Are you totally at home in the woods?

[Andy Cooper]

Originally posted by Autumnarcher:
If God decides my exit is at the hands of Mother Nature, well thats just the way it goes.
Aint none of us gettin outta here alive anyway!

Amen!

[Huntschool]

I have always felt at home in the woods.  Night or day.  That changed a bit after a small trip out of the US during the late 60's early 70's.  

Now I am once again almost back to where I once was.  However, with purported cougar sightings in Southern Illinois I must admit I cast a very discerning eye sometimes.  You know, when the hair on the back of your neck just stands up for no reason.....  The Warning Woof" of a coyote at close quaters does not bother me...  Its that dead no sound quiet that will get you.

[onewhohasfun]

That "walk" out at evening in the fall with bow in hand is the best I have ever felt in my life. I have said so many times. As far as feeling anxious about the dark. Embrace it. It makes you feel alive.

[Mr.Vic]

I am comfortable day or night in the woods. A big wooded or forest area with no other people around to worry about, an More so at night when it is quiet and peaceful and my senses are at their highest level. As far as animals harming me? There is more humans and human related happenings in the day that could kill you as fast.

[RAU]

I really like the dark woods now, but didnt always. I always pushed thru and got to where i wanted to be in the dark but didnt enjoy it the way i do now. We dont have the threats that some of you have but I still think your in much more danger "downtown"  than you are in the most desolate region of anywhere in the 50 states. I could be wrong tho, the most dangerous animal we have "on the books" is the black bear here in Pa. A bunch of people here think we have mountain lions but i dont believe it right now. I could be wrong tho, but I love the dark woods right now.

[David Yukon]

No problem, even at night, if I'm in camp... Me, my wife and daughter go every year for multiple long trips, 4 to 15 days in the bush and I don,t have any problems... That sayd, if I'm by my self, and have to travel at night I'm more alert indeed!!
Cheers

[straitera]

Just 6 short weeks ago, I hit the woods an hour before daylight just off a pipeline I'd been on many times before. Thought the pipeline went east/west. It didn't. I got lost & near panicked in huge thick heavy sticky underbrush. No water. Finally fell out of the woods at 11:15am w/bloody hands & face over 1 mile from where I started. Spend a lot of time in the woods; but, I can make a mistake as quick as anyone. Pretty humbling.

[Ragnarok Forge]

I love the dark. I spent to many years hunting dangerous hominids in the night to be afraid of other things that hunt at night. Knowing another predator is close at night is a rush.

When my sixth sense kicks in I slow down or stop and listen and feel with every sense I have.  Once an animal senses that you know it is there it will often move off or fall back a bit and follow.  More of us have been stalked by cougars and bears than will ever know.  They are very curious and move in to see what you are doing in their homes.  I wouldn't enjoy the woods nearly as much if I wasn't a bit nervous about what is out there with me.  Life without risk is no life at all.

[pronghorn23]

As far as the coyotes go. Not afraid of them but makes you think sometimes with how they act in suburbia. I think some if it has to do with the primordial feeling of hearing them howl so close by.

Ok-back on track and we now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

[Bowwild]

In my home area I have no concerns. We have a few snakes and coyotes but that's it and neither of these are out to get me.   I was in Nova Scotia last October when the young, female folk singer was killed by a couple of coyotes--extremely rare!

In fact, the only time I'll use a light is if I'm bowhunting during the firearms season to make sure a tresspassor (no other hunters allowed but my son and I) won't mistake me for his trophy.

When I'm in bear country it does feel hinky walking out in the dark, especially from a bear stand. I whistle to help the bear not to bump into me.

I remember as a teenager walking on a horse trail in the dark in Brown County, Indiana. I flushed a ruffed grouse 3-4 steps away. Fried heart of a deer tasts good, but my raw heart tasted pretty bad stuck in my throat!

My biggest concern in big, unfamiliar country is getting turned around (ok, lost). I spent 3 months after college in the mountains of Colorado counting trees near timberline. Never got lost one time, because I always followed my maps and compass. However, I've been "delayed" twice in Colorado while hunting because I got distracted (and off my maps) by an unruly elk or two. I found my way out in both cases in less than 30 minutes, but the feeling of "doom" (and slight humiliation) was as yucky as it gets for me. Ironically, in both cases I had left my compass, map, and even GPS in a pack I laid down because I was going to go off course for just a short distance.

[dirtguy]

I coon hunted as a kid.  I've slept out many nights in the wilderness in tents and under the stars.  I haven't felt uncomfortable at night in a long time. Last week, on the way home from work, I stopped to grab the SD card out of a game cam. It was dark and the terrain is tricky so I used my headlamp.  As I was opening the cam, I heard footsteps to my left.  I turned my head to see what it was and it ran away.  Scared the #$@!% outta me!

