:38:05,760
that. 
Would have been very helpful. 

697
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:10,520
Yeah, I think you know. 
Too, Because who else has that 

698
00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:12,320
kind of information? 
You're looking at something like

699
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:15,480
this thinking that sounds 
absolutely brutal, you know, and

700
00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:19,400
like it sounds super painful, 
but that was not my experience. 

701
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:24,040
I felt overwhelmed by the power 
of the cat, but it happened 

702
00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:27,800
super fast and you know, like 
even getting to the point of me 

703
00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:29,680
blacking out happened very 
quickly. 

704
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:34,360
So I don't know, it's tough. 
So. 

705
00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:39,520
You look incredible, by the way,
like everything that you've 

706
00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:46,280
described doesn't look anything 
like I would have thought at 

707
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:47,520
all. 
I mean it. 

708
00:38:47,720 --> 00:38:53,120
Yeah, I I was thankful in a lot 
of ways that I didn't lose this 

709
00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:56,200
tissue. 
I've met survivors of many 

710
00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:59,680
different types of injuries. 
I met a woman. 

711
00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:06,040
I think we had both done ATV the
same TV show and she reached out

712
00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:07,560
and we ended up getting together
for lunch. 

713
00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:11,840
She was bitten by her own horse 
and it took her antique. 

714
00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:14,280
Off. 
So I know that there's things 

715
00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,200
about my injuries that did make 
it a little bit easier to 

716
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:19,280
manage. 
It was still quite a challenge. 

717
00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,920
And, you know, after the first 
surgery, I think I came to the 

718
00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:27,280
realization that I'm never going
to look how I used to look. 

719
00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:33,160
So I think that was kind of like
a second thing like level that I

720
00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:37,040
dealt with is just coming to the
realization that it is what it 

721
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:39,480
is, you know, but what was the 
recovery like? 

722
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:43,960
For you so I. 
Was airlifted to the hospital 

723
00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:52,400
and the plastic surgeon who was 
on call was the chief of 

724
00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:56,080
plastics for this hospital, 
which is the highest level 

725
00:39:56,080 --> 00:40:00,440
trauma hospital and like less 
than 10 miles from my house. 

726
00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:04,280
So I got the best of the best at
that hospital. 

727
00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:10,680
I got the ER doc. 
It was the son of the man who 

728
00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:14,320
started that hospital. 
Like I got the best, best. 

729
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:18,240
So. 
But interestingly enough they 

730
00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:21,360
have done interviews over the 
years and the trauma surgeon. 

731
00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:24,360
Said in an interview, which he'd
never said to me. 

732
00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:27,120
I was pretty surprised. 
He said in all of his years my 

733
00:40:27,120 --> 00:40:29,200
injuries were the worst he'd 
ever seen. 

734
00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:33,040
Like that's. 
I'm kind of surprised by that. 

735
00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:34,600
Maybe that's changed since. 
But. 

736
00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:40,800
So they brought me into the ER, 
started to try to assess my 

737
00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:45,480
injuries, trying to get all the 
surgeons, their ear, nose, 

738
00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:50,000
throat surgeon, plastics, the 
trauma surgeon. 

739
00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:54,840
I should probably reverse one 
thing. 

740
00:40:55,120 --> 00:40:59,960
As soon as I got up to the 
trail, I told Debbie call James 

741
00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:04,120
to tell him my husband to tell 
him what had happened because he

742
00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:07,560
has a martial arts studio that 
was like a 30 minute drive. 

743
00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:11,480
And so she called him from the 
trail and basically said Anne's 

744
00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:15,000
been attacked by a mountain 
lane, you know, go to the 

745
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,120
hospital. 
What was his reaction? 

746
00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:20,320
He was. 
Pretty overwhelmed. 

747
00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:23,320
I mean, he basically kicked all 
the students out and said I got 

748
00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:28,840
to go and it was like rush hour.
So he's driving to rush hour. 

749
00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:31,640
Oh no, yeah, so he starts. 
Calling people. 

750
00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:36,600
He called his grandma and she, 
he was so frantic. 

751
00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:40,280
She didn't know who he was. 
He, you know, he's like, yeah. 

752
00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:43,520
And then he called my parents 
and left a voicemail. 

753
00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:46,080
Yeah, So. 
Oh my gosh. 

754
00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:47,760
Your parents found out by a 
voicemail. 

755
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:50,200
I can't remember if he. 
Told them on a voicemail or just

756
00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:52,520
said to call him. 
I'm not sure to be honest. 

757
00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:58,600
But yeah, that was intense. 
He's he's very like tough 

758
00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:03,120
exterior guy, but softy. 
So it is a lot for him. 

759
00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:12,320
And so I'm laying in the in the 
ER and I see him walk up and he 

760
00:42:12,320 --> 00:42:18,440
started crying and we're holding
hands and I'm telling him I'll 

761
00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:21,640
be OK, I'll be OK. 
And then he disappeared. 

762
00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:25,000
He he passed out. 
Oh no. 

763
00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:27,440
So they they got another. 
Gurney. 

764
00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:29,320
So now he's. 
Laying next to you? 

765
00:42:29,720 --> 00:42:32,440
Yeah, laid down. 
On a Gurney next to me. 

766
00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:34,320
He's getting more better care. 
Than you now, right? 

767
00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:36,280
Yeah, yeah, that's kind of the 
joke, but. 

768
00:42:36,880 --> 00:42:41,320
I mean, he, you know, I, people 
have asked me because honestly, 

769
00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:44,400
I'm an, I'm not a very emotional
person. 

770
00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:47,600
I'm very like super even keeled 
almost what, you know, in 

771
00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:49,680
situations where I probably 
should be emotional. 

772
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:54,880
I'm not. 
So I've never had issues talking

773
00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:57,280
about this. 
I remember Debbie coming to see 

774
00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:01,680
me the next day and we're like 
making jokes and stuff like 

775
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:05,680
that's just Debbie's personality
and my personality very similar.

776
00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:09,000
So it's just kind of that was 
our way of dealing it with it. 

