Trail near Garibaldi Lake closed after hikers have scary cougar encounter

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 11, 2025 8:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

B.C. Parks has unopen down a fashionable hiking way successful the Sea-to-Sky portion aft 2 hikers' video of a cougar brushwood went viral.

Margaux Cohen and her hiking spouse Max Stobbe were walking on the Rubble Creek way connected Sunday morning, adjacent the fashionable Garibaldi Lake astir 70 kilometres northbound of Vancouver, erstwhile Cohen realized she was lone 2 oregon 3 feet from a ample cat.

"I screamed a small spot and I told Max, 'Oh my God, there's a cougar close successful beforehand of me. Back away,'" she told CBC News.

"So we started to backmost away. I got beauteous scared, truthful I gave my carnivore spray to Max."

WATCH | Stobbe's video of cougar encounter: 

Stobbe past captured video of the cougar lasting quite close to the couple, and said the feline wouldn't backmost distant for a agelong time.

"We're stuck connected the way determination for astir 45 minutes due to the fact that helium wouldn't fto america pass," helium said.

"We conscionable waited until there's astir 15 much radical that came up down america and there's capable radical to yet spook them," helium added.

Now, B.C. Parks has unopen down the way until astatine slightest June 17 to guarantee nationalist safety, saying they responded to aggregate cougar sightings connected Sunday and Monday.

"Campers and hikers were safely escorted retired of the country by [conservation officers] owed to the assertive behaviour of these cougars," a spokesperson for the Environment Ministry said connected Tuesday. "COs stay successful the country contiguous to show and measure cougar activity."

The spokesperson said immoderate other aggressive cougar behaviour should beryllium reported to their hotline.

'I've ever heard fearfulness stories'

Jesse Zeman from the B.C. Wildlife Federation said that the cougar's behaviour successful Stobbe's video is highly unusual, and the ample cats usually effort and debar people.

"What everybody hopes is the animals conscionable determination on," helium said. "And that's the extremity of this.

"But I deliberation if that behaviour continues, past you know, there's something's going to person to beryllium done successful that area."

Zeman encourages hikers to question successful ample groups, transportation carnivore spray and marque large noises to promote cougars to determination on.

Cohen and Stobbe accidental they yelled astatine the cougar, but the carnal continued to support its oculus connected them during the encounter.

"It was, like, excessively adjacent for my liking. And I had ne'er seen a cougar before," Cohen said.

"We've seen a batch of bears unneurotic due to the fact that we hike a batch and like, I'm not truly frightened of bears — but I've ever heard fearfulness stories astir cougars' attack."

But the hikers accidental the brushwood won't deter them from hiking the backcountry again this weekend.

"It's the mountains, right? You ne'er know. There's ever going to beryllium wildlife," Cohen said. "I conjecture you conscionable person to, you know, beryllium careful."