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  1. #61
    Registered User fancyfeet's Avatar
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    Default My favorite

    I was hiking through the Lye Brook Wilderness in Vermont during October. It was a very wet day. I was enjoying the rain, slogging through wet leaves and puddles. My eyes were on the trail, watching out for the bigger puddles when I looked up to see a bull moose just off trail maybe 20 feet away. He was chomping on the leaves still clinging to the trees, sticking his tongue out as he chewed. We eyed each other curiously. After watching for a moment, I continued on. He just calmly watched me pass by, still enjoying his snack. It felt like we were the only two creatures out on that rainy afternoon.
    If you're in a hurry, why are you walking?

  2. #62
    Registered User johnnybgood's Avatar
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    My favorite animal encounter was hiking AT near Lewis Mtn Campground one late afternoon when suddenly hearing a whoosing sound over my head and then seeing this great horned owl descend on a tree branch about 15 feet off the ground directly in front of me. This owl stopped me dead in my tracks and stared intently at me . I was at awe but also fearful what his intentions might be. No sooner than than that thought crossed my mind he took flight. What an impressive wingspan on this bird. My least favorite encounter with wildlife was when my wife was bitten by a copperhead snake and and we were 1/2 mile from the car. She needed 5 vials of anti-venom in the E.R. and was hospitalized for 4 days in the I.C.U.
    Getting lost is a way to find yourself.

  3. #63
    Registered User BackTrack1's Avatar
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    On the LT in VT last summer, i was hiking along with a buddy of mine came around a bend in the trail and there were 2 moose standing in the middle of the trail, one bull and one cow, they are huge animals, ive never been so close to one before,
    that happend to me 3 times while on that hike,it was very cool.

  4. #64
    Section Hiker - 339.8 miles - I'm gettin' there! papa john's Avatar
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    I think it was 2006 on my section hike from Standing Indian Campground to Stecoah Gap. I had spent the night at Beech Gap. The next morning I packed up and headed out for the day. Shortly after lunch, I was walking along, fat, dumb and happy when all of a sudden there was a very sudden rush of animals moving along both sides of the trail. The noise was quite profound, enhanced by the fact that I could not see what was making the noise. I stopped and watched and listened trying to get a glimpse of the noisemakers. Couldn't see anything, although they were pretty close. After the hair went down on the back of my neck, I started to walk again, making my presence quite clear. The noise continued and seemed to be moving with me alongside the trail. After awhile, the noise started to fade somewhat and then on a side hill off the trail, I caught a glimpse of the noisemakers. Two packs of wild hogs! Must have been around 15 total. They ran off and didn't see or hear them after that.
    Papa John


  5. #65
    Springer - Front Royal Lilred's Avatar
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    My favorite encounter so far was when I stopped to rest on a trail in Radnor Lake here in Middle Tennessee. I saw a bird in the grass with what looked like a leaf in its mouth. It would toss the leaf up in the air and catch it, then shake it in its mouth, like a dog would do with a rag. I watched that bird do this over and over for a good two minutes, amazed that it would actually 'play' with a leaf. Then I noticed the worm stuck on the other side of the leaf. After a bit, he finally got the worm loose, flew up onto a branch of a tree and just sang and sang for a good 30 seconds, with that worm hanging out of its beak. He then flew to another tree, higher up, and gave the worm to the female in her nest. She fed it to her young and the male flew off again. It was very, very cool.
    "It was on the first of May, in the year 1769, that I resigned my domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable habitation on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, to wander through the wilderness of America." - Daniel Boone

  6. #66
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    At least twice a year I pack in along the Chattooga River. Multi-day trips where I catch and eat as many trout as I can. So far that is my favorite wildlife encounter.

  7. #67

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    Fav? tough one, there's been a lot.
    was it the time i hid in a tree and a herd of elk passed within 7 feet of me and a mother elk sensed me and talked to her young one who then ran away in fear? (who says animals can't talk, this one did)

    or the time the moose followed me for at least a 1/4 mile after i talked to her for about 5 minutes?

    or the owl that watched the northern lights with me for close to an hour, perched in a tree not 50' away and looking down at me every once in a while.

    Hard to pick a "best" for sure.
    Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams

  8. #68
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    Quote Originally Posted by fiddlehead View Post
    Hard to pick a "best" for sure.
    Even watching a red squirrel stomp it's feet at you is amusing.

    Hanging with an owl sounds pretty OK to me.

  9. #69

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    i don't know if i could decide between the two, but one of them was from hunting and not hiking, so i don't know if it counts. some friends and i hiked the loyalsock trail in PA and a bobcat walked right out in front of us. we managed to get a picture bacause we were still in the moment when he walked right in front of us but the picture wasn't until he was about twenty yards into the trail. you could at least see him look back as he was walking away. the other one was from a hunting trip. it was still bow season and i brought a shotgun instead since i left the crossbow at the cabin(big mistake or i would have probably gotten him). my friend had a compound bow so i figured i'd bring the shotgun just in case. he took a shot but he was short and when we waited for him to come back out, we ended up getting bluff charged and i almost pulled the trigger. but then that hiking trip where the chipmunk jumped out in front of us...

