A California hiker endured a terrifying five-minute standoff with a mountain lion after coming face-to-face with the predator on a popular San Diego hiking trail.

Gabe Yanez said he was several hours into a hike on the Suycott Valley Trail in Mission Trails Regional Park just before 7 p.m. two Thursdays ago when he spotted the big cat crouched in the brush about five feet off the trail.

“Freaked the heck out of me,” Yanez told ABC10. “I thought this was the end of me.” The experienced hiker said he immediately tried to make himself look as threatening as possible.

“I see it, and I put my arms up and roared!” Yanez said. The mountain lion stayed low as if it was ready to pounce while Yanez maintained eye contact, waving his arms and shouting.

“Waving, yelling, screaming at it. At one point, it showed its teeth, and I ended up showing my teeth,” he recalled to the outlet.

After several tense moments, the mountain lion backed away slightly. As Yanez cautiously moved aside, the animal mirrored his movements while hiding behind nearby bushes.

Yanez then pulled out his phone and photographed the animal before it finally ran off about five minutes after the encounter began.

Mission Trails Regional Park Ranger Christian Navarro said Yanez responded exactly as hikers are advised to during a mountain lion encounter.

“Gabe sounds like he did exactly what he should have done, stood his ground,” Navarro said.

Navarro said park officials have received several mountain lion sightings in the park since late June and believe they all involve the same juvenile animal.

He noted that mountain lions are native to Mission Trails Regional Park and typically roam large territories on their own.

“We are monitoring it. We think it’s the same mountain lion. They are usually solitary animals. Their range is large,” Navarro said.

Yanez said he hopes sharing his experience encourages other visitors to stay alert while hiking. “Be aware. It can happen to you,” he warned.

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