Hunting season and hiking/backpacking
 

Now that hunting season has begun in the Adirondacks, I'm wondering whether it alters your hiking or backpacking adventures.

In years past, I've always kept to my normal schedule, and locations, of hiking and backpacking. I wear a blaze orange hat, fleece top, and covering for my backpack and should be easily seen from a distance. I do discontinue my off-trail
hiking as I'm concerned it might increase a chance of getting shot.

Does hunting season reduce, or end, your hiking or backpacking trips?

I make note of parking lots full of pickup trucks. I know the areas where hunting camps are on back roads. I exercise a little more care in exactly where I go and the kinds of noise I may make, either accidentally or on purpose, especially if I am going off trail to a bushwhacking destination. And of course I pay attention to what I wear and the colors I have on (never flip a white handkerchief). I was a hunter for many years myself, and I am cognizant that others out there may not have had the same degree of care and safety instruction that my father gave me as a youth when we were hunting together or the same I tried to impart to my son and I know that he carries on in the same tradition with his own sons and daughter.

Hunting is safer than driving to a hiking trail, be polite and safe

Not really. I definitely take appropriate precautions (like Wldrns states) but I never really let it affect my outdoor recreation with regards to where I go. I've never been a hunter, but I've had a number of pleasant conversations with hunters that I've encountered (both on and off trail) over the years.

FWIW: Hunting season never really ends in the Adirondacks. There is the classical "big game season," which runs mid-September through early December every year. There's also the spring turkey season, which can see moderate levels of hunting pressure. But it's worth pointing out that there's always something in season in the ADKs, even if it's just red squirrels (which are legal to hunt year-round). So you could encounter hunters any time of the year.

As a public land hunter I've had my share of encounters with hikers, including just this past weekend when we were dragging a buck out on a state trail near Lake George. 30-40 years ago, anyone you saw in the woods during hunting season was a hunter, not today.

Most are pleasant conversations. I know we can look scary carrying a gun, sweating, wearing camo and being a little "ripe" after being in camp for a few days, but, our crew are all good people who would never discourage other recreationists from enjoying the woods. Once they seem to understand that I'm a hiker when it's not hunting season, they realize we have a lot in common. I share knowledge of other hikes in the area and I've often had hikers tell me where and when they've seen deer.

Kudos to those here who dress appropriately during hunting season, and don't forget Rover!. While there are exceptions, stat's show that most shooting incidents (not accidents) involving hunters are amongst themselves.

I am a hiker. If it was up to me, hunting would be free with more tags. Less deer mean less ticks and Lymes disease which is better for me.

I would have an organized Thruway bow/rifle hunt one morning each year. Remote areas can use rifle otherwise bow. Everyone drives to their designated mile marker starting at 5 am. Non hunters get off at 4 AM. Close the whole system for 4 hours. Hunting starts at 6AM.

I too respect the big hunting season and will always wear orange, and will usually refrain from venturing off trail unless I’m deep within the Wilderness & a long way from a trailhead or private property.

I bought 2X large blaze orange vest a few years ago when I thought I would start again, and I can fit it over any combination of coats I wear. I'll wear that fishing in the Finger Lakes tributaries even if it is too bright for fishing. If I were going to the mountains, I'd be wearing it there as well. Lately I wear it when canoeing on motorized lakes, especially the Fulton Chain, as there have been recent incidents involving small boaters being run over by yahoos, as "couldn't see the canoe" is an unlikely excuse if part of it is flame orange!

I am often called "Dear", occasionally "Turkey", rarely "Squirrel." So we take precautions in big game season. A BIG thanks to all the hunters - as mentioned above we recognize the importance of this.

So our precautions are:

• Blaze orange hats
• After reading this I may pick up vests.
• We also usually end up focusing on High Peaks. AMR land, ADK Loj area - I think these areas are less used by deer and hunters.
• I thought recently about bear bells too. Not concerned about the bruins but figure the jingling would alert hunters. Unless they have a tag for flying reindeer.

Would be great if the hunting season reduced some of the overuse.

There were multiple groups of bear hunters camped at Lake Colden earlier this hunting season. I think that with the shenanigans that went down regarding nuisance bear activity earlier this summer, they thought it would be a good place to try their luck.

Somewhat ironically, every group of bear hunters came well prepared with their bear canisters. Now if only the hiking crowd could do as well as the hunters in that regard...


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Ironically (but not seriously) they may have had better luck finding bears if they camped like too many hikers do with unprotected open food containers.

It's illegal to hunt over bait. :):):)

I remember Gary Lee, in a year like this with no berries and a low mast crop, saying that a hunter who wanted to score a bear could do worse than cooking a half pound of bacon for breakfast, and then sitting 100 yards downwind after breakfast!

Aside from wearing bright orange clothing, I limit my off-trail travel and visitation to places with high concentration of hunters such as state forests and multiple use areas (especially around sunrise and sunset). Not only for my own sake, but also for the hunters who wouldn't be too thrilled with me scaring away game by trampling through the wilderness.

This is a good acorn year in locations. It's raining them on both sides of Lake George. We saw two bears last week. One guy, who hasn't hunted with us in a few years, let one go by 20 yards from him thinking our gang wasn't interested in a bear. My cousin missed one later that day, perhaps the same bear.

As for hiker clothing, its not so much what to wear, but what not to. Avoid black, white, brown and gray and you s/b fine. Not that a little orange or highway yellow hurts.

While bushwhacking in hunting season I have carried an FRS family radio and left it open on channel 5, which is what most people use. I was on my way out of the Sawtooth Range a couple hours before sunset with about a mile of whacking to go. (near Alford Mtn.)
I heard two hunters talking softly. Something like this: "I'm going to circle around the big spruce and come towards you on the west slope."

I realized they were coming in crystal-clear so I keyed my mic: "hiker coming through, what is your position"?
Hunter:"Are you in need of assistance?" Then, "see any deer?" Me: no but I heard a bear higher up on Sawtooth 2".

Once we all knew where everyone was I felt safe to continue. I was wearing blaze orange.

Earlier that same morning the Averyville parking lot was full of pickups. I headed out pre-dawn and wore two headlamps. The one facing backwards I set to blinking and as I walked down the Pine Pond Road I turned my head slowly side to side like a lighthouse beacon.

My father always cautioned against wearing white and brown, and especially not ever to flip out a white handkerchief, as it looks very much like the tail of a departing white tail deer. blaze orange was not commonly worn in the 60's, so it was always something red, like my red wool jacket (that I still have, though it fits tight now).
I had an uncle who wore a full blaze orange jump suit, something we had never seen before (or since). We thought he looked ridiculous, but he was certainly very visible from a long way off.

It was already stated above but statistics do show you have a higher chance of getting killed or injured in a car wreck driving to your hiking location then being shot by a hunter. I am a hunter and not a hiker although much of what I have done in the Adks is more “hiking” with a Rifle then hunting at times. Haha. No need to worry about us we are sharing and enjoying the resource just like you. Both sides have something to offer. I met a hiker years ago deep in the Siamese wilderness who was a wealth of information and extremely friendly. He told me so much about game in the area that to this day I regret not writing down his contact information. He could not believe we were at this location and the feeling was mutual. It felt good to see a friendly face. Where some blaze orange and have at it. We are all not as different as you may believe. We all strongly believe that preserving the land and resource is paramount. The only difference is you carry trekking poles while I may carry a rifle. Enjoy the season.

If you have a scan function on your radio you can hear all channels. However, there are sub channels too, and that is what we use.