First Light, Sproul State Forest

When we last left our intrepid backpackers, it was Friday evening and night was falling. My husband and I had backpacked into a favorite campsite in Sproul State Forest for what just might be our last overnighter of the year.

We finished up our Uno game by lantern light and began moving into our tents for the night. My own tent is very cozy, and getting in and curling up is a thing I look forward to, after a long day of fresh air and exercise in the wilderness.

I hadn't been in my tent long when I heard the loud yipping of coyotes. It seems they usually start around 9 pm or so, and so it was this time. They sounded very near, and I was a bit worried (were they near my car? were they on their way to us?), but after a half-hour or so, I heard the yipping move off into the distance, and I fell asleep.

The overnight low was 35 degrees F, and so it was quite chilly when I got out of my sleeping bag in the morning. I saw the sun was coming, and I ran over to the edge of the break with my camera to get a shot of first light.

It was still too chilly to stay out, so I hopped back in my tent and my sleeping bag once again. Eventually, my husband got up and he took his book and chair and headed for daylight (for it takes a while for light and heat to reach us back among the pines) and warmth. At some point, I joined him. You just can't beat morning in the woods.

We had hoped to get home around mid- to late afternoon, so by 11 am, we were back at our campsite, starting to pack things up. It's best to pace yourself. Pack a little, take a break; pack a little, take a break. Especially when you've brought more "stuff" than usual.

Aw, man, and was that pine pitch I just got on my gloves while taking down my tent? Rats! Pine pitch will eat a hole in your gear rather quickly and permanently, so watch out for it. I quickly put some hand sanitizer on the sticky spots on the gloves, and planned to wash them right away when I got home. One of the perils of camping in a pine woods . . .

I was peeling and slicing an apple for our snack when I heard a jingling sound . . . could it be . . . sleigh bells? Followed by a loud noise that sounded like an explosion. And then . . . a GUN SHOT RANG OUT and it was quite loud and very, very close!!!!!

Suddenly two hunters with guns and two dogs appeared near our campsite, and I whipped out my whistle (the one my husband insisted that I carry ever since my close encounter with a coyote back in springtime at the Hammersley Wild Area) and let out a loud, long blast. "THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE!" I shouted.

The hunters nearly trampled their way through our campsite, but my husband walked out and talked to them. He reminded them that it was considered GOOD manners to hail someone from a distance before entering their campsite, and BAD manners not to.

They had been hunting grouse, and actually came across one; that was the explosion sound. Have you ever encountered a grouse in the wild? When it breaks, it's loud and very startling; it'll almost give you a heart attack!

The hunters' dogs - both very well behaved - had orange blaze vests and bells on (thus the sound of sleigh bells). Within a few minutes, the little group had moved on through. My heart was pounding and I was still shaking for a while; that was as close as I have ever been to getting shot in the woods. That'll get the old adrenaline pumping!

And then we finished packing up our considerable stash of gear and hiked out. With a quick pit stop for a pair of tasty McDonald's fish sandwiches and fries on the way, we made it home in record time. And that is the tale of our final backpack of the season into the Sproul State Forest.

I have to admit that my reaction to the gun shot way too close to our campsite made me think, "Holy crap! The sh*t has hit the fan!" (OK, so it's vulgar, but appropriate.) Send help, please! Here is Warren Zevon, with Lawyers, Guns, and Money, a live performance from 1980.