Just call me the Stealthy Cannibal.

Didn’t even do it on purpose! In fact, the whole point was to be seen! Saturday was opening season for guns here in the Sunshine State. I didn’t make it to the formal campgrounds because of a late start after work and traffic on the way to the trailhead. So, knowing the guns would be out and about I decided to camp right off the trail. Nice to wake with visible blazes on both sides of you.

Well, at about 5:20 I was laying there waiting for the sun to come up. My hiking buddy, in a tent, was apparently doing the same thing. Next thing we know there is what I will call a “call” that could not have been more than 15 feet away. This was a bad call; really bad. I don’t even know what the heck this guy was trying to call for! It was so bad that even though I was concerned about his proximity, I laughed out loud. My buddy was in her tent giggling too! I guess we hurt this fella’s ego and we heard him immediately go through the bush away from us.

However, the whole thing left me a little rattled to have a hunter that close to a site that was about as non-stealth as you can get. I left my pack hanging very visibly with my orange blaze vest over it. We all know how stealthy those bright tents are ! Based on his skills (or lack there of) with a call, I assume this was an inexperienced hunter. However, it has me thinking of a Blaze Orange tarp. Anybody have a tarp that they use during hunting season, or do ya’ll just take your chances?