joybelle
Rabbit
Park Ranger
Posts: 1,692
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Post by joybelle on Apr 9, 2023 8:57:54 GMT
Here's a few to get us started...Its a new catagorie. Post all your funny or lovely pics, scarey stories, tales of your own campfire/camping adventures, what's cooking on your campfire (recipies too)...just an assorted bunch of 'What happens in the Woods'... (I tried to resize them..you may have to +zoom them)    |
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pennmom
Bear
Chief Ranger
[TI0] IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK AND ALL'S WELL
Posts: 16,595 
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Post by pennmom on Apr 9, 2023 12:06:01 GMT
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aethiriatgames
Snail
[TI0]Replaying childhood favorites: Sandlot and Playfirst games my mom has collected
Posts: 17
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Post by aethiriatgames on Apr 14, 2023 4:08:40 GMT
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Post by lurkercat on Apr 14, 2023 16:49:06 GMT
Ok, so I'll post the sad story of my first solo week-long backpacking trip to the Adirondacks (a "wilderness" area in upstate New York in the US). Trip was wonderful overall, but did have its interesting moments. Since I was hiking alone, I deliberately took one of the most popular trails, but even that had relatively few people on it & I'd meet only a handful each day. One day, approaching hikers reported recent rumors of bears along the trail. One group had actually had their campsite invaded by a bear the previous night! Concerning news at best. As it happened, I came upon a boy scout leader hiking with several other leaders & some scouts. Shared the bear news with him & indicated my concern & he said "not to worry", he'd have some of his counselors pitch their tents near mine that night in case there was trouble. When we reached our campsite that night, they set up about 120 feet from me. Later in the evening, the main leader brought a park ranger over to "calm my fears". Ummm, didnt help that the ranger looked to be about 12 years old nor that he had just been off hanging his food sack 15 feet up in the air to protect it from bears. Not to worry, young ranger said, bears in the Adirondacks virtually never came as far south as Colden.....ummm, that is where we were camping for the night AND where the other hikers said their camp had been invaded the previous night! But, boy scout leader & ranger then went off on a long discussion on different topics, talking about how some backpackers came unprepared for the adventure and citing (in great detail) several gruesome instances in recent years when multiple hikers had died of hypothermia because they underestimated how cold the area could get overnight, particularly in the fall and winter. Ok, now I've forgotten about the bears entirely and am convinced I'm going to die of hypothermia overnight. I bundled up really well, closed all the flaps in my  , and zipped up all the openings, and wrapped myself snugly in my sleeping bag, hoping I'd stay warm enough. Well, as any of you know who may be experienced campers (I didnt/wasnt!), if you seal yourself in a , the water vapor you produce by breathing has nowhere to go, so collects on the roof above. And, as such things are wont to do, when enough accumulates on the roof, it then drips down on you. So, there I am, woken up in the middle of the dark night, by water dripping on me. And suddenly, as I try to fall back to sleep, I start hearing "snuffely" sounds outside. I try to ignore them, but they persist. Oh no, there's a bear somewhere in the area right nearby!! What am I going to do???!!! Ok, so, brave soul that I am, I am definitely NOT going to unzip the flaps and LOOK for the bear! And I'm certainly not going to leave my shelter, or make any sound that might attract his attention. So, nothing to do but cower silently in my sleeping bag & hope the bear eventually wanders off. Yup, a true brave mountaineer me! So, for what seems like an eternity, I cower in my sleeping bag. But bear gives NO sign of moving on. His snuffely sounds rise & fall, but continue on, while I become more and more panicked. Am I about to become the "soft taco" noted in the previous post??!! And then suddenly I realize the sad truth. It's not a bear at all. The boy scout leaders stationed nearby to comfort me...SNORE! Amazing how much that sounds like a bear in a quiet night. Sigh. So much for "comfort"!! Oh well, their hearts were in the right place!  |
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pennmom
Bear
Chief Ranger
[TI0] IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK AND ALL'S WELL
Posts: 16,595
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Post by pennmom on Apr 14, 2023 17:36:12 GMT
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Post by patches on May 6, 2023 2:41:20 GMT
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Post by patches on May 6, 2023 2:48:18 GMT
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Post by patches on May 6, 2023 2:48:54 GMT
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Post by patches on May 7, 2023 23:35:17 GMT
Camping, my first time. Long ago and far away, giggle. A few families got together at this one families home. The adults thought it would be fun for the kids to camp out to sleep and of course the adults would stay in the house. They wanted to make it an adventure for us. We were told: it will be fun, y'all will have a great time. Now this home was somewhat off the beaten path and surrounded by woods. The tents were set up for the kids really wasn't that far from the house but where placed you couldn't see the house. There were 4 tents and a few lanterns were hung over the tents and a few on the path to them. There were eight kids in all me being the youngest at about age 5 and the oldest about 14. The rest no younger then about 12. There were only two girls and we shared a tent and if remember right she was around 12. (I'm sure at the time my Mom made sure from all the parents that their kids would look after me and am sure my Mom let them know if anything happened to me there would be hell to pay) Now the tents were not on top of each other we had the trees to give us a bit of separation but not a lot. To give you some idea if in tents could not hear conversation of others in other tents if talking normal but a good loud voice you could hear.
