Welcome to Kamp Kos, a new community for all those who love spending nights in the great outdoors whether it’s in a hammock, a tent, a popup trailer, a VW van, or an RV. This community is envisioned as a place to share photos, favorite spots, general tips on camping, and to organize caravans and meetups for those interested in camping liberally. Kosmail me if you’d like to join the group.
I had sent my sons ahead to haul the first load of equipment to our cart-in site at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park on the north shore of Lake Superior, and was coming up a hill when my youngest came racing down the trail. “Dad, there’s a bear in our campsite.”
I thought he was joking, which was dumb because there are a lot of black bears in northern Minnesota; it’s just that in the 25 years I had been coming to that campground, I had never seen any, nor heard of any bear encounters at that park.
“Franklin,” as my kids later dubbed the bear, wasn’t actually in our campsite, but across a ravine, on the other side of a small stream, about 120 feet from the edge of our site. We watched him for a while, before he eventually roamed up the hill deeper into the park, away from the campsites along the lake. Thereafter, Franklin would visit every morning, root around in the same spot, take a little nap, and then again head up the hill.
The bear never came into our campsite, but I banned any food in the tent on that trip, and made sure we packed things away in the car at night. I also made sure my kids understood he was a wild animal and they shouldn’t mistake it as cute and harmless.
So what have been your close encounters of the animal kind, large and small? Ever have a hairy encounter with a bear? Elk or deer wandering about the campground? Skunk in your tent? Snake in your boot?
A personal rant here: I know in the great outdoors we’re just guests in the full-time homes of all creatures great and small; but I really don’t like raccoons. Oh sure, they look all cute and cuddly, but man are they sneaky, and nasty, snarling little creatures if cornered in a place you don’t want them to be. Their misplaced image reminds me of a certain scene from Monty Python & the Holy Grail.
This is an open thread, so share your tales — or tails — of animal encounters good and bad. And while you’re at it, take this week’s Kamp Kos poll.