Finding poachers on the AT, now what?

[refreeman]

I was hiking today. Great day to be out, it’s amazing how much you can see once all the leaves have fallen. Well I hiked to far again and with the short daylight hours I took a side blue blaze trail to get to a road before it got dark. The side trail leads to an AT shelter; and then continues after that to a dirt road.

Just as I was about .25 miles down the side trail, about half way to the shelter, I saw a fire. I immediately knew something was amiss as campfires are not permitted on the AT in Connecticut. Now I consider the law against campfires stupid so I approached the campsite sympathetically. By the way, the campsite was not even close to a designated camping area. Again, I have sympathy for the stealth camper as I too at odd times camp trailside.

However, as I got closer I saw rifles. Moreover, as I quicken my pace towards the campsite the two men moved quickly to hide the rifles in one of the two tents. They were wearing camouflage pants and shirts. One had a blue sweatshirt over his shirt that said Hunting Club. It looked like they a had big hand held search light just inside the door of the dome tent.

I walked into their site and said, “Hi.” The younger guy didn’t answer; he just looked pissed that I was there. The older man said “Hi, and asked what I was doing.” I replied hiking and mentioned that this was the AT. I told him I saw his gun, and said hunting isn’t permitted on AT lands. He said that they weren’t hunting and that he brought the gun for protection. He said you never know what kind of people you will encounter in the woods. He asked me why I thought it was ok to walk into their campsite. I replied that socializing with fellow hikers is an important aspect of the AT experience. He looked at me like he just heard a very high pitched sound and then agreed.

I told him that I hunt too. And that there are some great places to hunt in the state forests not to far away. We talked for about ten minutes, mostly about hunting and then I left to avoid being on trail in the dark.

I should also mention that this area of the trail has had frequent bear activity. In fact I saw a mauled rotten log about a mile away earlier in my hike. On this section of the AT I have seen small groups of deer and flocks of wild turkeys from time to time.

So, what do you my fellow AT enthusiasts think should be done? Nothing? Or report them? And if I should report them, then to whom would the effort be best directed? What do you’ll think?

[MOWGLI]

I'm not certain they did anything illegal. Hunters can travel the AT in New York to get to their hunting location. They just can't hunt in the corridor. Of course, the corridor width varies wildly depending upon where you are.

Contact the AMC if you have questions or concerns.

[refreeman]

This section of the tail is all AT land surrounded by residential land; About seven miles north and ten miles south the AT boarders state hunting land. However, he said they didn’t have any tags and that they were not hunting. In fact, one of the reasons I chose this section to hike on today, during hunting season, was that it should not have hunters and that I could hike with no worries of getting shot by a less experienced trigger happy hunter.

I'm not certain they did anything illegal. Hunters can travel the AT in New York to get to their hunting location. They just can't hunt in the corridor. Of course, the corridor width varies wildly depending upon where you are.

Contact the AMC if you have questions or concerns.

[refreeman]

Also I'd like to point out, "who brings a rifle for protection when hiking the AT?"

[MOWGLI]

Also I'd like to point out, "who brings a rifle for protection when hiking the AT?"

I know a trophy hunter from Warwick, NY who wouldn't dare set foot on the AT without a high powered rifle. Too skeered.

[fiddlehead]

I grew up hunting with my father on the AT near Port Clinton pa. There's lots of hunters up there on the trail. Its the way life is.

[saimyoji]

There are signs all over the trailheads near me that warn hikers to wear blaze orange during hunting season. They know hunters use and hunt along the trail here. Nothing new.

Can't see anything illegal in what you saw. I'd just let it go.

[atraildreamer]

Also I'd like to point out, "who brings a rifle for protection when hiking the AT?"

Those shelter mice can be VERY agressive!

[atraildreamer]

Nimrod in action...

[MOWGLI]

There are signs all over the trailheads near me that warn hikers to wear blaze orange during hunting season. They know hunters use and hunt along the trail here. Nothing new.

Bear in mind that PA is a very different state than CT. The only state where I believe there is more gun ownership (per capita) is Michigan.

[gsingjane]

It seems from your posts that you're deliberately not saying where this took place, but as a mom who very frequently hikes the AT in Connecticut with her kids, I wonder if you wouldn't mind sharing where exactly this was? Whenever we're out in the fall we generally hear shots, although they tend to be way off in the distance, not close by the trail.

