First night in the woods alone?

[JoshG]

Can't remember the first time, but don't think I have ever been scared really. A couple of stories though. recently while sleeping out in hammock and stuff, I awoke in the first light and saw a stag in the camp sniffing around my rucksack under my tarp. As my head emerged from the bag and saw the deer so bleeding close, I don't know who was more suprised!! He certainly bolted fast...!
Another time I was on Dartmoor with my wife of the time and we made a 'pretty wild mushroom' soup, if you know what I mean. I was awoken in the night by something bloody huge outside the tent. I peered out the door and saw the biggest damn cow i have ever seen! It was one of those big buggers with long hair and huge horns that looks like it should be on Tattooine. I guess under the influenc of the soup, it might have appeared bigger than it was but dwarfed out little tent. I didn't sleep to well that night, I can tell you...

Ahahahah, I loved the Tattooine cow description! briliant. And yes i'd be a bit cautious about having that kind of soup until you were super comfortable with where you were staying

This thread is fantastic, everyones stories are brilliant. But so far I don't have any of my own, because I have nowhere to camp apart from campsites or my back garden. Don't know anybody to seek permission from.

 

[stovie]

CG

your mother in law sounds spookily like mine...Good story

 

[JoshG]

I can't really remember my first night alone just too long ago. As children we were permitted to sleep out close to the main camps no further than 2-3 miles, so we got use to it gradually. I do remember on night as a group of 3 we had hiked to a river (for fishing) about 20-25 miles from the road and at the end of the weekend on the way back we decided to spend the last night on the trail (about 2+ hour to the road). We had just set up camp when we noticed a bear hanging around, did not think of it too much and went on with supper and such. Burnt off the evenings trash and cans and when they cooled off we packed them our refuse bag and use a bag line suspended in the trees to hang our food and waste. The bear kept comming back so we banged our pots, pans thru rocks, sticks etc.. to keep him away but he kept pestering us, associating humans with food. We tried to sleep but he (bear) would have none of it and kept pressing on-in our campsite; finaly fear struck me , shear terror coursed through my veins as I realized that my young future brother in law was with us and if any thing happened to him my future mother in law would do me in worse than any bear could ever . We packed everything up at 2 in the morning and hiked the rest of the way out with the bear following us about 10-15' behind hoping for a "treat". We got home OK, the next weekend I went back alone with my rifle to sort things out and made the worst camp with bacon, sardines and such all out in the open hoping the bear would challenge me but Muskwa is very smart, in the end I just had a dirty camp to clean up CG :yo:

That would have scared the pants off me!
But I think that's because I believed the events that occured in the film "the edge" when infact bears aren't simply out to tear you limb from limb, most likely just after your grub. That bear had obviously had a decent amount of contact with people and food, which spoils it for folk like you who follow the proper procedures

 

[Wayland]

I can remember being spooked as a kid hearing a vixen scream in the night. That was a bad night but one more recently (about 15 years ago) was a trip I had arranged with a friend.

We had decided to do a moonlight walk up the Old Man of Coniston. It was a hill I knew well so there was little danger in doing it with night vision.

The problem came when we left the pub at Eleven and just outside the village it started to rain.

Well actually rain is a bit of an understatement. It felt like someone was pouring a large bucket of water onto us.

We decided after a few miles to head for cover, I knew of an old mine level not far from where we were so we headed for that.

Now levels are normally cut so the water runs out of them, but for some reason this one was different. Some daft soul had cut it so the water ran straight into the tunnel and poured down a deep shaft at the end.

I had never seen this before, it had always been dry on other occasions.

There was a small ledge near the shaft that was just big enough for my mate and I to sleep on head to head. I slept with my feet facing the entrance and Joe with his feet to the shaft. It was unconfortable but dry.

About 3am. something woke me up...... The water was still roaring over the drop into the shaft so I couldn't hear much else but the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up like whiskers.

There was something large shuffling about by the entrance.

I couldn't make out what it was, it was dark, definitely bigger than a sheep and I couldn't think of anything else it could be. I stayed very quiet and watched it.

Whatever it was it was very interested in the entrance because it didn't move away but it didn't seem to want to come in either.


Do you know what it is yet?........

 

[Carcajou Garou]

Wayland, I wonder if you (generic) mark your campsite peremiter? (pee) around the site, along pathways, trails and point of ingress? We usualy do, a few years ago during a summer of extreme bear contacts in our areas we were a group canoe treking and camped out on an x island now (pinensula?) low water and had the males pee at the now land link area to warn off bears and such, worked real well we were left alone. CG :yo:

 

[JoshG]

I can remember being spooked as a kid hearing a vixen scream in the night. That was a bad night but one more recently (about 15 years ago) was a trip I had arranged with a friend.

We had decided to do a moonlight walk up the Old Man of Coniston. It was a hill I knew well so there was little danger in doing it with night vision.

The problem came when we left the pub at Eleven and just outside the village it started to rain.

Well actually rain is a bit of an understatement. It felt like someone was pouring a large bucket of water onto us.

We decided after a few miles to head for cover, I knew of an old mine level not far from where we were so we headed for that.

Now levels are normally cut so the water runs out of them, but for some reason this one was different. Some daft soul had cut it so the water ran straight into the tunnel and poured down a deep shaft at the end.

I had never seen this before, it had always been dry on other occasions.

There was a small ledge near the shaft that was just big enough for my mate and I to sleep on head to head. I slept with my feet facing the entrance and Joe with his feet to the shaft. It was unconfortable but dry.

About 3am. something woke me up...... The water was still roaring over the drop into the shaft so I couldn't hear much else but the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up like whiskers.

There was something large shuffling about by the entrance.

I couldn't make out what it was, it was dark, definitely bigger than a sheep and I couldn't think of anything else it could be. I stayed very quiet and watched it.