777
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:14,880
But the one time in my recovery 
that I remember crying was 

778
00:43:15,720 --> 00:43:20,440
realizing that my husband, we 
celebrated our 3rd anniversary 

779
00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:26,520
in the hospital, realizing that 
he's such a loyal person that he

780
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:31,040
would not leave me, you know, in
all of this. 

781
00:43:31,560 --> 00:43:37,640
And that feeling like maybe he 
got kind of the the raw deal 

782
00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:41,480
because I knew he is so 
committed that he would stay 

783
00:43:41,480 --> 00:43:44,320
with me. 
But I kind of felt guilty that 

784
00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:47,960
he would have to go through all 
of this with me, you know? 

785
00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:51,960
So I remember being upset about 
that, just kind of feeling like 

786
00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:59,080
it probably wasn't fair to him. 
But he's still 25 years. 

787
00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:02,440
He's still here. 
Yeah, so. 

788
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:07,760
I mean, I think one of the 
things I have learned is that 

789
00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:11,360
tight circle is what matters, 
right? 

790
00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:16,880
That no one like the wider 
circle of friends. 

791
00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:21,640
I mean, you do kind of see who 
your true friends are, but also 

792
00:44:21,640 --> 00:44:25,160
that that tight circle is going 
to treat you the same as they 

793
00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:27,760
always did. 
There's really no change and how

794
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:33,040
important that is, you know, to 
have that kind of support 

795
00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:34,480
system. 
Yeah, yeah. 

796
00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:39,560
So how take me were were you 
able to leave the hospital and 

797
00:44:39,560 --> 00:44:42,280
feel like you could kind of go 
back to normal life? 

798
00:44:42,760 --> 00:44:45,080
Has it been normal? 
No, I don't think it. 

799
00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:50,720
Ever will be normal for me just 
because I'm very aware of 

800
00:44:51,240 --> 00:44:56,520
reactions of people like some 
people like in my in my work, 

801
00:44:56,520 --> 00:45:01,920
sometimes I'll meet a new client
and they'll call me and then 

802
00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:07,120
that first in person meeting I 
kind of I'm like, you know how 

803
00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:09,160
not not sure how it's going to 
play out. 

804
00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:12,960
Some people are totally fine. 
Some people never mention it. 

805
00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:15,960
I don't care if someone mentions
or asks you questions, wouldn't 

806
00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:18,040
bother me. 
Some people, you see kind of 

807
00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:20,320
that deer in the headlights 
reaction, they don't even know 

808
00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:22,760
they're doing it. 
So, you know, it's kind of 

809
00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:26,120
always there in the back of my 
mind, I got to tell you. 

810
00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:28,120
You do not look as bad as you 
think you do. 

811
00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:30,880
I mean, I I'm surprised that you
feel that way, to be totally 

812
00:45:30,920 --> 00:45:31,520
honest with you. 
Yeah. 

813
00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:33,480
Oh, yeah, absolutely. 
I mean, I'm super. 

814
00:45:34,040 --> 00:45:39,040
Thankful, I think, whoever. 
Did this, did a fantastic job. 

815
00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:40,360
My doctor. 
Doctor. 

816
00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:43,880
Nolan, who is the like I said, 
he was head of plastics at the 

817
00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:45,480
time. 
He's amazing. 

818
00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:49,880
He did the first reconstructive 
surgery, which was 6 1/2 hours, 

819
00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:55,320
200 stitches and tables, many 
layers of, you know, piercing it

820
00:45:55,320 --> 00:45:57,360
back together. 
They spent hours and hours 

821
00:45:57,360 --> 00:46:02,560
looking for the nerve endings to
try to find them, to put them 

822
00:46:02,560 --> 00:46:07,320
back together because I have 
loss of function on my lower 

823
00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:10,680
lid, this muscle and then a 
little bit of my upper lip. 

824
00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:16,360
But like I have feeling. 
So they worked really hard to do

825
00:46:16,360 --> 00:46:19,440
their very best work. 
I'm super appreciative. 

826
00:46:19,960 --> 00:46:23,480
The otolaryngologist, ear, nose 
throat surgeon, when he was 

827
00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:26,560
looking at the wounds of my 
neck, what he told me is that 

828
00:46:26,640 --> 00:46:30,280
they usually would use their 
finger to check the depth and 

829
00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:33,440
they went in up to the highest 
knuckle all these wounds. 

830
00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:36,920
So I mean, it was extensive, 
even though they look small on 

831
00:46:36,920 --> 00:46:40,080
the outside, but they're super 
deep penetrating wounds. 

832
00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:42,560
And so I have. 
I don't see any. 

833
00:46:43,280 --> 00:46:45,480
Wounds on your neck at all. 
I know those those. 

834
00:46:46,040 --> 00:46:49,440
Really nicely because they they 
put drains in them and like I 

835
00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:52,000
said, they're very small. 
It's a Fang size. 

836
00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:57,040
The depth of it was super deep, 
but the where it went in was not

837
00:46:57,200 --> 00:47:01,200
large or did wasn't like I had 
on the back of my head and neck 

838
00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:04,880
where the fangs tore and you 
know that type of thing. 

839
00:47:04,880 --> 00:47:07,760
But yeah, those healed up well, 
really well. 

840
00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:11,920
But they had done the six and a 
half hour surgery and then after

841
00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:16,000
that for the reconstruction that
I was going to have done, I had 

842
00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:21,400
what was the show, some plastic 
surgery show that was popular at

843
00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:24,320
that time. 
They invited me to come to, you 

844
00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:26,560
know, Beverly Hills, do a 
consult. 

845
00:47:27,160 --> 00:47:29,000
They would have done it for 
free. 

846
00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:34,560
And I just wasn't, wasn't the 
vibe for me. 

847
00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:40,040
But and then another top notch 
surgery or surgeon from UCLAI 

848
00:47:40,040 --> 00:47:43,360
went there. 
He had a whole bunch of other, 

849
00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:47,080
you know, like student like 
residents or fellowship or 

850
00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:49,720
whatever, the student doctors in
the room. 

851
00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:54,280
And he's talking, he's looking 
at me and saying, Oh yeah, I see

852
00:47:54,280 --> 00:47:57,640
da da, da, da, da and that. 
And he's looking at me and 

853
00:47:57,640 --> 00:47:59,480
talking. 
He's not talking to me. 