So now my answer is, it depends on the situation!

[highpoint forge]

When the dark comes, I feel like I am all that more hidden amongst the trees and brush, and with a bow in my hand I have nothing to worry about. Unarmed at night in the bush is for whatever reason, fun for me. As a computer dweller (for my company) I feel alive in this situation. Last year turkey hunting walking back from a late pig hunt I stepped on an armadillo and jumped about three feet in the air, along with the armadillo! I had a smile on my face but I was SURPRISED!

[GingivitisKahn]

Originally posted by Autumnarcher:
 If God decides my exit is at the hands of Mother Nature, well thats just the way it goes.
Aint none of us gettin outta here alive anyway!

Very well spoken - couldn't agree more!

 

Originally posted by Rank Bull:
 

Originally posted by GingivitisKahn:
I'm at home in the woods around here (Central Ohio).  Nothing too scary around here other than (perhaps) other people.

At the risk of a slight thread derailment - what's up with the coyote thing?  Why do they make you nervous? We've got some big ones around here, but I'm higher on the food chain than those friggers.  What gives?

I can't say I am really scared of them but when a bunch of them really get going vocalizing, it's  like out of control and frantic. Just kind of chilling...and at the same time really cool. [/b]

Fair enough - just trying to make sure I'm not missing something.   :D

[Rank Bull]

Great stories! Night time adventures can definitely make you feel alive at times.

Haha stepping on armadillo in the dark! What about those quail covies that explode all around you in the dead of the night? Those are fun.

[bretto]

Nothing around here big enough to eat Me. So I kind of enjoy a midnight stroll through the woods. I also do a lot of catfishing on the river at night.

The only thing that really worries Me are the Meth cookers and the Pot growers. They like to booby-trap their little areas.

[30coupe]

There is really nothing around here to be afraid of in the dark, so I'm comfortable in the woods at night. I can't say I haven't been startled. A turkey busting off the roost right above your head will get your attention, even though it is totally harmless. A deer blowing from ten yards will wake you up, though there is certainly no danger there. Coyotes at 20 yards are LOUD and will make you pay attention, though I certainly don't fear them. Owls always seem to wait until you are close before they open up. Though I haven't heard one around here for years, a bobcat makes an eerie sound, but good luck getting close enough to one of them to be in danger. Raccoons fighting makes an awful racket that certainly sounds dangerous, though it is far from it.

We don't have venomous snakes where I hunt, so I don't worry about that.

Altogether, I feel way safer in the woods, night or day, than in any city. Heck, I feel safer there than on the road getting to the woods!

[Covey]

I love the woods day or night, but I can't say I don't get that uneasy feeling every now and then. I think it's human nature to be a little more intune in the dark. When I take my 12 year old boy with me to the woods it is totally differant, I get that protective thing going I guess. We don't have anything to worry about around here besides coyote's and a occasional moutain lion sighting. I worry more about the nutjobs out there than I do anything else. Plus being mainly a ground hunter, critters don't have to climb the tree to get me!! HA! Jason

[landman]

I don't get squirreled up about being in the woods as long as I'm dressed for the occasion.   My problem is that I'm incredibly clumsy and I can easily trip over my own two feet.    Especially in the dark.

[RC]

I was raised by Woodsman and Swampers and I feel very good in the woods. I often hunt big woods and its no big deal. I do always carry a compass and a spare along with two good lights. Not out of fear but it just makes it easier to see where you are going and know what direction it is.As far as snakes they are out any time here if the weather is a bit warm it doesn`t matter what time of year it is.I killed a big Timber Rattler a week before Christmas last year.Gators bother me more than snakes if I`m crossing slews at night.I once was about halfway across a slew that was a bit over my knees and started hearing baby gators chirping....a bad bad feeling.If you hunt far enough in you`ll see gators that have`nt seen many people and don`t know to be scared. I`m not talking Big Water but small slews where they catch a lot of stuff that crosses.

  All in all I could live in a cabin in the swamp and be happy but if I`m camping in a primitive campground with other campers I don`t know I`m a bit skittish and usually have Brother Ruger around.RC

[tim roberts]

Have been reading through this and it is educational to see the things and places that give each one that has posted the creepys!
Generally being out  in the woods, swamps or other places after dark don't bother me.  
If I am in a place that is infested with snakes, well I'll be somewhere they won't be.
Now on the other hand, sleeping in a tent in bear country, doesn't really bother me at all, I am aware of things that are going on and sleep a bit lighter, but other than that its no worries.
Always figured there are worst ways to go.