So, that night us kids all headed for the tents with the strut of independence and thoughts of how fun it would be to sleep outside in tents on our own. Basically I was along for the ride but they made me feel welcome and treated me well. We all went to our tents. I got into my sleeping bag and so did the girl with me and exchanged goodnights. I can't speak for the others but had hard time sleeping being first time and all. Trusting others there and was not alone felt excited and only a bit scared. Not sure but don't think much time had passed and was just falling asleep when heard a noise outside. Is sounded like walking but like loud stomps with each step it took. Now I am wide awake listening. It was loud and getting louder and getting closer. I woke the girl next to me in a panic. We both listened as it got closer and closer and heard the other kids which were talking very loudly to each other that sounded like in a panic also. I heard it right outside on the side of our tent where it had stopped moving. I saw this huge wide tall shadow and heard a weird kind of grunting (think would be right word to use) noise I never heard before. Then it started to move on. As the sound got fainter everyone shouting to each other I heard someone yell, Run! I was trying to hide in my sleeping bag trying not to cry too loud but could hear the zip from our tent and girl leaving with everyone else running away yelling and screaming. With my head covered I couldn't help crying louder. Looking back all this I believe only took a few minutes for it all to happen but felt like forever back then to me. The next thing I knew was my Dad pulling me out of the sleeping bag and holding me telling me everything was going to be alright. He carried me back to the house after he made me feel safe and calmed me down. Remember me mentioning about hell to pay and my Mom. Well there was. I think as long as my Mom was alive she only raised her voice and got truly angry 2 times and that was one of them. None of us left and did spend the weekend there. Had a good time after that since there was a lake in walking distance, a stream for fishing and good food and games to play. They set the tents in the front yard close to the house where the other kids didn't mind to be. I was very happy my parents insisted that I sleep in their room. Lucked out even more since they had a cot I could use.
Now I still don't know what it was outside the tents that night. With my parents making me feel loved and safe and talking it out with me put my heart and mind at ease. I remember they never labeled what I thought I saw or told me I was seeing things. They told me things such as it was probably curious, more afraid of us then we were of it, but to always remember to be alert and be cautious because not everything is as scared of us as we are of them. Looking back I do know it was not a bear. Grew up with bears and all kinds of wildlife in my neck of the woods. I'm just glad it didn't deter me taking walks in the woods or the mountains and camping. They are some of my best memories.
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Post by patches on May 16, 2023 23:24:06 GMT
How times have changed. Not sure for the better.
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Post by patches on May 16, 2023 23:40:56 GMT
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Post by patches on May 17, 2023 0:11:32 GMT
No tomato throwing please 
On a dark night a young man was walking home on a dark deserted street. As he passed the gates of a small cemetery he felt as if he was being followed. Suddenly, he heard a bump sound behind him. Afraid to look back he increased his pace.
Bump, bump, bump. The bumping sound behind him continued getting closer and louder. Finally unable to ignore the bumping sound any longer he turned around.
