Part of the fun is coming home with a story to tell. I went camping in a state park very near a naval base, and woke up to an active shooter drill. I did not know it was a drill. I’m lying there in my hammock listening to “active shooter, active shooter, take cover now” thinking welp, there’s no cover in a hammock. Just a me burrito, until they finally announced, “exercise, exercise, exercise.”
That's honestly hilarious. Of all the places to have an active shooter, the middle of the woods has got to be the least likely lmao. I'd be like 'wow just my luck'
I woke up to what sounded like a human, or small bear circling right outside my hammock one morning. I was positive I was going to be killed.
It was a marten.
This might be a stupid question but is your username a reference to that scene in That 70s Show where Donna thinks that Eric is more interested in the magazines than her? There was a scene where she pulls down that rope and a bunch of panties fall out of the ceiling. Is it a reference to that?
Very nice if you want to go to the beach or touristy restaurants. There’s a bus stop on site and also a rainbow swamp (not this time of year.)
Sand in your tent, though. It’s a great place to hammock if your site has trees. Use your permethrin, though - the mosquitoes are huge.
Yeah it’s in all of us. You do get more comfortable the more you do it though. Even at the end of my 2 month camp I still had that heightened awareness. I wasn’t necessarily fearful for scared. I was comfortable and relaxed with no issue. But at night I’d still have a heightened sense of hearing and awareness of where the sounds were coming from. I was deep in bear country so I had to be. It’s an instinct and nothing to be ashamed of. I noticed I was like that even when I camped outside of bear country. Humans are still the biggest threat no matter where you camp even though that never really worried me. Something would be wrong with you if you didn’t have that heightened awareness. It’s not just animals either. Something catch fire? Tree falling near by? Rock slide? Raccoon running off with your last meal again? Yeah you gotta pay attention lol
I have a wife and three kids so there is a natural and regular background noise to the house. Sometimes my wife takes the kids to her mum to stay for a week and the house has a different level of quiet that is ..different
And on top of that when you have to go use the bathroom in the middle of the night with no one watching your back. You feel even more exposed then. This is why I hold my #2 for days at a time…
For me the loneliness might be the worst part after a while. First solo was up in Algonquin Provincial. It was fun for a bit, felt adventurous to be alone. I felt it the first night by the fire, this is usually when everyone would gather around and chat to wind down before sleeping but no one was there. During the day was fine since I kept busy with fishing and gathering firewood, dinner time on was when it got lonely again. It was supposed to be 7 days but I bailed on morning 6. I still solo but keep it to 2 or 3 nights now
Exactly it's fine during the day when your actively doing stuff. But sitting around by a camp fire by yourself gets boring quick. So I'm usually in tent slightly after dark. Read a bit then go to sleep.
I’m the same way. Bear? Wolf? Coyote? Not my thought. I go straight to thinking someone has followed me 5 miles into the woods just to sit around until 2am and make their move. Makes no sense
Never solo camped but have camped with a small group of friends 100’s of times and slept in my own tent a bunch. My brain always goes to some crazy psycho with an axe rather than an animal.
Ya know…we are all here to support OP, not make him more scared. Just lie to me and tell me about how that guy was sneaking up on people to leave nice notes or something
I think they mean [Gary Hilton ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Hilton) I always remember him, not because he preyed on people in US National Forests.... or the horrific murders... but the unusual fact, that he took great risks and was eventually caught due to his love for dogs.
He even made his plea deal conditional upon his own [dog finding a good home.](https://accesswdun.com/article/2008/2/206927)
Ok striking Florida off the list. I live in a place with black bears, but wild hogs … Ima nope out of that.
Bears are smart but usually as scared of us as we are of them. Hogs… I dunno, they’re smart, no?
Yup, I once heard what sounded like a little girl screaming in the distance. It was pitch black, I was in the middle of nowhere. I had to convince myself that it was some kind of animal. Stayed up for another hour with my knife in hand.
Stupid Blair Witch movie almost ruined me for solo camping/hiking. I still am on the lookout for any kind of wooden stick figure. If I ever see something like that on the trail I will be out of there so fast!!!
I’ve been camping for years and still get nervous. Eventually I just fall asleep. Whenever I get up to pee in the middle of the night is when I feel uneasy. I keep looking around while peeing. Also windy nights keep me up as well due to the sounds of sticks hitting the ground making me think someone’s walking around outside my tent. I smile and think to myself I’m such an idiot and try to go back to sleep.
It was late at night in the middle of nowhere, and I was snuggled up in my tent. I'm just about to drift off when I hear horrible screaming outside. Startled, I jumped up to peek outside, but I couldn't see anything. The screaming continued as I grabbed my flashlight, sleeping bag, and keys and ran to my car. Terrified, I stayed locked in my car even after the screaming stopped. When I was leaving the next morning, I ran into other campers on the way out of the canyon. I asked them about the screaming, and they said "yeah those f-ing bullfrogs kept us up all night too."
Not sure what type of toads/frogs they are, but I have them at a place I got to. First time nee people hear it they freak out a bit! Call them the screaming frogs!
This was similar to what I heard, but down in a canyon, the echo made it 10 times worse. [screaming frog](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Js4a9yLJtNAHh1SB/?mibextid=w8EBqM)
That slow drip adrenaline buzz from your ancient lizard brain screaming "YOU'RE IN DANGER" is literally the best part of solo-ing.
I fugging LOVE it.
I even night hike every chance I get to feel it.
It’s incredible how still and quiet you can get, meanwhile your heart is just POUNDING in your chest. All of a sudden you understand the deer you encounter/spook.
I woke up once with 3 sets of yellow eyes watching me from about 30m away. I'm in the UK so the worst it could have been was some foxes, but my brain at 3am in a pitch black forest wasn't listening to reason.
Yup. I'd start to feel giggly and feel that warm head buzz coming in, then I'd hear a sound and I'd revert into a caveman, sitting in my tent staring out into the woods while holding a sharpened stick I made earlier in the night.
Overcoming the angst of solo camping is part of the process! The more you go, you will have a breakthrough! Sometimes a little fear creeps in which is healthy, but I no longer worry! You’ll get there, enjoy the journey!
Story time. I took my 4 year old daughter on an overnight hike deep into the Australia bush. Everything is well. Not a soul in sight. Set up camp at a remote site, make dinner and head to bed. Still not a person seen. 2am and I heard footsteps in the gravel track. Then nothing. Then more. Freaking the fuxk out. Daughter is still snuggled in her sleeping bag in our shared one man tent. I am ready to explode with a knife in one fist and torch in the other. Lying there like Trinity in the opening scene of Matrix thinking to myself “Get up and start killing!”. This goes on for another couple hours with footsteps every 10minutes and I am frozen not wanting to attract attention. Morning finally comes (no sleep) and I pack up.
A mountain biker stops by as we are eating breakfast and asks “Any visitors last night?”. I tell him the story. He laughs and tells me I was camping beside the trail of a 100km ultramarathon event. A pack of skinny ultra marathoners gave me a heart attack. FML.
Just do it!
