Jumpiness on trail

[David@whiteblaze]

when I was on the tril for wo days alone, I would wince at every noise other than my own footfalls. If I had flushed grouse, goodness knows I would have had a heart attack and lan there on the trail for days. In the words of Bill Bryson: "So woods are spooky... there is something innately sinister about them, some inneffable thing that makes you sense an atmosphere of pregnant doom with every step... Though you tell yourself it's preposterous, you can't quite shake the feeling that you are being watched... Whatever mechanism within you is resposible adrenaline, it has never been so keenly polished to pump out a warming squirt of adrenal fluid. Even asleep, you are a coiled spring." Does anyone else get this and is it different when with a group?

[Reid]

Yea, I think you get use to it though. It's really just your senses being on high alert because your outside your comfort zone, in the dark, in some deep woods that often feel smothering. The human psyche's seems to want to innatly establish comfort but it needs conformation that safety is sustainable. It's natural. Only more time spent in the woods that will get your comfort zone balanced and even then you may still get spooked. I often do but I'll get out of the tent and walk into the woods and soak it in and I'll feel calm after that. Anyway, nothing to be afraid of in the woods really.

[Many Walks]

Be one with the woods, Grasshopper. Fear not, you are close to the top of the food chain.

[mister krabs]

I only get it when I sleep alone in the woods. I bring a small radio with a speaker and a sleep timer to dispel it.

[Deadeye]

I get jumpy when the coyotes are howling!

[Gray Blazer]

Take some Xanax.

[cowpoke]

I was cresting the trail just south of Fontana...walking along quietly...enjoying the solitude...and jumped a couple of turkeys...needless to say I was a couple of pounds lighter after I cleaned myself up!! My first night on the trail was alone at Stover Creek shelter...think I heard every branch that fell that night...it's all good. cheers.

[David@whiteblaze]

Well, I wouldn't say that having that every time would keep me from backpacking altogether, but considering that in 2 1/2 years I anticipate spending 1 1/2 years in the woods, I was just wondering if it would just sort of faze out.

[David@whiteblaze]

what would that be exactly?

[David@whiteblaze]

(Xanax that is)

[BobTheBuilder]

I bet it phases out. It is all about your comfort zone, which develops over time. Turkeys and grouse, though, always seem to wait until you are almost stepping on them, then they explode in front of you in their own version of a panic. They will startle me until the day I die, which will probably be due to a heart attack caused by a damn turkey.

[elmotoots]

Self-preservation is behaviour that ensures the survival of an organism. It is universal among living organisms. In some vertebrates, pain and fear are parts of this mechanism. Pain causes discomfort so that the organism is inclined to stop the pain. Fear causes the organism to seek safety and may cause a release of adrenaline, which has the effect of increased strength and heightened senses such as hearing, smell, and sight. Self-preservation may also be interpreted figuratively; in regard to the coping mechanisms one needs to prevent emotional trauma from distorting the mind.

[Lyle]

Don't get that feeling much anymore. Way more often I feel very comfortable, even with the many sounds. Not saying I never had it. Several occasions when a sound has temporarily spooked me until I found out for sure what it was. It's a matter of allowing your imagination to run wild with you.

More frequent is the slight uneasiness felt when meeting some of the non-hiker characters that are occasionally at road crossings or easy walk-in shelters. Usually if you are in a group, it is much less likely that you will feel uncomfortable. On one recent trip, a large group of us were at a shelter, and one individual did spook the lot of us. Had something to do with his machete and somewhat bizarre ramblings that included his having run out of his meds, and his lack of "typical" hiker gear. There was a bit of tension in the air most of the evening, but absolutely no problems with the individual at all. Perhaps he was just "playing with us". This possibility was later discussed, but never resolved.

