Post by mattinthehat on May 24, 2010 3:34:20 GMT -5
scamn,
While you are (mostly) correct in your comment about the noise scaring the dangerous critters away, your flip remarks after that are BS. The music is not playing in the morning, the most likely time for the high/hungover newbs to decide to "explore" their surroundings.
You may have lived here all your life, but you obviously haven't spent a lot of time in the woods, or you have been lucky.
I'll give you some examples. Have you ever walked down a winding trail while bird hunting and abruptly come upon a cow (mom for those who don't know) moose with 2 calves? If that isn't bad enough, we are standing there frozen, and suddenly there is a loud limb snap behind us. We would find out a couple of minutes later that the snap was "dad", and he was 1,000-1,200 lbs. and stayed behind us the whole time. Biggest bull moose I have ever seen.
How about my friend/co-worker who decided to go scout for deer sign pre-season with 2 of his friends, and they all went into the woods without weapons. Who knew that they would be chased for over a mile by a rabid racoon? I don't know about you, but $1500. and multiple injections in the stomach don't sound like the best way to end a festival experience. Needless to say, none of those guys will ever enter the woods unarmed again.
Then there is the son of a dear friend of mine and former co-worker. Her son was a ranger in Baxter State Park. He was walking down the last trail at the end of his shift, when a 900-1000 lb. bull moose, that he had many encounters with before, apparently had a hair across his a## and decided to confront him. He repeatedly head butted him for several minutes. For those who have never seen one of these unpredictable (and dumb) wonders of the woods, picture the biggest horse you have ever seen, double his head size, and add a couple of feet of height. Now imagine that same animal deciding to knock you around for a while. Rangers in Baxter are not allowed to carry guns (PC BS.) Last I knew, he was guiding whitewater rafting trips down the Kennebeck.
Finally, an acquaintance of mine, who is a veteran Maine Guide, with 35-40 years of experience, and is probably one of the most famous guides in the country, had the joy of having a full size black bear charge him. These "harmless" creatures can run up to 35 mph., and are very well equipped to shred you within seconds. He emptied his .357 Magnum revolver into the bear, and it dropped just short of his feet. He is now carrying a .41 Magnum revolver.
In all of the above cases, the person with the least amount of time in the Maine woods had 20+ years of experience. And you are making flip remarks about getting your arm torn off by squirrels, to an audience of people who probably have zero experience, and are most likely not residents of Maine. Yeah the odds are low. To quote the great Clint Eastwood, while playing Dirty Harry : "do you feel lucky today"?
While you are (mostly) correct in your comment about the noise scaring the dangerous critters away, your flip remarks after that are BS. The music is not playing in the morning, the most likely time for the high/hungover newbs to decide to "explore" their surroundings.
You may have lived here all your life, but you obviously haven't spent a lot of time in the woods, or you have been lucky.
I'll give you some examples. Have you ever walked down a winding trail while bird hunting and abruptly come upon a cow (mom for those who don't know) moose with 2 calves? If that isn't bad enough, we are standing there frozen, and suddenly there is a loud limb snap behind us. We would find out a couple of minutes later that the snap was "dad", and he was 1,000-1,200 lbs. and stayed behind us the whole time. Biggest bull moose I have ever seen.
How about my friend/co-worker who decided to go scout for deer sign pre-season with 2 of his friends, and they all went into the woods without weapons. Who knew that they would be chased for over a mile by a rabid racoon? I don't know about you, but $1500. and multiple injections in the stomach don't sound like the best way to end a festival experience. Needless to say, none of those guys will ever enter the woods unarmed again.
Then there is the son of a dear friend of mine and former co-worker. Her son was a ranger in Baxter State Park. He was walking down the last trail at the end of his shift, when a 900-1000 lb. bull moose, that he had many encounters with before, apparently had a hair across his a## and decided to confront him. He repeatedly head butted him for several minutes. For those who have never seen one of these unpredictable (and dumb) wonders of the woods, picture the biggest horse you have ever seen, double his head size, and add a couple of feet of height. Now imagine that same animal deciding to knock you around for a while. Rangers in Baxter are not allowed to carry guns (PC BS.) Last I knew, he was guiding whitewater rafting trips down the Kennebeck.
Finally, an acquaintance of mine, who is a veteran Maine Guide, with 35-40 years of experience, and is probably one of the most famous guides in the country, had the joy of having a full size black bear charge him. These "harmless" creatures can run up to 35 mph., and are very well equipped to shred you within seconds. He emptied his .357 Magnum revolver into the bear, and it dropped just short of his feet. He is now carrying a .41 Magnum revolver.
In all of the above cases, the person with the least amount of time in the Maine woods had 20+ years of experience. And you are making flip remarks about getting your arm torn off by squirrels, to an audience of people who probably have zero experience, and are most likely not residents of Maine. Yeah the odds are low. To quote the great Clint Eastwood, while playing Dirty Harry : "do you feel lucky today"?