If it were me, I would at least send an email about this to the AMC in CT. There's almost certainly nothing they can do about it, but I still think they should be made aware of the activity (even if not the hunting, then the fire).

Jane in CT

[ocourse]

The guys were not hunting when you met them. They could have been hunting legally earlier that day, with more planned the following day. . Camp near the trail, hunt further away...

[rickb]

The CT DEP would certainly be interested in anyone carrying a deer rifle in the woods this time of year without a hunting license. My guess is that would be a bigger deal to the DEP than hearing that someone advised a couple of hunters that they had found themselves off game lands, or had wondered too close to a road/house.

The men's claim that the rifles were being carried for protection wouldn't matter to the DEP.

Since the men had an established campsite (and would have been easy to locate) I would have contacted the nearest town conservation officer and the nearest office of the DEP.

[TOW]

I was hiking today. Great day to be out, it’s amazing how much you can see once all the leaves have fallen. Well I hiked to far again and with the short daylight hours I took a side blue blaze trail to get to a road before it got dark. The side trail leads to an AT shelter; and then continues after that to a dirt road.

Just as I was about .25 miles down the side trail, about half way to the shelter, I saw a fire. I immediately knew something was amiss as campfires are not permitted on the AT in Connecticut. Now I consider the law against campfires stupid so I approached the campsite sympathetically. By the way, the campsite was not even close to a designated camping area. Again, I have sympathy for the stealth camper as I too at odd times camp trailside.

However, as I got closer I saw rifles. Moreover, as I quicken my pace towards the campsite the two men moved quickly to hide the rifles in one of the two tents. They were wearing camouflage pants and shirts. One had a blue sweatshirt over his shirt that said Hunting Club. It looked like they a had big hand held search light just inside the door of the dome tent.

I walked into their site and said, “Hi.” The younger guy didn’t answer; he just looked pissed that I was there. The older man said “Hi, and asked what I was doing.” I replied hiking and mentioned that this was the AT. I told him I saw his gun, and said hunting isn’t permitted on AT lands. He said that they weren’t hunting and that he brought the gun for protection. He said you never know what kind of people you will encounter in the woods. He asked me why I thought it was ok to walk into their campsite. I replied that socializing with fellow hikers is an important aspect of the AT experience. He looked at me like he just heard a very high pitched sound and then agreed.

I told him that I hunt too. And that there are some great places to hunt in the state forests not to far away. We talked for about ten minutes, mostly about hunting and then I left to avoid being on trail in the dark.

I should also mention that this area of the trail has had frequent bear activity. In fact I saw a mauled rotten log about a mile away earlier in my hike. On this section of the AT I have seen small groups of deer and flocks of wild turkeys from time to time.

So, what do you my fellow AT enthusiasts think should be done? Nothing? Or report them? And if I should report them, then to whom would the effort be best directed? What do you’ll think?

I avoid hiking this time of year when hunters abound in the woods, I think that's the best advice I could give you. And, no I would not report them.

Those who love to hunt on the most part go by the rules. There are however a few who break the rules of engagement and unfortunately put other lives in danger.

[FanaticFringer]

Not very bright to walk into their camp, after you have seen their guns, and tell tell them you have seen their guns and hunting is not allowed on the AT. That's pretty damn pompous and stupid. Nice way to get you head blown off.

[Rain Man]

So, what do you my fellow AT enthusiasts think should be done? Nothing? Or report them? And if I should report them, then to whom would the effort be best directed? What do you’ll think?

Report 'em in "a New York second." Poachers are scum. And if they were "only hiking to a hunting-permitted area," then the won't mind proving that to the proper authorities.

RainMan
.

[MOWGLI]

Not very bright to walk into their camp, after you have seen their guns, and tell tell them you have seen their guns and hunting is not allowed on the AT. That's pretty damn pompous and stupid. Nice way to get you head blown off.

Give the person who was there some credit for sizing up the situation. The vast majority of legitimate hunters are very nice people. All of my interactions with hikers on the AT and BMT have been positive.

I walked into the camp of a hunter on the Foothills Trail once - just east of Sassafras Mountain. He was a Gool Old Boy, and a nice feller. Youngblood & I talked to him for perhaps 20 minutes and went on our way. It was one of the highlights from the trip.