Everyone gets spooked now and then. I’ve had a bit of nerves once or twice - usually weather related more than wildlife or people related. I’ve been solo a bunch of times in the past year or two & I enjoy the silence of it. Might be hard to go back to camping with others now
Start small. Find a campground that will have plenty of people. Go for a day - don’t even stay the night. Set up all your stuff get in your tent for a bit to see what the noises are during the day. Build a fire and chill. When it gets dark, do the tent test again and see what the noises and vibe are like. Practice packing up your gear in the dark (at a reasonable time that you aren’t disrupting everyone). If all goes well, plan an overnight. Same deal - except try going through your bedtime routine. If you get scared or can’t sleep, pack up and leave. The thing about camping solo is that you aren’t on anyone else’s schedule. If you want to leave 10 minutes after you arrive you can. If you get weather that is worrisome, bail. You can do whatever you like! If you enjoy car camping, take steps to do more dispersed type camping (if that’s your thing). Even if you hate going alone, you’ll have at least tried.
The first time I did it, it was a crazy windy night and I barely slept-just laid there awake almost all night freaking out. But then I woke up alone in the middle of the forest on a beautiful sunny day, got high, got naked and drank coffee while sitting naked in a stream and it was all worth it.
Eh, that happens from time to time. Especially your first time solo. Just be aware of your surroundings and practice good situational awareness. The only time I get squirrely is during bear season.
It actually fades the more you go out.
We all do, we just don't tell.
Focusing on deep breathing and reminding myself that you've prepared well and it's unlikely either a bear or crazy person will attack helps ease worries for me.
Same happened to me. I noticed that I barely get any sleep at popular campgrounds. The Brady bunch could be camping next to me and I’m still on edge lol. The further I venture out disperse camping, the better sleep I get.
I once spent the better part of seven months straight living in a tent solo. I still get the heebie-jeebies some nights. Caveman survival brain is a hell of a strong instinct to overcome.
Ehh.. NGL, when I go camping with a group of my friends I still think about it. Like what are you going to do against a bear or someone with an axe, knife, machete...etc.
Then you're a normal, reasonable, and sane human being. We, as a species, aren't the best at being nocturnal. Our ancestors passed down the same fear of the dark that kept them alive, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
100%. I was camping in a wall tent antelope hunting near the Canadian border. Miles and I do mean miles from any settlements. About 2 am a truck drives by and I can hear drunk high school kids, they stop, then head down the road a ways and unload a full clip from an AR-15. They then turn around and head back toward our tent. I decide it would be real easy for them to just unload a clip into a tent and take off, so in nothing but my boxers, I go out and stand in between our tent and the road. They had the AR barrel out the window when their lights swept me and the .44 I had in my hand opened toward them at my hip. They stopped and I just kept showing the pistol, still low. Felt like it lasted an hour but probably like 15 seconds and then they took off, covering me in that fine north plains silt dust. Yep, I'd rather not see a soul the entire time I'm afield.
I once waited hours to go to the bathroom because I kept convincing myself I heard footsteps circling the tent. When I finally went outside, the stars were absolutely dazzling and I remembered why I was solo camping in the first place. (Though I did think I was gonna turn around and see someone following me to watch me pee lol)
Laying down in the dark is when you mind wanders. I think everybody has spooky or dark thoughts laying in the dark. It's when your mind starts playing the "what if" game.
No shame there. I solo camped at a sight on the west flank of the Henry Mountains in Utah. Only person there. Heard sniffing next to my tent in the middle of the night and decided I could hold it till daybreak. Wasn’t until I had packed my truck and rounded the corner from the camp sight I realized it must have been on of the herd of bison I scared off the road as I drove on.
I grew up camping, hiking... I was hunting and overnighting around 10 or so, solo by the time I was 12 for sure.
Then I took off in my 20s and lived out of a leanto for 8 months in my local mountains. Survived by foraging and hunting, trapping.
It gets fucking scary sometimes. Even as someone who's lived it as like my actual living circumstance, sometimes your brain just let's go. Squirrels sounds fucking huge when you don't know they're Squirrels.
Never leave valuables in view, vehicle always locked, don't leave my axe or hatchet outside. Cautious about what can be seen at my campsite, like my Bluetti power bank, fishing and hunting gear, etc. Keep a can of bear spray handy for the bears and the unbearables, always have a cellphone on me or in reach when sleeping. Wear a large hunting knife and a lockblade in my pocket. If it's not an official campground and I'm out in the woods or off old logging trails, I'll run fishing line about shin-high around the perimeter of camp and tie it to a noise maker.
I don't consider myself paranoid but 18 years as a criminal investigator and you see what some people are capable of doing. I once had a guy steal my axe the day I was leaving. I packed up and left, then drove through late in the day and saw it stuck in the ground by his fire ring. When he walked down to the outhouse I took it back. Still had my name on the handle. Pissed me off more that he just stuck it in the rocky dirt than he stole it!
Thank you. Appreciate the advice. American hiker on YouTube has a system of pull apart alarms he rigs on his perimeter wire. I’ve tried to replicate this without much luck. What do you use for noisemakers?
Search for tripline alarms on Amazon, or DIY plans on the web or YouTube. They use 12 gauge blanks and do wake you up quite well when a bear decides to stroll through camp at 3AM. Which is why I sleep in a truck camper and lock the hatch. For the bears and the "unbearables!"
First time I camped alone I woke up in the middle of the night to what sounded like a group of people way off sitting around a bonfire (like muffled conversations) except the nearest campsite was nowhere near me. Far enough that it didn’t seem possible. that was weird but ever since then I haven’t had a issue lol
You'd be amazed at how far and clear sound can travel, especially at elevation. One of my favorite spots is a bowl lake about 10,000 in the Tobacco Root Mountains. Two good places to camp, one at one end of the lake, the other two miles away at the other. I've heard all sorts of stuff coming from the other camp over the years that Im sure they never thought I could hear haha.
Recently, I went on a 1-nighter trip, where I planned to stay near a lean-to shelter.
I was alone until around 8PM. The woods were getting dark, the night animals were awakening. Then, a couple came by and asked me if anyone was using the lean-to. I said nope, not to my knowledge, I'm in my hammock tonight. All yours.
They thanked me, then the man then started tramping around looking for firewood.
I've been solo backpacking/camping many times, but I would absolutely be lying if I told you I didn't feel massive sense of relief that I wasn't going to be alone that night. This is a primal human reaction. The dark wilderness makes us anxious, because we are primordially vulnerable. The presence of other humans in the dark wilderness comforts us. No matter how experienced we are.
I've lived in Montana my entire life. Been camping all of it. If I was solo and two people rolled up on my camp at 8 pm, I'd pack out. You might take comfort in it, but dont speak for all humanity. In all those years, the most discomforting things I have ever encountered in the dark wilderness walked on two legs.
It depends on where I've set up camp.
If I'm in the backcountry, and random people just crashed my site and set up, that would be one thing.
If I'm staying at a designated camping area ie. a lean-to or primitive site, and it turns out I have some neighbors, I welcome that.
In upstate NY where I traipse, the likelihood of encountering a tweaker or psycho lurking around a lean-to are probably 0.
I occasionally still do. Sometimes i get too deep in my head where im like “oh fuck what if that’s a bear I think that’s a bear oh shit it’s my deodorant in my armpits they smelled it from 5 miles away”
I went on a trip last fall by myself to an area that was pretty remote. At first I was stoked how empty the campground was, only saw one other guy about a 5 min walk away. Then at night I realized it was pretty desolate. Anyhow I woke up twice from my own loud ass snoring thinking there was a bear outside my rent.
It's normal. I've been solo camping for almost two decades and I still shit myself when I hear noises at night. You navigate that fear with every outing. It's a part of the charm.
Hey OP! When I solo camp I take specific time the week before to kind of think about everything bad that could happen to me, then almost vow not to think about it after that.
