Bigfoot
I?m a night person and love the thrill of exploring at night. There are always dangers at night. You could fall into a hole, walk into a killer bee nest, or be eaten by a bear, Bigfoot or shark.
I would be leery of using a light in the water, as this would attract fish and the predators that eat those fish. On land, I would not use headphones since you can hear if something is stalking you and the speaker from the detector may keep man eaters at bay. Mountain Lion are curious though!
Your mind can play tricks on you. Once I was exploring an old homestead in Idaho at night when suddenly I smelled pork. I mean a strong pork smell! I could hear something big walking around and all I could think of was that a bear was there. I?m normally unafraid of bear but I was terrified.
In California?s most remote mountain wilderness, by the Klamath River, My wife and I went for a night hike by an alpine lake. We heard trees falling and crashing to the ground; there was no wind. If this wasn?t scary enough, we heard a loud growling scream. Never heard nothing like it. Right away we thought it was Bigfoot.
We had to bypass a landslide, which brought us into an area that probably hasn?t seen a human in 40 years. We would have left but one of the horses hurt his leg after a fall and took a couple weeks to heal. This growl turned the most beautiful place I ever seen into the scariest place I?ve ever been!
Most recently, we were horse packing along the General Crook Trail in North Central Arizona. We camped by an Indian/Calvary battlefield during its anniversary. I went out exploring at night and honor those who perished in the fight. This is one night my lady stayed at camp. I started hearing whistling, like someone imitating a bird, and thought it was Indians! It scared the hell out of me especially after reading about the massacre on a plaque. I?m sure it was some bird I wasn?t familiar with.
I guess the spooky mind tricks and the adrenaline rush of being scared keeps me out at night! I?m a thrill seeker but try to take calculated risks. I would say for those going out at night to be aware of the local dangers, carry an emergency kit and just be extra careful.
I find I am much more careful ?subconsciously? when traveling the wilderness than in civilization. I hardly ever get hurt when I?m out at night. It seems your senses are working extra hard. Now for a person who doesn?t practice and use their senses, I wouldn?t suggest going out.
Dane
www.horsebackamerica.com
