An experienced Arctic-exploring outdoorsman who was generally fearless was my paddling partner on a trip to northwestern Ontario. One evening, beside a campfire, lines of lights that were like strobes started to flash. At first, there was one line, rapidly flashing what appeared to be the prime numbers and then parallel lines joined, flashing faster than we could decode. They were about 60 yards away, in front of another island's cliff.

After watching and discussing the event, I stood and said, "I'm going to light it up," meaning my tactical flashlight.

My fearless friend said, "Don't do it!"

Then was clear fear in his voice.

So, i sat again and we watched a couple minutes more and then the lights were gone.

I've always regretted listening to him. What would you have done?

I would have lit it up.

Hmmm. My first response would be. "I would have lit it up!"

But, being there. Seeing what you saw. Having your "experienced and fearless" trip partner caution against it. Maybe not?

Regardless of what is was, a big part of me would not want to have disclosed my location. I like to being unseen and unheard:)

I am curious though, as to why you REALLY didn't do it. Maybe this will be disclosed later...

JW

"Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back"

You already had a campfire. If they had wanted to come over to talk, they would have. Pour another cocktail and get back to campfire talk.

I would have lit it up, but not the flashlight. Enjoy the light show

cowdoc: "You already had a campfire. If they had wanted to come over to talk, they would have. Pour another cocktail and get back to campfire talk."

I guess I wasn't even thinking about the illumination from the fire. Location given away. Drrr.

I think I would use the flashlight to send a morse code message that they are too late, you are already out of beer!!

Close my eyes and then reopen them to see if I was hallucinating.

I would never eat mushrooms again

Possibly a wild animal with a tracking collar? Maybe several like a pack of wolves or a family of black bears? You don't know what a wild animal would do when discovered.

gopher2307: "I would never eat mushrooms again"

My first thought was aliens...my second was magic mushrooms!

Light it up. YOUR position is already known, so you're not being stealthy. I'd want to know what it is.

Mike

Light it up.

Maybe your friend had been probed before!!

I would have listened to your friend. Why do something to upset them further? What good would of it done to "light it up"? They (whom or whatever was making the lights) would of seen your campfire already, I doubt you could of seen more even with the tactical flashlight. You'd just establish you didn't respect your friend is all...

T

The song "I'll never smoke weed with Willie again" comes to mind.......

Respect the experience and remain an observer. You mentioned discussion and I would have been very curious to hear the rest of the story. Very curious.

Light off, have a plan to retreat to the woods prn.

Too many near-run-ins with unwelcome human guests to ever turn on a light and invite interaction. Exception being if they're distressed or flashing for assistance. And even then, it is "approach with caution", like WSI classes taught us.

missmolly: "An experienced Arctic-exploring outdoorsman who was generally fearless was my paddling partner on a trip to northwestern Ontario. One evening, beside a campfire, lines of lights that were like strobes started to flash. At first, there was one line, rapidly flashing what appeared to be the prime numbers and then parallel lines joined, flashing faster than we could decode. They were about 60 yards away, in front of another island's cliff.

After watching and discussing the event, I stood and said, "I'm going to light it up," meaning my tactical flashlight.

My fearless friend said, "Don't do it!"

Then was clear fear in his voice.

So, i sat again and we watched a couple minutes more and then the lights were gone.

I've always regretted listening to him. What would you have done?
"

Missmolly - We've got aliens, magic mushrooms, human a-holes messing with you, and show knows what else. I'm curious if you'll share with us, as you experianced it and now look back on it...what do you think it was?

Speckled, I think it was otherworldy.

I don't even drink booze, much less ingest mind-altering chemicals. We had four wilderness-savvy eyes on it. We were calm. In the moment, I considered the possibility of mass hysteria, so I quietly composed sentences to describe what I saw. Only then did I ask my partner if he saw anything and his sentences matched mine.

It was completely quiet and it was speaking in the universal language, i.e. math. The only thing that rattled me was my partner's fear and only because nothing prior to that moment rattled him. He had skin like tanned leather, which tells you a lot about the life a man's led, and he was as lean and sinewy as beef jerky. He knew the name of every bird and every tree and the usual bumps in the north woods night didn't open his eyelids.

But he was afraid of those lights.

Which gave me pause.

And I regret that.

missmolly: "Speckled, I think it was otherworldy.


I don't even drink booze, much less ingest mind-altering chemicals. We had four wilderness-savvy eyes on it. We were calm. In the moment, I considered the possibility of mass hysteria, so I quietly composed sentences to describe what I saw. Only then did I ask my partner if he saw anything and his sentences matched mine.


It was completely quiet and it was speaking in the universal language, i.e. math. The only thing that rattled me was my partner's fear and only because nothing prior to that moment rattled him. He had skin like tanned leather, which tells you a lot about the life a man's led, and he was as lean and sinewy as beef jerky. He knew the name of every bird and every tree and the usual bumps in the north woods night didn't open his eyelids.


But he was afraid of those lights.


Which gave me pause.


And I regret that. "

Thanks for sharing. Regardless of what it would have looked like in the beam of the flashlight...you got to see it and that's still pretty frickin wild!

I'm with you, I would have lit it up. We also might have ended up like the logger from the "Fire in the Sky" movie...so who knows, lol?

Speck, I just hope they pay me a return visit. Maybe I should practice flashing the primes with my flashlight.

If your buddy was freaked out by it I would respect his wishes. Not sure I want to provoke an alien either. They got ray guns and all kind of scary stuff.

I would have lite it up.

That's a novel or a short story. Flesh it out. Your friend reminds me of Tell Sackett.

I guess having seen lights in the BWCA I would have assumed it was ball lighting. I have researched a lot and logically to me so it the most sense. I would not approach ball lighting because it can act beyond the laws of physics.