Just enjoy the woods, day or night. The biggest thing to fear is your imagination. I used to get myself all wound up, when I was a little kid. I had quite a vivid imagination. Then I just decided that I would just have to face whatever was out there, if it came to me. And I was prepared to fight if necessary. I too carried a gun, and big knife. When I was in sixth, and seventh grade, I used to camp out with my buddies, and only took a can of pork n beans, and a blanket and some matches, and a frying pan, and a .22 rifle. Needless to say, we nearly starved, till morning. We got some frogs, and tried to get some rabbits, but the dog kept running them off. He didn't get any either. Anyway, far as I am concerned you did that much, and are preparing to do more. So more power to you and your Dad. I wonder just how far away he was, after you parted......I don't know if I could have gone too far, with doubling back, just to be a little nearer, just in case something did go bump in the night......Good luck on your longer quest, and looking forward to hearing about it. I am glad you have your dog with you. It is a great bonding thing, and you will have a great buddy. I used go out with my dog at night just to enjoy the cool night air, when school was out for the summer. One night, I was walking down a dirt road that ran through some woods, and the moon was full, and it was really light out, well all of a sudden there was a lot of snorting, rustling in the palmettos, and then the palmettos just exploded, and it sounded like a whole heard of wild hogs were coming out there towards us. A friend of mine and his family raised hogs, not too far from there, and they were always getting out, so I thought that was what it was, and there were some really big and nasty hogs they raised. Well the clouds went over the moon, when this happened, and when those palmettos rustled and all that snorting happended and you could hear all the feet hitting the ground, I went up the nearest pine tree, and my dog which was a pretty tough dog, part Walker, and Plot hound, went somewhere too. Heck he might have been above in the tree. Well while up the tree, the moon came out, and those wild and mean nasty huge tusked, vicious hogs, turned out to be about ten or fifteen large armadillos!
they had scared the %%$$#! out of me! Not to mention the dog also. It's pretty funny now, but then it was scary, I didn't have anything but the dog to defend myself, and I thought it was those darn hogs. I don't know what the dog thought, except that I had abandoned him to whatever it was, and he decided he would abandon the premises also. Smart dog. After awhile I came down the tree, laughing at myself, and my fearless dog. He must have heard me from where ever he was, and came back to me. I sure miss him.
Good luck, and let us know how it turns out. They make a net hammock, that is light weight, and portable. Or you could make your own from a ......yep ......a net. Keep us informed.
Stick Bender
