My Scariest Animal Encounter While Backpacking
video description
So this one summer I went to camp in America and the first thing we do is go to orientation where they tell us all about bear safety. The whole time I was thinking yeah right. They're really overly cautious and I'll probably never see a bear here. I still put my food in the bear closet, and then headed to all the other activities. During dinner I remembered I had forgotten something in my tent, so I went back alone in the dark when I realised I jad also forgotten to put all my toiletries in the bathroom. So I took all my yummy smelling toiletries and step our of my tent only to see a bear standing about 2 meters away. I went back into the tent really quickly just to put all of my stuff down and went back out because I figured I'd rather not be stuck inside a tent together with a bear while he's trying to eat all my toothpaste. Then I did what I was told to, calmly speaking and slowly backing away even though it felt completely useless to step back given how close we were, but thankfully it worked. The bear didn't even go after my toiletries, yay!
Date: 2020-10-21
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Comments and reviews: 9
Nathan
Had a few scary noises around my camp walking up the PCT from Bend to timberline. Never knew what they were. Maybe elk? Maybe bear?
But the scariest animals I encountered was cows while hiking though the Scottish Highlands.
Time and time again, you ve got to walk through fields full of livestock there. And a few places have signs posted saying bull in field.
Well. great.
Some times, it s viable to walk around on roads or what not.
But some times, especially on the coast (John o groats trail) you have no choice because you the other side of the field is a thousand foot cliff down to the ocean.
So then you just stand there for about ten minutes, mustering up the courage to climb the stile and enter the field.
And then you see the bull.
And he s usually far enough away, standing by the herd. And sometimes, he s not, really.
And making that walk from one end of the field to the other and hoping you can climb over the fence in a second with your 30 pound pack on.
That s not a good time.
reply
Had a few scary noises around my camp walking up the PCT from Bend to timberline. Never knew what they were. Maybe elk? Maybe bear?
But the scariest animals I encountered was cows while hiking though the Scottish Highlands.
Time and time again, you ve got to walk through fields full of livestock there. And a few places have signs posted saying bull in field.
Well. great.
Some times, it s viable to walk around on roads or what not.
But some times, especially on the coast (John o groats trail) you have no choice because you the other side of the field is a thousand foot cliff down to the ocean.
So then you just stand there for about ten minutes, mustering up the courage to climb the stile and enter the field.
And then you see the bull.
And he s usually far enough away, standing by the herd. And sometimes, he s not, really.
And making that walk from one end of the field to the other and hoping you can climb over the fence in a second with your 30 pound pack on.
That s not a good time.
reply
Anon
I was with a buddy on his 80 acres of woods and we heard something stalking us in the woods. My buddy's dog went nuts and the rustling got real close. I was the only one with a shotgun loaded with bird shot so I wasn't too scared. Turns out to probably be a bear but a convicted felon kept coming on to my buddy's property poaching without a license, off season, and with firearms he was prohibited from possessing that I didn't know about. My buddy told me not to shoot because we couldn't clearly identify the target as small game. So I just racketed a round and the rustling stopped. The most dangerous animals stand on two legs in the woods. Turns out my buddy wanted me with him due to the convicted felon and didn't tell me till we got back home. You go in thinking you are carrying too much and when stuff happens you think you don't have enough. Note: I was legal to carry a shotgun on private land with the property owner and his permission due to a small game permit, CPL permit, and open firearm carry laws.
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I was with a buddy on his 80 acres of woods and we heard something stalking us in the woods. My buddy's dog went nuts and the rustling got real close. I was the only one with a shotgun loaded with bird shot so I wasn't too scared. Turns out to probably be a bear but a convicted felon kept coming on to my buddy's property poaching without a license, off season, and with firearms he was prohibited from possessing that I didn't know about. My buddy told me not to shoot because we couldn't clearly identify the target as small game. So I just racketed a round and the rustling stopped. The most dangerous animals stand on two legs in the woods. Turns out my buddy wanted me with him due to the convicted felon and didn't tell me till we got back home. You go in thinking you are carrying too much and when stuff happens you think you don't have enough. Note: I was legal to carry a shotgun on private land with the property owner and his permission due to a small game permit, CPL permit, and open firearm carry laws.