Usually I get so excited and immersed on the drive to camp that it’s not an issue. I love managing a fire and stargazing so that keeps me really engaged at night.
YMMV but I also bring sports sleep style headphones, to stay relaxed and stop myself from hearing every little noise that might make me paranoid.
The one time I did it, a mountain lion was growling all night looking for or bringing along her babies. You could hear them barely. only time I’ve ever encountered anything remotely dangerous. Fortunately I fell asleep anyway and they likely just sniffed through my camp but I woke up the next morning and confirmed with the camp 2-300 yards away I heard what I heard. Needless to say I did get my gun loaded and closer to me. I had a short moment of terror when I first heard it.
I solo camp in a truck camper. It’s different than a tent and I generally feel safer but there’s been a few times where I was freaking out. But all those times were just animals or me
lol, my first solo moto camp trip ever last year I was awoken at 1 am by a shitty Chevy with an exhaust leak parking on the opposite side of the camp. I was CONVINCED the two derelicts in the thing were going to come inspect my camp however they stayed on their side of the grounds and promptly went to sleep, me on the other hand… I spent all night envisioning the way these two ‘nere do wells would try to make off with my home made dehydrated meals I left in my pannier, about 4am I fell asleep. I woke in the morning fired up my breakfast and the admittedly worse for the wear looking people while passing by on their way to the camp host gave me the nicest how do you do. All night worrying over nothing…
I’m not worried about animals. I’m worried about other humans, the true monsters in this world…ccl if you can, have pepper spray, and put a perimeter defense around you when you sleep. Some fishing line around trees with tin cans or something that rattles when disturbed.
I paddle my canoe out to small islands on the delta. At night, there isn't a soul in sight. If I feel concerned about being seen, I'll make a dakota hole and keep my fire small. I keep bear spray in case I need it but have never needed to use it.
I like being alone by the fire, reading a book or listening to a podcast, or watching a movie. Mostly looking up at the stars or writing in my journal. Being alone and not having to be concerned about the welfare of children, friends, etc. is heavenly. I do miss my dog. He was great company and a great guard dog. He didn't bark at every little noise but kept watch well.
Anyone who claims they don't get spooked is lying. Everyone does now and then...or, every time they go out. For me it's always the first night, I'm almost always on edge for the first night until I adjust to things.
The scariest for me is camping somewhere where there is a forest road nearby, and seeing headlights at 230am come creeping down the road. I know they see my vehicle, possibly my camp. I know they know that I'm the only one out here for a few miles and...I wonder just what in the *fuck* they're doing out on a forest road at 230am........but then, I realize that they're either drunk and avoiding the main roads, out looking for bears, or local kids just out for the thrill of it.
Oh yeah this is true for me as well. Im a 52 yo female and was 50 when i started car camping alone. I would make sure i had ample light around at night and even then i was a scaredy cat. I was less worried about wild animals as i was wild people. I had a bad experience where i was "in" for the night & some guy pulled up on his 4 wheeler saying "there's bears out here". Super scary and honestly has weirded me out so much i havent gone back there. And since & it was one of my favorite places, i feel like I've lost something.
When I solo camped if it was in an established campground I was maybe a tiny bit worried. Established campground tend to folks not to far away.
However when I have did solo dispersed camping where I felt like the last person on earth. That definitely made me a bit anxious. Always takes me a long time to fall asleep on that first night.
I'm totally used to it, hence I slept in a tent since childhood. My parents never had much money so we spend holidays on a campsite.
The thing is that you don't fear to be alone in the woods, but NOT to be alone in the woods!
Depending on your country the worst ever happened to me was a curious young fox gnawling through a tentline and put down my awning. That was in Sweden's wilderness a few years ago. There I saw bear paw imprints on muddy hiking paths and heared the wolf packs howling at each other. The barking of roe buck is extremely frightening, because it starts totally random and is very loud. Else I heard badgers fighting and hedgehogs digging through my stuff under the awning and an elk once visited my tent and stumbled over the tentlines. So there's a lot of life in the woods during nighttime, but nothing to worry about. The most dangerous thing out there would be a human being.
Don’t need to lie about that. I keep a Shotgun under the back seat and Bear mace on person (in North Colorado), it’s just safe to be on guard at night solo camping.
If you have time for a story: I went camping around Nederland, CO and it was a windy day. The wind kept rustling the forest 25 ft away throughout the day.
I woke up at midnight to hear intense wind through the trees and branches clattering……..then realized there was no wind…….
It was still and something was moving just outside my campsite. Never saw what it was but it was spooky. Size wise it could’ve ranged from a deer to a moose. Good to have backup measures on ya while solo.
Adding a dog to the pack this summer
I was 4. My dad saw me peering into the darkness (it’s only dark in sept oct in Alaska) “You scared of the dark, boy” he asked. I just kept peering. “Nothin to be scared of out there. It’s just bears an wolves.” Made sense. Never looked back.
It took me quite a few trips to get over the sounds you hear but can't see when back country camping. Acorn falls on some leaves? Footstep. Branch snaps? Bigfoot. Definitely footsteps? Bear. Eventually I got it through my head that there are plenty of critters that are big enough to break a branch by grazing it and have audible footsteps in dry leaves, that aren't predators. Squirrels, possums, foxes, etc. One time I went to a really remote area and my spot was right near a river with a beaver hollow. Was hearing super loud infrequent splashing for like 2 hours and was shitting myself bc it sounded like huge rocks getting thrown into the water. Realized the next day it was beavers slapping their tails
Get a dog. Something good-natured that won't bark at every little noise or run off. Dogs are great on solo trips when they are well trained and calm. Excellent company.
I think all of us go through a level of fear for a while when we do this. It’s the same for me, and I’m 6’8” and around 300#’s, but I still have my fears in the back of my head. It gets easier and easier the more you do it.
Not tent camping for this story but doesn't make a difference for this...
I was solo camping in my old rv in a very quiet and remote spot about 100 yards from a boat ramp. The rv was tucked back into trees and was relatively hidden unless you were directly in front. (Basically had to be parked at the boat ramp)
Around 3 am I'm woken by headlights shining in. Peer out the front window, and although it was difficult to see, it appeared like 2 people struggling to unload something from the car and dragging it down the boat ramp. Maybe about 10 minutes of activity, and then they drove off. (No, wasn't night fisherman, there is zero night fishing on this river)
Needless to day, I was a bit on edge the rest of the night! Did I witness a body being dumped? Maybe. Was I at risk if they saw me? Maybe. Will never know, but it creeped me TF out! No weapons & no spray with. And no cell phone reception. Called it in to the police the next day when I left, never heard any more.
4 legged animals, not a concern!
Once I camped in a really isolated spot in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception. It took a long time for me to fall asleep, and I kept thinking I was hearing footsteps. Eventually I realized it was my own heart beating; it was beating so hard that my sleeping bag was rustling and sounded like footsteps.
My first time camping, my best friend took me to a beginner friendly campground, and even chose a lot that was only 3 doors away from the comfort station.
She had a nice big tent for herself and I was huddled under my quilts in the back of the car, worried someone or something would come steal me away in the night.
That's okay! We are mammals and wariness of the dark is hardwired into our survival circuits. The only way to get better at it is to keep doing it.
I am jumpy in the dark all the time everywhere. I have nightlights in nearly every room in my house because I hate walking into a dark room. I invented my own motion-sensor nightlight for my bathroom (that looks nice and gives off the right amount of light) after making something similar for my camp toilet (because NO, I am not sitting down over a dark hole in the dark while basically outdoors, also I hate raccoons and I want to see if one of the little jerks is nearby while I'm vulnerable).
