# Alone in the outdoors and fear



## Scott99 (Sep 8, 2019)

A buddy went with me to set up a few trail cameras and he made a comment that he would never be able to do this alone. Walking into brush/dense trees off trail. We ended up coming down in the sunset and into dark and he was spooked the whole time because of little noises. He asked how I did it alone and truth is I never have thought about it. I grew up hiking and backpacking a lot (not hunting) and it’s just not something I’ve ever thought about. I tried to explain what noises most likely were (a little wind in a dead silent night can make it seem like there is something big next to you) and that animals are more afraid of you than you are of them. But with all that. Did anyone come from a similar situation and had to fight those fears? If so. What did you do and what worked didn't work?


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## buck (May 27, 2020)

How long has your friend hunted? I didn’t grow up hunting and got into it with a buddy a few years ago. When I first started hiking in/out in the dark It was a bit spooky to me. But now, just like you I hardly think about it. The more time I spent in the woods watching, listening, learning, the more comfortable I became with hiking in the dark. So maybe your buddy just needs more time in the woods or hiking in the dark? Or maybe I just realized how much I love being in the outdoors/hunting that it topped my concerns about hiking in the dark or being alone.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

The woods can really play with your mind for sure! I killed a spike bull in the evening a few years back on the general archery hunt in the Nebo area. Myself and Bro-in-Law began packing it out as the sun had dropped behind the Mt. We reached the road at 1:30am. The pack was all up hill and steep. (You have to go to the Elk sometimes to punch a tag)


On the way into the bottom of the canyon we found fresh bear tracks and scat. The Bro-in-law headed back to camp to exchange his car for my truck so the car didn't get blood in it. I stayed with the meat and laid it out across a big log to cool it out better than just letting it sit in the packs. 


The moon wasn't out yet, and it was dark as all get out. It was very quiet and you could hear everything in the woods. Then, the bear came to mind and I thought just my luck that sucker will try to steal my kill. I heard something walking around below where I was, and it was close. Then..... I hear what was a quarter from the elk laying on the log, fall and hit the ground. I jumped up, shinned the mini mag down to the log and sure enough, no bear, just a doe and fawn that had walked below me and the meat. The meat just slide off the log was all.


But ya, The old mind can play with you for sure!!


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## MooseMeat (Dec 27, 2017)

You get use to it over time. But it’s never a bad idea to be on edge or a little more alert when your visions and other sense are suppressed by darkness. After all, it is the mountains, a 2nd home to a lot of us, however most of us are aware of the dangers and risks that are out there, especially when it’s dark. There is stuff out there that will kill you. For anyone to say they aren’t a little nervous about a certain place in the dark, I feel is absurd. We all know that “one spot” that we try to avoid in the dark when possible. Be it a spot that is notorious for bears, places we’ve seen fresh lions tracks on top of ours that were from just a few hours prior or places we’ve had “unexplained” things occur while we were there. A little fear is a healthy thing to have. But to allowing it to paralyze you is understandable for someone new. Someone who does this many times a year for their whole life, though, is a little ridiculous to me. But if that’s what it takes to keep the clowns out of the deep spots during the prime hunting times, so be it.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I was elk hunting one year when we watched two cougars making love down in the canyon. The next day I shot a elk and it took quite a while to get it butchered and ready to pack out. It was getting dark on the pack out and we stopped to put our headlamps on. My buddy was scared sh17 less packing that meat out in the dark. He just knew that one of those cats was following him and wanted it for a snack. 

Once we got back to the truck and I was getting ready to head back for another load he told me that he would stay at the truck and protect the meat while I went back for another load. Nothing I could say would get him to come back down that trail to pack out more meat. 

I decided that I'd just wait until daylight to head back for another load. 


Then the last time that I was archery hunting I shot a buck about 30 minutes before dark. I had clipped him in the liver so there was no problem following his blood trail as he went down the ridge since there was 6" of snow on the ground. As I went down that hill I crossed 3 good sets of bear tracks before I finally found that buck. I figured that I needed to butcher him and get the meat out of there if I wanted it. It was a long hike back up the hill to a road and I was thinking of those bears with every step that I took. 

