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View Full Version : How many porqupines have you seen on the AT?



rickb
09-13-2007, 20:59
How many porcupines have you seen on the AT?



Edit: I screwed up. I meant to post a poll. Oh well.

Footslogger
09-13-2007, 21:00
1 (one) ...in New York during my 2003 thru. Bugger wouldn't get off the trail either.

'Slogger

oruoja
09-13-2007, 21:04
They are very common here in Vermont, so that means don't leave your boots on the ground as they will chew anything with salt on it to shreds. They are climbers as well as I have seen a few up in a tree about ten to fifteen feet off the ground.

1azarus
09-13-2007, 21:06
just north of hanover -- i hung my hammock in a pine stand, and really hurt my back bending over to tie out the HH side line... stupid. (old?) anyway, i managed to drag myself into the hammock. heard all sorts of movement that night, but couldn't really move, so i just shined my headlight over my shoulder, the noise quited down, and i went to sleep... in the morning -- there was a cute really small porcupine in the tree about 4 feet above my hammock!!! definitely my favorite porcupine story. did see another one in southern massachussetts right on the trail in the middle of the day. definitely not as cute as the tree climbing one.

rickb
09-13-2007, 21:07
I've seen a bunch in MA and Southern VT.

I see their scat fairly frequently-- shaped like macaroni.

Sly
09-13-2007, 21:13
I've seen one in MA. It scuttled across the trail and up a tree. It was cool. I'm not sure what I'd do if it was eating my gear though. Bean it with a rock, I guess.

Minerva
09-13-2007, 21:32
Maybe three. Here's a picture of the one I saw last year having a snack in Kid Gore Shelter.....

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=176543

MrsGorp

hopefulhiker
09-13-2007, 21:38
One, up north...

Tractor
09-13-2007, 21:44
One, on the trail in PA, early morning.

Sly
09-13-2007, 21:50
Maybe three. Here's a picture of the one I saw last year having a snack in Kid Gore Shelter.....

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=176543

MrsGorp

Aw, s/he's so cute! :)

emerald
09-13-2007, 21:57
What Kid Gore Shelter needs is a resident fisher (http://www.borealforest.org/zoo/fisher.htm).

Cookerhiker
09-13-2007, 22:00
Just finished hiking the Long Trail and to my surprise, only saw one. He was hanging around none other than Kid Gore Shelter (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=6248). Same one?

Yes, I made sure I secured my boots every night.

superman
09-13-2007, 22:09
I've seen a bunch of spotted skunks and a bunch of striped skunks. Winter was about nose to nose with some of them. She didn't bother them and they didn't spray us.:)

Tin Man
09-13-2007, 22:43
VT and MA seems to be a popular place for the porcupines. I have seen them along the trail and they never bothered me. While I never kept score, I would guess I have seen 5 or 6 on my sections hikes through the area. I was not aware of their boot eating instincts on my early trips and have not taken any precautions since. And I just became aware of how to identify their scat (thanks Rickb) - I am not sure how that helps, but I guess that makes for interesting talk at the end of the day.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-13-2007, 23:05
What Kid Gore Shelter needs is a resident fisher (http://www.borealforest.org/zoo/fisher.htm).I wouldn't want to sleep there with that critter around.

emerald
09-13-2007, 23:30
I wouldn't either if I were you since the only thing fishers like more than porkies is Dino toes.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-13-2007, 23:39
I wouldn't either if I were you since the only thing fishers like more than porkies is Dino toes.I'm skeerred (http://www.freefever.com/animatedgifs/animated/dinosaurs.gif)

Kerosene
09-14-2007, 08:26
I wouldn't want to sleep there with that critter around.My sole encounter with porkies was also at Kid Gore Shelter during my August '79 SOBO hike of the Long Trail. I'll bet the chubby guy in the picture is the great-great-great-great...grandkid of one or more of the "chorus line of porkies" that descended on us at dusk. There was a lot of evidence of their presence when we arrived at the shelter: the gnawed floor where hiker sweat had accumulated, a stripped tree out front, the shelter log encased in aluminum, numerous mentions of porkies in the log, and even an all-aluminum privy.

From my journal dated August 27, 1979: They hit at dusk, snuffling along and sounding like little babies.

