Interesting reading all the comments. I think that the hiker did the right thing. Lowering your profile height to pick up rocks has its own risks. If you have a lot of confidence in your aim, well ...
One of my neighbors "Dave Parker" managed to kill the attacking cougar with his folding knife while the cat was ripping his face off. He lost an eye. It was written up in Reader's Digest a few years back. Another incident involved a wounded cougar attacking a bicyclist in the evening, luckily a fellow working late happened by. He too would have been a goner. Can you imagine Dave having the presence of mind to reach up behind his head and cutting multiple cuts on the cougar's throat all while feeling his claws ripping your flesh. Luckily there was a Dryland log sorting operation nearby whose first aid attendant hadn't left yet. Around here most hikers carry a long walking stick with a nail driven into one end and the head removed and sharpened. And then there a those people like Brian Hawthorne who carefully, quietly snuck up on a cougar who was ready to pounce on a child at a logger's picnic. Brian kicked the cougar in his privates, which gave him a new agenda.
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