don't fear orange!

[forestgnome]

Many times this autumn my polite "good morning!" greetings have been met with mildly impolite reactions, mostly plain-faced glares. I know it's because I'm dressed completly in orange. This Saturday I parked at the Sawyer River Trailhead, Kancamagus end, and there was a couple preparing for a hike at their car. We said hellos to each other, all smiles. All was fine until they noticed me putting on an orange hat and jacket. They suddenly stopped their preparations and stared at me as I draped my pack in orange and put on orange gaitors. I'm so sick of this. I walked past them and wished them a nice hike. They just looked at me and didn't utter a word.

Five minutes in, I decided I wanted my fleece hat liner so I turned around. When I got back to the trailhead they were gone.

Last weekend, at Champney Falls TR, I walked past a hiker at her car and my polite greeting was met by a quick, forced smile, not bad. Ten minutes later, she caught up to me, as I was pulling blowdown off the trail. She asked "Are you hunting or hiking"? I responded that I was hiking and she was nice and freindly. She said she was shocked to see that people hunted from the trails, so I assured her they didn't, and that she didn't need orange so long as she stayed on trail. I'm not flaming her; she was nice (and rather attractive), but other folks are have been fairly rude, and I know it's the orange.

Here are some tips:

1) Hunters rarely park at trailheads or use trails.
2) Hunters rarely use handguns, and rifles do not fit in daypacks.
3) Bushwackers commonly use trails for a portion or the hike.
4) NH rifle deer season is now over, but some hunting is still in season

Happy Trails

 

[Tom Rankin]

Here are some tips:

1) Hunters rarely park at trailheads or use trails.

*LOTS* of hunters in New York park at trail heads, sign in as 'hunting', and then walk up the trail some way before leaving the trail to get to a sight away from other humans.

 

[Jay H]

*LOTS* of hunters in New York park at trail heads, sign in as 'hunting', and then walk up the trail some way before leaving the trail to get to a sight away from other humans.

Heck, lots of catskill area hunters camp at the trailheads. I wonder if it's legal but I guess the DEC look the other way. It's amazing to drive up Rt 42 and see the tent city setup on the first weekend of hunting season there... Rt 42, Balsam Lake, Alder Lake, prime hunting camping spots!

Given that, many hunters do not start at the trailheads but as a hiker, I generally do not see them.

Jay

 

[hikerfast]

I've never felt threatened by a hunter in my life. some people are very very silly
feel free to wear orange anytime

 

[Gris]

As a lifelong hunter (proud of it too), I can assure you hunters rarely wear orange. They usually wear just the opposite - camo, especially if they are after big game. You might wear orange (i don't know why you would) if you were after upland or ground birds. Anyway, the people you encountered were probably Michigan football fans that were pissed that we Gators are in the big game now...

 

[carole]

I can assure you hunters rarely wear orange.

I wonder what all those guys I've been seeing on almost a daily basis wearing orange and carrying guns are doing??

 

[Maddy]

My days of not fearing hunters are long gone.
If I should ever be in a position to encounter one, and hopefully this will never happen, I would be polite.
I outfit my dogs in their safety suits just to walk in a reservoir area in No Brkfld. I wear every red item I own, hat included. I cannot bring myself to go any deeper into the woods than this during deer season.
I envy all who can enjoy hiking during hunting season chanting "fear not, all is well".
Don't ask me what caused all this apprehension. Perhaps is was the hunter who came into the hospital dead after his friend pierced him with an arrow thinking he was a deer. That happened right close their vehicle at dawn. Maybe it was the dead golden retriever on the hiking path in a park in NH. It might even be the patients I cared for who were lucky enough to survive being mistaken for a deer. And needless to say each season brought those who shot themselves... mostly in the foot! It might even have something to do with the stories from VT about farmers placing large signs are on their livestock labelling them as COWS. The woman that was killed in ME while she was hanging out her clothes didn't help. She had the gross misfortune of having a white pompom on her hat, or maybe it was white gloves. That got a lot of press. I think her husband was an attorney. They had moved to ME to escape city life. Of course how can we forget the farmer who was shot while on his tractor in his own field.
So go forth all ye good hikers who dare. I'm just not that brave any more....but hunters need not fear me. I won't ever give you "the look" especially if you are toting a weapon.
Happy trails!

 

[dentonfabrics]

I've never felt threatened by a hunter in my life. some people are very very silly
feel free to wear orange anytime

I was thinking of that just the other day. I was hiking up the Owls Head Trail and happened upon a hunter (dressed in orange) that was laying in wait on the trail for a deer. We had a pleasant chat for a minute and after I met him, I thought to myself "wait a minute. I just met a guy carrying a guy in the middle of nowhere. Why wasnt I at least a little apprehensive?"

Every hunter I've ever met seemed to me to be a nice, normal, freindly guy. I guess he's just like me -- happy to be out in the woods for a day.


bob

 

[marty]

As a lifelong hunter (proud of it too), I can assure you hunters rarely wear orange. D

That may be true in New Hampshire, New York and other states, where wearing orange is strongly recommended, but not required. Maine and Massachusetts do have blaze orange requirements. Enclosed are state-by-state requirements: Orange Requirements

I do not hunt, but have friends relatives in upstate New York that do. They all wear camo orange voluntarily.

 

[Gris]

I wonder what all those guys I've been seeing on almost a daily basis wearing orange and carrying guns are doing??

