Scariest Moment in the Woods?

**jaedee** · 10-19-2016, 17:43

Originally Posted by markr6

Yeah, I tend to do "fake coughs" now and then to give some warning. Sometimes even a whistle or clap. I was actually heading down to Monogahela area this weekend, but decided to change my plans for a shorter drive.

I always used to see bears in Otter Creek. I miss that area.

**Leafer** · 10-19-2016, 19:55

While on a solo outing,I slid back into some rocks for a primitive night ( no gear,or shelter.)Not long after settling in,I hear a noise in the leaves very near me,soon I not only heard something,I felt something.Glancing down,there crawling from between my legs,and up around my crotch was a pretty nice copperhead.The snake circled my crotch,slid back around my back,and once again back out from between my legs before crawling off.I decided to find a new sleeping spot after that.

**TrailSlug** · 10-19-2016, 20:01

Originally Posted by Leafer

While on a solo outing,I slid back into some rocks for a primitive night ( no gear,or shelter.)Not long after settling in,I hear a noise in the leaves very near me,soon I not only heard something,I felt something.Glancing down,there crawling from between my legs,and up around my crotch was a pretty nice copperhead.The snake circled my crotch,slid back around my back,and once again back out from between my legs before crawling off.I decided to find a new sleeping spot after that.

This would be it for me. Dead man found between rocks ... How did you not move?

**mcpacker** · 10-19-2016, 20:08

Originally Posted by tnaratil

I had my go pro out but I left the case on with all the excitement. It cant pick up any sounds with the case on. I will definitely look it a voice recorder. Do you recommend any economy based models that perform well?

One night we car camped in Weiser State Forest and heard Fisher Cats. They legitimately sound like a woman being murdered, we sat listening trying to figure out if I should go investigate in the middle of the night. Luckily google informed me that it was likely a Fisher Cat.

I've had good luck with Olympus brand recorders like this

https://www.amazon.com/Olympus-VN-72...audio+recorder

you just need one with long battery life and ideally an SD card or at least a usb connector.

And try to avoid using white light when you can. It has been thought that they might not like flashlights.

**deuce656** · 10-19-2016, 21:11

Originally Posted by Leafer

While on a solo outing,I slid back into some rocks for a primitive night ( no gear,or shelter.)Not long after settling in,I hear a noise in the leaves very near me,soon I not only heard something,I felt something.Glancing down,there crawling from between my legs,and up around my crotch was a pretty nice copperhead.The snake circled my crotch,slid back around my back,and once again back out from between my legs before crawling off.I decided to find a new sleeping spot after that.

No Way I could've remained still during that encounter!!!! wow, I would have sounded like a Fisher Cat and my screams would possibly have been another member's scariest moment in the woods

**Leafer** · 10-21-2016, 12:48

Originally Posted by TrailSlug

This would be it for me. Dead man found between rocks ... How did you not move?

I was bitten by a copperhead on the right butt cheek years ago,I tried to move before it got me,but something about squatting on a snake turns out to be a bad thing.I figured I couldn't outrun a copperhead when I was younger,I durn sure couldn't outrun one at my less than youthful age.I admit though,a copperhead crawling around my crotch gave me a serious pucker factor.

**BiGR Rich** · 10-25-2016, 22:15

Probably not my scariest moment in the woods, but something happened recently that left me perplexed....

Recently I got back into riding a bicycle and decided to load up my camping gear on the bike and head down the road and try some camping off the bike. There's a creek that runs about a block from my house, and there are a ton of places to setup a hammock along a creek.....anyways, I picked a spot that was across from a large factory (they are quiet on midnight shift) since the trail down from the road wasn't terribly steep for a loaded bike.

After setting up my gear for the night, I kept seeing the faintest of lights all around me but never closer than 25' or so..... when I first saw one, I assumed it was a firefly. But they were so dim (even at those distances) and the light would be illuminated for about 15-20 seconds and moving in very slow "swirl" motions. I should also mention that it was pretty chilly out when I saw the lights - much cooler than what firelflies are normally found.

Whatever they were, I'm convinced that they weren't animals (single light source & self illuminating). And I've never seen a lightening bug like that. One of life's little mysteries I suppose.....

**MAD777** · 10-25-2016, 22:39

Tiny UFO's for sure!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

**johnspenn** · 10-26-2016, 05:13

Originally Posted by BiGR Rich

Probably not my scariest moment in the woods, but something happened recently that left me perplexed....

Recently I got back into riding a bicycle and decided to load up my camping gear on the bike and head down the road and try some camping off the bike. There's a creek that runs about a block from my house, and there are a ton of places to setup a hammock along a creek.....anyways, I picked a spot that was across from a large factory (they are quiet on midnight shift) since the trail down from the road wasn't terribly steep for a loaded bike.

After setting up my gear for the night, I kept seeing the faintest of lights all around me but never closer than 25' or so..... when I first saw one, I assumed it was a firefly. But they were so dim (even at those distances) and the light would be illuminated for about 15-20 seconds and moving in very slow "swirl" motions. I should also mention that it was pretty chilly out when I saw the lights - much cooler than what firelflies are normally found.

Whatever they were, I'm convinced that they weren't animals (single light source & self illuminating). And I've never seen a lightening bug like that. One of life's little mysteries I suppose.....

I saw something very similar on a trip to Cloudland Canyon in NW GA earlier this year, springtime, and before firefly season. I had no clue what they were. It was a little unsettling, because of that "unknown" factor but very interesting.

**bobbycobbler** · 10-26-2016, 06:38

saw something like described above. small little lights. We dont get that many fireflies here in Florida. The next time i saw it, i ran towards it with my flashlight. Ended up being a beetle with 2 little bio luminescent spots on its back. Looked it up on the google machine. Think it was called a click beetle.