854
00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:01,840
And I'm like, I just don't feel 
good about this either, you 

855
00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:03,600
know, like I feel like I don't 
know. 

856
00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:08,280
So I ended up calling Doctor 
Nolan's nurse and I just said, 

857
00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:12,240
you know, I am not sure what to 
do. 

858
00:48:12,240 --> 00:48:15,760
I have offers from these two 
really good surgeons that they 

859
00:48:15,760 --> 00:48:18,760
said they were going to do the 
the work pro bono. 

860
00:48:18,760 --> 00:48:21,440
You know, I know that it's going
to be super expensive and I'm 

861
00:48:21,440 --> 00:48:23,240
not sure what to do. 
What do you think I should do? 

862
00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:27,600
And she said or I think that was
before I did the consult, they 

863
00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:30,320
had offered to do a consult and 
they were going to do the work 

864
00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:32,440
pro bono. 
So I said she's like, go do it. 

865
00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:37,000
Go, go do the consults, you 
know, And then she ended up 

866
00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:40,840
calling me like a day or two 
later and saying Doctor Nolan is

867
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:44,560
offering to do the 
reconstruction for free. 

868
00:48:45,440 --> 00:48:49,840
And I was like, what, You know, 
So I ended up, yes, I want to 

869
00:48:49,840 --> 00:48:52,680
stick with him. 
The funny part is, so this 

870
00:48:52,680 --> 00:48:55,040
happened January. 
In December, they have this big 

871
00:48:55,040 --> 00:48:59,360
black tie gala for the hospital.
And they invite one person who 

872
00:48:59,360 --> 00:49:03,520
was a patient at the hospital to
come and be like, you know, the 

873
00:49:03,520 --> 00:49:05,960
person at the gala who gets up 
and tell us a little bit about 

874
00:49:05,960 --> 00:49:08,960
their story, comes up with their
doctors and things like that. 

875
00:49:09,080 --> 00:49:14,160
I show up to the gala and I see 
Doctor Nolan with the nurse. 

876
00:49:14,600 --> 00:49:17,280
And I'm like, what is happening 
here? 

877
00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:19,840
They're married. 
Yep. 

878
00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:22,680
They've been married forever. 
I have no clue, so here I am. 

879
00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:24,920
That's awesome. 
Divulging my secrets. 

880
00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:26,200
To her about I don't know what 
to do. 

881
00:49:26,200 --> 00:49:29,720
I feel so bad because I really 
like Doctor Nolan and I'm like, 

882
00:49:30,120 --> 00:49:32,600
what? 
So of course she went and told 

883
00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:35,080
him. 
And so I mean, he's amazing. 

884
00:49:35,080 --> 00:49:38,400
I love them. 
That's cool, dearly love all the

885
00:49:38,400 --> 00:49:40,640
surgeons I worked with. 
So yeah, super for. 

886
00:49:40,840 --> 00:49:41,920
Do you still have side effects 
at? 

887
00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:45,320
All so as you can. 
Probably see my this eye runs 

888
00:49:45,360 --> 00:49:48,200
it's dry because that lower lid 
doesn't close enough. 

889
00:49:48,200 --> 00:49:51,920
So it'll just it's like dry eye.
Sure. 

890
00:49:52,080 --> 00:49:54,160
Yeah. 
So that which then when I got 

891
00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:57,480
back to mountain biking was a 
problem because it's like I 

892
00:49:57,480 --> 00:50:01,160
can't see, you know, And it's, 
it's like blurry vision. 

893
00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:05,560
But in everyday life, it's more 
of an annoyance than anything. 

894
00:50:05,560 --> 00:50:08,160
It's not, you know, it's 
something definitely I can live 

895
00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:09,440
with. 
Are you still mountain biking? 

896
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:11,640
So I went back. 
To it. 

897
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:17,720
Shortly thereafter, I was in the
hospital 8 days a week. 

898
00:50:17,720 --> 00:50:20,680
After I got out, Department of 
Fish and Game asked if I would 

899
00:50:20,680 --> 00:50:23,200
be willing to go back to the 
trail with them to show them 

900
00:50:23,200 --> 00:50:25,480
where these things happened. 
Where was Mark's bike? 

901
00:50:25,880 --> 00:50:28,360
Where was the attack? 
Where all this right? 

902
00:50:28,480 --> 00:50:32,200
So I said, OK, so Debbie and I 
showed up. 

903
00:50:32,200 --> 00:50:34,680
They had Department of Fish and 
Game. 

904
00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:37,320
I don't remember. 
Yeah, I think it was just NOC 

905
00:50:37,320 --> 00:50:39,320
Sheriff. 
I believe they had people with 

906
00:50:39,480 --> 00:50:43,240
firearms with, you know. 
And. 

907
00:50:43,240 --> 00:50:50,120
I just told Debbie I just need 
to walk out in front. 

908
00:50:50,120 --> 00:50:54,400
Like I just couldn't. 
I felt like my goal is to get 

909
00:50:54,400 --> 00:50:58,120
back to biking. 
My this is a passion of mine. 

910
00:50:58,120 --> 00:51:00,840
I love it. 
I'm not going to allow this to 

911
00:51:00,840 --> 00:51:05,480
dictate my life. 
It's not I'm not going to allow 

912
00:51:05,480 --> 00:51:07,800
the fear to take this away from 
me. 

913
00:51:08,320 --> 00:51:13,920
So in my mind, I just thought if
I walk out in front of the 

914
00:51:13,920 --> 00:51:18,080
group, I'm not like, in with the
people with the guns, you know, 

915
00:51:18,680 --> 00:51:22,160
I feel like that would be kind 
of my first step at getting back

916
00:51:22,160 --> 00:51:23,720
out there. 
Like, I can do this. 

917
00:51:23,880 --> 00:51:27,120
So she and I walked out in front
and we're. 

918
00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:28,800
Oh, yeah, I remember this. 
Oh, yeah. 

919
00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:31,880
This looks like the berm because
we're going to piece it together

920
00:51:32,160 --> 00:51:35,800
as we're going along because of 
how chaotic that day was and 

921
00:51:36,120 --> 00:51:37,360
figuring out where everything 
is. 