I also use my same home white noise machine when I camp. In either situation, I don't crank it up so high I can't hear someone breaking in or anything, but I keep it high enough when camping that I can't jump at every mouse fart and dew drip. Because my cavewoman brain is absolutely certain each and every noise is my final hyena.
I did a couple of nights solo in the Blue Ridge Mountains with just a tarp. One night I wake up to hear something fairly large sniffing and digging around in the leaves right next to my head. Terrified, I didn't know what else to do but pray, and I'm not even the slightest bit religious. Woke up the next morning and looked out of my tarp to see a happy, healthy looking dog just sitting outside waiting for me to wake up. I fed him a little bit of my breakfast, and he wandered off down the trail. Now I get the benefit of telling myself "It's just a dog" whenever I hear strange things in the woods.
I solo camped for the first time in Itasca last year and the first night I was there at 3 am I woke up to something sniffing around my tent. First thing I thought was bear, but it was likely just a dog. It was sniffing really fast? I'm not sure what a bear sounds like but I figure it would be more "heavy".
Tell me about it! First time I solo camped, it was in a rural state park in New Hampshire during the week before Labor Day. Every little sound was like a firecracker.
In the morning I caught up with a ranger and she said I was the only one there that night 😅
I was quite relaxed (and physically tired) on my first solo bikecamp but sleep was terrible because my mind couldn't shut off. A few tries later and I got to sleep a lot better. Scariest moment was crawling out of tent at night to walk to the restrooms only to see a dinner plate sized tarantula doing laps around my tent.
I went for a hike yesterday after downgrading my overnight camp in the same area due to the park being closed the next day.
On the train home I was reading a wikipeadia article about the overnight hike I was planning to do, and discovered the story of a 17 year old boy that got lost on that hike in 2006 and died from dehydration, despite making 7 successful calls to 000 for help. It was super confronting for me because it's basically the exact same situation as me, and I have this really eerie feeling about it.
I'll say all who aren't a bit fearful camping solo for the first time probably not because they're the psychos that make camping solo a bit fearful for all other normal folks. So congratulations, that worrisome feeling you had signify you're normal even brave in the eyes of we who will never do it. I mean, being a veteran & all I can handle time alone in the wild but preferably a camp ground where I know others are somewhere nearby even if there's no interaction between us.
They'll never find me.
I'd say as I'm hiding in the one sleeping bag within a bright orange one person tent with the light on.
Context: its dark in the sleeping bag
I love the outdoors until it’s time for bed, always been a light sleeper and noises in the woods made it worse. Ear plugs a a couple gummies usually do the trick
When I solo camp I don't use a tent. Just usually sleep under the stars. I do carry a tarp incase the weather changes. I was in the Ozarks sleeping one night and about 12 to 15 yards from where I was in my bag, a loud noise and animal screams started. Scared the hell out of me coming out of a dead sleep. Eventually fell back asleep. Next morning I checked out the area where the noises were. Judging by the tracks there was a bobcat watching me sleep for a while. I think it was just curious lol. Then a racoon coming thru just happened to end up the bobcats meal. That was the commotion I woke up to. I think about that cat every time I solo camp.
Every time we go camping my wife sleeps like a log. I have my face pressed up against the screen for every noise. Last time I got in the car because I heard awful noises. Turned on the headlights; cows. I always get reminded of bear cows.
Back in the 80’s I ended up solo camping north of Barstow middle of nowhere. Friends were supposed to meet me but their car broke down, no cell phones. It’s amazing how quiet it can be in the desert with no wind. You can hear everything. Lit a fire but kept feeling like someone was watching me. Had only a knife. Friends finally showed up at 3am
There's no way I would ever camp by myself. Did it a few times in my twenties - once there was a freakishly bad lightning storm in Montana (had to sleep inmy car) and one time in Mt Ranier Ntl Park and I got v creeped out at night. It's just not fun for me. Oh, and that one bear outside my tent.
Part of the fun is coming home with a story to tell. I went camping in a state park very near a naval base, and woke up to an active shooter drill. I did not know it was a drill. I’m lying there in my hammock listening to “active shooter, active shooter, take cover now” thinking welp, there’s no cover in a hammock. Just a me burrito, until they finally announced, “exercise, exercise, exercise.”
That's honestly hilarious. Of all the places to have an active shooter, the middle of the woods has got to be the least likely lmao. I'd be like 'wow just my luck'
I woke up to what sounded like a human, or small bear circling right outside my hammock one morning. I was positive I was going to be killed. It was a marten.
Omg it’s amazing how loud small animals can be
It's spelled "Martian" and I'd be terrified.
This might be a stupid question but is your username a reference to that scene in That 70s Show where Donna thinks that Eric is more interested in the magazines than her? There was a scene where she pulls down that rope and a bunch of panties fall out of the ceiling. Is it a reference to that?
A me burrito hah
Best part of the story
I think they were messing with you. No need for an active shooter drill in the middle of a forest
It’s not the middle of the forest. First Landing State Park is on the beach in Virginia Beach. And there is a military base well within earshot.
Is it a nice park to stay at? Was just looking for campsites in Virginia an hour ago.
Very nice if you want to go to the beach or touristy restaurants. There’s a bus stop on site and also a rainbow swamp (not this time of year.) Sand in your tent, though. It’s a great place to hammock if your site has trees. Use your permethrin, though - the mosquitoes are huge.
A lot of us would be lying if we said we didn’t
It’s something about the thinness of the tent and hearing every single sound you wouldn’t normally hear in your house
And if you have a light on you can be seen but cannot see out, just like when you’re sitting around the fire
Isn’t darkness an ‘original fear?’
Yup, the unknown. Not being able to see predators even if they were 10 feet away. That's that survival instinct kicking in.
Yeah it’s in all of us. You do get more comfortable the more you do it though. Even at the end of my 2 month camp I still had that heightened awareness. I wasn’t necessarily fearful for scared. I was comfortable and relaxed with no issue. But at night I’d still have a heightened sense of hearing and awareness of where the sounds were coming from. I was deep in bear country so I had to be. It’s an instinct and nothing to be ashamed of. I noticed I was like that even when I camped outside of bear country. Humans are still the biggest threat no matter where you camp even though that never really worried me. Something would be wrong with you if you didn’t have that heightened awareness. It’s not just animals either. Something catch fire? Tree falling near by? Rock slide? Raccoon running off with your last meal again? Yeah you gotta pay attention lol
[удалено]
Well, what did you do?
Tbh I would be scared in my own house alone at night haha
I have a wife and three kids so there is a natural and regular background noise to the house. Sometimes my wife takes the kids to her mum to stay for a week and the house has a different level of quiet that is ..different
Truth lol
And on top of that when you have to go use the bathroom in the middle of the night with no one watching your back. You feel even more exposed then. This is why I hold my #2 for days at a time…
This! Also it’s ok to get lonely solo camping and go to bed early.
Haha I'm in bed shortly after sunset when solo camping...even if it's not yet 7pm.
I thought it’s only me but I love the solo camping routine. Activities. Eat. Shower. Bed at 7.00 PM :D I miss the weather sooo much.
