Are you totally at home in the woods?

[Rank Bull]

I gotta admitt. When I'm walking home at night in remote mountain lion/ rattlesnake country by myself, at times I'm a little on edge.

[ChuckC]

During the daylight,  yes.  

After dark. .  not as much.
ChuckC

[shaanar]

Glad I am not the only one...

[Red4arm]

Snake weather gets me on edge sometimes, but come cool weather, even when in bear country, I feel at peace. Sometimes when the sun hits a nice spot on a winter day I will lay down in the leaves and sleep. I did this once and woke up 6 hrs later in the dark!

[Jeff Roark]

Rank Bull,

I am the same as you. The time that gets me is in the evening when the dark is setting in. Never bothered me a drop as kid sleeping under a cliff all night with nothing but a fire and blanket. I was just an idiot then I suppose?

We have lots of bear around the house here now and it makes me just a little edgy.

[Night Wing]

In the dark coming back from an late afternoon hunt, I worry more about running into a small pack of coyotes than anything else.

[snag]

I think it is our natural instinct to be more on alert as our main sense, which in most cases is sight, is diminished or totally eliminated. If I am in camp and not in grizz country I am fine at night even by myself. But if I have to pack out in the dark it can make you tense at times. I remember packing at night to start a hunt. I was going in about 3 miles. I came around a corner on the trail and didn't know a deer was there. It stayed still until I just got too close for it's comfort...it exploded in a whirl of dust! Just about had to change my shorts when I finally got into where I made camp....    :eek:

[$bowhunter$]

durring the summer ill take off and go out camping by myself or with my friend in the woods and try to live off the land with our bows and arrows and stuff. the night kkinda buggs me but its not to bad after awhile. i coon hunt alot so that kinda helped me get used to the whole darkness concept

[Cyclic-Rivers]

No! I'm in the woods.

[BradLantz]

backpack 4-6 miles into a wilderness area by yourself, set up camp and as darkness falls tell me how it feels - especially if you're bowhunting and have no side arm with you !

I did the above when I was 22 years old I guess it was .... and the ONLY way I could sleep was to tell myself that if/when the bears/cougars came? I'd never hear them slipping up to eat me. Once I realized that, all the noises in the night didn't matter so much and I slept ... somewhat

[Jerry Jeffer]

I have a one hour hike (some times more) up onto the mountain I hunt. It is some 1,000's of acres with bears a plenty, and a mountain lion has been seen on occasion. I never use a light even when there is no moon. There has only been one time I remember that I had the creeps. I have walked into a few bears now and then, and even got tackled by one that was just trying to run away. I feel very normal walking around up there in the dark. I just don't think any thing is going to try to take me out.    

[Rank Bull]

Oh man when the coyotes get to yipping out of control, it can make the hair stand up. Makes me wonder what wolves would sound like.

[SELFBOW19953]

I am more concerned about someone seeing a dark blob and shooting me than anything else.  Whne I waterfowl hunted almost exclusively, I loved rowing a boat or paddeling a canoe-as opposed to using an outboard-because I could hear the sounds on the marsh.

[Cootling]

I blunder around in the dark a lot and it took me years to become completely comfortable with it.  Now my daughters ask me the same question a lot when we're walking around at night and I tell them nothing in the woods is scarier than Daddy. :^)

I think humans are hard-wired to be "afraid of the dark."  Our senses aren't made for night-time operations and we are pretty helpless.

When I was a kid I went to "An American Werewolf in London" the night before a foggy dark-thirty whitetail hunt.  Darn, was I alert that morning!

[trad_bowhunter1965]

Yes I feel more home in the woods in day light or dark, I Love the woods I have more trouble in the city than I do in the woods.

[ron w]

Not really on edge......usually I'm armed! I have had the hair on my neck stand up when the brush wolves get yipping in the Adirondacks.But I know guys who won't put them selves in that spot for love or money.....everyone is different!

[wildgame]

Originally posted by CA BOWHUNTER:
Yes I feel more home in the woods in day light or dark, I Love the woods I have more trouble in the city than I do in the woods.

same here!!!

[Ray Hammond]

I got used to the dark early on because I would roost turkeys in the woods or swamp. Then get out over hour and a half or more before first light so I could get within 75 80 yards of the roost tree- when you're that close you can't make much noise so it takes a while walking that far

That got me comfortable- yes there's stuff out there that COULD hurt me but I've walked OVER big timber rattlers and moccasins and bumped into big hogs a time or three, been stalked by a mountain lion and stood just a few feet from a 500 lb black bear while walking out at night so I guess I'm just used to stuff goin bump in the dark after all these years


Probably end up being eaten by a sounder in the dark but what's the option? Not going or worse being there and walking out at primetime?

As George W says - "wouldn't be prudent at this juncture"!!!!!

[HUNT 24/7]

Nope, doesn't bother me at all to be in the woods after dark. I'm in the woods alot after dark during bear season.

[MCNSC]

There is really nothing around these parts to worry about, but I was thinking this evening walking out how I love that odd,lonesome feeling walking out at night.