922
00:51:37,360 --> 00:51:38,840
Oh, yeah. 
That's where I was dragged down.

923
00:51:39,440 --> 00:51:43,080
And so that was kind of my first
step. 

924
00:51:43,120 --> 00:51:46,200
And then I think I was cleared 
to ride in May. 

925
00:51:46,200 --> 00:51:50,320
So this happened in January. 
I had several reconstruction, 

926
00:51:50,600 --> 00:51:55,080
you know, surgeries. 
And Dr. Nolan said that I could.

927
00:51:55,080 --> 00:51:57,240
I got back on my road bike 
first. 

928
00:51:57,520 --> 00:52:02,000
My first day on the road, I'd 
went into this like, private 

929
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:04,120
gated neighborhood because it 
has these wide open streets. 

930
00:52:04,120 --> 00:52:06,240
I'm like, oh, that'd be a good 
place to ride. 

931
00:52:06,320 --> 00:52:10,320
And got hit with a water balloon
from some teenagers. 

932
00:52:10,320 --> 00:52:11,360
Really. 
Oh no. 

933
00:52:11,520 --> 00:52:15,360
Yeah, and then my. 
Next ride I'm riding in in the 

934
00:52:15,360 --> 00:52:17,200
bike lane, you know, near my 
house. 

935
00:52:17,200 --> 00:52:21,200
Got hit with a big plastic cup 
filled with ice. 

936
00:52:22,880 --> 00:52:24,480
Why I'm like this White 
Mountain? 

937
00:52:24,480 --> 00:52:26,800
Bike because I don't have to 
deal with people just dumb. 

938
00:52:27,320 --> 00:52:28,080
Wow. 
Yeah, yeah. 

939
00:52:28,080 --> 00:52:31,640
So, yeah. 
Well, and and I've always said 

940
00:52:31,640 --> 00:52:36,040
in my opinion, if you get hurt 
Rd. riding, it's usually someone

941
00:52:36,040 --> 00:52:37,760
else's fault. 
If you get hurt mountain biking,

942
00:52:37,760 --> 00:52:40,360
it's usually your own fault. 
So it's like, I feel like in a 

943
00:52:40,360 --> 00:52:44,320
lot of ways you're in control. 
Like if it's technical and you 

944
00:52:44,320 --> 00:52:47,120
slow down, OK, you you know, but
if you do something stupid, 

945
00:52:47,600 --> 00:52:50,440
that's on you, you know, so I 
kind of have always had that 

946
00:52:50,440 --> 00:52:52,520
mindset. 
So I was ready to get back to 

947
00:52:52,520 --> 00:52:55,840
mountain biking. 
And my first ride back or second

948
00:52:55,840 --> 00:52:58,240
ride, I did one ride at a 
different location and then I 

949
00:52:58,240 --> 00:53:02,920
did a ride on to ride that trail
just to check it off, you know, 

950
00:53:02,920 --> 00:53:06,040
like I felt like I kind of have 
this like internal checklist of 

951
00:53:06,040 --> 00:53:10,040
these are the things I need to 
do in order to get back. 

952
00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:14,000
So, and James was there and a 
bunch of the trail angels came. 

953
00:53:14,520 --> 00:53:17,360
So it's good. 
So I did get back to mountain 

954
00:53:17,360 --> 00:53:20,520
biking. 
And then I had my daughter in 

955
00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:25,720
2013 and we bought her all the 
bikes, all the bikes, all the 

956
00:53:25,720 --> 00:53:27,640
best bikes. 
She had four bikes by the time 

957
00:53:27,640 --> 00:53:33,080
she was like 6 didn't really 
like biking, so we did tons of 

958
00:53:33,080 --> 00:53:38,560
hiking together and yeah, so 
I've. 

959
00:53:38,680 --> 00:53:41,000
Yeah, I've gotten back out on 
the trails at this point, like 

960
00:53:41,000 --> 00:53:45,120
since 2013 ish. 
I haven't ridden and not for any

961
00:53:45,120 --> 00:53:48,640
real reason, but I think if my 
daughter took it up, I'd be into

962
00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:50,160
it. 
OK, so there's no. 

963
00:53:50,160 --> 00:53:52,720
Like, you know, fear somewhere 
in the back here. 

964
00:53:52,720 --> 00:53:54,840
Oh, there is OK. 
And actually that was. 

965
00:53:55,320 --> 00:53:58,240
Something I realized I needed to
see more often cause a lot of my

966
00:53:58,240 --> 00:54:02,280
even my riding friends had no 
clue that I had any issue with 

967
00:54:02,280 --> 00:54:06,000
riding because I would just go 
ride the same trails and no one 

968
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:09,440
saw any, you know, any reaction 
from me. 

969
00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:14,440
But certain trails, single track
trails, if they have like high 

970
00:54:14,440 --> 00:54:20,040
bushes, I have like some level 
of anxiety, it doesn't keep me 

971
00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:22,120
from riding them. 
Would I ever ride them solo? 

972
00:54:22,160 --> 00:54:27,520
No, probably not PTSD, No, no, I
no. 

973
00:54:27,560 --> 00:54:30,680
In fact, when I was in the 
beginning of doing a lot of 

974
00:54:30,680 --> 00:54:34,080
interviews, I would sometimes 
try to close my eyes and like 

975
00:54:34,080 --> 00:54:36,920
put myself back there to try to 
remember details and things like

976
00:54:36,920 --> 00:54:40,200
that. 
I never have had any issue. 

977
00:54:40,200 --> 00:54:45,440
But part of it, I think, is that
this happened in a wilderness 

978
00:54:45,440 --> 00:54:47,480
area, didn't happen in a grocery
store parking lot. 

979
00:54:47,480 --> 00:54:50,560
I can choose whether I want to 
go into wilderness parks. 

980
00:54:50,560 --> 00:54:54,200
I don't have to write someone 
who's attacked in a parking 

981
00:54:54,200 --> 00:54:56,440
garage. 
That's part of your daily life. 