  10. #70

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    ok, i admit, someone didn't bother to bring the crossbow because they figured they wouldn't see anything because it was getting dark soon. but that's some of the best times to see them.

  11. #71
    Registered User mrcoffeect's Avatar
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    I walked up on two red squirrels locked in a passionate embrace. the lady squirrel started squeaking,and tried to get off trail to hide. the male hung on to the girl and looked at me and started to cuss me out. as if to say get lost buddy,so of course i quickly broke out my camera. so now I am the proud owner of what is probably the only squirrel porn in the world

  12. #72

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    Quote Originally Posted by mrcoffeect View Post
    I walked up on two red squirrels locked in a passionate embrace. the lady squirrel started squeaking,and tried to get off trail to hide. the male hung on to the girl and looked at me and started to cuss me out. as if to say get lost buddy,so of course i quickly broke out my camera. so now I am the proud owner of what is probably the only squirrel porn in the world
    I had the exact same experience with a pair of black rat snakes on the Long Path in Minnewaska.entwined, one looked at me as if to say "do you mind?".
    One of my favorite encounters was on the same trail in early august a few years back. i was hiking alone up a short hill and as i turned followinng a bend in the trail no more than 10 yards away sat a fairly large black bear munching on some blueberry branches.I never slowed for a second and continued to follow the trail turning away from him. He had seen me come up around the bend, stared right at me, our eyes met for a second, then he turned and romped away as i thought "i showed him!"

  13. #73

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    In August 2011 hiking solo on the Lake Shore trail in GSMNP I almost stepped on a 5 to 6' Timber Rattlesnake. I was walking fairly quickly at the time. I screamed like a little girl and must have jumped 5' straight backwards. I calmed down took a picture then walked around the snake. It didn't move and just rattled at me. For the next hour I only walked about 3/4 of a mile thinking I'm by myself, 20 miles from the nearest road and no cell service. I got lucky!

  14. #74

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    I have had a variety of animal encounters. It would be difficult to choose my favorite. I will mention several.

    Number One -- I camped alone at Snow Lake in Mt. Rainier National Park. Just at dusk, a herd of elk came to the lake. They were less than 30 yards from me. I was able to observe them for more than 10 minutes before they discovered that I was there.

    Number Two -- I was in the Hundred Mile Wilderness. Just after sunrise, I came up on a huge moose feeding in the shallow water of a lake. I watched him for about 15 minutes until my presence made him nervous. When he headed my way, I decided that it was best to observe from a greater distance.

    Number Three -- I was hiking the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon. I rounded a turn and found a long horn ram standing in the middle of the trail. He blocked the trail for about 5 minutes before moving on. Here is his picture.

    Number Four -- Last summer, I was hiking the Wonderland Trail just before dusk. It was dark enough that I had difficulty identifying something that was moving toward me, but I stopped and got my camera out of my backpack. As it got closer, I saw that it was the largest black bear I have seen in the wild. He kept coming until he was about 30 yards from me before he left the trail. His picture is attached.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Shutterbug

  15. #75

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    i forgot about a rattlesnake encounter on the black forest trail. i was going up a hill and right on the trail is a rock with a hole under it that sort of looks like a fox den but only too small for a fox but big enough for a snake. anyway, i didn't even see him and he halfway out of the hole. he extended himself so fast and took a snap so think as your hiking fast and boom, you're five feet from the rock and by the time he snaps you're only a few feet from him, while at the same time as he extended himself out that his head was basically almost right in front of you, so that was a really close call.

  16. #76

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    I liked the bear because he thought he was going to scare me off by chomping his jaws and pouncing a log with his front paws





    I liked this vulture because he was showing off to the other two -- they both flew off as he stood his ground and posed for me



  17. #77
    Coach Lou coach lou's Avatar
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    '67', I was 10 and on my first walk down the LT/AT to Little Rock Pond, These tiny red lizards were everywhere.

  18. #78

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    I saw this bear eating choke cherries just below Loft Mountain Campground while hiking through Shennendoah National Park. Took pictures and videos of him.



    Beagle Gap To Ivy Creek Overlook 203.jpg

  19. #79
    Registered User Kookork's Avatar
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    One early morning as I was walking along a road I came upon two rattle snakes that were killed entangled to each other. It was a road kill and seemed that they were in the middle of mating ceremony when it happened.

    I was still not fully aware of my surrounding ( my windows comes up late normally) and I decided to take them for skinning.
    My dog was very uneasy about the snakes but I paid no attention to him. The moment I grasped them to put in my bag one of them started to rattle and tried to bit me. All the guts and blood was from on of them and the second was completely healthy( but possibly horny) since it did not rattle or move at all until I grasped it.

    The picture of the two snakes is in the min 3:15 of this video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMofbZIo9kU


    It was a close call. A missed call I guess since I survived....

  20. #80
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    The bear that jumped and ran while I walked by!

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