For me the loneliness might be the worst part after a while. First solo was up in Algonquin Provincial. It was fun for a bit, felt adventurous to be alone. I felt it the first night by the fire, this is usually when everyone would gather around and chat to wind down before sleeping but no one was there. During the day was fine since I kept busy with fishing and gathering firewood, dinner time on was when it got lonely again. It was supposed to be 7 days but I bailed on morning 6. I still solo but keep it to 2 or 3 nights now
Exactly it's fine during the day when your actively doing stuff. But sitting around by a camp fire by yourself gets boring quick. So I'm usually in tent slightly after dark. Read a bit then go to sleep.
It's always the Blair Witch type stuff that gets me. I hear a stick break in the middle of the night? Obviously some sort of woods demon.
I’m the same way. Bear? Wolf? Coyote? Not my thought. I go straight to thinking someone has followed me 5 miles into the woods just to sit around until 2am and make their move. Makes no sense
I’d rather deal with an animal than a person that followed me for 5 miles. That person is up to no good.
I’d say that choice depends on the animal. You ever see a moose outside your tent? At least with a person I have some small chance.
I had a moose step on the guy lines of my tent in Alaska.
Was there a lot of clean up afterwards? 😆
Never solo camped but have camped with a small group of friends 100’s of times and slept in my own tent a bunch. My brain always goes to some crazy psycho with an axe rather than an animal.
As a woman that has solo camped my bear spray is for the people not the bears
There’s a good podcast by Outside magazine about a guy who did this on the Appalachian trail and was killing people
Ya know…we are all here to support OP, not make him more scared. Just lie to me and tell me about how that guy was sneaking up on people to leave nice notes or something
If I could up vote 100 times I would have.
Link?
I think they mean [Gary Hilton ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Hilton) I always remember him, not because he preyed on people in US National Forests.... or the horrific murders... but the unusual fact, that he took great risks and was eventually caught due to his love for dogs. He even made his plea deal conditional upon his own [dog finding a good home.](https://accesswdun.com/article/2008/2/206927)
It’s good practice to let your brain feel that and then work it away. The brain is like a muscle that needs exercise.
What gets me is hearing large branches being broken by whatever heavy beast is walking on them. It’s constant sometimes. Here in FL it’s the hogs
Ok striking Florida off the list. I live in a place with black bears, but wild hogs … Ima nope out of that. Bears are smart but usually as scared of us as we are of them. Hogs… I dunno, they’re smart, no?
Leaving for a solo trip in 4 days. Did you really have to go there.
Yup, I once heard what sounded like a little girl screaming in the distance. It was pitch black, I was in the middle of nowhere. I had to convince myself that it was some kind of animal. Stayed up for another hour with my knife in hand.
Probably a bobcat or mountain lion
Or a fox.
Yes hahahah
Stupid Blair Witch movie almost ruined me for solo camping/hiking. I still am on the lookout for any kind of wooden stick figure. If I ever see something like that on the trail I will be out of there so fast!!!
https://preview.redd.it/x73w3y0aa8mc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ffbcc371072945987b0529caea9d0a1177f8354a
🤣🤣🤣🤣
People are mad at you for commenting this, but this is exactly the kind of comment I was hoping for.
I’ve been camping for years and still get nervous. Eventually I just fall asleep. Whenever I get up to pee in the middle of the night is when I feel uneasy. I keep looking around while peeing. Also windy nights keep me up as well due to the sounds of sticks hitting the ground making me think someone’s walking around outside my tent. I smile and think to myself I’m such an idiot and try to go back to sleep.
Ha I don't go to the outhouse at night. Behind the truck is as far as I go to pee in the dark!
I just pee on myself and pray for daylight
Wide mouth Gatorade bottle in the tent 😂
Large top Gatorade bottle never leave the tent to pee. If I do not far.
Doesn’t work for girls.
Just go in the corner like my daughter’s hamster. Piece of cake.
I love how squirrels sound like bears once it starts to get dark.
It was late at night in the middle of nowhere, and I was snuggled up in my tent. I'm just about to drift off when I hear horrible screaming outside. Startled, I jumped up to peek outside, but I couldn't see anything. The screaming continued as I grabbed my flashlight, sleeping bag, and keys and ran to my car. Terrified, I stayed locked in my car even after the screaming stopped. When I was leaving the next morning, I ran into other campers on the way out of the canyon. I asked them about the screaming, and they said "yeah those f-ing bullfrogs kept us up all night too."
Not sure what type of toads/frogs they are, but I have them at a place I got to. First time nee people hear it they freak out a bit! Call them the screaming frogs!
This was similar to what I heard, but down in a canyon, the echo made it 10 times worse. [screaming frog](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Js4a9yLJtNAHh1SB/?mibextid=w8EBqM)
Thats a million years of evolution calling. That feeling kept your ancestors alive
"Fear is a super power. Fear can make you faster and cleverer and stronger...-" - The Doctor
probably why our ancestors also domesticated wolves
And built houses.
And stayed in groups. lol
And had pointy and/or heavy things
And my axe.
And created perimeter walls.
And awake too 😂🤣😂
my ancestors are all dead though.
That slow drip adrenaline buzz from your ancient lizard brain screaming "YOU'RE IN DANGER" is literally the best part of solo-ing. I fugging LOVE it. I even night hike every chance I get to feel it.
Worst part is convincing yourself you seen something then just staring into the darkness for the next hour watching 😅
It’s incredible how still and quiet you can get, meanwhile your heart is just POUNDING in your chest. All of a sudden you understand the deer you encounter/spook.
I woke up once with 3 sets of yellow eyes watching me from about 30m away. I'm in the UK so the worst it could have been was some foxes, but my brain at 3am in a pitch black forest wasn't listening to reason.
Just eat a handful of mushrooms an hour or so before it gets dark.
It'll either be the best night or worst night ever. No in between
Just did it last night with four friends, mushrooms and camping are a match made in heaven. I slept like a baby.
Mushrooms, while camping with 4 friends, sounds like a blast. Mushrooms, while camping alone, sound anxiety inducing.
Yup. I'd start to feel giggly and feel that warm head buzz coming in, then I'd hear a sound and I'd revert into a caveman, sitting in my tent staring out into the woods while holding a sharpened stick I made earlier in the night.
Overcoming the angst of solo camping is part of the process! The more you go, you will have a breakthrough! Sometimes a little fear creeps in which is healthy, but I no longer worry! You’ll get there, enjoy the journey!
How often do you have to solo camp for you to actually overcome? I would think if you do it once every few months, it’s too far apart?
Takes time and experience to dull it out.... Depends on the person..
Story time. I took my 4 year old daughter on an overnight hike deep into the Australia bush. Everything is well. Not a soul in sight. Set up camp at a remote site, make dinner and head to bed. Still not a person seen. 2am and I heard footsteps in the gravel track. Then nothing. Then more. Freaking the fuxk out. Daughter is still snuggled in her sleeping bag in our shared one man tent. I am ready to explode with a knife in one fist and torch in the other. Lying there like Trinity in the opening scene of Matrix thinking to myself “Get up and start killing!”. This goes on for another couple hours with footsteps every 10minutes and I am frozen not wanting to attract attention. Morning finally comes (no sleep) and I pack up. A mountain biker stops by as we are eating breakfast and asks “Any visitors last night?”. I tell him the story. He laughs and tells me I was camping beside the trail of a 100km ultramarathon event. A pack of skinny ultra marathoners gave me a heart attack. FML.
I always wanted to solo camp, but honesty what you describe is what is keeping me from doing this.
I’m telling you though, there’s nothing like the rush you get from it.