reply
Ryan
I was kayaking in the St Johns River. I wanted to cross to the other side of the river to reach a boat ramp before a thunderstorm hit. As I m crossing the wind picks up and immediately so does the swell. I am maybe 200 yards from the ramp but get blown downwind. I turned to follow the wind and waves, occasionally surfing down waves. Luckily I manage to steer near an island and tuck in behind and parallel to a small beach. Now that I m out of the wind I notice how much my arms and legs are shaking and that I had a death grip on the paddle. I start to calm down and paddle to land on the beach.
Suddenly theres a massive splash behind me and to the left. I look to see a something splashing towards me. It closes fast and starts hitting my kayak hard. I scream as loud as I ever have as it thumps all the way down my kayak and turns away right as it hits below my seat. As it turns away I see. a manatee.
I must have corned it between me and the beach.
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I was kayaking in the St Johns River. I wanted to cross to the other side of the river to reach a boat ramp before a thunderstorm hit. As I m crossing the wind picks up and immediately so does the swell. I am maybe 200 yards from the ramp but get blown downwind. I turned to follow the wind and waves, occasionally surfing down waves. Luckily I manage to steer near an island and tuck in behind and parallel to a small beach. Now that I m out of the wind I notice how much my arms and legs are shaking and that I had a death grip on the paddle. I start to calm down and paddle to land on the beach.
Suddenly theres a massive splash behind me and to the left. I look to see a something splashing towards me. It closes fast and starts hitting my kayak hard. I scream as loud as I ever have as it thumps all the way down my kayak and turns away right as it hits below my seat. As it turns away I see. a manatee.
I must have corned it between me and the beach.
reply
Douglas
I hike in griz country always have bear spray and know how to use it. In the Monashees you see almost everyone hiking with bear spray or at least one person in the group has bear spray. Take it when you go to do your buisness never know who you may meet. LOL. Bears, cougars, wolves, this is their backyard, we have to know how to live with them when we are in the bush mountains ect. If you know what you are doing animal encounters don't have to be scary. Getting water from a creek 20 feet away a cougar is doing the same thing, both just taking a drink, though the cougar might have been sizing me up for dinner. looked at each other the cat just went on it's way. That was 50 years ago when I was 16. Lots of animal encounts in those 50 years and never had a problem, but was always prepared if a problem occured. You just have to have knowledge and the tools to deal with an issue if needed. Just dont be silly.
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I hike in griz country always have bear spray and know how to use it. In the Monashees you see almost everyone hiking with bear spray or at least one person in the group has bear spray. Take it when you go to do your buisness never know who you may meet. LOL. Bears, cougars, wolves, this is their backyard, we have to know how to live with them when we are in the bush mountains ect. If you know what you are doing animal encounters don't have to be scary. Getting water from a creek 20 feet away a cougar is doing the same thing, both just taking a drink, though the cougar might have been sizing me up for dinner. looked at each other the cat just went on it's way. That was 50 years ago when I was 16. Lots of animal encounts in those 50 years and never had a problem, but was always prepared if a problem occured. You just have to have knowledge and the tools to deal with an issue if needed. Just dont be silly.
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Scott
Dixie, you need to get yourself a pet wolverine to take hiking with you. A famous naturalist has said the wolverine is the only animal that will size up a grizzly that outweighs it by more than 10: 1 and think, Yeah, I can take him, so a little black bear ought to be nothing. The scientific name is _Gulo gulo, _ which means glutton glutton and they're famous for how much they can pack away. The Blackfeet (the end of your CDT hike, that wasn't in Glacier NP, was on Blackfeet land) have a story about Wolverine Woman, a shape-shifter. As a beautiful woman she'll stand at the edge of the woods and wave to handsome young men who pass by. When the man goes to investigate this friendly woman she leads him into the woods, then changes back into a wolverine and eats him. However those who have raised wolverines found they are quite friendly to those they view as family members.
