Sleeping alone in the backcountry

[Nmesub]

When I was using a tent i didnt have a problem sleeping now that i switched to a hammock it takes a little longer to fall asleep, guess I feel more vulnerable. Like a hanging meat sack.

[Kit Carson]

I take Ambien most times, got to be careful with them though, as other readers mentioned they can make you say some weird things.  One time when I was with my ex gf, I took 10mg ambien and about 15 min later she asked me "Do you think I could be one of those Nordstrom models?"  I said "sure, all you need to do is lose weight, dress better and wear better makeup", I rolled over in bed and was pretty proud of myself of the thought that I just said something pretty profound.  And I went right to sleep like a baby.  It wasn't until the morning that she told me what I had said, she didn't speak to me for a week and noticed I said she is my EX 

But in the woods I still take ambien.

  

[Jim/WA]

I do get a little weirded out sometimes sitting next to my tent with my back to the woods. Standing up, no problem. Once I'm in my tent, I sleep like a baby. Two years ago in the Pasayten, something pushed up against the side of my tent right into my face and took a big sniff. When I got out in the morning, there were moose tracks outside the tent which led right down the trail and eventually to a nice bull working his way along a creek bottom.

[7mmfan]

I do get a little weirded out sometimes sitting next to my tent with my back to the woods. Standing up, no problem. Once I'm in my tent, I sleep like a baby. Two years ago in the Pasayten, something pushed up against the side of my tent right into my face and took a big sniff. When I got out in the morning, there were moose tracks outside the tent which led right down the trail and eventually to a nice bull working his way along a creek bottom.

Now that would freak me out, but I feel like it would be only for a while. I am still of the opinion that everything in the woods is more afraid of me than I am of it. Except Grizzly bears.

[seth30]

Does having dogs attract animals  or keep them at bay?  Hearing about people having moose and black bears poking their heads into or against your tent does not sound fun.

[RadSav]

I am still of the opinion that everything in the woods is more afraid of me than I am of it. Except Grizzly bears.

I must be lucky.  Every grizzly I have run across has run away the moment they know I'm there.  Though I have seen where they wait for hunters and hikers to leave camp and then they come in and destroy the place.  I wonder if some of the stories are of bear who come into camps thinking there is nobody there.

I know from experience that black bear come in out of curiosity.  They've dug through things that should not have any smell of food.  I remember one in particular that was fascinated with a new packable camp chair I had bought the day before.  He played with that thing for about five minutes.  To me it looked like he was simply fascinated by it.  Looked like he was about to poop on it when I said, "What are you doing?" with a loud sharp voice.  Not sure he could have left in a bigger hurry had I shot at him.

In my youth we hunted a lot in areas with serious black bear population issues.  We've had them poke heads in tents, chew on guy ropes, take my boots and run off, tear into camp stoves...  It gets the blood pumping for sure.  But at the first yell of our presence they have always bugged out in a hurry.  I've found it more exciting than scary.  Seldom after the first night does it effect my sleep.  Just part of what makes the back country great!

I have run into some cats that flat out scare the Bee Gees out of me.  But that has never been at camp.  Have had a few feral dogs that scared me a bit.  One that I likely would have shot had I had a pistol on my side or a bow in my hand.  Pigs...I hate pigs when tent camping!  But we don't have much worry about them in the WA high country.  My biggest concern is when people come by and refuse to say a word or even acknowledge your presence.  That is the scariest IMO.

Considering how many house prowlers and home invasions there are in the city on a daily basis I feel pretty darn safe in the woods by comparison.  For me I feel much safer in the back country and sleep more soundly as a result.