Posted: 6/11/2021 12:06:47 PM EDT
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Have you ever been camping alone or maybe with your wife or girlfriend and had a bad feeling about the place after setting up camp? Heard strange sounds or felt you were being watched and didn't feel safe going to sleep there. |
| Nope. The majority of the population are too fucking fat and lazy to hike into places where I camp. If I hear something odd it's usually a nosy ass black bear, a mountain lion, or elk, or once in a very rare blue moon a moose. One spot I tend to hike into quite often is nice, I can hide my vehicle and cover it properly so nobody notices it if anyone happened to come up there, and only two people know where the car is outside myself, wife and the local wildlife officer that backpacks the same area a bunch on patrols. I rely heavily on my GSP and her senses to let me know if anything is getting close. That nose on her is seriously amazing. |
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I have not had that happen while camping but I've never camped anywhere but a backyard or at a state park. I have however, left rest stops that I planned to sleep at in my car when I noticed suspicious behavior. Body shop guy told me a wild story about camping on the Appalachian Trail......after hearing that I would put much more thought into hiking that than I would have otherwise. |
| Went camping down in southern Indiana in Hoosier National Forest way back in the woods. Hiked into a spot that looked like a house may have formerly been there, all that was left was a set of stairs. We setup camp not far from there and a little after dark we kept hearing weird noises and the sound of movement over by where they were. Stuck it out for the night, but we were creeped out. The weirdest thing was when we left the next morning we couldn't find the stairs again. |
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I had to leave a couple of spots to protect the idiots within ear shot. After asking them to turn down the noise, they came off with a smart ass answer. I had a shovel, 3 19 round mags, and was 30 miles to the nearest dwelling. They should be glad I packed up and left. They have no idea how close they were to seeing Odin 
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Yes, but it was usually because of wind or a thunderstorm. One time in Sequoia National Park I was on the last camping day of a 9-day trip with some friends. As dusk was settling and we were about to settle down for the night, a BIG lightning bolt hit a large cedar tree about 50 yards in front of us. The tree exploded - It sounded like several pounds of high explosive. The tree was reduced to mostly splinters. We backed up and found a sheltered spot to camp. |
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I was doing a section hike last fall. It was day five,a Friday. I was looking forward to spending the night in a lean to and shitting in a privy instead of a hole in the ground. I get to the lean to and set up my stuff and am getting ready to make dinner when this guy walks in from the opposite direction on the trail, drops his gear and pops his first cold one. No arranging gear, right to the beer. The ensuing conversation didn't make me feel any better, he was the lead guy in a group coming an hour away to party at the lean-to. I didn't care about sharing the lean-to, first arrival doesn't get to claim the lean-to for themselves. But I'd seen maybe four people on the trail all week and wanted a good night's sleep to hike the next day. I didn't want to deal with a party crowd. This guy had alarm bells going off in my head. Finally I made an excuse, packed up my gear and ran for the nearest road crossing. On my way there I passed another large group headed to the lean-to carrying coolers and camping gear. I asked them if they were the other guys group and they said no, they were just headed to the lean-to to party. I told them they would have to share it with the first guys group. Sometimes you just have to listen to the little voices in your head when they warning you, and that guy had them working overtime |
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No One thing I learned with wilderness solo camping is you need to be mentally prepared. Your mind will fuck with you and you’ll freak yourself out if you let it. Control your fear. 100% of Sasquatch encounters are the result of runaway imaginations where people allow their emotions to skew what they see and hear. A snapping twig when you are alone at night and frightened is interpreted totally different than that same snapping twig in daylight surrounded by friends. |
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Quoted: Went camping down in southern Indiana in Hoosier National Forest way back in the woods. Hiked into a spot that looked like a house may have formerly been there, all that was left was a set of stairs. We setup camp not far from there and a little after dark we kept hearing weird noises and the sound of movement over by where they were. Stuck it out for the night, but we were creeped out. The weirdest thing was when we left the next morning we couldn't find the stairs again. What the fuck ! that's nuts |
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Fourth grade. "Camping" in my buddy's back yard. Alone in my little pup tent. Heard a noise. Hauled ass and left the tent there. Burst through the screen door full tilt boogie and startled my Dad, who was up watching TV. He thought it was funny. The guy whose yard I was camping in is now in charge of a good sized chunk of the FBI. Which is hard for me to imagine because when I knew him he was a dead ringer for Howdy Doody. |
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Quoted: No One thing I learned with wilderness solo camping is you need to be mentally prepared. Your mind will fuck with you and you’ll freak yourself out if you let it. Control your fear. 100% of Sasquatch encounters are the result of runaway imaginations where people allow their emotions to skew what they see and hear. A snapping twig when you are alone at night and frightened is interpreted totally different than that same snapping twig in daylight surrounded by friends. When I was young, I used to camp next to a spring on a creek with a small graveyard on the other side and it was also the site of an indian camp... Sometimes my mind would start imagining things |
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Quoted: Nope. The majority of the population are too fucking fat and lazy to hike into places where I camp. If I hear something odd it's usually a nosy ass black bear, a mountain lion, or elk, or once in a very rare blue moon a moose. One spot I tend to hike into quite often is nice, I can hide my vehicle and cover it properly so nobody notices it if anyone happened to come up there, and only two people know where the car is outside myself, wife and the local wildlife officer that backpacks the same area a bunch on patrols. I rely heavily on my GSP and her senses to let me know if anything is getting close. That nose on her is seriously amazing. So, German Shepard Python? |