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Dixie, you need to get yourself a pet wolverine to take hiking with you. A famous naturalist has said the wolverine is the only animal that will size up a grizzly that outweighs it by more than 10: 1 and think, Yeah, I can take him, so a little black bear ought to be nothing. The scientific name is _Gulo gulo, _ which means glutton glutton and they're famous for how much they can pack away. The Blackfeet (the end of your CDT hike, that wasn't in Glacier NP, was on Blackfeet land) have a story about Wolverine Woman, a shape-shifter. As a beautiful woman she'll stand at the edge of the woods and wave to handsome young men who pass by. When the man goes to investigate this friendly woman she leads him into the woods, then changes back into a wolverine and eats him. However those who have raised wolverines found they are quite friendly to those they view as family members.
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Nevada
Haha, that intro and outro though!
My scariest was a big black bear on a trail at night in Alaska. My friend and I were camping on a local mountain. He fell down while carrying firewood, and broke a small bone in his foot. He was convinced he had to go to the hospital immediately, so we hiked a little more than a mile in the darkness. I told him it was a bad idea, and we should wait until morning, but he wouldn't listen. We ended up waking a bear that was sleeping 5 feet off the trail in the grass. Luckily the bear just took off running when it woke up, it could have just as easily mauled us both. This was 26 years ago. I've had a few more freaky encounters with bears, and even a couple with moose, but the first one still takes the cake!
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Haha, that intro and outro though!
My scariest was a big black bear on a trail at night in Alaska. My friend and I were camping on a local mountain. He fell down while carrying firewood, and broke a small bone in his foot. He was convinced he had to go to the hospital immediately, so we hiked a little more than a mile in the darkness. I told him it was a bad idea, and we should wait until morning, but he wouldn't listen. We ended up waking a bear that was sleeping 5 feet off the trail in the grass. Luckily the bear just took off running when it woke up, it could have just as easily mauled us both. This was 26 years ago. I've had a few more freaky encounters with bears, and even a couple with moose, but the first one still takes the cake!
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Mike
Was sleeping in a shelter when I felt a big spider crawl across my face. I sprang up like a jack in the box. Everyone in the shelter with me was looking for spider because they didn t want it crawling on them during the night. We never found it. Some thought I just had a bad dream. The next morning as everyone packing up I moved my backpack that was leaning on a wall. A tarantula or huge wolf spider was behind it. Everyone freaked out at the size. We all hustled out of shelter. Laughed about it later. much later.
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Was sleeping in a shelter when I felt a big spider crawl across my face. I sprang up like a jack in the box. Everyone in the shelter with me was looking for spider because they didn t want it crawling on them during the night. We never found it. Some thought I just had a bad dream. The next morning as everyone packing up I moved my backpack that was leaning on a wall. A tarantula or huge wolf spider was behind it. Everyone freaked out at the size. We all hustled out of shelter. Laughed about it later. much later.
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rodrod5000
Somebody is up late working: )
Scary - big fat rattle snake hiking in California - scared me pretty good. My mom didn't even notice it and walked right over it while we were out training dogs. She didn't see it at first so didn't believe me when I told her she walked right over it. When she finally saw it, I don't think she wanted to believe she walked right over it. This was a few years back, so I can't remember if mom said Hey Darlin to the snake.
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Somebody is up late working: )
Scary - big fat rattle snake hiking in California - scared me pretty good. My mom didn't even notice it and walked right over it while we were out training dogs. She didn't see it at first so didn't believe me when I told her she walked right over it. When she finally saw it, I don't think she wanted to believe she walked right over it. This was a few years back, so I can't remember if mom said Hey Darlin to the snake.
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Garth
Hiking here in NZ, rounded a hill to come face to face with a beef cow and her calf. Narrow track, too steep uphill, sheer drop downhill. The cow & calf charged past me, I flattened myself against the uphill slope. I have no idea how none of us were trampled or knocked down the cliff.
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Hiking here in NZ, rounded a hill to come face to face with a beef cow and her calf. Narrow track, too steep uphill, sheer drop downhill. The cow & calf charged past me, I flattened myself against the uphill slope. I have no idea how none of us were trampled or knocked down the cliff.
reply
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