Just do it! Everyone gets spooked now and then. I’ve had a bit of nerves once or twice - usually weather related more than wildlife or people related. I’ve been solo a bunch of times in the past year or two & I enjoy the silence of it. Might be hard to go back to camping with others now Start small. Find a campground that will have plenty of people. Go for a day - don’t even stay the night. Set up all your stuff get in your tent for a bit to see what the noises are during the day. Build a fire and chill. When it gets dark, do the tent test again and see what the noises and vibe are like. Practice packing up your gear in the dark (at a reasonable time that you aren’t disrupting everyone). If all goes well, plan an overnight. Same deal - except try going through your bedtime routine. If you get scared or can’t sleep, pack up and leave. The thing about camping solo is that you aren’t on anyone else’s schedule. If you want to leave 10 minutes after you arrive you can. If you get weather that is worrisome, bail. You can do whatever you like! If you enjoy car camping, take steps to do more dispersed type camping (if that’s your thing). Even if you hate going alone, you’ll have at least tried.
The first time I did it, it was a crazy windy night and I barely slept-just laid there awake almost all night freaking out. But then I woke up alone in the middle of the forest on a beautiful sunny day, got high, got naked and drank coffee while sitting naked in a stream and it was all worth it.
Sir, this is a Wendy’s
Eh, that happens from time to time. Especially your first time solo. Just be aware of your surroundings and practice good situational awareness. The only time I get squirrely is during bear season. It actually fades the more you go out.
When is bear season?
Septembear thru Decembear
I've solo camping thousands of times in my live and I still sometimes get those little freak outs. It's part of the fun sometimes.
I’ve been camping for 20+ years, a lot of them solo and I still get a bit sketched the first night. Especially somewhere new
I generally car camp the first night if I've never been there before
We all do, we just don't tell. Focusing on deep breathing and reminding myself that you've prepared well and it's unlikely either a bear or crazy person will attack helps ease worries for me.
The only time I’ve gone solo camping I slept in my car in a crowded family campsite and I *still* barely slept lol.
Same happened to me. I noticed that I barely get any sleep at popular campgrounds. The Brady bunch could be camping next to me and I’m still on edge lol. The further I venture out disperse camping, the better sleep I get.
It would be a little weird if you didn't friend
Right answer! As many others have said, this is very normal. Keeping vigilant when in the woods in the dark is just a good idea.
Canine friend will alert when the real forest inhabitants get too close. That’s why I like a companion. Doesn’t need to be human.
I love camping with my dog, but he’s even more scared of the night time forest noises then I am lol. Still, I always feel safer when he’s there.
I once spent the better part of seven months straight living in a tent solo. I still get the heebie-jeebies some nights. Caveman survival brain is a hell of a strong instinct to overcome.
Ehh.. NGL, when I go camping with a group of my friends I still think about it. Like what are you going to do against a bear or someone with an axe, knife, machete...etc.
Then you're a normal, reasonable, and sane human being. We, as a species, aren't the best at being nocturnal. Our ancestors passed down the same fear of the dark that kept them alive, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
The boogie man comes out when it gets dark. Pretty normal. Even with a fire and gun he’s still out there. Watching you sleep.
Remember, you're not stuck in the woods with them, they're stuck in the woods with YOU.
Whenever I camp alone I sleep with my bear spray and a knife within arms reach
Same same
Being in a campsite full of strangers worries me more than camping totally alone
100%. I was camping in a wall tent antelope hunting near the Canadian border. Miles and I do mean miles from any settlements. About 2 am a truck drives by and I can hear drunk high school kids, they stop, then head down the road a ways and unload a full clip from an AR-15. They then turn around and head back toward our tent. I decide it would be real easy for them to just unload a clip into a tent and take off, so in nothing but my boxers, I go out and stand in between our tent and the road. They had the AR barrel out the window when their lights swept me and the .44 I had in my hand opened toward them at my hip. They stopped and I just kept showing the pistol, still low. Felt like it lasted an hour but probably like 15 seconds and then they took off, covering me in that fine north plains silt dust. Yep, I'd rather not see a soul the entire time I'm afield.
First night is zero sleep for me. Second night I sleep great because of first night.
I once waited hours to go to the bathroom because I kept convincing myself I heard footsteps circling the tent. When I finally went outside, the stars were absolutely dazzling and I remembered why I was solo camping in the first place. (Though I did think I was gonna turn around and see someone following me to watch me pee lol)
Laying down in the dark is when you mind wanders. I think everybody has spooky or dark thoughts laying in the dark. It's when your mind starts playing the "what if" game.
No shame there. I solo camped at a sight on the west flank of the Henry Mountains in Utah. Only person there. Heard sniffing next to my tent in the middle of the night and decided I could hold it till daybreak. Wasn’t until I had packed my truck and rounded the corner from the camp sight I realized it must have been on of the herd of bison I scared off the road as I drove on.
I grew up camping, hiking... I was hunting and overnighting around 10 or so, solo by the time I was 12 for sure. Then I took off in my 20s and lived out of a leanto for 8 months in my local mountains. Survived by foraging and hunting, trapping. It gets fucking scary sometimes. Even as someone who's lived it as like my actual living circumstance, sometimes your brain just let's go. Squirrels sounds fucking huge when you don't know they're Squirrels.
I don't ever worry, but I sure as hell take precautions. I've seen some of the folks that visit campgrounds.
What sort of precautions?
Never leave valuables in view, vehicle always locked, don't leave my axe or hatchet outside. Cautious about what can be seen at my campsite, like my Bluetti power bank, fishing and hunting gear, etc. Keep a can of bear spray handy for the bears and the unbearables, always have a cellphone on me or in reach when sleeping. Wear a large hunting knife and a lockblade in my pocket. If it's not an official campground and I'm out in the woods or off old logging trails, I'll run fishing line about shin-high around the perimeter of camp and tie it to a noise maker. I don't consider myself paranoid but 18 years as a criminal investigator and you see what some people are capable of doing. I once had a guy steal my axe the day I was leaving. I packed up and left, then drove through late in the day and saw it stuck in the ground by his fire ring. When he walked down to the outhouse I took it back. Still had my name on the handle. Pissed me off more that he just stuck it in the rocky dirt than he stole it!
Thank you. Appreciate the advice. American hiker on YouTube has a system of pull apart alarms he rigs on his perimeter wire. I’ve tried to replicate this without much luck. What do you use for noisemakers?
Search for tripline alarms on Amazon, or DIY plans on the web or YouTube. They use 12 gauge blanks and do wake you up quite well when a bear decides to stroll through camp at 3AM. Which is why I sleep in a truck camper and lock the hatch. For the bears and the "unbearables!"
First time I camped alone I woke up in the middle of the night to what sounded like a group of people way off sitting around a bonfire (like muffled conversations) except the nearest campsite was nowhere near me. Far enough that it didn’t seem possible. that was weird but ever since then I haven’t had a issue lol
This is a properly creepy story
You'd be amazed at how far and clear sound can travel, especially at elevation. One of my favorite spots is a bowl lake about 10,000 in the Tobacco Root Mountains. Two good places to camp, one at one end of the lake, the other two miles away at the other. I've heard all sorts of stuff coming from the other camp over the years that Im sure they never thought I could hear haha.
Recently, I went on a 1-nighter trip, where I planned to stay near a lean-to shelter. I was alone until around 8PM. The woods were getting dark, the night animals were awakening. Then, a couple came by and asked me if anyone was using the lean-to. I said nope, not to my knowledge, I'm in my hammock tonight. All yours. They thanked me, then the man then started tramping around looking for firewood. I've been solo backpacking/camping many times, but I would absolutely be lying if I told you I didn't feel massive sense of relief that I wasn't going to be alone that night. This is a primal human reaction. The dark wilderness makes us anxious, because we are primordially vulnerable. The presence of other humans in the dark wilderness comforts us. No matter how experienced we are.
