Close encounters????

[ontariocamper]

Just read a post from RDF formerly VDF..........says he is from the desert area.
Brought to mind SCORPIONS!!!

I will let RDF chime in on this one, probably first, but anyone can chip in.

Has anyone ever (while camping) had an encounter or close encounter with a dangerous creature?
RDF....ever put yer foot in a boot full of scorpions?

Snake bites anyone?
Bears?.....

[Bigdog57]

I have found small wolf spiders sharing my tent at times..... <shudder> :eek:
But so far, they haven't tried to get too chummy or web me up for dinner.......

We have the small 'sand scorpions' down here, and I have been stung a couple times - about like a bee sting, to which I am thankfully NOT allergic!
Our biggest bugs tend to be the Orb Weaver Spiders, roaches and dragonflies.

[Smokey Mtn. Camper]

I have had several close encounters. A few that come to mind was when me and my 8 year old were hiking and came around a bend in the trail and found a mother bear and her 2 cubs eating honey just off the trail. They had torn apart a honey bees nest and were having a party. As soon as I saw the bears, the mom and I made eye contact and she became really agitated. She started "barking" at the cubs and they immediately ran up a tree.

I told my daughter to start backing down the trail very slowly. The mother bear took an aggressive position. I was "skeered" half to death but some how I managed to stand my ground as the bear charged and luckily for me it was a bluff charge. She came to a stop about 20-25 feet away. By this time, my daughter was at least 150-200 feet away. I slowly backed away and gave her plenty of room and she turned and went back to her cubs who stayed up the tree until we were totally out of sight.

After the ordeal, I just got real weak all over. It was like when you are close to being involved in a auto accident but you avoid collision, that weak feeling you get in your stomach. The best thing about that encounter other than survival was how everything we had ever been taught about dealing with a close bear encounter worked like a charm. My daughter was very impressed and instead of being more afraid, she is less afraid of bears because she now understands how to diffuse a possible close encounter. However, I now carry bear spray with me whenever I am hiking in bear country. Hopefully, I never have to use it but at least I wont be hiking with soiled underwear again. :D

Another time was a close encounter with a very hungry raccoon. It was after dark and we were cooking steaks on the grill when I saw a big coon lurking in the shadows. I just laughed and went on cooking and then I saw him dart for our dining canopy. He ran straight for it, grabbed the screen netting and was under it in a matter of seconds. Without really thinking, I unzipped the canopy and entered the "octagon" for a battle that I was unprepared for. This big coon instantly charged at ma and all I had was a cooking mit. I started backpeddeling and at the same time I was smacking this coon across the face with a soft, padded cooking mit. All that did was get lint in his eyes and piss him off anymore.

As I was trying to leave the octagon and come up with plan B I notice a bungee cord laying on our table. It had a big metal clip on the end so I started swinging that. I never made solid contact but I did enough to scare it away. As all this was going on, my best friend was also camping that weekend with his son and between them and my families laughter, it was quite a commotion.

That raccoon lurked in the shadows all night until we went to bed. It sure made for some funny times and it is still something my kids talk about EVERY trip.

[Bigdog57]

Raccoons are nothing to trifle with! They can hurt some tough dogs!
I had one raiding my trash cans at my prior home at night. One fine night, he's at it again. This time, I had the screen off my bedroom window - it was low enough to climb out of quietly. I slipped around the side of the MH, took aim and flicked my maglight on, then popped Mr. Coon in the arse end with a paintball! Hehehe..... never saw a coon run so fast! A grey, black and pink blur! He never came back.... :D

[renodesertfox]

Scorpions

On warm evenings scorpions can often be found in surprising abundance. To locate them, one needs an ultraviolet or "black" light since they blend in perfectly with the ground, sand, subtrate when illuminated with an ordinary flashlight. Under a UV light they fluoresce with an eerie, pale green glow that makes them stand out from every other feature. When campin out on the desert, and locating scorpions just to see where they are at can be chilling. One night, we counted 85 little critters not 100 feet from our tent. That alone teaches you very quickly to keep your tent zipped and boots off the ground and upside down. Never had a problem with Scorpions, but such an abundance no doubt would frighten the novice when contemplating a first-time campout in the desert! Ha Ha! :D

[Christn2000]

Scariest visitors I've had in camp were usually skunks-thankfully.

[Bigdog57]

Once when camping over near Pensacola, a buddy and I were bedded down at night. We would occasionally here the 'chuffing' sound of a Black Bear 'out there' near camp. A very eery feeling....! But we were armed. Had my SKS carbine in the tent with me.

Closer to home, I was 'stealth camping' near a water hole here, but far enough away to allow the critters unfettered access. Another vehicle had pulled in on the other side of the pond. Late at night, I could hear the coyotes all around us, yelping and singing. they did not like us near their digs..... then the other guy's small "yap dog" began yapping his little head off. "Oh great!", I think, "Live bait!" I had a handgun 'cocked&locked' just in case......

[SirLancelot]

We encountered numerous raccoons on a lengthy trip we took in July/August, but they were more of a nuisance than anything else. What we DID encounter though that left a pretty lasting impact was a porcupine. Our dog apparently surprised one, or it surprised her after the dog got out of the tent one night. Fortunately it was on the last night before we left and so we were able to take her to the vet the next day though.

[Money Man]

Re: Close encounters????

I had an encounter with a bear while in college. A buddy and I went to a campsite on Raquette lake and we got to drinkin' and forgot to put the cooler in the truck. About 4 in the morning I am woke up by the cooler being driven into the side of the tent and hitting me in the foot. Nothing I could do but lay there and wait for him to leave. The wall of the tent did not rip, but it seems he was having a hard time getting into the cooler and was pushing it around trying to open it. I haven't forgot to put the cooler away ever again.
Also, 2 years ago, the family and I were camping in Cape Cod, and my wife walked to the bathroom, and forgot her flashlight. We were close enough that she could see so she didn't bother. I guess she got near a patch of bushes, and she said a deer jumped out of the bushes and almost ran her over. The next night a raccoon came and ate the dog's food outside under the picnic table. She decided it was time to buy a pop up so she didn't have to go outside to use the bathroom.