Animal encounters on AT

Benton MacKaye Trail late October '07 around the Ocoee river- apparently its feral hog country. I started hiking at 6am and within 30 minutes, one of them had jumped off of a 10 ft embankment into the middle of the trail about 15 yards in front of me. It had an arched back and i thought it was a wolf due to the very low light. I had just passed a pile of cinder blocks with a cross atop it, so I was already a little freaked. The wolf-pig left me shaking. I managed to remember to slowly back away and keep facing the wolf-pig and I got close to the pile of cinder blocks and bricks. I threw a few brick pieces at the area where i thought the supposed wolf was over some shrubery, waited about 5 minutes and continued along with a 4" diameter, 7 ft wolf beating stick in one hand and a half brick in the other. I carried both for nearly a mile before regaining composure and setting them down. Around 10am I found a mom and baby feral pig at which point i realized my wolf-pig mixup. i felt silly and decided to take a picture of the duo for the sake of story telling. Mom pig then brought a larger dad pig out of the bushes and began marching towards me with him. Needless to say, i didn't get the shot b/c my camera is slow and I heard stories about wild pigs being crazy around their piglets, so I again backed away as calmly as possible while trying to move swiftly. I had to back up about 50 ft before they turned around. I felt like I was going fall on my butt like a girl running in the woods in a horror movie.

Later that trip I ran into hunters who resembled guys from 'deliverance' who advised me it was 'doe day' and that there were a lot of hunters in the area. I guess they count as wildlife too.

While wolf-pigs aren't as intimidating as bears or moose, they can be scary when they don't want you to keep walking down the trail.

I stumbled upon a moose on the AT in Maine in late-June of 2006. The area was pretty thickly wooded, so I wasn't worried about a confrontation, but they are certainly big animals (and quite beautiful). I wouldn't want to be caught in the open by one if it were mating season!:) If they charge, they can be really dangerous and will outrun any human. I haven't heard of any recent casualties, however.

This is not an AT encounter… but hiking in Newfoundland… you practically trip over Moose. They are everywhere. They outnumber humans. I've had numerous encounters with Moose… literally just feet away at times… eye to eye. Unless it's mating season… they're about as dangerous as a cow.

I've found myself closer to moose than I might want to be on Isle Royale more than once (though less and less given the big population drop in recent years). One time while at ashington Harbor a cow seemed to be following me as I wandered about. Got some fine photos but really didn't want her that close. They're big animals. A similar thing happened in 2000 on the AT in Shenandoah National Park but with a doe deer.

And last week while out on a day hike in Madera Canyon, AZ a gaggle of wild turkeys starting following my Mom and me as we descended off the mountain side to the road that was very near by. They were definitely following us and though not gaining fast they were closing the gap until we sped up a bit and I clanged my hiking poles together some. A bit spooky and disturbing for both of us since turkeys can be mean. We weren't the only ones they followed that mroning.

I've never had an encounter where I was really afraid for my life. I have had some where I was definitely closer than perhaps I should have been.

** Ken **

I saw a white dear in the Shenandoahs (are those rare?) and 10 black bears over the length of the AT. 5 of those were all at one time a few miles south of Damascus at dusk– they crossed the trail as a family about 20 yards ahead of me and then the little ones shot up a tree real fast, they all stared at me, then they shot right back down and took off.

It was awesome.

I saw 3 Blacks at SNP this fall. The first one got spotted in my headlamp, we both froze for a moment, then I backed up and he just lumbered on and crossed the trail.

The second two ran – I just caught the back end – man they were fast. One bounded up a steep hill I couldn't have climbed without using my hands. Amazing.

I've carried pepper spray when hiking with my daughter, probably more for human defense than bears really. When I'm in a group of 4+, I don't carry anything special.

Several years ago in the Superstitions of Arizona, hiking solo out of Peter’s Canyon up to the mesa and towards Charlebois Spring I heard what I first thought was a landslide but discovering instead that I was in the middle of a pack of sable colored peccaries. I was petrified with fear being completely surrounded by them as they seemed to be grazing on the hillside. I kept moving slowly and very cautiously but they seemed to take no notice of me.