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Nope. I usually camp by myself. Occasionally a friend will join me (All of us vets) and of course I am always armed. When camping with the fiance we are in the RV and I am still armed. Then again I have never felt that spidey tingle telling me to get out while camping. I have felt it while walking in the city and of course I exited the area ASAP. |
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Back in the late 90s as a 19-20 year old, went solo off the trails at Bar-K conservation area in Missouri. Had my poncho hootch set up, nice small fire going, settled in for a nice night and started hearing drums and chanting from somewhere. Didn’t see any light through the woods like a bonfire, so I noped on out of there. 20 some odd years later, I assume I got spooked by hippies. |
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Quoted: What the fuck ! that's nuts Quoted: Quoted: Went camping down in southern Indiana in Hoosier National Forest way back in the woods. Hiked into a spot that looked like a house may have formerly been there, all that was left was a set of stairs. We setup camp not far from there and a little after dark we kept hearing weird noises and the sound of movement over by where they were. Stuck it out for the night, but we were creeped out. The weirdest thing was when we left the next morning we couldn't find the stairs again. What the fuck ! that's nuts Weird vibe there. Ran into some hippie types. We scared them off. This was years ago. |
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Quoted: I was doing a section hike last fall. It was day five,a Friday. I was looking forward to spending the night in a lean to and shitting in a privy instead of a hole in the ground. I get to the lean to and set up my stuff and am getting ready to make dinner when this guy walks in from the opposite direction on the trail, drops his gear and pops his first cold one. No arranging gear, right to the beer. The ensuing conversation didn't make me feel any better, he was the lead guy in a group coming an hour away to party at the lean-to. I didn't care about sharing the lean-to, first arrival doesn't get to claim the lean-to for themselves. But I'd seen maybe four people on the trail all week and wanted a good night's sleep to hike the next day. I didn't want to deal with a party crowd. This guy had alarm bells going off in my head. Finally I made an excuse, packed up my gear and ran for the nearest road crossing. On my way there I passed another large group headed to the lean-to carrying coolers and camping gear. I asked them if they were the other guys group and they said no, they were just headed to the lean-to to party. I told them they would have to share it with the first guys group. Sometimes you just have to listen to the little voices in your head when they warning you, and that guy had them working overtime I avoid shelters at all costs. |
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Quoted: Went camping down in southern Indiana in Hoosier National Forest way back in the woods. Hiked into a spot that looked like a house may have formerly been there, all that was left was a set of stairs. We setup camp not far from there and a little after dark we kept hearing weird noises and the sound of movement over by where they were. Stuck it out for the night, but we were creeped out. The weirdest thing was when we left the next morning we couldn't find the stairs again. Were the stairs going up or down? @sp3worker |
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Quoted: Were the stairs going up or down? @sp3worker Quoted: Quoted: Went camping down in southern Indiana in Hoosier National Forest way back in the woods. Hiked into a spot that looked like a house may have formerly been there, all that was left was a set of stairs. We setup camp not far from there and a little after dark we kept hearing weird noises and the sound of movement over by where they were. Stuck it out for the night, but we were creeped out. The weirdest thing was when we left the next morning we couldn't find the stairs again. Were the stairs going up or down? @sp3worker  |
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Camping Big Bend, had a backcountry spot right on the Rio Grande. You could see their camps on the other side of the river, watching our side with binoculars. A couple of park rangers showed up and advised that if we venture away from our site while there, that we take everything with us because they like to hop over the river and steal all your shit while you're gone. We stayed 1 night since it was already evening, packed up the next morning and got a new spot further in. The new spot was much better / more remote, so it worked out for the best. Gotta love the "it's a known, common problem but we don't do anything about it" attitude. |
I'm the one making everyone else nervous.... I have been several miles deep in the mountains while elk hunting. Hiking out in the dark and hearing noises that could be a pissed off moose or bear. I use several flashlights and walk like a heard of elephants making as much noise as possible. |
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Quoted: Nope. The majority of the population are too fucking fat and lazy to hike into places where I camp. If I hear something odd it's usually a nosy ass black bear, a mountain lion, or elk, or once in a very rare blue moon a moose. One spot I tend to hike into quite often is nice, I can hide my vehicle and cover it properly so nobody notices it if anyone happened to come up there, and only two people know where the car is outside myself, wife and the local wildlife officer that backpacks the same area a bunch on patrols. I rely heavily on my GSP and her senses to let me know if anything is getting close. That nose on her is seriously amazing. That seems like a cool job. I've read of guys building remote trails who live out of their backpacks for a few weeks at a time |
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Quoted: So, German Shepard Python? German Short-haired Pointer. They make great guard dogs if they are not hunting. A lot of people think hunting dogs are wimpy until they see how efficient and tactile they can be when something is off or an issue occurs. Her sensitivity is off the charts when we are off grid. |
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I wasn't on the trip, friends were camping and had a drifter cruise into the camp looking for food. A bunch of ARs pointed at you for trying to steal food was enough of an incentive for the dude to split. They felt like they were being watched. They were. Eta: I think that they gave him some milk and told him to leave. |