Also, not too long ago, things got a little spooky while hiking through a fairly severe electrical storm with heavy rain and very, very dark sky. Normally I love to be out in an electrical storm. At home, I like to sit on my porch to observe and feel the energy. I was in deep woods, with somewhat overgrown trail. I just got a very uneasy feeling that I was NOT on the AT. I even convinced myself that any blaze I saw was either an old blaze or some type of boundary marker (easy to confuse these here in Michigan). Got somewhat of a feeling of "impending doom" for no real reason. Eventually I came to the Wayah Bald tower (actually the pit toilets) and met up with friends. We were rightfully a bit concerned on top of the Bald in the electrical storm, so took refuge in the outhouses until the rest of the storm passed.

All this just to say, you will get much more comfortable and at home as you are out more. But certain circumstances can still trigger irrational (or rational) "fight or flight" responses - that general uneasy feeling. It's probably a good thing, and lets us know that we haven't become completely numb to the possibility of danger. Just don't let it panic you.

[Gray Blazer]

(Xanax that is)

For your nerves. You'd have to get a prescription (or know a really good street dealer (which I do not condone of course)).

[Many Walks]

David, here's something you might try to ease your fear of the woods at night. When you camp put a fish line trip wire in a 20' radius around your camp. Tie it to a tree 18" or so off the ground and string it in a circle back around to the tree where it is tied. Tie the loose end to a cook pot or other noisy object and wedge it in somewhere off the ground just enough that the line can pull it out and not the wind. At least with this you only have to be concerned with the noise of the pot falling and not every noise in the woods. Eventually the fear will pass as you become more comfortable with the woods and you train your mind to focus on reality and not on what might be out there. Good luck and enjoy your hikes!

[LimpsAlong]

My guess is it will diminish over time. You don't want it to all go away however. A little "quick reaction" is good in certain situations. I grew up tent camping and hunting so even though I have a "quick response" to certain stimuli I am comfortable on the trail night and day. Normal animal sounds at night get my attention but once identified by the sounds I relax and get back to sleep. Odd or heavy sounds require a little more analysis.
The two legged creatures give me more concern than do the four legged ones.

[LimpsAlong]

David, here's something you might try to ease your fear of the woods at night. When you camp put a fish line trip wire in a 20' radius around your camp. Tie it to a tree 18" or so off the ground and string it in a circle back around to the tree where it is tied. Tie the loose end to a cook pot or other noisy object and wedge it in somewhere off the ground just enough that the line can pull it out and not the wind. At least with this you only have to be concerned with the noise of the pot falling and not every noise in the woods. Eventually the fear will pass as you become more comfortable with the woods and you train your mind to focus on reality and not on what might be out there. Good luck and enjoy your hikes!

Neat idea. Never thought about using a trip wire for the animals.

[Grinder]

hey David,

This , too, shall pass.

When I was getting used to hammocking, I slept on my back porch for two months. It took me a week to get where I could sleep through the night because of all the neighborhood noises here in Winter Haven. There were air conditioners turning on and off, the traffic on Havendale Blvd. neighborhood cats. An ocasional possum or racoon. Once a great horned owl landed on my roof and hooted about 10 feet away. That one "set me free".

The same thing happens each time I move into a new/different house. New noises grab my attention and I squirt out a bit of adreneline. After a few days I begin to adjust and in a week the new noises are old background and invisible.

[Disney]

I always get that sleeping alone in a shelter. Never in a tent, but always in a shelter alone. I guess if I'm sleeping in a shelter with other folks, there's a part of my mind that just says "well if something bad happens those guys will wake me up."

[Tipi Walter]

Jumpiness out in nature I believe is a sort of newbie disease, easily cured with many days out. The hard one to shake is the jumpiness that comes from living "indoors", as in a house. Phew, I don't know how people do it for long. TV commercials alone can make you crazy and there's nothing like an outgassing doublewide to break your spirit. The longer you stay outside the harder it is to stay in. Just plan your next trip and carry about 40lbs of food so you don't have to come back in for 15 or 20 days. Stretch it out to 30 days if you can carry the weight. Assuming no resupply, please.