982
00:54:56,440 --> 00:54:58,280
You still have to do that, 
whether you like it or not. 

983
00:54:58,280 --> 00:55:02,680
So I think because it puts me in
the position of power in a 

984
00:55:02,680 --> 00:55:07,720
regard whether I love hiking and
biking and all that and trail 

985
00:55:07,720 --> 00:55:10,720
running, all of it. 
So it's not something that I 

986
00:55:10,720 --> 00:55:14,480
would give up, but I it's by 
choice that and there. 

987
00:55:14,480 --> 00:55:17,480
So I think that to me, that 
probably makes a difference. 

988
00:55:17,720 --> 00:55:21,720
People who I've talked to like 
they did make me talk to a 

989
00:55:22,520 --> 00:55:25,400
psychiatrist before they would 
discharge me from the hospital. 

990
00:55:26,120 --> 00:55:31,560
And the report was flat affect. 
Like she doesn't have any, you 

991
00:55:31,560 --> 00:55:34,880
know, it's like her tone is very
monotone. 

992
00:55:34,880 --> 00:55:37,520
She has no emotional connection.
Like she's not crying or 

993
00:55:37,520 --> 00:55:40,600
anything. 
Very high risk of PTSD and I'm 

994
00:55:40,600 --> 00:55:42,320
like, that's just that's just 
who I am. 

995
00:55:42,520 --> 00:55:46,360
It's just so there's no. 
Moments where, you know, you see

996
00:55:46,360 --> 00:55:49,280
that flash of something off the 
side and it triggers memories or

997
00:55:49,280 --> 00:55:51,640
anything like that at all. 
Well, it's really unique. 

998
00:55:52,160 --> 00:55:53,000
Yeah. 
I don't know why. 

999
00:55:53,000 --> 00:56:00,640
I think that I think oftentimes 
in in interviews, people are 

1000
00:56:00,640 --> 00:56:05,440
asked whether if they could go 
back, would they would they go 

1001
00:56:05,440 --> 00:56:08,960
through it or not? 
And I think most people who have

1002
00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:11,520
been through something like this
would say, I would still go 

1003
00:56:11,520 --> 00:56:13,600
through it because of what I've 
gotten out of it, because of 

1004
00:56:13,600 --> 00:56:16,280
what I've learned or learned 
about myself. 

1005
00:56:16,880 --> 00:56:20,480
And I would not partly I was 
thinking about that. 

1006
00:56:20,480 --> 00:56:24,480
Why is that? 
And part of it, I think is that 

1007
00:56:24,480 --> 00:56:31,160
I think I went into it with 
certain skills, mindset that 

1008
00:56:31,160 --> 00:56:35,240
didn't come from this. 
I think had I gone into this 

1009
00:56:35,240 --> 00:56:38,560
attack without those, maybe I 
would have gained these things. 

1010
00:56:38,920 --> 00:56:42,560
But I feel like I went into it 
with these things, which I think

1011
00:56:42,920 --> 00:56:48,000
is a lot of why I recovered the 
way I did, you know, emotionally

1012
00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:52,320
and physically. 
But having I was in the Marine 

1013
00:56:52,320 --> 00:56:55,120
Corps, went to boot camp. 
I've been through difficult 

1014
00:56:55,120 --> 00:56:57,880
things mentally. 
I've been through things that 

1015
00:56:58,800 --> 00:57:02,440
made me realize, wow, I can do a
lot more than what I've ever 

1016
00:57:02,440 --> 00:57:06,440
thought I could do. 
I'm stronger than I used to 

1017
00:57:06,440 --> 00:57:09,440
think I was or whatever. 
Would I have thought I could go 

1018
00:57:09,440 --> 00:57:13,000
through this? 
No, but But I think that I went 

1019
00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:19,320
into it with a lot of strengths 
to where I'm super thankful that

1020
00:57:19,400 --> 00:57:23,040
nothing really nothing about my 
life has changed other than my 

1021
00:57:23,040 --> 00:57:27,360
facial injuries. 
I got back to mountain biking. 

1022
00:57:27,360 --> 00:57:30,120
Physically, I'm fine. 
I can, I can do all those same 

1023
00:57:30,120 --> 00:57:34,480
things. 
I think if I had lost those or 

1024
00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:39,080
had had more severe injuries 
that didn't allow me to go back 

1025
00:57:39,080 --> 00:57:42,640
to mountain biking, didn't allow
me to do all these things, I 

1026
00:57:42,640 --> 00:57:46,120
would be a lot more affected, 
you know, but I just feel like, 

1027
00:57:46,400 --> 00:57:49,960
I mean, I kind of look at it 
like it's another day. 

1028
00:57:50,080 --> 00:57:54,880
It is a day that does define a 
lot of my life. 

1029
00:57:54,880 --> 00:57:58,080
You know, people know me as that
person who is attacked or 

1030
00:57:58,080 --> 00:58:01,560
whatever, but it doesn't. 
It's like 1 to me. 

1031
00:58:01,560 --> 00:58:04,160
It's one small part of me, sure.
It's not all of me. 

1032
00:58:04,760 --> 00:58:06,280
No, that was a really good 
explanation. 

1033
00:58:06,280 --> 00:58:07,760
I don't know. 
I think you knew I was going to 

1034
00:58:07,760 --> 00:58:09,840
probably ask you that question. 
I I usually. 

1035
00:58:10,120 --> 00:58:11,280
Say I ask everybody that. 
Oh. 

1036
00:58:11,280 --> 00:58:14,000
OK, Yeah, I. 
I always say that because I 

1037
00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:19,360
think everyone says and maybe 
I'd be curious what, what other 

1038
00:58:19,360 --> 00:58:21,280
people say. 
I feel like most people say, oh,

1039
00:58:21,320 --> 00:58:24,000
I Oh yeah, for sure. 
Yeah, you're, I think I've 

1040
00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:27,680
interviewed probably. 
I don't know, you're maybe 16. 

1041
00:58:27,680 --> 00:58:32,120
Or 17 and only one other person 
besides you? 

1042
00:58:32,120 --> 00:58:33,400
Really. 
And what was their reason? 

