Is everyone wearing orange?

[Sarcasm the elf]

I would not hike in the fall, especially during deer season, without an orange hat and/or orange pack cover. Maybe it doesn't matter, or maybe it gives me a false sense of security, but it seems like a reasonable thing to do.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that according to the hunters I've talked to, they REALLY appreciate when other people in the woods wear orange. What they're worried about isn't accidentally aiming at you, so much as aiming at something in front of you and not seeing that there is a person downrange of their shot. The orange makes you stand out from the background and that's why it's so important.

[turtle fast]

It just makes sense to wear some blaze orange. I got a blaze orange pack cover that works just fine for the spring. In fact, I ran into some turkey hunters on the AT and they were in the process of scoping out the area and had got a little lost and ended up on the trail...they were not actively hunting but it made me think about my blaze orange usage.

[1azarus]

Since I live near Shenandoah National Park, where hunting is not allowed, I exclusively hike there during hunting season. You can also enjoy all the popular tourist viewing areas without the crowds. After hunting season I will head back to the Tuscarora Trail and George Washington National Forest.

I hope you don't mind my pointing out that hunting takes place in all sorts of designated non-hunting areas... the SNP often closes the Drive in the evening, I believe, just to discourage those illegal hunters. I think orange is a good idea anywhere in the woods anytime near hunting season... that being said, I don't avoid hiking, with my orange pack cover, when the hunters are out.

[TheYoungOne]

In PA, I always wear some blaze. The AT cuts thru a lot of state game land in PA and some sections are tight, meaning the trail goes right down the middle of a long thin stretch of game land. Most of the time I never have a problem, since most avid hunters are careful. However, I would never hike during deer rifle season, because for every good hunter out there there are at least a half dozen unsafe morons with a rifle they just bought and never sighted in. After Thanksgiving when Deer Rifle starts, I'm done hiking until spring.

You don't need to go crazy with the blaze. My Blaze hiking gear is basically a Philadelphia Flyers hat (whit ironically is blaze orange anyway) , and a $7 blaze vest that I bought at Walmart, which I usually tie to my pack.

[Suckerfish]

Has a hiker ever been shot on the AT hiking during hunting season?

[max patch]

Hunting season starts in GA this weekend, so yeah, I'm wearing orange.

[HikerMom58]

Has a hiker ever been shot on the AT hiking during hunting season?

Hummm..... good question. We ran into some bow hunters this weekend, on the AT, heading towards Apple Orchard Mountain.

[Suckerfish]

I have an orange pack cover, it is ugly as sin but I put it on my day pack this past weekend. We have som tacky orange safety vests here in the office for fire drills, I think I am going to take a couple and use them when Hiking this fall. Im doing a section hike November 1st-3rd from Neels gap to Unicoi gap.

[max patch]

Has a hiker ever been shot on the AT hiking during hunting season?

Yes. A girl was shot on the AT in GA when she took a bathroom break and a hunter mistook her toilet paper for a whitetail deer.

[max patch]

Hunting season starts in GA this weekend, so yeah, I'm wearing orange.

And don't forget to orange up your dog.

[Suckerfish]

Yes. A girl was shot on the AT in GA when she took a bathroom break and a hunter mistook her toilet paper for a whitetail deer.

Oh my god, what a tragic situation. Do you know if she died?

[max patch]

Just missed her heart; punctured a lung. OK after surgery.

[Capt Nat]

Sounds like orange TP might be a better idea!

[Sarcasm the elf]

Sounds like orange TP might be a better idea!

REI already sells enough unnecessary junk to scared newbies, don't give them any more ideas.

[canoehead]

DSC00200.jpg...............

[PD230SOI]

As a hunter, backpacker, dad, and dog owner - who has been shot before - it hurts, wear the orange.

we don't go into the woods during muzzle loader or high power season. I'm far less worried about bow season (range should be 40 yards or less). But perhaps I will be proved wrong one day. Spring turkey is bad since blaze orange is/was not required.

on my private land in Maine you would be stunned how many hunter stumble out from the woods behind the house. Many are just lost some just don't care. It's sad.

[Lauriep]

A second hiker on the A.T. was also shot a few months after the girl, on January 1, 2003. The victim was an experienced A.T. hiker (he did one thru-hike and a second hike of more than half the A.T.) who moved close to the A.T. near Bland. He was day-hiking and spoke with the hunter a few moments before the hunter then accidentally shot him, almost fatally. The hiker survived, but was still hobbling and suffering severe pain when I saw him at Trail Days five months later. There's more information about this incident at www.vaturkey.com/discus/messages/115/1146.html?1042051447.

In both cases it's quite likely the hunting accidents could have been prevented by the hiker wearing blaze orange.

The "friendly" link to our hunting page is www.appalachiantrail.org/hunting. The two incidents are mentioned there. The page also has suggestions for hikers, hunters, and a compilation of some of the hunting seasons of most concern to hikers for all 14 A.T. states.

Laurie P.
ATC

[Rain Man]

In both cases it's quite likely the hunting [mistakes] could have been prevented by the hiker wearing blaze orange.

Or, the hunters not shooting at people?

Rain Man

.

[Another Kevin]

I still hike at this time of year. I wear an orange vest, an orange packcover, and if the weather is chilly, an orange tuque. I'm still scared - I'm remembering the story of the farmer who painted COW on the side of his cow in blaze orange letters - and she *still* got shot. But I can't live by fear.

I find it helps - at least, I seem to hear fewer nearby shots - if I favor the really steep trails during hunting season and hike at the high elevations. Essentially, I try to hike in places that nobody wants to try to hump a deer out of.

It's no guarantee, though: my stepgrandfather disappeared many years ago while hiking a Catskill high peak in the hunting season. They never found his body.

[magic_game03]

I've never seen anybody point a gun at me but I've heard first hand accounts of plenty who have. PA seems to be the worst place for these accounts. I don't wear orange, I don't really have anything against hunters I guess. I just find it offensive that I have to wear something because YOU want to do something and cannot control yourself. If you can't see clearly what you are shooting, why should I have to wear a big orange flag (200 sq. inches in PA is required for anybody in the wilderness, even on the AT) Maybe I wanna sneak up on a bear, deer, birds, and other wild life too. So now I gotta be the chump to wear a big orange flag, that sucks.