I'm curious what others have heard in the night outside their tent in the deep, dark woods.

A couple years ago I spent my first night in the BWCA at a site on Ottertrack just before the Knife portage. After a very long day's paddle and after my severe leg cramps subsided and I stopped the loud grunt/screaming I settled down and tried to go to sleep. I must have laid their for an hour wondering when the zoo animals were going to rip through the tent and start eating me. Eventually I didn't care if they did because I was too tired.

What struck me the most were the sounds of the things scurrying through the forest and what I expect where owls trying to eat them. In the morning I found a squashed mouse near my trip-mate's tent. He figures I stepped on it sometime in the night. I'm pretty sure something large and feathery was eating it.

Last year at a site on Cherry, I could swear that at some point in the very, very early morning I could hear some alarm going off. At the time I kind of thought that it might be a dream I was having but I'm not so sure. It was a kind of warble and it felt like it was coming from another lake over the bluffs. It eventually stopped and I forgot about it until the next day. I sure hope it wasn't someone in trouble. I suppose it could have been a bear alarm though.

Speaking of bears, my trip-mate swears that he heard something very large fall into the water from our site. He's convinced that it was a bear diving or falling in. I suppose it could have been a rock from the bluffs but I don't know. I think a small animal would have slipped into the water. I guess we'll never know but he figures that giant bear was nosing around the tents and fire grate before he got fed up and swam away.

Fun to think about.

In September 2011 when camped on Thursday Bay of Crooked, my buddy and I were startled to hear loud crashing noises coming from the brush on the opposite shore from our campsite. Several times we went down with a headlamp and lit up the other side, maybe 75-100 yards away, but didn't see anything. The noise would subside and then resume at random. A little while later I happened to notice what looked like to be a branch swimming across the bay, perfectly framed in the moonlight. Turns out a beaver was doing some selective harvesting and stashing of supplies for the coming winter.

We have had a moose in camp at two different lakes. The first was a young calf on its own that liked the island site on Ramshead. He would hang out at the high point of the island (naturally where the john was) and look down on us at the fire pit and tent pad area. He would then crash/splash and swim across the channel to the mainland.

The other was an adult female during the rutting season on Polly. That was scary as a buddy and his wife staying on the island site mentioned that she was chased by two bull moose through our camp when we did a day trip to the pictographs. That same night she was grazing just outside our tents and pulling up grass growing in the tent pad areas.

Fun :-)

I had something hit one of my tie outs on my tent in the middle of the night. It shook my tent which is why I woke up. Took my earbuds out and heard heavy footsteps all over camp. Really couldn’t tell if it was a hoofed animal or what.

When it stood with nose aimed at my tent to where I could hear it had huge lungs, then I got nervous... but then decided to put my earbuds back in and go to sleep.

One night on a solo in the Quetico I heard what I assumed were deer running around my campsite for hours. Didn't bother me other than keeping me awake for a long time. In the morning I did see a number of prints around the tent.
Or it could have been the Makers Mark, I suppose.

Had similar experience as gearjunkie a few years ago on the north site on heritage. I was reading in my tent and something walked past my tent and got caught in the guy lines. Shook the whole tent. Went outside and a large beaver was just off shore. It too was breathing heavy. So I assumed that is was it was.

First night of my last trip, off in the distance, I seriously could hear traffic/interstate noise and an occasional work phone ringing. I feel certain it means I don't get enough vacation time.

Toward the end of the trip, at dawn, I got to hear and see a playful Pine Martin running back and forth across the hollow sound of the forest duff before I got out of tent in the morning. He (or she) sounded like a little horse galloping in and out through camp. It was a pretty neat way to start the day.

My very first night in the BW, I awoke to sounds of something sniffing at me just on the other side of the tent from my head. This was on Polly Lake in early June.

My son and I were in our tent playing cribbage before bed on Beth Lake. We heard a growling sound outside the tent. We kept playing cards. The growling got louder. My son said it was the De Haviland float plane. We kept playing cards. The growling got louder. It was soon clear we had a bear in camp. We kept playing. (We had our headlamps on.) . The bear wandered around the outside of the camp. We kept playing. The bear wandered up the hill toward the latrine. We kept playing. The bear ran back down the hill (in what I now suspect was a bluff charge!) toward the camp. He continued the growling and roaming just outside the campsite. The growling got softer. We kept playing. Pretty soon the was no more growling and we heard a splash in the lake by the portage headed to Alton Lake. All fell quiet and we went to sleep.

