deliverance moments

Alright, after replying to a previous thread, i was just wondering are there any moments in the wild when people have just been scared out of their u know whats while camping or hiking?

well there was that one time with the midget and the billy goat, but.....................................I dont wanna talk about it.

king tut said:

Alright, after replying to a previous thread, i was just wondering are there any moments in the wild when people have just been scared out of their u know whats while camping or hiking?

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Yes, when I was on the Long Trail solo last year I kept crossing paths with a couple of guys who really made me nervous. Not your typical hikers, poorly equipped, out of shape, wearing camo.
One guy starts barking at my dog, who was a young adult at the time and on her first long trip. Don't ask me why he was doing this, but it has taken me about a year of counter conditioning to train her not to bark at men on the trail.

In 1990 I was solo camped at Flowed Lands in the Adirondacks, part of the bear alley. I was about a half mile from the nearest lean-to. Twice during the night I was awaken to blood curdling human shrieks from the across the lake. Campers at those lean-tos were fending off bear raids. The shrieks were unnerving, but I immediately recognized what was happening. I was not particularly worried as I kept a clean campsite, having neither cooked nor eaten at my site. And I was glad that I had camped away from the lean-to sites.

Catskills

Devil's Toooooooombstone. Not scary, but definitely, and doubly "wierd."

teejay

West Highland Way

On my second trip to Scotland I was doing a BP from Glasgow to Ft William on the 90 mile West Highland Way trail when I made a wrong turn and ended up at a farm where they were "barning hay". When I asked the guys which way was the "West Highland Way" I immediately knew I had asked the wrong question.....

teejay said:

Devil's Toooooooombstone. Not scary, but definitely, and doubly "wierd."

teejay

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Got that right! WR1 and WR2 .....

I still laugh when I think about Darren's impersonations of them ......

What is the "Devil's Tombstone"? I've never heard of it. Is it in the WMNF?

When I first moved to Co and started hiking and spending time out in the woods I was a little nerved. I was unfamiliar with the land, the campsites are far in even on the dirt roads and I was soloing. so after growing up in the Whites and always being around people it took getting used to, besides I had heard in alot of areas there are plenty of "yahoos" roaming around.
Well anyway one night Im hanging out near my truck, 10 miles in on a lonely dirt road when a pickup approaches and stops. This dude gets out looking way ratty, complete with HUGE hunting knife on belt and shotgun in pickup window. Anyway I offer him a beer (peace offering) and he sucks it down, then says" IM going to meet some buddies we will swing by later and hang out. Now what am I to say, no thanks Im good, to be honest he didnt look that understanding. He left and I stewed on this for 10 minutes tops, I jumped in my truck and moved camp to a completly different area even climbed a different mountain, the way I saw of it nothing good was going to come of hanging with these good ole boys, one more note, I do keep a side arm when that far out but the thought that I might need it didnt work for me either, I guess at my age I rather avoid a fight then win one.

Not human encounter related... but stories with enough concern to be related...

First night out on an 8 day trip... we are hiking after dark and are taking a rest on a log... For some reason we had started talking about the blair witch project and some other witch related things... Its pitch black and after about a couple minutes of conversation we heard this insanely loud crashing sound... I tried to take off running with 50 lb pack on my back... didnt get far. Thought it was a rock slide... In reality... it was a tree, about 100 feet off, that came down.

Second instance... rappelling off Baboquivari... we were sitting below a headwall with a rock shute above us... The ropes were tied together and thus we had to pull the knot down this couloir filled with loose rock... well of course there came a point when we thought the knot had hooked on something.... We gave it a good yank and it came free... within a few seconds we heard this thundering sound....So i yelled for everyone to get in agains the wall thinking all the loose rock in that couloir had been set free.... 20 seconds later i am wondering why there were no rocks splintering to pieces off the ledge we were on... just then a little cesna flies around the southeast arete of the peak. It was the sound of the airplane all along.

Spend some time in the Great Gulf. It's haunted. Just listen.

Steve

Undershaft said:

What is the "Devil's Tombstone"? I've never heard of it. Is it in the WMNF?

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Nope. It's a campground on Route 214 in the Catskills famous for it's dynamic duo caretakers. And it was the staging area for Jay's 2004 "Devil's Path Charity Hike" for TBTS.

I've got one.

This came right on the tail of being charged by a grizzly while solo hiking in the CDN Rockies.

Somewhat jittery I strolled into the designated backcountry campsite and happen upon a guy standing around like he dosn't quite belong there. He's sporting army fatigues, big leather gloves and his neck is covered by some sort of kerchief. Me, I'm wearing jean cutoffs and nothing else. He has a big hat and sun glasses on.

"So, this is it", says he with finality in his voice.

"Yup, this sure is one nice place", says I with a chipper tone to my voice.

"This is it", replies my back country buddy.

"This is it all right" Now I really wonder what the hell is going on.

For a third time, "This is it"

Being nerve wracked from the grizzly charge I wonder if this weirdo is about to out with the old equilizer and do me in but no, he's just another hiker. The next morning he came to see me and tell me that all his food got eaten by a wolverine during the night.

Sapblatt posted this in a trip report, but when we got two minutes into a pitch black night hike on the Valley Way trail this "thing" comes charging us- my first thought was that it was a wolf. We could only see its eyes shining. There was a moment when I thought he wasn't going to stop.

