With hunting season opening in more areas across the country as the days tick by, are you staying out of national forests and heading into national parks when you head out onto the public landscape?
I can recall mountain biking in a national forest in Utah one October when a deer, freshly wounded on the top of its back by an arrow, darted in front of us. Not only won't you see that in a national park, but you also won't come close to being shot, since hunting is prohibited in the parks.
In light of such scenarios, do you prefer national parks over national forests in the fall?
Comments
Definately, I like to walk my dogs and during the best season of the year I don't feel safe. Walking during hunting season with or without my dogs is unsafe. Unfortunately I can't walk them in the National park either because they are not allowed. I wish there were a few dog permitted trails. Being female, the dogs give me a little sense of security which allows me to hike more often than I could without them with me. There should be weeks for hunting and weeks for the general public to use public land during all of the seasons without the fear of hunters. Why should they have the best season of the year to themselves?
Since I've only just gotten into hiking, I hadn't given this much thought before. However, it was more than a little creepy to hear gunshots while hiking in a state park this past Sunday. It did make me uncomfortable, and I would definitely retreat to a national park if I lived closer to one.
Hunting season has caused me to leave South Carolina. And take up temporary residence in South Dakota.
At CARE, we're so close to National Forest land and BLM that we can sometimes hear the gunshots. The other day I was assisting campers when a single rifle shot rang out. Every visitor there stopped and started looking around with big eyes. I wasn't the only one who didn't like hearing that sound in the park! I have nothing against hunting. In fact I love eating wild game very chance I get. But National Parks are one of the few areas I feel safe enough to walk around by myself and not have to worry. When I go home to visit my family during hunting season, I have to wear orange (not flattering to my coloring!) just to walk around my parents property.
After working for both USFS and NPS, I'm willing to hike in either agency's lands during hunting season. But, if it is land that allows hunting (some NPS sites have hunting seasons too) then I like to wear bright colors. It doesn't have to be head to toe orange as long as the color is non-deer-like. In fact, I was just hiking yesterday in my local national forest with my dog who wore his orange bandana at times.
Please remember that hiker Meredith Emerson hiked with her dog and she was still killed in spite of that fact. Be safe!
Kurt, I think it's irresponsible of you to paint "hunters" with such a broad brush here. I have never felt at risk from bow hunters, for instance, but I do pay attention when rifle season opens. And I don't worry much about rifle hunters deep in the backcountry, but I do watch my step when close to roads. "Hunters" are not a homogeneous group any more than "black people" are.
As for shifting into the parks during hunting season, I hike with dogs so I basically never recreate in national parks (even though I work for one). What I do during deer season is shift up or down in elevation or into different habitats that aren't productive areas for hunting and so don't see much hunting pressure. And when I do encounter hunters in the backcountry, I try to engage with them. Surprise, surprise, they usually turn out to be really nice people who readily share their campfires and candy bars with stray hikers, and they're happy to tell you where they hunt and where you can go to avoid them. A few years ago the Washington Trails Association newsletter had a really good hunter-written article that explained where hunters tend to go, how to avoid crossing paths with them during hunting season, and if you are in hunting territory how to make it easy for them to know you're there. I would like to see this sort of information more available in the hiking community. I too used to be frightened of "hunters", but more and more I am finding that in many settings this fear is largely unfounded.
I am not a hunter myself, and I'm well aware that hunting accidents do occur, but I hardly think it's necessary to stay out of the National Forests entirely during "hunting season." There's a lot more empty country to explore in the National Forest system than there is in the few National Parks big enough to have a backcountry. As far as being endangered by irresponsible gun owners, I believe that National Parks are more likely than most National Forests to attract clueless city people, the very sort who now may be packing a concealed weapon...and who may never have aimed it at a wild animal before. The people who decide to shoot a bear because it sat down at their picnic table (which has happened in my area already, though not yet in my park) worry me more than do the vast majority of backcountry hunters.
Also, I leash my dogs when hunters are in the area. Hunters don't need my dogs disturbing their hunt any more than I want my dogs to encounter stray bullets.