1043
00:58:34,360 --> 00:58:36,680
I I don't know. 
Exactly what their reason was it

1044
00:58:36,680 --> 00:58:40,400
wasn't as eloquent as what you 
just it, it was really fresh 

1045
00:58:40,400 --> 00:58:42,800
still. 
He was still processing like it 

1046
00:58:42,800 --> 00:58:46,640
was very it was probably within 
a year he was attacked by 

1047
00:58:46,640 --> 00:58:50,360
grizzly bear. 
And so he, yeah, it was just, 

1048
00:58:50,400 --> 00:58:52,080
you know, but I, yeah, that's, 
that's tough. 

1049
00:58:52,080 --> 00:58:53,320
I feel like what I'm hearing you
say is. 

1050
00:58:53,320 --> 00:58:56,560
That man, that sucked that that 
happened. 

1051
00:58:56,560 --> 00:58:57,800
I wish that wouldn't have 
happened man. 

1052
00:58:57,800 --> 00:58:59,880
It would have been a lot better 
off not having that happen. 

1053
00:58:59,880 --> 00:59:02,440
I totally understand that and 
can respect that for sure. 

1054
00:59:03,080 --> 00:59:08,360
I do think though, that your 
your opportunity to, I guess, 

1055
00:59:08,760 --> 00:59:12,520
see the strength that comes out 
of something like that is there.

1056
00:59:12,600 --> 00:59:15,880
And then also to be able to 
realize that there are so many 

1057
00:59:15,880 --> 00:59:19,240
people that hear this story that
are even going to be listening 

1058
00:59:19,240 --> 00:59:21,080
to this. 
There's going to be thousands of

1059
00:59:21,080 --> 00:59:24,040
people that listen to this and 
are just going to be like, wow, 

1060
00:59:24,680 --> 00:59:27,960
she is a amazing person. 
Well, I will say. 

1061
00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:32,160
I love survival stories. 
Like if I watch a movie, I want 

1062
00:59:32,160 --> 00:59:35,400
to watch a movie about like 
someone up against challenges 

1063
00:59:35,400 --> 00:59:38,160
who comes out ahead. 
Like, I love that. 

1064
00:59:38,880 --> 00:59:41,440
I do not like being in the 
public eye. 

1065
00:59:41,440 --> 00:59:45,880
I do not like doing an 
interview. 

1066
00:59:45,880 --> 00:59:50,080
Sorry, I don't mind talking 
about the story itself, but I've

1067
00:59:50,080 --> 00:59:52,160
done public speaking to 5000 
people. 

1068
00:59:52,160 --> 00:59:54,800
I do not like doing that. 
Yeah, it's not my thing. 

1069
00:59:54,800 --> 00:59:55,800
I totally. 
Respect. 

1070
00:59:55,800 --> 00:59:58,480
You totally get it. 
Yeah, because I love. 

1071
00:59:58,480 --> 01:00:01,120
Hearing stories like that, I get
the draw. 

1072
01:00:01,320 --> 01:00:06,000
So I I will talk about it 
because I think I like hearing 

1073
01:00:06,000 --> 01:00:08,800
stories like that, you know, So 
I think that's, that's the only 

1074
01:00:08,800 --> 01:00:12,440
reason I would do it. 
But I also never want people to 

1075
01:00:12,440 --> 01:00:16,640
compare themselves like why? 
Why do I still have nightmares? 

1076
01:00:16,640 --> 01:00:20,240
Why am I still struggling? 
Because everyone's journey is 

1077
01:00:20,480 --> 01:00:22,240
totally, totally. 
I don't think. 

1078
01:00:22,600 --> 01:00:25,960
Yeah, I just wouldn't want 
anyone to compare and ask 

1079
01:00:25,960 --> 01:00:28,960
themselves why am I still having
trouble, you know? 

1080
01:00:28,960 --> 01:00:33,560
But I think it has been really 
interesting over the years when 

1081
01:00:33,560 --> 01:00:36,280
I've gotten emails from people 
and people telling their stories

1082
01:00:36,280 --> 01:00:39,120
that I've gotten together for 
lunch with people. 

1083
01:00:39,120 --> 01:00:42,680
And that part, that human 
connection part I love. 

1084
01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:50,200
So like I, you know, I can 
appreciate the power of stories 

1085
01:00:50,200 --> 01:00:54,800
where, you know, people survive 
and hopefully thrive on the 

1086
01:00:54,800 --> 01:00:56,080
other end of it. 
Yeah. 

1087
01:00:56,800 --> 01:00:58,720
Well, I think you're awesome. 
I think you're a very incredible

1088
01:00:58,720 --> 01:01:05,200
person and I think that you look
fantastic, way better than what 

1089
01:01:05,200 --> 01:01:09,400
you think you probably see. 
No, it's absolutely true. 

1090
01:01:09,400 --> 01:01:11,680
People say oh your. 
Daughter looks just like you. 

1091
01:01:11,680 --> 01:01:13,960
I'm like thank you because I 
think she's adorable. 

1092
01:01:14,400 --> 01:01:16,400
She is adorable. 
She's here about. 

1093
01:01:16,480 --> 01:01:18,160
She's not in the same room, but 
she's here. 

1094
01:01:18,160 --> 01:01:21,800
She's a sweetheart for sure. 
OK, So what happened to the 

1095
01:01:21,800 --> 01:01:22,680
bobcat? 
Or. 

1096
01:01:22,680 --> 01:01:24,760
Yeah, what happened to the cat? 
Yeah. 

1097
01:01:24,760 --> 01:01:26,200
Where's it at? 
OK, I need to. 

1098
01:01:26,200 --> 01:01:28,720
Go back because I just realized 
I said that incorrectly as they 

1099
01:01:28,720 --> 01:01:32,960
were airlifting me out, they saw
what they thought was a body and

1100
01:01:32,960 --> 01:01:37,320
asked someone to go check on it.
So there were sheriff deputies 

1101
01:01:37,320 --> 01:01:40,880
on the ground at that time. 
They went off of the trails 

1102
01:01:41,360 --> 01:01:44,960
close to where the bike, the 
abandoned bike was and they 

1103
01:01:45,160 --> 01:01:50,120
found the body of Mark Reynolds.
I will say one thing that they 

1104
01:01:50,120 --> 01:01:56,160
learned, I guess from the 
autopsy is that he had no 

1105
01:01:56,320 --> 01:02:01,760
defensive wounds. 
So he was surprised to the point

1106
01:02:01,760 --> 01:02:04,840
where he was not able to fight 
back. 