We were having supper in a campsite in Sawbill Lake and a bass caught earlier in the day figured prominently. A pine martin presented itself as if expecting a portion of the fish. He was pretty insistent. We had to get loud and large to chase him away. He left pretty grumpily. He circled just outside the light of the fire in the brush for a few minutes. Soon there was a commotion in the brush and a rabbit scurried into the firelight of the campsite and then ran back into the brush. Pretty soon we heard more commotion and noises of a rabbit in distress. Silence fell on the campsite again.

My dad spent a night on Sawbill Lake when the loons were particularly vocal wondering if he would ever get to sleep.

Mice using my tent as a fun slide

UncleBuck: "
I'm curious what others have heard in the night outside their tent in the deep, dark woose it could have been a bear alarm though.

Speaking of bears, my trip-mate swears that he heard something very large fall into the water from our site. He's convinced that it was a bear diving or falling in. I suppose it could have been a rock from the bluffs but I don't know. I think a small animal would have slipped into the water. I guess we'll never know but he figures that giant bear was nosing around the tents and fire grate before he got fed up and swam away.

Fun to think about."

Betcha it was a beaver? The sound they make when they hit that tail on the water and dive sounds just like a huge animal diving into the water. It's fooled me at night too.

Something sniffling on the other side of the tent? I'm very fortunate to have never heard that. Hearing wolves at night is eerie to me, especially when they're close. Have heard them a few times, but the closest was on Ester Lake, they were VERY close.

My first night of my very first solo, was a symphony of critter scampering....mice can be the loudest critter in the forest especially around the fire area. ...always keep pots with water covered at all times....I have had a few mice who met their demise in a cook pot of water.

We had a moose walk by our tent and leave a deposit of 'Moose plums' right at the tent zipper! What a thrill!!!

In WCPP I was awakened in the middle of the night by what I perceived to be an animal in complete terror and/or pain. It was in my campsite and it ran and splashed in the water and swam across a bay all while uttering protests.

I have 2 theories......either it was totally freaked out by ny prescence or it stuck its nose into a big Wolf Spiders nest. Doris (I had named the big spider who stood guard over her brood and was fearless) was gone when it got light. I bet a bite on a tender nose would be exceedingly painful.

I had quickly grabbed my headlamp eager to see what could make such a noise but I was unable to get a glimpse.

Another animal which can make a surprisingly amount of noise around camp at night is a big snowshoe rabbit. They jump around playfully and sound much bigger than they are.

I've had a moose swim out to my island. I heard it in the water, then it's clomping on the rocks, and the water dripping off it's antlers, head, and body. And I just wanted to read my book, but my island was too small to share with someone so big, so I let it know I was there and it moseyed.

I was the only person camping in a Forest Service campground in the UP one earlier May weekend. About 1 a.m I woke up for some reason and I laid there listening to the gentle lapping of the waves on the beach.

All of a sudden a "dog" fight broke out right behind my tent. Growling, biting, rolling on the ground went on for about 30 seconds. I got my flash lite and headed out of the tent to see what type of creatures were fighting, but by the time I could get out, everybody was gone.

Scared the you know what out of me, but I never figured out what sort of canine creatures it was. I suspect coyote's, but there were wolves in the area as well.

mastertangler:
Another animal which can make a surprisingly amount of noise around camp at night is a big snowshoe rabbit. They jump around playfully and sound much bigger than they are. "

I had a huge hare/rabbit in camp at Red Rock Lake in 2016. It would "thump, thump, thump" it's back legs over and over again, sounded like somebody playing the drums. I think we might have pitched a tent too close to it's den and it was ticked off at us.

Have had moose go through camp. Also,not the BWCA but years ago, at Tettegoughe State Park along the North Shore, heard noise early in the morning. Looked out the tent and there was a bear walking past a buddies tent just inches (literally) away from his sleeping head. When he woke we told him about it but he didn't believe us; that was until we showed him the video. Guess that might go in the don't bother them they won't bother you category.

