But... You don't understand!

[mattferg84]

I have a buddy thats kinda like that - not necessarily scared. But I think he likes the idea of hunting but when it comes to the hunt he just doesnt like it. I think theres lots of guys like that. The worst excuse I have heard him say is he needs to get back home because his wife needs his help bringing their rooster to an adoption center. I thought to myself WTF

 

[doc holiday13]

I hear about this from packers/guides all the time. Lots of people just can’t handle it.

Maybe this is the part I can't understand.. Have these people never slept outside?

My wife is freaked out by hammock camping because she's in a hammock and can see everything around her. The tent offers some sort of "mental" protection I guess. After I pointed out that a bear is just as soon gonna chomp you in a hammock as it will if you're in a tent. She kinda got over it after I pointed that out to her. She hammocked in Hawaii but was then freaked out that a hog would jab her in the back if they came into our camp overnight. I raised her Hammock to be like 4ft off the ground while she was in it lol

 

[Scooter90254]

Yikes,

The friends I hunt with have no issue calling each other out for being a puss. In fact, a good hard slap wouldn't be out of the questions if you were home sick after 90 minutes and demanding to go home.

 

[BBob]

The tent offers some sort of "mental" protection I guess.

I can understand this, even after well over four decades of backpacking I too sleep better in a tent or under a tarp. I can and do open bivy and do fine but still I do better in or under a shelter. Weird to me after all this time, I really don’t get it but it is what it is.

 

[USMC-40]

Well…Bye

 

[svivian]

I sleep the best out in the open just bag and pad.... I don't know how many places or times I've done this and each time I have the best sleep.

 

[jmez]

He set that up when he wouldn't drive to the T/H because his truck would be vandalised, hence "you have to hike out and take me home now..."

In the am, walk out and take my truck horme. Then get another driver and return my truck to the trailhead. See you in ten days. No, I'm not kidding.

To prevent this from ever happening, I would never go on a hunt with one vehicle.

 

[11boo]

I should be a Llama packer.

 

[AZ8]

I learned LONGGGGGGGGG AGO to never, ever, never ever, let them lever, ever, I mean never ever convince you ever, to take one truck on an extended hunt. Never! All kinds of things can come up, if you have one vehicle, you're screwed.

Sorry to hear about your trip.

That was our rule back in college. The 5 of us would drive our own trucks to the bar/club just in case one of us "hooked up" as we called it!

Funny thing, most of the time we'd all show up back at the apartment alone!

 

[Billogna]

" bringing their rooster to an adoption center."

I think this must be code for something....

 

[204guy]

I have a buddy thats kinda like that - not necessarily scared. But I think he likes the idea of hunting but when it comes to the hunt he just doesnt like it. I think theres lots of guys like that. The worst excuse I have heard him say is he needs to get back home because his wife needs his help bringing their rooster to an adoption center. I thought to myself WTF

I'm always looking for new ways to annoy my wife. I'll have to try this. "Hey honey wanna take the rooster to the adoption center?" Befuddled look. Give her a wink, "you know the rooster to the adoption center!"

 

[Poser]

Hunting self supported in the backcountry requires grit. True grit. A person can be a fitness freak with lots of race related accolades and not have the rather specific type of grit required to thrive in the backcountry pursuing big game animals. You have to be good at a lot of different things and the logistics have to be out of the way of your hunting. Some people are circumstantially very good hunters, but when it comes to being 3 days into straight grind and you’re sleeping on the ground, not getting enough food, on the move for 14 hours a day, it’s cold at night, your boots are frozen in the morning, you’re packing your tent away while covered in heavy frost and you have to climb up that 1200 foot avalanche chute in a mixture of freezing rain and snow…. People fall apart.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

We were on a Mt. quail hunt in the Sierra. Actually that was our plan. we got to the meadow I had camped in many times before with my wife, no problem. Come about 2 AM on our first nigh, a rather windy night, he woke me up scared out of his mind, I said damn Roy what's up. He asked what that noise was, I said it's Mariah, she makes the Mt. sound like folks are up there dying. Well that did it, he said we have to, I said Roy it's 2 AM and it really is just the wind, but there was now way he was going to stay there. We had bought his truck on the trip, and he was leaving with or without me. We pitched everything in the truck and flew down the Mt. and did not stop until we go home. He asked not to say anything to your friends about what happened, RIGHT.

 

[Pharmseller]

I’m planning on solo elk hunting opening weekend in the Oregon Cascades. Camp on the edge of the Mt. Washington Wilderness and hike in.

Hope you guys don’t read about me.

 

[squirrel]

Squirrel is a for hire llama packer. The guy and others referenced in his stories were not friends but clients.