He finally stopped, but until daylight I kept looking over my shoulder to see if he was coming Turned out to be a dog. Barely into the woods, and thats how a 13 mile day started

It was in early November 2003 on a weekday and I pulled up to the edmands path trailhead to hike Mount Eisenhower. It was snowing at a pretty heavy clip with very little visibility. When I got out of my car I realized there was a car right next to mine with a man sleeping across the front seats. He was dressed in a t-shirt and blue jeans and sneakers with no visible signs of hiking gear. It just seemed odd to me so I was a little nervous. I donned my pack and started hiking as fast as I could. I reached the summit had a bite to eat and reluctantly turned around and sped down the same way I had come. I never saw the car or the man again but what did kind of scare me was the fresh foot prints in the snow right beside mine up until treeline and then they seemed to just turn around and go back down the trail. The fact that there was fresh snow and I Knew that I was the only one on the trail atleast to my knowledge, was a little creepy. When I got down to the parking lot the guy and the car were gone,and there were no other tracks or signs of any other vehichles or hikers around. I don't know, I guess I get freaked out easy somtimes, but that time I think it was really somthing wierd!

king tut said:

Alright, after replying to a previous thread, i was just wondering are there any moments in the wild when people have just been scared out of their u know whats while camping or hiking?

Click to expand...

The "Deliverance Moment" is a different story -- being creeped out by an odd person my dog didn't like (the dog's instincts are better than mine). That gave me the willies, but as for being really scared...

(Okay y'all, skip my campfire story if you've heard it before)....

On my first "true" solo (without a dog), I decided to do Jefferson via the Caps Ridge Trail on a partly cloudy day. As is my usual, I got a late start. As the clouds rushed up from the west across the Presis, I had windows of view. I kept going up even after meeting the last group before me heading back down. When I arrived at the summit, the clouds cleared again as I walked around checking out the views from every direction. I didn't see another soul for miles.

When I walked back to the cairn near the summit to take some pictures, I heard horrible, evil laughter that made my hair stand on end. Knowing I had just walked around and hadn't seen anyone in sight, I tried to tell myself I was just hearing things and continued doing my thing, taking my summit pictures. Then I hear the laugh again, just below me towards the Monticello Lawn. There was no one there. It creeped me out so badly that I grabbed my gear and started running back down the trail.

Common sense overcame irrational fear quickly. I forced myself to sit down and get myself together. Snapping my leg in half rock hopping at top speed running from nothing? Nah, didn't want to have to explain that to S&R. I had a harsh chat with myself and headed down at a normal pace.

What really gave me pause was later seeing a picture I took at the summit. There is a large glowing green spot in the picture I was taking when I first heard the lunatic laughter.

I've never been so scared since, even solo night hiking. Never want to be either. It's the weirdest thing I've ever experienced.

yo periwinkle, any chance you'd post that photo?

Back in the 90's my son and I were hiking south along the ridge below Mt Success toward Gentian Pond on the AT. We saw this large long haired unshaven fellow hiking toward us. He was wearing one of those string tee shirts and scruffy work boots, nothing else. He simply grunted something inaudible and keep going. We crossed over a nameless bump where we encountered a solo female hiker moving toward us at a rapid clip. I asked her if she were trying to catch the fellow up ahead. She said no why, I answered at your rate of speed you will catch him soon enough and I don't think you want to. She inquired why, I described the fellow, in general terms. She paled said a nervous thank you and walked very slowly.

Heres our Deliverance moment on Bearpen Mountain

Deliverance x2
I was camping and staying at the "winter cabin" Grout pond area of Southern VT. My Akita was with me and we were sleeping in the bunk room. In the middle of the night I hear this incredible amoun't of noise, like someone is trying to destroy the cabin with an ax or a sledge hammer. I grab my headlamp and put my Kita on a leash. She was not a barker and for this I was grateful. It took about 15 minutes but finally Bob emerged. He had taken down the front door which had no lock. He walked into the bunk room and his first words were "you have a dog." He tried to befriend the Akita but she would have none of that. She maintained her flat affect. Then came..."hi, my name is Bob, what's your name? Do you want breakfast?" He must have said this 100x. Drunk as a skunk. I showed no fear but was truly terrified. I grabbed my pack, jeep keys, and started to walk out keeping Kita between him and I. She was incredible. She never growled or went for him but I knew if he made one move to grab me it would be a sorry day for Bob. I believe that even in his deranged mind he knew enough to stay clear. I walked out to my Jeep, jumped in, and now Bob wants to come to. I start to drive off and I run into the "caretaker" who had heard the noise and he is walking up the road with a very large knife!!! I stop, tell him to put the knife away. (He had already lost one eye in some altercation). The two-way radio had no reception so we decided to try to find the sheriff. The fog was so dense that visibility was approx 1 foot. We finally found Matt Dillon on a back road but that took about an hour. HE knew right off who Bob was. He had personally dropped him off with his tent at Grout telling him to go to bed and stop causing trouble. Bob had been beating on his significant other earlier that evening and I guess she didn't press charges so the sheriff took him away to Grout for a campout. By the time we got back to the cabin Bob had burned all of my belongings, the shelves, and anything else he could round up for a fire.
Matt Dillon takes him away and I take the caretaker out to breakfast.
On our way back to Grout, we see someone lying in the road. Can you guess who it was? Our Bob....again! By now I am screaming at him to get out of the road before someone runs him over. He can hardly wal We got him over to the ditch and left him there. I don't know what became of him but we never saw him again.
Part 2
Camping at Grout again. Middle of the night I hear a vehicle driving around, stopping, and two men are at my tent. I open the door just big enough for Kita to stick her big black bear like face out and I hear..."oh, you have a dog"!
End of discussion. They leave. Goodnight boys!
I would sooner have seen a bear.

I went back there several times but finally gave it up. Didn't feel quite safe. Not sure why. Have been back recently hiking in the area and I would go camping there again. It seemed pretty safe now but be assured that my Kodi (Kita's replacement) would be my constant companion.
Kita passsed on several years ago and I owe her big time. I am sure she is in doggie heaven getting her reward for a job well done.