Backpacking Discussions

While on the the trail, I must be ever mindful not to disturb the wildlife. I always avoid setting a camp near dens. This was the lesson that I learned on the Rapid River trail late one fall evening. I had hiked in eight miles to Hibbs cow camp to find the perfect spot to set my tarp for the night, or so I thought. After a late supper of woodland stew with yellow cheese, hot berry scones and mint tea, I sat back to rest on a yew log. The first sign of them was a pair of red eyes, reflecting the setting sun, in a bush at the edge of the camp. I was soon surrounded. The first to break from the brush came straight for my kitchen pack, I am sure he could smell my camp biscuits, and tried to drag it away. They went for my sleeping bag. They went for my boots. They went for me. I took back my kitchen pack, at great peril and took out a packet of bread to distract them. It worked. Throwing bread at them set them upon one another while I grabbed up my things and run for dear life. I set up camp a mile further down the trail and never saw them again. I needed to tell my fellow hikers about the vicious predators in the area. At the trailhead on my way out, I put the warning on the messege board. BEWARE OF CHIPMONKS!

hahahahaha wow. great story, you had me on the edge of my seat! You have to be careful with those vicioius predators!

I call chipmunks "mini-bears". They can demolish gear almost as fast as a real bear! I carry my Bear Vault in all situations, for any type of critters. It makes it so much easier to critter proof my camp.

wow I thought you were going to say 'and those vicious predators ate me alive' or something! Those little guys have chewed through plenty of my gear too. I've been stupid to many times and left food to wear they can smell it and get to it. Bear canisters are a smart idea even if you aren't in bera country, although I think I'll find something a little cheaper!

They're the minions of the woods! Beware! LOL

Ok. This story is not as good as the killer chipmonks but it was memorable for me.

After hiking for 11 miles, plus another 4 miles for a side trip, we arived at the Kalalau beach in the Napali coast of Kauai. I was trashed and it was starting to get dark. I started cooking dinner and after poring my remaining water into my dehydrated soup and cook pot, I realized that I had only enough water to make sludge for dinner. I heard that the water source was at the other end of the beach at a water fall. Some call it the shower. I hussled down to the water fall, filtered some water and took a quck dip. One of the women sun bathers that I had seen from a distance walked up to the shower and was standing there in front of me waiting her turn, buck naked. Being the gentleman that I am, I made only eye to eye contact with her, said hi, and beat a path back to my waiting dinner. What I realized when I returned was that the famous Kauai monster cockroaches had made my waiting sludge their dinner. I had hundreds of cockroaches on all my pots and dishes and they had infiltrated my pack that was sitting close by. I usually keep my pack in my tent but not this night. Oh well, not all the memories were unpleasant.

Ha ha ha. That is a story. So are you implying that the women was a vicious predator? Maybe she was... those nudists can get angry when they are taking their showers... But I did visit Hawaii and those cockroaches are horrible! And people living there act like they are no big deal! That is horrible that you had them all in your backpack. I bet you had some nice critters waiting for you when you got home and unpacked your backpack! You may say that memory was unpleasant, but really, those memories are the ones you will remember the longest. The times when you go backpacking and you forget a water filter and you take a chance and drink the stream water (like I had to) are always going to stay with you. The suspense after drinking the water to find out if I would be sick for the next few weeks was the hard part. Ha ha