In a way this situation seems like a bonus to a packer. Squirrel got paid for 10 days but only had to do the prep work and spent less than 24hrs in the field

I hear about this from packers/guides all the time. Lots of people just can’t handle it.

Kinda right, but this was a hunt, not a rental. Those other "records" were clients and yes I just smile wave goodbye and cash the check! It's embarrassing to hold the world record personally.

Only real problem was his adamant refusal to drive to the T/H which left me stuck, camped with a whiny cu@# who wouldn't shut up... or hike 5 miles and drive for 3 to get rid of him, all with white goo running out of my poor big toe.

Some of these responses are interesting, I hadn't really considered good ol homesickness as I always thought of that as effecting 19 year olds at first semester college.

It was rather interesting watching his mental collapse as dark set in, he practically wore out his food moving it compulsively from his tent to a pannier and back over and over. Then he zipped and un-zipped every zipper in reach over and over on his bag, pack, tent for over an hour. I'm not even sure he knew he was doing it. As soon as full dark was set in the gig was up.

Scared of the dark is always interesting, my brother used up our entire 2 gallons of Coleman lantern fuel keeping the thing lit all night long on a fly in moose hunt. One more day and he would have had a melt down as we had no fuel left and were 60-100 miles in. He (of course) wasn't afraid of the dark but we had to leave the lantern on so we "could bullshit". When I pointed out that he'd been doing nothing but snoring for 6 hours or so he just went quiet and finally said leave it on so we can if we want to. He was always afraid of the dark when we were kids, I never realised he never got over it.

 

[bpa556]

Wow!
I guess I never realized there were full grown adults that would bail on a trip like some are describing.
After spending months planning and thinking about a trip and then busting my ass hiking in with my weeks
provisions on my back, there would have to be a pretty serious situation to make me come out. Death in the family, house hit by a tornado or burned....etc.

I couldn’t have typed a better response!

I’m also amazed at the number of comments (not just in this thread) denying any fear of the outdoors except for a completely fictional character (bigfoot). Hilarious!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[S.Clancy]

I will just never understand the mind of someone that wants to leave and or is afraid of the dark as an adult. I remember in high school hiking in to scout a spot with my buddy. He was late, so we ended up hiking in 3 hrs in the dark so we could glass at first light. Walking up the trail our headlamps danced over some eyeballs, prob 10 sets. He stopped in his tracks "Dude, what the hell is that, those eyes!!!" I was like, "Well, there is a bunch of them, so prob deer. Mountain lions and bears don't travel in packs of 10....". He wanted me to draw down on the eyeballs with my .357. We walked up and into that group of ferocious doe mule deer. I couldn't understand it then, and certainly can't now. To this day he is back in camp before dark. And he wonders why he has never killed an elk...

 

[seww]

I tried to invite a friend from California to go scouting/bear hunting here in the Spring. He had a problem with staying overnight in a tent.
I don't blame him, if you're not used to it, it's not easy. But it sure is easier being two over solo. At least he told me before I left.

I'm not scared of the dark per se, but I'm less used to having predators around. Back in Sweden, growing up, we never heard of anyone ever seeing a bear or wolf track. Never had to worry a minute about that. Here in Idaho, it does make me uneasy hiking around after dark. At camp, not so much but sure the thoughts are still there, and I get a bad night's sleep.

 

[Q child]

One time I was staying in a public use cabin, and the cover for the heater fell off in the middle of the night. I came up screaming and swinging. In that state I thought a bear had gotten into the cabin. It was an intense experience, but we all laughed about it afterward. I do not understand myself what caused me to do that.

 

[FLATHEAD]

I will just never understand the mind of someone that wants to leave and or is afraid of the dark as an adult. I remember in high school hiking in to scout a spot with my buddy. He was late, so we ended up hiking in 3 hrs in the dark so we could glass at first light. Walking up the trail our headlamps danced over some eyeballs, prob 10 sets. He stopped in his tracks "Dude, what the hell is that, those eyes!!!" I was like, "Well, there is a bunch of them, so prob deer. Mountain lions and bears don't travel in packs of 10....". He wanted me to draw down on the eyeballs with my .357. We walked up and into that group of ferocious doe mule deer. I couldn't understand it then, and certainly can't now. To this day he is back in camp before dark. And he wonders why he has never killed an elk...

I did this on one of the first times hunting up in the NF by myself, couldnt have been more than 14 at the time. (Yes, I was driving alone @ 14).
Walked in on an old logging road, way before daylight and went to a gas line cut
and as I made the turn all I could see were eyes, lots of them.
I thought they were deer, till they started coming towards me!!! As in running!!
I didnt know whether to spit or go blind, bout crapped my pants.
Ended up being a group of lost deer hounds waiting for their owner to show up.
I guess they thought i was the guy.
I went back to the truck and waited on daylight.