It's the small critters that make the noise. Big critters are very quiet. I have seen moose in camp several times at nite, never heard them.

Nite noises are a big reason I camp so much. Some of my favorite sounds are heard in winter camps, man does sound carry on a cold clear nite.

Insects buzz, owls hoot, canines howl. One I had to investigate was the light and regular scraping of a wood wasp larva.

butthead

My first night in the BWCA I was surprised buy the amount of noise from airplanes flying over. It was even louder than the traffic from the big road by the house. It was there the next night too. Then one night I got out of the hammock and found out the noise was from the millions of vampires piloting mosquitoes circling around me.

Late one night, laying in my hammock, I heard a huge bull moose charge toward me. I immediately lept/fell out of the hammock, only to discover that a beaver dragging a large branch sounds EXACTLY like a charging moose.

Had a bear nosing around camp a couple of nights, but to Butthead's point... they where quieter than the birds.

Hear SOMETHING most nights, but those sounds are great.

awbrown: "I was the only person camping in a Forest Service campground in the UP one earlier May weekend. About 1 a.m I woke up for some reason and I laid there listening to the gentle lapping of the waves on the beach.


All of a sudden a "dog" fight broke out right behind my tent. Growling, biting, rolling on the ground went on for about 30 seconds. I got my flash lite and headed out of the tent to see what type of creatures were fighting, but by the time I could get out, everybody was gone.


Scared the you know what out of me, but I never figured out what sort of canine creatures it was. I suspect coyote's, but there were wolves in the area as well."

Isn't it nice to know there's competition out there, in the darkness, just to WATCH YOU!

johndku: "

mastertangler:
Another animal which can make a surprisingly amount of noise around camp at night is a big snowshoe rabbit. They jump around playfully and sound much bigger than they are. "

I had a huge hare/rabbit in camp at Red Rock Lake in 2016. It would "thump, thump, thump" it's back legs over and over again, sounded like somebody playing the drums. I think we might have pitched a tent too close to it's den and it was ticked off at us. "

Grouse drumming?

How about when you can't hear anything when absolutely nothing is making a sound. There have been a few nights like that for me. Your sitting there then you realize that you should be hearing something...anything, but not a peep.

Just got back from my first solo, and these sounds in the night were one of the more interesting parts of the trip.

The first night, I swear it was a fox or something pitter pattering around my camp - but honestly probably just a squirrel. But then I swear I heard it walk by my tent doing the rapid fire snif snif snif snif thing like a small dog would do. It's possible that was a dream though.

One night something crawled out of the water nearby and did the "shake the water off" thing a dog does when it gets out of water. That was interesting, you could tell there was some mass to this critter. I assume an otter or a beaver.

treehorn: "Just got back from my first solo, and these sounds in the night were one of the more interesting parts of the trip.

The first night, I swear it was a fox or something pitter pattering around my camp - but honestly probably just a squirrel. But then I swear I heard it walk by my tent doing the rapid fire snif snif snif snif thing like a small dog would do. It's possible that was a dream though.
"

Maybe a Pine Marten too? Very "Fox like" except they can climb like a monkey too. I've had them a few times check out my campsite. And their growl....you would think they are much bigger than they are

butthead: "It's the small critters that make the noise. Big critters are very quiet. I have seen moose in camp several times at nite, never heard them.


Nite noises are a big reason I camp so much. Some of my favorite sounds are heard in winter camps, man does sound carry on a cold clear nite.


Insects buzz, owls hoot, canines howl. One I had to investigate was the light and regular scraping of a wood wasp larva.


butthead"

It is the small critters that are noisy! On our first trip to the BW we had a bear sniffing the tent during daylight. It was drizzling rain so we were reading in the tent (this was before I bought a CCS tarp) and we didn't know he was there until we heard his breathing! That night I didn't sleep very well. I heard every sound. Mice and frogs make an amazing amount of noise on tent nylon!

Another time on Horseshoe (EP 47) we had a hare that would race around the campsite at night. I think he was nuts! The last night we were reading by headlamp and he was running around all over camp then he slammed into the tent right on my wife's side. Scared the you-know-what out of her and I!

