Camping in the wild

Willrett · Post by **Willrett** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:54 am

Wow makes you think twice about being in the woods without some kind of weapon.

mcapanelli · Post by **mcapanelli** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 4:29 am

If being in the woods involved Plague bears and flesh eating Ghouls I'd stay out altogether, weapon or no.

KerryTracker · Post by **KerryTracker** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 8:00 am

I agree that a weapon in the woods is an important thing. I would prefer to have a distance weapon to use on some of these large prey.
But if I would have just one thing when enjoying the great woods of the world, it would be an acute awareness and heightened senses. You can be highly armed but unless you know what is going on around you all of that metal and bent wood it worthless.
That is one major reason I have chosen to pursue the life of a Ranger. The thought of wearing loads of armour, a great helm, and a very large sword never really appealed to me. Fast and light is my preference.

That being said, I do spend time working on increasing my awareness and enhancing my senses. I find that spending time in the woods sitting in one place for twenty minutes helps me to attune to the frequency of nature. I try to do this daily but even 2-3 times each week at the same spot has really helped me out.

Post by **Eledhwen** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 1:41 pm

He's right; awareness is the key underlying being ready to defend yourself and not just in the woods.

Here, if I had a weapon and got attacked by a mountain lion AND managed to kill it rather than drive it off, two things would happen; I'd be charged with possession of a weapon and then for killing a predator species. I could probably beat the first, but not the last. So driving it off would be better.

Even better is being aware an trying hard not to end up in that position. Of course, *offcially*, there are no mountain lions here in Massachusetts. Despite all the sitings.

We have coyotes, coydogs, and feral dog packs though. And black bear. The dog types no one cares much about.

But awareness, that's the key. It's also the key to good tracking in dry or hard ground.

Siani

Eric C · Post by **Eric C** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 1:57 pm

There are increasing numbers of black bears here in NC. A couple of years back a lady accidentally hit a cub with her car and killed it outside of town. There was a guy on the local news that said there are two types of counties here in NC: those that have black bears and those that will have black bears soon. So, besides copperhead and cotton mouth snakes and bobcats, we now have to be aware of black bears. I wouldn't mind seeing one from a real safe distance in a real safe place. I know, I'm a coward.

Post by **Cinead** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:51 pm

I always go armed. Period.

One thing about being in the woods....

Keep a low profile. Treat anyone not in your party as a hostile and evade and avoid.

In the Wilds, it is hard to tell friend from foe at times.

No night time camp fires. Cook and heat water at dusk at one location, go somewhere else to sleep.

Learn to use natural materials as an insulator to stay warm.

Mirimaran · Post by **Mirimaran** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:02 am

My wife and I were talking to a deputy yesterday and the subject of coyotes came up and he said a local farmer got pinned in by 5 of them after they had a killing spree with his cattle. There have also been reports of coyotes stalking young children, so if I had to camp in the woods I would be carrying something!

Post by **Eledhwen** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:56 am

I wish this state were so sensible. North Carolina always had pretty sensible notions in that regard, at least while I was stationed at LeJeune. That was a long time ago but I don't reckon things've changed that much.

I have my staff, a sling, and a small utility knife. That's about all that is allowed in public lands. If I had my own land or land where I could go that was private it would be different.

Siani

Mirimaran · Post by **Mirimaran** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:54 pm

North Carolina is right where you left it, Siani

you can come back anytime you want!

Faolan · Post by **Faolan** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:31 pm

We have bears, coyotes, foxes, moose and deer and occasionally bobcats. 4 years ago in Sept. I was wakened out of a sound sleep by coyotes howling by the fence where my stallion and gelding were at the time, less than 50 yds. from the house. If they had gotten into the fence with them, they would be dark spots on the ground, my stallion is not fond of canines.

But I do not go out in our woods at night without a weapon.

Post by **Eledhwen** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:53 pm

I may have to consider alternatives. I don't know. We have bobcat, fisher, black bear, whitetail deer, moose, eastern Elk....and we also have Grey Wolves. However, there have been multiple sightings of what people insist are mountain lions. They were supposed to have gone extinct here in the 19th century.

A professional tracker found a beaver kill with scat around it...DNA testing proved conclusively it was mountain lion...and it had beaver remains in it. Most of the Environmental Police (don't ask) will tell you they belive the cats are here. Official word says they are just escapees from zoos or owners and no breeding population is here.

This morning I was up on the shoulders of the state reservation of Mt. Toby when I heard, just once, a coughing sort of grunt away up the hillside. I only heard it the once, I never saw anything up there. The only other noises were the usual bird noises, nothing unusual there.

But I've never heard a sound like that here before. I've heard something like it, but deeper more...I dunno, intense, in Africa and Southeast Asia. But never here and never quite like that.

So...I can't say. But I can say: Dratted Commonwealth Weapons Laws.

Siani

KerryTracker · Post by **KerryTracker** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 8:04 pm

When I moved back to Ireland I knew that there would be things that I missed from North America. All of these posts about big game, mountain lions, tracking and animal sightings is making me miss the American wilderness.

Here in Ireland the wildest animal that one would find will be the screaming drunks after Ireland won the Rugby world cup. They are not much of a challenge to track!!!

The foxes here are big. The tracks that I have seen would be equal to or larger than the average coyote tracks. That came to a big shock to me since I have tracked many fox up and down the West Coast and never found one track larger than an American quarter coin.

There is something magical about walking in the deep woods knowing that there are at least four different kinds of wild game that could easily kill you. It makes for a great Ranger training ground.....