I ran into a couple of elk hunters a day later and they said that they found where I had boned out the buck. A bear had be having his way with what was left of the carcass.

In all the years of hunting and hiking in the dark with blood all over me and meat on my back that was the only time that I actually felt leery packing out meat.


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

Near the front I've hiked in a mile and a half, dropped my pack and thrown out my bivy and slept solo right on the spot in the dark with no trouble. Never have any trouble taking a nap after the early morning golden hour has passed. I wouldn't sleep on the spot a mile into the Uintas though, no signal, smaller chance for rescue, many more bears. 

I've been on the ice solo smack dab in the center of Pineview with 100+ pounds of gear at 2:00 AM and I wasn't concerned about my trip back...mainly because I was following other people's holes, but also because I knew the weather had been progressively colder for weeks and I was wearing a full flotation suit. I'll take a nap on popping ice too, no trouble. I know that the ice has been thickening for weeks and it is continuing to thicken because I have seen the historical weather and the forecast, and it's off to dreamland I go. It's all about preparedness and awareness. 

Sure you have a chance of meeting a bear or cat in the night but you have an even greater chance of meeting a moose during the day that's going turn your last meal into mousse while it's still inside you. Not to mention the chances of twisting your ankle and having to deal with hypothermia, or having a firearm related mishap. So, we wear good boots and we don't keep a shell in the chamber when it's risky.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

So, we wear good boots and we don't keep a shell in the chamber when it's risky.

I have to step in on your idea of "risk". 


IMO if you have a round in the chamber and your relying on the safety to keep you "safe" while walking in the woods, I need to know where you hunt so I can stay the he!! as far from that area as possible. 

https://utahwildlife.net/forum/19-general-hunting-hunting-gear/202445-alone-outdoors-fear.html#


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

Risky = walking at all, yeah. Also never prop any gun up with a shell in the chamber, never prop any gun up around other people at all, shell or no because they don't know if there's a shell. Shells in the chamber are for when you're in the hide or blind, guns at the ready and pointed out, in your hands.

Edit: I think you thought the good boots were referring to not tripping with a loaded gun, no that's about not hurting your ankles or knees or something else.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

I see your point of a "shell" in the chamber as a shell is proper terminology for a shotgun. But, with a rifle "cartridge" I hope your not thinking its safe to have a loaded cartridge in the chamber while walking in the woods on a big game hunt.


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

I understand where you're coming from and trust me I'm in the same place: no rounds of any kind in a position where a firing pin is behind them while walking. No rounds of any kind in the chamber. No arrow drawn unless it's going to be loosed in a few seconds. Again I'm going to repeat what I said in my edit in my last post, "good boots" was in reference to not injuring yourself in general, not a statement on how you can use good footwear as an excuse to be stupid.


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## MooseMeat (Dec 27, 2017)

taxidermist said:


> I see your point of a "shell" in the chamber as a shell is proper terminology for a shotgun. But, with a rifle "cartridge" I hope your not thinking its safe to have a loaded cartridge in the chamber while walking in the woods on a big game hunt.


Uh.... when I'm in my hunting area, there's always a live round in my chamber. Waterfowl, turkeys, big game.... I'm ready. And many times Had I not been ready, many animals would have gotten away. I've never had an accidental discharge and Safety is my top priority. Same goes with the people I hunt with, which I'm very picky about who I will hunt with. it is possible to have a loaded weapon and be safe at all times. Police and law enforcement do it every single day...

Oh, and I'd bet the majority of hunters also go into the woods with loaded and ready to fire weapons. If you don't like to hunt that way, that's fine, don't. But I wouldn't start hammering on people who do carry loaded weapons in the field. It's a personal choice. Nothing more.


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

I'm usually not afraid of the dark, but in certain circumstances I am. This is a safe space, right? 

