Alone in the woods

Alone in the woods

Camping alone in the woods does strange things to a man. Daytime nothing is amis, but when the sun sets and twilight commences. You notice that all your senses become more aware. Sudden movements in the corner of your eye, the sound of movements in the dead leaves on the forest floor, suddenly become uncomfortably loud. So loud that a snapping branch will make you jump as you walk among the trees, not being able to see beyond the shadows. You feel you are being watched, something is out there and you realize that this is not your realm to rule, a forest by night.

You are but a guest, an unwelcome guest.

When you are with others, you feel safe by the numbers, your senses are deluded by the conversation you have. The things you hear around you, you automatically contribute to your fellow campers. But is that truly where these sounds belong to? Is it just the wind in the leafs? a mouse on the forest floor? Or is there some thing else.

When camping alone, you are also hyper aware of your own presence, the sound you make, the smell you carry, what does the light of your torch attract? as I lie here in my tent, alone, in the woods, just after sunset I even feel that the pen scratching the paper is too loud.

I am not alone.

BPJW June 17^th 2021

These notes were found on October 5^th 2025. In an abandoned camp just a mile from the forest’s border. It is unknown who BPJW is, or why he left his gear behind. No other documentation was present. And when doing an inventory of the equipment we noticed that there where no spoons. The dogs didn't like this location at all, they kept whining, and trying either to stand between my legs or pull me away. We cleaned up the site, and I'm not sure why we haven't come across it before.

---

A Spooktober Resonse!
I actually wrote this while laying alone in my tent in the middle of the woods, on that summer evening.