Things that go "bump" in the night.

Hiking at night gains you out-of-the-norm experiences.

Half way to nowhere in the wee hours of the morning we see reflections from our headlamps just off trail. Our curiosity piqued, we look closer and see a pair of reflections move.   Eyes!

With the high beam of my headlamp I can just make out a dog-sized whitish animal. Not sure if it is friendly, not sure if there are more, we think it prudent to mosey along.

But I keep looking back for awhile to see if we are being followed! Sometimes things watch you when you hike at night...

On 27 October 2009, Taylor Mitchell (age 19) was killed by coyotes while hiking alone in Cape Bretton Highlands National Park, Canada, according to the March 2010 issue of Outside Magazine.

The Eastern Coyote is a recent crossbreed of the Western Coyote and Gray Wolf: big, aggressive, habituated to people, and attacking in packs. I guess we were wise to be wary of the creature we saw!