Night Sounds

**Quoddy** · 10-15-2007, 10:43

I was in my hammock last night in an area that I'd regularly seen many types of animals. Lots of deer, including one very large buck seen many times, occasional moose, bear, quite a few coyotes, and a mountain lioness with kittens once. Around midnight I heard loud snorting and stamping of hooves about 15 feet away but couldn't see it because the MacCat tarp was set up very low. Just about got back to sleep when the screaming sound of a large cat woke me. The occasional coyote calls didn't seem to bother me, but they were in the distance.

This was the first time in quite awhile that I'd heard so many very close sounds, at least enough to wake me. The temperature never quite got down to the forecasted 32 to 35 so my Peapod and bag were way warm. Slept in a single cotton top and bottom, with the bag (FF Winter Wren) unzipped almost half way. With at least reasonable weather I'll be heading for the Adirondack high peaks for a long weekend.

**NCPatrick** · 10-15-2007, 11:03

Ok, snorting, stamping hooves and screaming cat sound... what kind of animal is that? With my luck I'd have to really go 'water the bushes' right about then...

**FanaticFringer** · 10-15-2007, 11:08

I've been debating using ear plugs. On one hand it would block out noises and help me sleep better. On the other hand I want to know if a "Monster" is about to attack my hammock.

**Rapt** · 10-15-2007, 11:09

I hear coyotes so much around my house (even just with the windows open) that I hardly notice anymore.

The snorting and stamping sounds like some sort of deer/moose... if it were combined with screaming cats I'd say it was a large grumpy moose telling a mountain lion to go hunt somewhere else. In Alaska dog sledders carry guns to protect themselves and their teams from moose. A pissed off moose is BAD news...

**Iafte** · 10-15-2007, 11:22

There are owls where I go hiking that sound like a woman screaming. They are also what some people mistake for the sounds of bigfoot. My buddy told me about them but hearing one when trying to sleep still makes me wake right up.

My friend also got woke up by a deer snorting at him, he had a skunk walk across him when he was cowboy camping one night.

Had a bear walk through our camp one night and we listened to it shake the tree our food bags were hung on for about 30 minutes. There was a bear attack this past weekend in PA. I saw it on the news Saturday, the bear was looking for food.

**Cannibal** · 10-15-2007, 11:31

A couple of weeks ago I was out hiking and as I lay in my hammock during the small hours, I felt some 'back-pressure" build. Well, being alone in to woods I had no problems letting the horn blow; it was not stealthy...at all. A moment later I heard something smash thru some brush nearby my hammock. I think I probably scared a deer or something that was just chillin a little too close to me. I giggled myself back to sleep.

Kind of nice to turn the tables.

**Rapt** · 10-15-2007, 11:43

It wasn't the NOISE that scared the critter off....

**headchange4u** · 10-15-2007, 11:44

Originally Posted by Iafte

There are owls where I go hiking that sound like a woman screaming. They are also what some people mistake for the sounds of bigfoot. My buddy told me about them but hearing one when trying to sleep still makes me wake right up.

I took my 10 year old niece camping this summer on my grandmothers farm. My wife and my niece slept in a tent and I slept in my hammock right next to them. Throughout the evening we heard coyotes howling and I could tell they were getting closer. My niece kind got scared but told her that they wouldn't come near us.

About 2 in the morning I woke up when I heard an very loud sound that sounded like a women screaming or laughing, or sorta like a witches cackle. You could hear a single call and then more would join in for a very eerie chorus. I had never heard that sound before but I found a recording of the same call online and it was coyotes.

Needless to say it scared the s**t out of both my wife and my niece.

**txulrich** · 10-15-2007, 12:28

Originally Posted by FanaticFringer

I've been debating using ear plugs. On one hand it would block out noises and help me sleep better. On the other hand I want to know if a "Monster" is about to attack my hammock.

I regularly use them. Of course the strange breed of animal that I usually end up sleeping near are particularly noisy. The adult male scoutmaster. It's strange though, we never seem to run out of firewood...........