A hiker captured the terrifying moment a mountain lion stalked him as he backed away on a Utah trail.

Jared Smith was hiking on the Broads Fork Trail at Big Cottonwood Canyon on Thursday when a mountain lion crept up behind him.

'I was running back down the trail and was probably about a mile from getting back to the parking lot when I heard something off to the side of the trail,' Smith told FOX 13 News '(I) looked and there was a cougar probably 15-20 feet away from me… Definitely startled me.' 

In the video, Smith backs away while trying to reason with the big cat, repeatedly telling it 'I am going away, I promise I am not going to bug you,' as the cat continues to follow him, occasionally hissing. 

mith never turns his back to cougar and loudly tell the cat he is leaving it's space, which wildlife experts say was the right move. 

'He basically followed all the recommendations that we give... Make yourself big, use a loud voice, maintain eye contact and back away slowly,' Faith Heaton Jolley with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources told FOX 13 News. 'That's exactly what we tell people to do because if they turn and run, sometimes it can trigger that prey, chase instinct that cougars have.'