I was with NHS when he shot a big bull. The area had TONS of bear tracks and scat. We quartered it and packed it to the 4 wheeler. He was going to drive one load back to camp and return to pick me up as I hiked down the trail. 

He glanced back after driving for a while and was shocked to see me right there behind him. I pretty much ran behind the 4 wheeler the whole way because I didn't want to be alone in the bear woods as the sun went down. 

I can't run with elk quarters on my back anymore. In fact, I don't think I can run, period. 8)


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## Brettski7 (May 11, 2020)

For me it depends on area I’m at. In Louisiana believe it or not I was pretty **** nervous walking into and out of some areas I hunted because of wild hogs. Other areas I was completely fine. Now I’m in Utah and only worry bout snakes really. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MooseMeat (Dec 27, 2017)

Brettski7 said:


> For me it depends on area I'm at. In Louisiana believe it or not I was pretty **** nervous walking into and out of some areas I hunted because of wild hogs. Other areas I was completely fine. Now I'm in Utah and only worry bout snakes really.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Snakes would be on the bottom of my fear list in Utah. And I absolutely hate those godless creations


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

I'll admit, I get pretty nervous walking through moose country in the dark. Those things scare me a lot more than bears or lions.

Like others have said, time spent afield builds confidence. So does hunting with someone else. Nothing wrong with finding a hunting partner, if that's what it takes to put you at ease.


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

I am very rarely worried in Utah. Bears and lions are mostly more afraid of you.

But I also have several different light sources if needed. The only critters I've had problems with in the dark is a porcupine and skunks. Oh, and wasp nests 

With my bow the arrow stays in the quiver unless I am in a set. While using a rifle or shotgun, if I'm hunting there is one in the chamber. 

I'm a firm believer if you are going to CC there should be one in the pipe.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I’m not alone often after dark in the wilderness. It happens, but I’m usually with people when I venture out. There is always a sense of vulnerability for me in those situations. I wouldn’t call it fear, necessarily, but an acknowledgement that I’m at nature’s whim out there. That is part of it for me, however. Realizing that Mother Nature rules is actually very liberating for me.

Backpacking in grizz country last summer always had me a little more on edge than normal, but again, that was part of the fun. I don’t view myself as top of the food chain, and that’s okay. 

There was one time down on the San Juan hiking out where some weird stuff happened and I legitimately was a bit worried. But all is well that ends well, and here I am typing this out today! Still don’t have a clue what was following us, I’ve tried to convince myself it was a mountain lion, but still not sure. #sasquatch #yeti #weirdstuff


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## BRL1 (Sep 12, 2007)

Usually don't go alone but the times I have I am always more aware of my surroundings. The one time I really got nervous was Elk hunting, walked up a canyon in a couple feet of new snow. Headed back down the same way to find Cougar tracks on top of mine from the morning. Kept telling myself it was just following the trail I had broke in the deeper snow.
Had one experience, two of us walking out duck hunting well before daylight, listening to the coyotes howl. Rounded a corner on the dike and could see a light moving back and forth across the dike. Get up closer to it and it is another hunter pacing, asks if he can walk with us cause the coyote howls are scaring him. He walked with us till we left the dike.
My preference is not go alone otherwise my wife and my parents get very upset when I do go alone.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

I find the more time I spend in the mountains, the less fearful I've become. I think I moved to Utah in 2011, or 2012, and it didn't take long before I got back into hunting in general and took up big game hunting. Which is to say, I don't have decades of experience like Critter.

My first memory of being afraid was my first hunting season here, and coming back to my camp in the dark. All the quakies, it reminded me of the blair witch project, and I felt pretty spooked. I got over that fairly quickly though.

After that, any feelings of fear are intermittent. 

-Hiking back to camp in the dark during a muzzy deer hunt, and being 5 miles in the mountain before I got to the road.
- Early gray light, and seeing fresh cat tracks.
- sitting at the mouth of a canyon at 3:30 am during a turkey hunt, wondering if there was a cat creeping up behind me.
- a pair of green eyes staring back at me in the dark. Still don't know what it was, but they were at waist/chest height, and didn't bounce when they turned around and went away.

