travel and rhum

Have you ever been out in the woods and just felt…creeped out? Uneasy? Struck by tingling spidey senses for no apparent reason?

I've been doing outdoorsy stuff all over the US since I was about old enough to walk, but for most of my life, camping, hiking, geocaching, etc. has been something I did with friends and family.

This summer has been the first time in my life that I've hiked and camped overnight alone (unless you count my dogs, who usually come alone for the adventure). I don't tend to go anywhere extremely remote and stick to established trails and dispersed camping sites. I always told people where I was going, carried the requisite supplies and survival gear, etc. And it's always been fine.

Last week I did a late afternoon hike and everything seemed fine. I was hurrying back down the mountain, trying to make it to the trailhead before dark when I came around a switchback and instantly felt…weirded out. The woods were silent. No birds, no wind. My dogs seemed anxious and on edge: they stopped sniffing every fern and kept looking around, ears and tails up. The feeling got bad enough that I pulled the bear spray out of my side pouch and hand carried it the rest of the way.

Because I'm making this post and it doesn't end with my being mauled by a bear or murdered by a serial killer, you can probably deduce that nothing happened. But I keep thinking about it. I drove home feeling sort of ridiculous, like I'd overreacted and let my imagination run away with me. I kind of dismissed my dogs' behavior and either I was just reading too much into their body language or maybe they were just sensing my anxiety.

I mentioned it to a few friends who also like the outdoors, and everyone has said they've had at least one similar experience. I'm kind of curious how often this happens to other people and if anything actually did happen (i.e., you later saw a cougar or a rock slide or…something?)