Terror stricken he saw a coffin standing on end bumping down the road from side to side.
Bump, Bump, Bump, Bump . . .
He started running for his life but the coffin only kept on coming increasing its pace to match his.
BUMP, BUMP, BUMP.
As the man became tired from running the coffin began to get closer. The man grabbed a large metal trash can as he ran by and threw it at the coffin. Unfazed the coffin kept coming. Getting closer and closer and closer.
BUMP, BUMP, BUMP. He finally arrived home. As he ran into his yard he noticed the axe resting against the side of the house next to the woodpile. He grabbed it up and hurled it at the coffin but it simply bounced off. The coffin followed the man up unto the porch and crashed down the front door the man had closed and locked behind him.
BUMP, BUMP, BUMP.
He ran upstairs and grabbed his shotgun from where it hung on the wall firing at the coffin as it came through the doorway. Still, the now partially shattered coffin continued towards him.
BUMP, BUMP, BUMP.
In desperation the man ran into the bathroom. Closed the door and backed as far back as he could and knew the coffin would simply break down the door. However, the man did not intend to give up. Grabbing the first thing he saw was a bottle of cough syrup. As he stood there shaking hearing the coffin getting closer to door.
BUMP, BUMP, BUMP..... Crash
At the entrance of doorway he hurled the cough syrup at the coffin. The bottle shattered covering the coffin with cough syrup.
The cof-fin stopped.
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Post by patches on May 17, 2023 0:46:43 GMT
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Post by retriever on Aug 4, 2023 23:45:11 GMT
My father, who just passed at 100 years old, would never talk about his time in the army during WWII except 2 short stories...
First--When he was in boot camp somewhere in Louisiana (the guys never figured out where exactly) the company had to pack up and go on a 60 mile hike that involved camping out in the woods along the trek. The group found an inviting clearing where they set up and bunked down for the night. Keep in mind these were all city boys from up north including, evidently, their company leader. Turned out their pastoral clearing was the world's lushest patch of poison ivy. He claims that 14 of the 20 guys in his group ended up needing hospitalization---the worst cases were those who were saturated with the sap and then spent a little too much time heeding mother nature's call. :o
His only other story was recalling how utterly disgusting the ship ride was from New York to England. 400 absolutely seasick men who spent 11 days puking up every meal they had eaten the prior 2 months. Evidently there was an immense surplus of orange marmalade on board because he says they served it 24/7. Until he died just the mention of that stuff got him to gag.
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Post by gera on Aug 22, 2023 11:09:13 GMT
Picture this: a user wakes up, and their fitness app is already one step ahead mlsdev.com/blog/create-a-fitness-app, analyzing sleep patterns and providing insights that echo like a friendly wellness mentor. As the day unfolds, the app becomes a digital coach, curating workouts tailored to individual goals and adapting routines based on progress. With AI-powered precision, it's the ultimate accountability partner, tracking achievements and offering gentle yet persistent reminders when motivation falters. |
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Post by mercuryminerva on Sept 8, 2023 15:38:14 GMT
My brother recently sent us a cellphone photo of a bear in his backyard during the daytime. He told us the bears rarely show up during the day and are also wary of people. He said the bear ran off after he took its picture.
He also had a mountain lion appear in his backyard as well and sent us a few photographs of the large cat. Not exactly a house pet either.
My brother lives in New Mexico in a resort town in the mountains.
We would go camping when we were kids to many wildlife areas. We did see deer and smaller critters but no bears. My brother is more than making up for this now.
I also took my boys as well as foster boys camping. While no encounters with wildlife, we still had some interesting experiences. More on those later...
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pennmom
Bear
Chief Ranger
[TI0] IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK AND ALL'S WELL
Posts: 16,595
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Post by pennmom on Sept 8, 2023 15:41:09 GMT
mercuryminerva, New Mexico is one of my favorite destinations, especially Taos...and then there's the Alien Museum in Roswell (yes, I've been there)
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, and zipped up all the openings, and wrapped myself snugly in my sleeping bag, hoping I'd stay warm enough. Well, as any of you know who may be experienced campers (I didnt/wasnt!), if you seal yourself in a 