You Yankees do some things different and weird! How ya gonna get close to em if they see ya?

edit - whoa: camo-orange? is that an oxymoron?

 

[Tom Rankin]

You Yankees do some things different and weird! How ya gonna get close to em if they see ya?

Many animals are color blind and would smell and hear you before they saw you anyway.

 

[mtn.goat]

You Yankees do some things different and weird! How ya gonna get close to em if they see ya?

edit - whoa: camo-orange? is that an oxymoron?

Deer are colorblind (correct me if I'm wrong) so wearing orange camo looks exactly the same to them as "normal" camo. The added benefit is that your fellow hunters can see you and hopefully not mistake you for an animal.

 

[Chip]

edit - whoa: camo-orange? is that an oxymoron?

Nope, and it's getting more common.
As noted there are local requirements, especially during entry and exit.

I would be tempted to look oddly at hikers who weren't wearing some brighter colors this time of year. If anyone feels odd in Hunter Orange, there are neon green and yellow jackets and hats now that are highly visible.

 

[Rik]

My understanding is that the pattern is more important than the colors. Large blocks of any color are more apparent than a broken up pattern so solid green or brown would stand out more orange camo to a deer.

 

[WhiteMTHike]

I've gotten the same reaction that Forestnome has gotten from my fellow hikers many times when I put on my orange hat. Just to put these folks at ease I politely tell them that I'm not a hunter, never have been, never will be and that the orange hat is so that I don't get shot by hunters. If I'm in my home state I remind them that orange on a hiking trail is usually the law. So not only am I complying with the law but I'm playing it safe no matter what.

 

[TCD]

I wear orange for safety in rifle season in the Adirondacks. Hunting is fine and hunters are fine, but when anyone is firing rifles in the woods, there's an undeniable risk. Most of my hiking is bushwhacking, so I don't know whose path I might cross. A hunter wearing camo was shot in the back by his brother in law just last week in the ADKs; I'm not sure if he survived. Wearing orange is not fear, it's common sense.

TCD

 

[dug]

My days of not fearing hunters are long gone.
If I should ever be in a position to encounter one, and hopefully this will never happen, I would be polite.
I outfit my dogs in their safety suits just to walk in a reservoir area in No Brkfld. I wear every red item I own, hat included. I cannot bring myself to go any deeper into the woods than this during deer season.
I envy all who can enjoy hiking during hunting season chanting "fear not, all is well".
Don't ask me what caused all this apprehension. Perhaps is was the hunter who came into the hospital dead after his friend pierced him with an arrow thinking he was a deer. That happened right close their vehicle at dawn. Maybe it was the dead golden retriever on the hiking path in a park in NH. It might even be the patients I cared for who were lucky enough to survive being mistaken for a deer. And needless to say each season brought those who shot themselves... mostly in the foot! It might even have something to do with the stories from VT about farmers placing large signs are on their livestock labelling them as COWS. The woman that was killed in ME while she was hanging out her clothes didn't help. She had the gross misfortune of having a white pompom on her hat, or maybe it was white gloves. That got a lot of press. I think her husband was an attorney. They had moved to ME to escape city life. Of course how can we forget the farmer who was shot while on his tractor in his own field.
So go forth all ye good hikers who dare. I'm just not that brave any more....but hunters need not fear me. I won't ever give you "the look" especially if you are toting a weapon.
Happy trails!

Remind me to not hike near you if you've had that many personal experiences. I don't know anybody directly who has been shot at while hiking. I've been hit in the head by some kids throwing rocks down a trail, but never shot at.

 

[griffin]

You Yankees do some things different and weird! How ya gonna get close to em if they see ya?

Many animals are color blind and would smell and hear you before they saw you anyway.

I never hunted a day in my life, never even picked up a gun, and even I know that.

The only hunter I've had contact with on or near a hiking trail was getting out of his truck at the Sawyer Pond trailhead the same time we were. He made a point of coming over to us and letting us know he and his friends would be headed into the woods away from the trails. Nice guy.

OTOH, my uncle used to own a farm in upstate NY, and his cows were shot at on a regular basis (he had one gurnsey that stayed in the barn pretty much all of hunting season).

I feel much safer climbing a trail in the Whites than I ever will near farms. I figure the respectable/smart hunters know to stay away from human traffic, and the jackasses are too lazy to do anything that strenuous.

 

[lattinhill]

Bad things can and do happen, and all too quickly. About 20 years ago a very good friend of mine shot and killed someone jogging on a dirt road while hunting. Another friend's older brother shot the middle toes off his right foot while crossing a fence. And finally, a co-worker discharged a deer rifle through his car floor into the transmission. Not meaning to stray off-topic from Hunter orange , but I have to agree with Maddy in that accidents can happen.
Dave

 

[bill bowden]

Hunters, fear, fall in the mountains

By far the vast majority of hunters, like hikers and any other outdoor community are careful responsible people. The worry almost everyone has is the rare but very dangerous hunter who may fire without being absolutely sure of both his target and what's behind it. So far as I know, no hiker has been shot by a hunter in New England; the usual victim is another hunter, usually in the same party, in poor light at dusk and often returning to their vehicle.
There have been two widely publicized and terrible accidents when a Maine woman was shot while hanging laundry inher back yard (blaze orange sheets and pilowcases?) and a case in Connecticut of jogger being shot by a poacher (not exactly a hunter)

Other information and knowledge welcomed