I think most of my fears are my own imagination, having watched too many movies. I think I worry about mountain lions more then I worry about bears, and probably don't worry about bears as much as I should. I have never worried about coyotes. I had plenty of experience with those as a kid camping in the desert. Though I know if the pack is large enough, an individual could possibly be on the menu, but it's extremely rare. I have yet to run into a rattler, so their barely a conscious thought.

I have to admit, I am an early riser. I have no problems going up the mountain at 3 in the morning, on foot, by myself, and hike 5-6 miles in and bushwack in the dark to circle around a ridge to play the wind in a draw, or bowl, at first gray light. In part, because I know that no matter what happens, day light will come. I tend to not hunt as hard as I should in the evening if I don't have a reason to, or pressing urge. (IE. If know where the elk or deer are).

I'd say 95% of the time, either hunting, or scouting, I am by myself. What used to bother me the most, is not being able to share or experience it with someone else. I'm one of those guys who got out of the military years ago, but the military hasn't quite left me entirely. Starting a hunt O'dark 30 feels a lot like being deployed. I get this old familiar feeling in my gut, its a mix of fear, and excitement. Almost like butterflies in your stomach for lack of better words. It feels a lot like an early morning bag drag, going through a mobility line, being loaded on a C-141, and those ramps shutting closed. Sitting there, alone in your own thoughts with this mix of emotion in your gut. But yeah it used to bother me that I have no "brother", to experience things with. There is something to be said for comradeship, and I miss that. The lack of that bothered me more then any fear i experienced hunting by myself. 

That too, I've gotten over. Now I enjoy being able to make my own decisions, move at my own pace, make my own time table, move when i want, camp where i want, make my own judgement calls, its as near complete personal freedom as your going to have. Now, Turkey season is over, scouting season is here; and this year, I'm camping where I'm glassing instead of going back to the truck in the evening. My current spring/summer boots are about worn out, trying to make them last another season. :mrgreen:


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## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

After the Governor's debate last night what scares me in a lit room or in the dark wilderness is Greg Hughes :smile:


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

I'm more scared walking in the city than I am in the mountains.

I spent a lot of time in the mountains alone.


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## buck (May 27, 2020)

Agreed. Id take the dark timber at night over SLC or any other big city everytime.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

buck said:


> Agreed. Id take the dark timber at night over SLC or any other big city everytime.


I agree. With wildlife, you know what to expect. They're honest in their purity of intention. With people, you never know what they are going to do, and often far more dangerous.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

I'm more nervous about stumbling across a body while out in the woods or the marsh. A few years ago I was in the water retrieving a duck at Farmington Bay, when I stepped into something very crunchy. I knew immediately it was a rib cage. I freaked out! I flung my boot up out of the water so fast the ribs and legs went flying. My buddies were laughing their tails off and couldn't figure out what the heck I was doing kicking and screaming. They came out to investigate and I told them what happened. They kicked around in the water for a minute or two and found a dog skeleton. You never know what the Jordan River water will surprise you with... Still gives me the heebee jeebees…...


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Finding a body is no joke. 

When I was working I came across one while doing a locate in a very remote location as I was tromping through the willows. It was still fresh enough that you could tell that it was a woman's. A big problem was that I had to drive 10 miles to get to a location that had phone service to call it in and then I had to go back to show the sheriff's officer where it was at. That along with going through a interview about what I was doing and why I was doing it where I was at when I found her. 


I also have a friend who hooked a dead fisherman up at Little Deer Ck just below Deer Creek Dam while he was using spinners fishing. He thought it was a log until he got the guy close to the bank. 

He hasn't gone stream fishing since and that was over 60 years ago.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

I hear ya Critter!! Thank God I haven't come across a body. But if someone has gone missing in a reservoir or lake and presumed dead, drown, I wont fish that body of water until they find them. That just creeps me out.


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