Animals encountered on the trail?

[1ADAM12]

What kind of animals have you encountered on the trails in the North East?

I was hiking the ridge to Colvin and Blake and there was a porcupine heading up the trail in the same direction as us. He would not get off the trail and finally i had to use my hiking pole and move him aside. He was in no hurry to get anywhere which is why I grew impatient as we were on a schedule

I have also encountered the pissed off spruce grouse that scared the hell out of me, and bears but never really had a problem with them.

I would love to hear your stories!

Adam

 

[BorealChickadee]

On the trail, not on roads:

One bear in the Adirondacks, several in Maine
Moose in Maine
Spruce grouse, ruffed grouse
Red Fox
coyote
various birds,owls...
Pine marten
Mink
beaver
deer
mice
Pete (ooops)


Well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head

 

[Sasquatch]

2 weeks ago both my dogs received a faceful of quills.Vet bill $440.That hurt me more than them.

 

[mtnbound]

Black Bear- spotted ahead of me on the AT in NJ. It stopped, turned to look at me then kept going on it's way. very cool-

Rabbit/hare on the summit of East Dix- I didn't know they were peak baggers too!

 

[Fisher Cat]

4 bears, one single, 1 mother with 2 cubs
1 moose
white-tailed deer
spruce grouse
Pileated woodpecker & various other woodpeckers, but Pileated are real cool
porcupine
snowshoe hare
pine marten
fisher cat
2 great grey owls-(that was one of the best encounters ever!)
1 peregrine falcon with 2 yearlings
Fox family in Great Gulf
Pack of very young, frisky ermines that followed us on Lincoln Woods Trail at end of Bonds hike

 

[audrey]

Aside from the usual moose, deer, bear, several pine martens, a fisher, porkies, etc:
Woodchuck outside Lake of the Clouds hut;
Way-too-friendly fox on the Rocky Branch trail - spooked us and we turned around;
Otters in Cranberry Pond, Bigelows. We heard them first - sounded like birds twittering.
Red salamanders on the Tully Trail in Mass - stopped counting at 130.
And best of all, pileated woodpeckers and bald eagles!

 

[Peakbagr]

Black bear, moose, moose calves, deer(lots), raccoons, beaver, muskrat, woodchucks,foxes, ermine, otters, snowshoe hares(many), porkies, cottontails.

Most memorable:
Snowy Owl sitting in a tree at the Ausable Club.
Almost stepping on a beaver mid way between Avalanche pass and Avalance Lake. Water was flowing deeply on the trail and it was pitch dark and we were wearing headlamps.
Large coyote trotted by me in the opposite direction I was heading, less than 6' away.
Black bear walking down a large downed tree trunk. I was sitting on the tree's base and rootball and the bear walked down the truck toward me close enough to touch with a hiking pole before it noticed me and took off like a cartoon versions of a running bear.
Unseen Bald Eagle dropping out of a large white pine and grabbing a fish out of the water right in front of me.

Thanks for the thread and bringing back some good ones.

 

[Jason Berard]

I surprised a momma black bear and her cub a few weeks ago. I was within 30 feet of them as I came over a rise! She sent her little one up the nearest tree, and huffed at me, and then started thumping the ground with her two front paws.......I got the hint and quickly, but not too quickly headed up the trail.

A couple years ago at a shelter along the AT in VT I heard a couple owls gettin it on.....or fighting....not sure which.

Two winters I came across a porkie sitting 6 feet up in a tree on Lambert Ridge on Smart's Mtn. He/she couldn't have cared less that I was there.

I haven't seen a bobcat, or a pine marten yet......someday, I hope.

 

[Steve-o]

This guy took us by surprise.
After a rainy Backpack to do Allen, We took a zero-day to dry out by the river.
Good thing... This guy did'nt mess around with the bag, and went right for the rope.
Oppalecent River 2004

 

[nartreb]

Plus my avatar (northeastern Savoie, does that count?)

Many more (some not on trail):
http://www.davidalbeck.com/photos/bysubject/wildlife.htm

The most memorable ones are the ones that got away without a photo. Like the big white owl that swooped down from behind me in the dark and grabbed something off the trail by my feet. I was pretty jumpy for the rest of that night.

 

[1ADAM12]

Actually that reminds me I have seen a Pine Martin on the summit of Mount Marshall back in 2005. That was a really cool October surprise!