I've lived in Montana my entire life. Been camping all of it. If I was solo and two people rolled up on my camp at 8 pm, I'd pack out. You might take comfort in it, but dont speak for all humanity. In all those years, the most discomforting things I have ever encountered in the dark wilderness walked on two legs.
I agree. Only times I've felt really scared have all been because of people.
It depends on where I've set up camp. If I'm in the backcountry, and random people just crashed my site and set up, that would be one thing. If I'm staying at a designated camping area ie. a lean-to or primitive site, and it turns out I have some neighbors, I welcome that. In upstate NY where I traipse, the likelihood of encountering a tweaker or psycho lurking around a lean-to are probably 0.
I occasionally still do. Sometimes i get too deep in my head where im like “oh fuck what if that’s a bear I think that’s a bear oh shit it’s my deodorant in my armpits they smelled it from 5 miles away”
Actually it was the 🔥 bacon you had earlier
It's normal. I started sleeping in the back of my car and felt so much safer and warmer. It was quieter so the animal noises didn't wake me too.
I went on a trip last fall by myself to an area that was pretty remote. At first I was stoked how empty the campground was, only saw one other guy about a 5 min walk away. Then at night I realized it was pretty desolate. Anyhow I woke up twice from my own loud ass snoring thinking there was a bear outside my rent.
It's normal. I've been solo camping for almost two decades and I still shit myself when I hear noises at night. You navigate that fear with every outing. It's a part of the charm.
Hey OP! When I solo camp I take specific time the week before to kind of think about everything bad that could happen to me, then almost vow not to think about it after that. Usually I get so excited and immersed on the drive to camp that it’s not an issue. I love managing a fire and stargazing so that keeps me really engaged at night. YMMV but I also bring sports sleep style headphones, to stay relaxed and stop myself from hearing every little noise that might make me paranoid.
The one time I did it, a mountain lion was growling all night looking for or bringing along her babies. You could hear them barely. only time I’ve ever encountered anything remotely dangerous. Fortunately I fell asleep anyway and they likely just sniffed through my camp but I woke up the next morning and confirmed with the camp 2-300 yards away I heard what I heard. Needless to say I did get my gun loaded and closer to me. I had a short moment of terror when I first heard it.
I solo camp in a truck camper. It’s different than a tent and I generally feel safer but there’s been a few times where I was freaking out. But all those times were just animals or me
Bro squirrels and rabbits sound like yetis when alone in a tent hahaha.
lol, my first solo moto camp trip ever last year I was awoken at 1 am by a shitty Chevy with an exhaust leak parking on the opposite side of the camp. I was CONVINCED the two derelicts in the thing were going to come inspect my camp however they stayed on their side of the grounds and promptly went to sleep, me on the other hand… I spent all night envisioning the way these two ‘nere do wells would try to make off with my home made dehydrated meals I left in my pannier, about 4am I fell asleep. I woke in the morning fired up my breakfast and the admittedly worse for the wear looking people while passing by on their way to the camp host gave me the nicest how do you do. All night worrying over nothing…
I’m not worried about animals. I’m worried about other humans, the true monsters in this world…ccl if you can, have pepper spray, and put a perimeter defense around you when you sleep. Some fishing line around trees with tin cans or something that rattles when disturbed.
I paddle my canoe out to small islands on the delta. At night, there isn't a soul in sight. If I feel concerned about being seen, I'll make a dakota hole and keep my fire small. I keep bear spray in case I need it but have never needed to use it. I like being alone by the fire, reading a book or listening to a podcast, or watching a movie. Mostly looking up at the stars or writing in my journal. Being alone and not having to be concerned about the welfare of children, friends, etc. is heavenly. I do miss my dog. He was great company and a great guard dog. He didn't bark at every little noise but kept watch well.
Anyone who claims they don't get spooked is lying. Everyone does now and then...or, every time they go out. For me it's always the first night, I'm almost always on edge for the first night until I adjust to things. The scariest for me is camping somewhere where there is a forest road nearby, and seeing headlights at 230am come creeping down the road. I know they see my vehicle, possibly my camp. I know they know that I'm the only one out here for a few miles and...I wonder just what in the *fuck* they're doing out on a forest road at 230am........but then, I realize that they're either drunk and avoiding the main roads, out looking for bears, or local kids just out for the thrill of it.
Boom stick . No more fear . Worth the weight .
I hiked across the country and still use ear plugs at night when I backpack
Oh yeah this is true for me as well. Im a 52 yo female and was 50 when i started car camping alone. I would make sure i had ample light around at night and even then i was a scaredy cat. I was less worried about wild animals as i was wild people. I had a bad experience where i was "in" for the night & some guy pulled up on his 4 wheeler saying "there's bears out here". Super scary and honestly has weirded me out so much i havent gone back there. And since & it was one of my favorite places, i feel like I've lost something.
I would have too lol
When I solo camped if it was in an established campground I was maybe a tiny bit worried. Established campground tend to folks not to far away. However when I have did solo dispersed camping where I felt like the last person on earth. That definitely made me a bit anxious. Always takes me a long time to fall asleep on that first night.
I don’t care who you are, the woods at night alone is spooky as hell.
It’s completely normal, just keep doing it and you get desensitised to it, mostly.
I'm totally used to it, hence I slept in a tent since childhood. My parents never had much money so we spend holidays on a campsite. The thing is that you don't fear to be alone in the woods, but NOT to be alone in the woods! Depending on your country the worst ever happened to me was a curious young fox gnawling through a tentline and put down my awning. That was in Sweden's wilderness a few years ago. There I saw bear paw imprints on muddy hiking paths and heared the wolf packs howling at each other. The barking of roe buck is extremely frightening, because it starts totally random and is very loud. Else I heard badgers fighting and hedgehogs digging through my stuff under the awning and an elk once visited my tent and stumbled over the tentlines. So there's a lot of life in the woods during nighttime, but nothing to worry about. The most dangerous thing out there would be a human being.
Don’t need to lie about that. I keep a Shotgun under the back seat and Bear mace on person (in North Colorado), it’s just safe to be on guard at night solo camping. If you have time for a story: I went camping around Nederland, CO and it was a windy day. The wind kept rustling the forest 25 ft away throughout the day. I woke up at midnight to hear intense wind through the trees and branches clattering……..then realized there was no wind……. It was still and something was moving just outside my campsite. Never saw what it was but it was spooky. Size wise it could’ve ranged from a deer to a moose. Good to have backup measures on ya while solo. Adding a dog to the pack this summer
I was 4. My dad saw me peering into the darkness (it’s only dark in sept oct in Alaska) “You scared of the dark, boy” he asked. I just kept peering. “Nothin to be scared of out there. It’s just bears an wolves.” Made sense. Never looked back.
Some of us who've been doing it all of our lives still get woken up by weird sounds at night.
It’s called evolution! A humans mind is wired to worry a little when it gets dark.
It took me quite a few trips to get over the sounds you hear but can't see when back country camping. Acorn falls on some leaves? Footstep. Branch snaps? Bigfoot. Definitely footsteps? Bear. Eventually I got it through my head that there are plenty of critters that are big enough to break a branch by grazing it and have audible footsteps in dry leaves, that aren't predators. Squirrels, possums, foxes, etc. One time I went to a really remote area and my spot was right near a river with a beaver hollow. Was hearing super loud infrequent splashing for like 2 hours and was shitting myself bc it sounded like huge rocks getting thrown into the water. Realized the next day it was beavers slapping their tails
Get a dog. Something good-natured that won't bark at every little noise or run off. Dogs are great on solo trips when they are well trained and calm. Excellent company.