Probably the weirdest one was on Long Island Lake. Two different nights I heard a sound like a large stone being dropped into deep water but with no splash sound. It really freaked me out! I posted it to the messageboard here and we came to the conclusion in was beavers!

Mike

My son and I had been in our tent for some time and I was resting my elbow against one the the tent walls. I was almost asleep when something came along and pushed on my elbow several times. I guess what ever it was had to check out the bump in the side of the tent. We thought it was pretty cool.

airmorse: "How about when you can't hear anything when absolutely nothing is making a sound. There have been a few nights like that for me. Your sitting there then you realize that you should be hearing something...anything, but not a peep."

I know what you mean on this one. I always assume it means a predator is close.....I'll take a noise I can hear anytime over the dead silence of a forest gone quiet.

On a solo backpacking trip, I was laying in my tent listening to the various sounds, letting my imagination run wild, when a bobcat cut loose with a scream from about 50 yards away! I didn't get a wink of sleep that night.

My buddy and I were camping in Alaska last year when a bear sniffed his head through the tent. He socked it in the nose. It ran off crashing through the woods.

LindenTree3: "My buddy and I were camping in Alaska last year when a bear sniffed his head through the tent. He socked it in the nose. It ran off crashing through the woods."

Now that's nerve. Black or brown?

I wonder if more bears would learn to stay away if they had such a painful, non-lethal encounter with humans before they found food and humans go together?

Quacker1: "My son and I had been in our tent for some time and I was resting my elbow against one the the tent walls. I was almost asleep when something came along and pushed on my elbow several times. I guess what ever it was had to check out the bump in the side of the tent. We thought it was pretty cool."

You got more guts than I do, it would have freaked ME out!

Coming out of EP 16 Sunday, July 1, around 10:30pm, something was throwing rocks in my direction. Very creepy.

Michwall2: "

LindenTree3: "My buddy and I were camping in Alaska last year when a bear sniffed his head through the tent. He socked it in the nose. It ran off crashing through the woods."

Now that's nerve. Black or brown?


I wonder if more bears would learn to stay away if they had such a painful, non-lethal encounter with humans before they found food and humans go together?"

Pretty sure it was a black bear.

eroom: "Coming out of EP 16 Sunday, July 1, around 10:30pm, something was throwing rocks in my direction. Very creepy."

Well, here you go ;)
Rock Throwing

As long as I don't hear other humans all is good.

Throwing rocks at you, must be a Big Foot. Don't laugh I'm not nuts, my neighbor has seen the thing several times along the north shore. But then again it could be a rock throwing bear or some off the grid wack job.

Everyone knows that there is no Bigfoot. There are no recorded pictures.

But a Chewbacca, that on the other hand, has numerous photographic evidence including actual documentaries.

Known for their exceedingly tall stature and strength, it may very well be a Chebacca vacationing on earth that many are seeing.

On the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend this year, day before our out day, we ended up on Ham Lake for the night. I woke up early and nearly stepped in a wolf pile a half dozen steps from the tent. Kinda excited I told my wife, who said, “Oh, yeah, there was something big sniffing my head last night.” “Why didn’t you wake me up?” “You would have scared it.” Guess she was right...

In Sept. 2011, my first night of a long solo and I was camped on a peninsula on South Lake, Quetico. I lay in my hammock and just after it got dark I hear a loud splashing at the shore. Then I make out loud inhale and exhales, something big is swimming. Suddenly it went silent.

I thought whatever it was was gone but about 2 minutes later the swimming/loud breathing resumes. I listen closely and it has to be a moose by the sound of the breathing. Again, it goes quiet! Two minutes go by and there it is again! This cycle repeats a couple more times before I hear the loud splashing by the shore and something large walking away in the forest.

I came to learn later that Moose will dive for vegetation and can hold their breath quite a long time. This had to be it. I was glad I set up my hammock close to the shore. It was probably a once in a lifetime experience for me.

At least in the BW and Quetico we won't wake up to THIS! Not a good morning

Woke up one morning in the BOB with a big grizzly track 20 feet tent.
Makes life interisting