There were at least a dozen of them, and yelling didn't seem to faze them, so unfortunately we had to resort to beaning one of them to keep them out of the shelter. It was a long night.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-14-2007, 08:38
:::: Dino makes note in guidebook to carry a small block of salt lick in VT and MA - especially in Gore Kid shelter area. If they are licking the block, they aren't licking my toes :D :::

oruoja
09-14-2007, 16:40
My sole encounter with porkies was also at Kid Gore Shelter during my August '79 SOBO hike of the Long Trail. I'll bet the chubby guy in the picture is the great-great-great-great...grandkid of one or more of the "chorus line of porkies" that descended on us at dusk. There was a lot of evidence of their presence when we arrived at the shelter: the gnawed floor where hiker sweat had accumulated, a stripped tree out front, the shelter log encased in aluminum, numerous mentions of porkies in the log, and even an all-aluminum privy.

From my journal dated August 27, 1979: They hit at dusk, snuffling along and sounding like little babies.

There were at least a dozen of them, and yelling didn't seem to faze them, so unfortunately we had to resort to beaning one of them to keep them out of the shelter. It was a long night.

I was at Kid Gore in early August '79 going NOBO. The remains of a pair of old waffle stompers were left hanging there. Just shards of leather hanging from the Vibram soles. The older Long Trail guidebooks from 40 and more years ago actually gave the tip on how to dispatch a problem porkie by striking it with a stick on the nose. Of course back in those days shelter dumps were more common which no doubt attracted critters of all kinds. I remember finding the evidence of one these shelter dumps further north on the LT which basically amounted to a large dug pit full of rusted cans.

DavidNH
09-14-2007, 17:30
I've never seen a single one! anywhere along the trail

rickb
09-14-2007, 20:06
and I just became aware of how to identify their scat (thanks Rickb)Look for large piles of the stuff in and around pile of rocks along the Trail, where they might be hanging out.

The absolute best time of year to find them is inthe winter. Since they have such short legs, you don't have to look for tracks so much as "troughs" through the snow. And without leaves on the trees, they are easier to spot.

warraghiyagey
09-15-2007, 05:36
Maybe three. Here's a picture of the one I saw last year having a snack in Kid Gore Shelter.....

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=176543

MrsGorp

Sweet pic. Did it scare you into moving over to the . . . um . . . cozy Caughnewaga shelter?:D :D

Mrs. Gorp. I had no idea you were here. How have you been? Pm me. Back on the trail with Brit in a few days in Virginia.
Peace
Warraghiyagey, numerous SOBO meetings in 06 Maine, NH, North Woodstock motel with True Grit ( also a Brit but not The Brit).

Wise Old Owl
09-17-2007, 00:27
I've seen a bunch in MA and Southern VT.

I see their scat fairly frequently-- shaped like macaroni.



Sorry I can't resist this because there is a good story behind.....


Wow Rick! You really know your sh....!

Jim Adams
09-17-2007, 06:38
4...3 in 1990 and 1 in 2002

geek

atraildreamer
09-17-2007, 14:12
Two...about 3 feet from my nose while in my sleeping bag at Statton Mt shelter many moons ago...a most unnerving experience! :eek: :eek:

rickb
09-17-2007, 21:30
You really know your sh....! This is a really good book.

http://www.amazon.com/Tracking-Art-Seeing-Animal-Tracks/dp/0062735241

When you spend so much time looking down at rocks and dirt, a good pile of **** can be real entertainment.

buckowens
09-18-2007, 16:58
Maybe three. Here's a picture of the one I saw last year having a snack in Kid Gore Shelter.....

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=176543

MrsGorp

Roo and I both agree that that little guy creeps us out!!! He looks like he/she has quite a bit of personality... Thanks for sharing it.

Blue '07
10-11-2007, 19:48
I came up on a porcupine in Maine. He ran off a little ways, then worked his way back towards me. He ate some leaves about 5 feet from me, then slowly started wobbling towards me. Had to shoo him off when he got too close. One of the great experiences of hiking the AT!

rafe
10-11-2007, 19:56
At least two. Here's a pic (http://www.terrapinphoto.com/cpg143/displayimage.php?album=13&pos=25) of this year's porky. This one took flight. The others I've met had to be shooed off the trail.

Rambler
10-11-2007, 22:51
saw this little fellow on the AT on the backside of Sugarloaf, ME. About two minutes later a hiker passed by with his dog. Luckily, Porky had moved on.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2066272590045831896aEBiey

Just a Hiker
10-11-2007, 22:58
Last year I was sleeping at the Lean-to just south of Mt. Greylock, and I woke up to this chewing sound. I wasn't sure what it was until I turned on my light and there was one of those little guys chewing on the floor of the lean-to.