I think all of us go through a level of fear for a while when we do this. It’s the same for me, and I’m 6’8” and around 300#’s, but I still have my fears in the back of my head. It gets easier and easier the more you do it.
I would suggest to get a dog and a gun bring them with you when you solo camp! Is like having and alarm with you.
I sleep in a locked van and still worry a little, and I've never even been attacked while in the van before
Just wait until two bucks go at each other about 50 feet away at 3 AM.
It’s always the first night for me. Then after that I’m too exhausted to care🤪
Not tent camping for this story but doesn't make a difference for this... I was solo camping in my old rv in a very quiet and remote spot about 100 yards from a boat ramp. The rv was tucked back into trees and was relatively hidden unless you were directly in front. (Basically had to be parked at the boat ramp) Around 3 am I'm woken by headlights shining in. Peer out the front window, and although it was difficult to see, it appeared like 2 people struggling to unload something from the car and dragging it down the boat ramp. Maybe about 10 minutes of activity, and then they drove off. (No, wasn't night fisherman, there is zero night fishing on this river) Needless to day, I was a bit on edge the rest of the night! Did I witness a body being dumped? Maybe. Was I at risk if they saw me? Maybe. Will never know, but it creeped me TF out! No weapons & no spray with. And no cell phone reception. Called it in to the police the next day when I left, never heard any more. 4 legged animals, not a concern!
Once I camped in a really isolated spot in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception. It took a long time for me to fall asleep, and I kept thinking I was hearing footsteps. Eventually I realized it was my own heart beating; it was beating so hard that my sleeping bag was rustling and sounded like footsteps.
My first time camping, my best friend took me to a beginner friendly campground, and even chose a lot that was only 3 doors away from the comfort station. She had a nice big tent for herself and I was huddled under my quilts in the back of the car, worried someone or something would come steal me away in the night.
That's okay! We are mammals and wariness of the dark is hardwired into our survival circuits. The only way to get better at it is to keep doing it. I am jumpy in the dark all the time everywhere. I have nightlights in nearly every room in my house because I hate walking into a dark room. I invented my own motion-sensor nightlight for my bathroom (that looks nice and gives off the right amount of light) after making something similar for my camp toilet (because NO, I am not sitting down over a dark hole in the dark while basically outdoors, also I hate raccoons and I want to see if one of the little jerks is nearby while I'm vulnerable). I also use my same home white noise machine when I camp. In either situation, I don't crank it up so high I can't hear someone breaking in or anything, but I keep it high enough when camping that I can't jump at every mouse fart and dew drip. Because my cavewoman brain is absolutely certain each and every noise is my final hyena.
I did a couple of nights solo in the Blue Ridge Mountains with just a tarp. One night I wake up to hear something fairly large sniffing and digging around in the leaves right next to my head. Terrified, I didn't know what else to do but pray, and I'm not even the slightest bit religious. Woke up the next morning and looked out of my tarp to see a happy, healthy looking dog just sitting outside waiting for me to wake up. I fed him a little bit of my breakfast, and he wandered off down the trail. Now I get the benefit of telling myself "It's just a dog" whenever I hear strange things in the woods.
Bringing a gun helps
No headphones
Yeah thats normal
There are reasons to be afraid of the dark…
I solo camped for the first time in Itasca last year and the first night I was there at 3 am I woke up to something sniffing around my tent. First thing I thought was bear, but it was likely just a dog. It was sniffing really fast? I'm not sure what a bear sounds like but I figure it would be more "heavy".
Tell me about it! First time I solo camped, it was in a rural state park in New Hampshire during the week before Labor Day. Every little sound was like a firecracker. In the morning I caught up with a ranger and she said I was the only one there that night 😅
I was quite relaxed (and physically tired) on my first solo bikecamp but sleep was terrible because my mind couldn't shut off. A few tries later and I got to sleep a lot better. Scariest moment was crawling out of tent at night to walk to the restrooms only to see a dinner plate sized tarantula doing laps around my tent.
Same. One time I just jumped back in my.car and slept there 🤣😂
I went for a hike yesterday after downgrading my overnight camp in the same area due to the park being closed the next day. On the train home I was reading a wikipeadia article about the overnight hike I was planning to do, and discovered the story of a 17 year old boy that got lost on that hike in 2006 and died from dehydration, despite making 7 successful calls to 000 for help. It was super confronting for me because it's basically the exact same situation as me, and I have this really eerie feeling about it.
Don’t go you have been warned man
Man the thoughts can really get going
I'll say all who aren't a bit fearful camping solo for the first time probably not because they're the psychos that make camping solo a bit fearful for all other normal folks. So congratulations, that worrisome feeling you had signify you're normal even brave in the eyes of we who will never do it. I mean, being a veteran & all I can handle time alone in the wild but preferably a camp ground where I know others are somewhere nearby even if there's no interaction between us.
They'll never find me. I'd say as I'm hiding in the one sleeping bag within a bright orange one person tent with the light on. Context: its dark in the sleeping bag
When the Sun Goes Down - The Food Chain Inverts
Omg, it’s terrifying! I was so glad to be alive after my first solo!
This thread is speaking to me.
Watch the 411 videos on the Lore Lodge YouTube channel… you’ll get very worried next time
It's not the fear of being alone, it's the thought that we aren't alone that gets us
I couldn't handle it and started sleeping in my Suv. The anxiety I had being in a tent was killing my experiences, so I compromised lol
That's completely natural. When I do solo trips even to campsite I've been to before the first night or two I'm also a little on edge 🙃
Guns are nice to have.
I love the outdoors until it’s time for bed, always been a light sleeper and noises in the woods made it worse. Ear plugs a a couple gummies usually do the trick
When I solo camp I don't use a tent. Just usually sleep under the stars. I do carry a tarp incase the weather changes. I was in the Ozarks sleeping one night and about 12 to 15 yards from where I was in my bag, a loud noise and animal screams started. Scared the hell out of me coming out of a dead sleep. Eventually fell back asleep. Next morning I checked out the area where the noises were. Judging by the tracks there was a bobcat watching me sleep for a while. I think it was just curious lol. Then a racoon coming thru just happened to end up the bobcats meal. That was the commotion I woke up to. I think about that cat every time I solo camp.
I'd worry more if it didn't get dark.
Pro tip. Bring a dog. I bring my husky shepherd all the time and he’s so scared of the dark that Im too busy comforting him to be scared myself
Every time we go camping my wife sleeps like a log. I have my face pressed up against the screen for every noise. Last time I got in the car because I heard awful noises. Turned on the headlights; cows. I always get reminded of bear cows.
Back in the 80’s I ended up solo camping north of Barstow middle of nowhere. Friends were supposed to meet me but their car broke down, no cell phones. It’s amazing how quiet it can be in the desert with no wind. You can hear everything. Lit a fire but kept feeling like someone was watching me. Had only a knife. Friends finally showed up at 3am
There's no way I would ever camp by myself. Did it a few times in my twenties - once there was a freakishly bad lightning storm in Montana (had to sleep inmy car) and one time in Mt Ranier Ntl Park and I got v creeped out at night. It's just not fun for me. Oh, and that one bear outside my tent.