Spooky Hanging

[Bearclaw]

"One of the early theories is that the Mothman was a misidentified Sandhill Crane, which, in the late 1960s had been a problem in surrounding regions. Sandhill cranes can reach a height of six feet, achieve wingspans of 10 feet, have the general appearance described, glide for long distances without flapping, and have an unusual shriek. Other recent theories suggest the possibility of the Mothman being a barn owl, an albino owl, or perhaps a large Snowy Owl (based on artists' impressions)."

It wasn't an owl and I don't think it was a Sandhill Crane (although I never considered it), so I'll go with Mothman.

And they taste like chicken

[MrClean417]

The Mothman or the Crane.

[salamander42]

this has happened to me after only 10 yards off on a pitch black night.


I always carry a lanyard around my neck with a whistle and a photon. Especially when I go to bed.

A handy flashlight has a lot of handy uses at night.

Oh, I had my head lamp, plus another flashlight. Neither of them threw a beam far enough for me to see my camp though. I also had a knife or two, whistle, and a few other things in my pockets that I never leave camp without. If all else failed, I could have gotten a fire going and spent the night on the ground. Glad I wasn't reduced to that though.

[Captn]

Oh, I had my head lamp, plus another flashlight. Neither of them threw a beam far enough for me to see my camp though. I also had a knife or two, whistle, and a few other things in my pockets that I never leave camp without. If all else failed, I could have gotten a fire going and spent the night on the ground. Glad I wasn't reduced to that though.

Same here! Then to see your gear 50 yards off at first light would almost make you cry!

[Owl]

First hang Friday night.

Got setup, was out with all three of my sons. Two of us in hammocks, two in a tent. Oldest had been threatening to mess with me knowing I couldn't get out of it fast (HH velcro entrance).

Stayed up late while everyone else went to bed...wanted to make sure that the fire was completely out and it as safe to sleep. Doused it, looked over and oldest was still reading in the tent.

Crawled in...had to get used to the swing and the sound of the mylar blanket underneath me every time I moved, took me a good while before I felt like I started to drift off.

I'm laying there listening to the coyotes and the owls...those don't bother me, they're relaxing.

I started hearing something scratching under my hammock.

Nawww....can't be.

Sure enough, something is scratching under the my hammock!!!!!!

I come up outta there, blade in hand!

Nothing. No one around, and not a thing moving in the woods around me. I yell "Sam, you messing with me?!?!?!". Nothing...all my boys are sound asleep.

That's when I noticed that there was a slight breeze going intermittently. No leaves yet, so you don't hear it much.

Note to self...one more reason to make sure that you raise the hammock higher next time, so that the little weed/bush you didn't bother to remove doesn't rub against the bottom of the hammock when you climb your 200lb butt into it and it sags down!

LOL...my boys laughed when told them about it in the morning!

[ice man]

Last July. My annual pilgrimage to the Black hills. Camped on a GPAA gold claim halfway between Sturgis and Deadwood. When I arrived I walked down to the dry creek to check things out and find a place to hang. There was a greasy spot right on the trail near some likely hanging trees, with deer bones scattered around. I went back to where 2 other guys were set up in a trailer house camper, not quite thinking, I commented "Who's the inconsiderate poaching SOB to dress a deer right on the trail?" I was told "Not a poacher. Deer Kill!" Then I got the low-down on what had been going on. Seems the lion walked within 5 ft. of one of them while he was panning in a puddle in the creek. It got the contents of his gold pan in the face. The thing had been showing up right about sundown nearly every night. While they're telling me this, I notice they both were packing large size pistols. Nuts to hammocking, I camped in the enclosed cargo trailer I tow the ATV in. It was a long nervous night, with every sound of the tarp rustling and wind blowing things around eating at the imagination. The second day there, I was cooking dinner and looked up to see this huge mountain lion sitting there like a house cat. About 30 Feet away, watching me curiously. Just watching. At first I thought it was kinda neat, and was wondering if I could get the camera out without spooking it off. After stirring the potatoes, I looked up and the cat was gone! PANIC ATTACK! big time. no doubt about it, I'm on the menu, and being stalked! Got my back to the trailer, and hyper-vigilant. No cat nowhere. PANIC! Climb in the trailer and pull the door shut. That was one long night. and I heard a gunshot in the middle of the night. Next morning I asked the neighbors what the gunshot was. They said that bleepin' cat jumped up on th hood of their pickup and they heard the thump of its paws hit the side of their trailer when it leaned over and was looking in the window at them. ( A gen-you-wine peeping tom!") one of them said they'd had enuf of that cat and stepped outside and "Pierced its ear" I'd had enuf too, and bugged out for home.

[MrClean417]

You are a part of the food chain, just a little lower on the list when your out on your own in THEIR environment.

Dress accordingly.

[ice man]

Can't wait to go back to the same spot next July. This time I'll definitely be "dressed" better. Its on my bucket list to find at least a gold flake. Some awesum ATV riding in this area. The locals use rock crawlers around there. Punch up "black hills Hal Johns" and see.

[Rolloff]

I was canoe camping the head waters of Salt Creek, in the middle of April a few years ago. Thunderstorms moved in early the next morning and continued steady all through the day. About 2pm trees started uprooting in the wind and sliding down off of Terrel Ridge behind us. Most sounded fairly small, then one started crunching and cracking as it began to fall and took an ungodly amount of time to actually hit the ground. When it did it shook the ground under the tent. Then it began sliding down the ridge behind us.....and kept sliding....and crashing into other trees and rocks.....and kept sliding, more like rumbling down the ridge. Did I mention loud? It just kept coming and coming, until it could only be yards from rolling right through the tent wall!

Finally came to a halt. We scrambled into our boots and outside into the rain expecting to see this huge redwood sized old growth monster stopped only inches from our impending demise.....only to find nothing. I walked around for better part of an hour and never found anything near us, or anywhere close that could have possibly been the culprit. Needless to say we bugged out, right into a tornado. I had to watch the wind on the water surface, and yell to my wife in the other end to crouch down when it would slam us broadside to keep from blowing over. The turn out of upper Salt Creek where the channel to the boat ramp runs out into the lake forms a gap. When we scooted by that short curve you could feel the canoe being pulled out toward the lake proper. It wasn't more than you could buck, but when I turned my head to take a look out on the lake, it looked like the ocean. Whitecaps, rogue waves, a churning water blender.

Hey it was nice when we got there!

[Doctari]

OH, I can't believe I forgot about this one. Sadly it was during my pre hanging days.
I'm sound asleep in my tarp just N of NOC on the AT, when I heard a "I'm going to eat your head off & then P**p down your throat" type scream about 8" from my head. I SAT STRAIGHT UP. NO transition, I went from laying down to sitting up, heart rate from a nice sedate (I was sleeping) 40 BPM to what felt like 400 BPM & yes I was breathing HARD & ready to fight.

after what seemed like many long minutes, I heard the sound again, but as I was now awake (OH BOY was I AWAKE! ) It wasn't quite as scary, nor as close sounding. Turns out it was a male Barred Owl, fighting with another for the affections of fair lady Owl. The #2 guy wasn't nearly as loud, & many yards away, #1 was in the tree my tarp was attached to & only about 10' above me. I managed to fall back to sleep, , , , , eventually, but the next day I was sluggish all day, ending up calling it a day at noon.