Hunting season and hiking/backpacking

[Woodly]

Deer are wearing orange now?
Nice young buck.

[JimVroman]

Hikers generally stay on the trails, unless they're bushwhacking, in that case, it's best to wear blaze orange during the hunting season. Backcountry hunters use the trails to access remote areas. Those folks use the trails for easy access, not hunting.

[EagleCrag]

As a hunter, it bothers me that hikers are afraid of getting shot during hunting season. The vast preponderance of hunters are safe hunters and don't shoot if they aren't certain their target is a deer. Look at it this way, if hunters thought there was a chance they might get shot, most would not be in the field. The fact that hunters are carrying guns don't make them any less a target than a hiker yet hundreds of thousands take to the woods each year. Wearing some blaze orange is a good precaution and hikers, in my opinion, should feel comfortable hiking anywhere during hunting season, I'm also of the opinion that Adirondack hunters are safer than downstate where the ratio of "nimrods" is probably much higher. Hunter education requirements for hunters has been effective at reducing hunting accidents.