1107
01:02:04,840 --> 01:02:08,640
OK, Because I, I've had in some 
ways I'm glad this happened so 

1108
01:02:08,640 --> 01:02:12,360
long ago because the online 
comments I think I would have 

1109
01:02:12,840 --> 01:02:17,840
difficulty with had a lot of 
people say, oh, I would do this,

1110
01:02:17,840 --> 01:02:19,160
I would do that. 
I would carry a gun. 

1111
01:02:19,160 --> 01:02:20,520
I'd hit him. 
I'd do this. 

1112
01:02:20,960 --> 01:02:22,760
You have absolutely. 
You have no idea what you're 

1113
01:02:22,760 --> 01:02:26,480
talking. 
About for sure a cat this size. 

1114
01:02:26,480 --> 01:02:33,760
Is so this cat was £120 a £130. 
Same exact weight as me. 

1115
01:02:34,160 --> 01:02:38,440
A cat that size is capable of 
taking down an 800 LB bull elk. 

1116
01:02:38,920 --> 01:02:41,400
Super powerful, like I said. 
They can. 

1117
01:02:41,760 --> 01:02:45,560
Have a full size sheep or goat 
and jump a 6 to 8 foot wall. 

1118
01:02:45,960 --> 01:02:48,680
They can jump horizontally 40 
feet. 

1119
01:02:49,240 --> 01:02:52,560
OK, so when that cat is 5 feet 
from me, not even 5 feet, the 

1120
01:02:52,560 --> 01:02:55,600
cat was 3 feet from me. 
They can jump 40 feet 

1121
01:02:55,600 --> 01:02:57,080
horizontally. 
Oh my gosh. 

1122
01:02:57,280 --> 01:03:01,280
So for that cat to hit me from 
that close. 

1123
01:03:02,280 --> 01:03:05,960
The impact was. 
Just unreal, you know? 

1124
01:03:05,960 --> 01:03:10,720
So I think it's important to be 
aware of your surrounding. 

1125
01:03:10,720 --> 01:03:14,000
But but one of the things that 
makes me sad, I will say, and 

1126
01:03:14,000 --> 01:03:17,000
this is something I always say 
when I do public speaking, The 

1127
01:03:17,000 --> 01:03:19,680
thing that makes me most sad is 
when people come up to be after 

1128
01:03:19,680 --> 01:03:22,960
the fact and say, oh, I used to 
hike in waiting ranch. 

1129
01:03:22,960 --> 01:03:24,680
And ever since your story, I 
don't. 

1130
01:03:25,200 --> 01:03:27,120
Oh yeah, I. 
I hate that. 

1131
01:03:27,320 --> 01:03:31,360
Because AI had zero warning. 
So there's nothing I could have 

1132
01:03:31,360 --> 01:03:35,960
done differently to have 
prepared myself for that attack.

1133
01:03:35,960 --> 01:03:38,480
I had people with me, which I 
think is important. 

1134
01:03:39,960 --> 01:03:42,200
There's nothing I could have 
done differently, right? 

1135
01:03:42,960 --> 01:03:49,960
Even if I had had pepper spray, 
bear spray, a gun, there's 

1136
01:03:50,000 --> 01:03:52,480
likely no way I would have 
gotten to it. 

1137
01:03:52,560 --> 01:03:54,880
No, not at all. 
There's situations. 

1138
01:03:54,880 --> 01:03:58,600
Where maybe you would surprise a
cat on a trail face to face, 

1139
01:03:58,600 --> 01:04:02,120
that'd be highly unlikely. 
But in that case, maybe some of 

1140
01:04:02,120 --> 01:04:04,920
those things would work. 
But my point being, can't live 

1141
01:04:04,920 --> 01:04:07,440
your life in fear. 
I think you can go into it 

1142
01:04:07,440 --> 01:04:12,080
prepared as well as you can be, 
but you also can't live your 

1143
01:04:12,080 --> 01:04:13,440
life in fear. 
Let that dictate. 

1144
01:04:13,440 --> 01:04:14,440
Yeah, for sure. 
What you do. 

1145
01:04:14,840 --> 01:04:17,120
Yeah. 
So keep hiking. 

1146
01:04:17,280 --> 01:04:18,360
Did they ever? 
So did they ever? 

1147
01:04:18,360 --> 01:04:20,880
Find a cat. 
Oh yes, sorry I didn't even get 

1148
01:04:21,480 --> 01:04:22,640
to that. 
So as they airlifted me. 

1149
01:04:22,640 --> 01:04:27,760
Out and they saw what they 
thought was a body who turned 

1150
01:04:27,760 --> 01:04:32,600
out to be Mark Reynolds, the 
sheriff deputy they had infrared

1151
01:04:32,920 --> 01:04:37,680
with the helicopter using to you
know, because it did get dark 

1152
01:04:38,040 --> 01:04:40,680
shortly after like by the time I
was airlifted out it was getting

1153
01:04:40,680 --> 01:04:45,320
dark so they could see with the 
heat seeking capability they saw

1154
01:04:45,320 --> 01:04:48,560
what they believed to be a cat. 
They sent the deputy that 

1155
01:04:48,560 --> 01:04:52,680
direction and the cat actually 
stalked the deputy and he turned

1156
01:04:52,680 --> 01:04:54,760
around and shot. 
Yeah, so. 

1157
01:04:54,800 --> 01:04:57,960
The cat at. 
That point, you know, people, I 

1158
01:04:57,960 --> 01:05:01,440
got death threats from Mountain 
Lion Foundation, which is a 

1159
01:05:01,440 --> 01:05:04,640
nonprofit, for being responsible
for killing the cat. 

1160
01:05:05,240 --> 01:05:06,840
I'm the biggest animal lover out
there. 

1161
01:05:06,840 --> 01:05:10,440
I'm a vegetarian for 40 years. 
I That is the most pathetic. 