Whatever it was it was very interested in the entrance because it didn't move away but it didn't seem to want to come in either.


Do you know what it is yet?........

That sounds creepy! And hearing vixen's scream is awful, they sound like human screams.

 

[falling rain]

Scutchamers Knob in Hendred. Cool.Done the waylands thing as well, and that is well creepy. Deer darting around in the bit of wood over the track. Dear, oh dear.....Past midnight....

It wouldn't normally have bothered me but having only recently watched the film Blair Witch strange thoughts started entering my head
I love the Ridgeway though and there are some good little wild camp spots

 

[innocent bystander]

I know what you mean. I can see it from my window
The bit between segsbury camp and the youth hostel that is...

 

[lits]

My first night alone was in a lean too a couple of weeks back with my school, lots of foxes and badgers that scared the stuffing outta me but i got used to them. looking forward to my next one

 

[BlueTrain]

It has been a long time since I camped in a place where I could have a fire, so that part is out. However, practically all of my overnights for the last twenty-two years have been alone and in the woods. I don't know if you would call them deep woods or not but those are the only places legal to camp in the area I usually visit.

Mostly the nights are tranquil. But other nights make up for it.

There are a lot of deer in that area and they will make more noise than a human walking around in the woods at night. The most frightening night I ever had, though, was once when the day was nice and quiet but at nightfall the wind started blowing. I heard tree limbs falling for hours. Not a restful night.

Another night I arrived at my planned campsite about two hours later than I had hoped to, mainly because I had left home late. I had to eat in the dark. Then, the night became either very foggy or a light rain started, because the trees dripped on the tent all night long. Again, not a restful night.

 

[Wayland]

I can remember being spooked as a kid hearing a vixen scream in the night. That was a bad night but one more recently (about 15 years ago) was a trip I had arranged with a friend.

We had decided to do a moonlight walk up the Old Man of Coniston. It was a hill I knew well so there was little danger in doing it with night vision.

The problem came when we left the pub at Eleven and just outside the village it started to rain.

Well actually rain is a bit of an understatement. It felt like someone was pouring a large bucket of water onto us.

We decided after a few miles to head for cover, I knew of an old mine level not far from where we were so we headed for that.

Now levels are normally cut so the water runs out of them, but for some reason this one was different. Some daft soul had cut it so the water ran straight into the tunnel and poured down a deep shaft at the end.

I had never seen this before, it had always been dry on other occasions.

There was a small ledge near the shaft that was just big enough for my mate and I to sleep on head to head. I slept with my feet facing the entrance and Joe with his feet to the shaft. It was unconfortable but dry.

About 3am. something woke me up...... The water was still roaring over the drop into the shaft so I couldn't hear much else but the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up like whiskers.

There was something large shuffling about by the entrance.

I couldn't make out what it was, it was dark, definitely bigger than a sheep and I couldn't think of anything else it could be. I stayed very quiet and watched it.

Whatever it was it was very interested in the entrance because it didn't move away but it didn't seem to want to come in either.


Do you know what it is yet?........

I forgot to finish this story.....

I continued to watch it until the light outside improved enough to see what it was.

By morning I had a very stiff neck because I'd spent half the night watching a bush blowing in the wind. :11doh:

 

[TheBushMan]

In 2003 i was camping out in scotland at loch Rannoch. There is a forest there called the black wood of rannoch. I decided to go for a midnight walk to the top of this hill, but on the way I heard something in the woods around me I stopped to investigate, but then I heard a loud growl, I abandoned my walk and ran the three miles back to camp, half expecting a beast to attack me, i didnt sleep that well. It was probably only a badger, but at 13 and on your own you can imagine almost anything!

 

[Don'tkillbill]

Although not my first night alone in the woods I recall at 20 years old backpacking bymyself through the Highland trail in Algonquin park. I heard the worst sound late in the night hissing and growling etc.. I grabbed my knife and listened carefully, you see that layer of nylon your tent offers is like a steal door!

Anyway I finally got the courage to look out the tent and it was only racoons. You see a big fat momma was on the ground (fought off another animal) and the young racoon was in my food bag. The little bugger some how climbed the rope between 2 trees and his head was in the bag throwing my food down to mommy! The little bugger took my chocolate covered almonds and kitkat bars and left me oatmeal and a boil in the foil meal.

 

[Longstrider]

*LOL*.. and people call them "dumb animals"! If only that were the case. As it is, when things like this happen the little sods always seem to go straight for the tastiest (and most missed) items in the cache.

My first ever full night out in the nowhere on my own was when I was about 11. I had absolutely no fear of whatever might be out there with me, and I was far too busy doing what I went for to consider it. I was lamping rabbits with a .22 rifle, so most things that I might have come across were going to lose if it came to war. What with fishing, shooting, and sitting out in the woods on a Winters night with a 2 way radio on "Poacher Watch", I guess I spent far more nights out in the fields and woods than most lads. The sounds of the woods can be unnerving if you aren't used to them. The grunting and snuffling of Brock, the yelp of the fox and the call of the owl can all make your hackles rise, not to mention the furtive movements of the smaller beasties which come out to play in the dark. The scrabblings of the smallest mouse can sound like a wildebeast in full gallop when it comes from close by at 3 a.m.

Once whilst caravannig with my parents as a child, we were all woken by my fathers insistant murmerings of "There's something "chomping" in the awning!".
Armed to the teeth with whatever we thought might constitute a useful weapon in the circumstances we burst from the caravan into the awning to protect our little sanctuary from whatever ferocious wild beast might have invaded. The light of a torch swung here and there looking for the culprit as we readied ourselves to either pounce or flee for our lives.......... and then found the hedgehog that had got into the rubbish bag!