 

[dentonfabrics]

I've had real good luck in the woods spotting wildlife, mostly, I think, because I usually hike alone. I've seen about a half-dozen bear, plenty of moose, the odd fox, etc. But strangely enough, the animal I thought I'd see the most of, I hardly see at all - deer.

 

[the_swede]

The usual: moose, deer, black bears, coyotes, wild turkeys, grouse, pheasants, jay h, etc.

Saw a ton of bears towards the end of summer here in Jersey. One refused to get off the trail I was hiking!

Any lizards? Spotted a few black rat snakes. I met a guy on the trail last weekend who nearly stepped on a rattlesnake in the Hudson Highlands. Spotted my first five lined skink on Breakneck Ridge.

 

[cooperhill]

Moose (3 so far); Bobcat (during the middle of the day just below Mt. Crawford); numerous birds - gray jays, falcons - peregrine and merlin, marsh hawks, raven; porcupine (all near Blue Job).

 

[rocket21]

- moose (over half a dozen this year, unfortunately none close and/or still enough to get a good photo)
- grouse
- deer
- bear
- snakes (real ones, not politicians, though I did see a prominent one last year on a 4k )
- fox
- woodchuck
- beaver
- a skunk a year or two ago I think (might have been a porcupine, I forget)
- porcupine
- forestgnome
- grayjays and other assorted birds

 

[Grayjay]

I sat down once in the late afternoon on Bog Brok trail and a fisher walked down a nearby stream, its yellowish fur in the light. Saw a pine martin coming down from Bondcliff in a tree. Saw a mink or something- long and dark brown- run across in front of me on the Mount Willard trail.
If there was a list of the wildlife that had seen me thrashing through the woods, the list would be 5 miles long.

 

[bandana4me]

The List Is Longer Than My Memory

Recently, though Marley (my dog) and I came across a black bear. It was his first time seeing a bear (14 months old). I was surprised at his response, as he just stared at it trying to figure who or what that was (and NEVER barked once!). The bear darted off the trail, Marley followed at a distance, then he came back on the trail with his head held high! He was so proud that he chased that bear off.

 

[rhihn]

Multiple sightings of the usual suspects most people see eventually while hiking, camping, canoeing (most but not all of these in the Adirondacks):

bears
moose
hawks, bald eagles, grouse, owls, pheasant, many varieties of birds
pine marten
Coyote (my wife encountered while feeding on deer!)
deer
porcupines
beavers
squirrels
snakes

 

[Skyclimber]

These sightings are from the top of my head, sure there were many more.


Owl-on Esther
Pine Marten-Four Circling us at Times Square in the Winter of 1995 OR so. One also running up the Felspar trail another time, I was going down.
Snowshoe Rabbits-One on trail up Upper Wolf and a couple on trail into Slide Brook, other occassions as well.
Cottontails
Turkeys
Grouse
Whitetail Deer-LOTS-Most memorable hiking down the Lake Road and seeing deer about eight times along the road on the same hike. Does, Bucks, Fawns.
Porcupine
Beaver-Opalescent River, swimming through the ice and then it finally came up through the channel in the ice, seeing it.
Moose-In the parking area, starting a hike in the White Mountains.

 

[rocksnrolls]

I don't see wildlife nearly as often as I would like, but have had a few thrills on trail -

Bear - spotted one running away from me over a hill on the west side of Mt Tom in Mass. Glad it was more scared of me than I was of it

Moose - one on the far side of a pond alongside the trail to Zealand hut; saw a pair while descending Mt Randolph in winter. The smaller of the two was mounting the larger and since it was not mating season I guessed it was an immature male 'practicing'/playing or some sort of dominance display

Porcupine - on the M-M in Mass, east of Skinner State Pk our group encountered one at the base of a tree. It stood quite still as we snapped dozens of pictures

Greyjays - on one of my first hikes one was feeding from my hand at the top of the Liberty Spring Tr. I had not read about this behavior and was quite pleased with its antics. Was stalked by one approaching the summit of Mt Jackson in winter. It then landed at the base of the summit cairn and proceeded to hop its way up to the top, perhaps trying to communicate that it was a peekbagger too

Grouse - never met an aggressive one, but one memorable encounter involved one calmly picking at the ground on the trail in front of me, unconcerned with my prescence

Mouse - one bolted from a hole in the ground on Howker Ridge, right under my descending boot. I still wonder if it was suicidal or just in the wrong place at the wrong time