1162
01:05:10,440 --> 01:05:12,200
Thing I've ever heard. 
I love animals. 

1163
01:05:12,200 --> 01:05:17,920
Like you can't imagine and but 
in a situation like that, when a

1164
01:05:17,920 --> 01:05:21,400
cat is displaying abnormal 
behavior like that, that is a 

1165
01:05:21,400 --> 01:05:24,600
public safety risk, right? 
So people say, well, don't go 

1166
01:05:24,600 --> 01:05:26,680
into their territory. 
Well, guess what, if you live in

1167
01:05:26,680 --> 01:05:28,640
a house, you're in their 
territory. 

1168
01:05:28,640 --> 01:05:31,400
At some point your house was 
Mountain Lion territory. 

1169
01:05:31,680 --> 01:05:36,480
So people who like to draw the 
line like, oh, no more building,

1170
01:05:36,480 --> 01:05:38,760
You know, I yes, we should have 
wilderness spaces, we should 

1171
01:05:38,760 --> 01:05:41,360
have protected spaces. 
We should have wildlife 

1172
01:05:41,360 --> 01:05:43,840
corridors that allow them to 
move without having to 

1173
01:05:43,840 --> 01:05:46,640
crossroads and get hit, because 
that's most likely how they're 

1174
01:05:46,640 --> 01:05:49,080
going to get killed, right. 
Let's be smart. 

1175
01:05:49,080 --> 01:05:52,120
Let's keep little kids close. 
Let's keep, you know, like don't

1176
01:05:52,120 --> 01:05:56,440
leave food out. 
Let's be responsible living in 

1177
01:05:56,440 --> 01:06:01,240
and among wildlife so that 
hopefully it doesn't come to 

1178
01:06:01,240 --> 01:06:02,760
that where a cat needs to be 
killed. 

1179
01:06:02,760 --> 01:06:06,080
But that cat at that point is 
displaying behavior that is 

1180
01:06:06,080 --> 01:06:08,840
abnormal. 
They don't come after people. 

1181
01:06:08,840 --> 01:06:10,600
They don't want to be seen. 
They're elusive. 

1182
01:06:10,880 --> 01:06:13,560
They want to go the other way. 
So when they have switched and 

1183
01:06:13,560 --> 01:06:15,920
their behavior is doing 
something different, it's not 

1184
01:06:15,920 --> 01:06:18,400
something you can relocate or 
you can, you know. 

1185
01:06:18,400 --> 01:06:21,320
So I feel like people do need to
educate themselves a little bit 

1186
01:06:21,320 --> 01:06:27,360
more about wildlife behavior, 
how to be safe in wilderness 

1187
01:06:27,360 --> 01:06:34,000
areas, how to be a good, you 
know, steward of wilderness 

1188
01:06:34,000 --> 01:06:39,000
lands, how to be, how to live 
harmoniously with wildlife 

1189
01:06:39,160 --> 01:06:41,120
because we take responsibility 
too. 

1190
01:06:41,560 --> 01:06:46,320
So, you know, that would that 
would be part of my message as 

1191
01:06:46,320 --> 01:06:47,480
well. 
Awesome. 

1192
01:06:47,600 --> 01:06:50,440
Yeah. 
Well, I, I'm glad you're here. 

1193
01:06:50,600 --> 01:06:54,120
Thanks for sharing your story 
and thanks for closing out like 

1194
01:06:54,120 --> 01:06:55,720
that because that was super 
helpful too, because I think 

1195
01:06:55,720 --> 01:06:57,320
that'll show up some of the 
comments. 

1196
01:06:57,960 --> 01:07:00,080
Probably not. 
But honestly, I don't. 

1197
01:07:00,080 --> 01:07:02,960
Care because. 
The one thing I mean, there's a 

1198
01:07:03,000 --> 01:07:06,960
local wildlife photographer in 
Orange County who has trail 

1199
01:07:06,960 --> 01:07:10,720
cams, gets cat, gets cats on 
trail cams in different areas. 

1200
01:07:11,760 --> 01:07:16,160
There's a certain park that's 
kind of close to the ocean where

1201
01:07:16,160 --> 01:07:19,520
cats are not seen as often as 
the lake. 

1202
01:07:19,520 --> 01:07:23,760
Whiting Ranch is more by the 
foothills of National Forest and

1203
01:07:23,760 --> 01:07:27,880
you get cats there more often. 
Like the that professor at UC 

1204
01:07:27,960 --> 01:07:30,880
Davis said where there's deer, 
there's mountain lions, right? 

1205
01:07:30,880 --> 01:07:33,360
So if you see deer, there's 
mountain lions there, whether 

1206
01:07:33,360 --> 01:07:36,440
you see them or not. 
O this wildlife photographer had

1207
01:07:36,440 --> 01:07:38,760
posted something talking about, 
oh, this, this certain 

1208
01:07:38,840 --> 01:07:42,320
wilderness park never has cats, 
has never had cat activity. 

1209
01:07:42,720 --> 01:07:46,200
My husband has seen one there 
and the guy's like saying, oh, 

1210
01:07:46,200 --> 01:07:48,240
you don't. 
He didn't know what he's looking

1211
01:07:48,240 --> 01:07:50,000
at. 
I'm thinking, OK, the one thing 

1212
01:07:50,000 --> 01:07:52,080
I know something about is 
mountain lions, you know? 

1213
01:07:52,080 --> 01:07:53,320
Yeah, right. 
You're like. 

1214
01:07:53,320 --> 01:07:55,280
You have any idea what you're 
talking about or who you're 

1215
01:07:55,280 --> 01:07:57,160
talking to? 
Yeah, but it's like, yes. 

1216
01:07:57,160 --> 01:07:58,760
They're out there. 
They don't want to be seen. 

1217
01:07:59,280 --> 01:08:00,920
Let's be smart. 
Yeah. 

1218
01:08:01,120 --> 01:08:02,680
Well, thanks for. 
Being here, I really appreciate 

1219
01:08:02,680 --> 01:08:03,600
it. 
Thank you so much. 

1220
01:08:03,600 --> 01:08:04,080
No problem.