Am I being too risky?

The swampy spot I mentioned in the last post. I stopped there again. There’s a field you can walk through and get to a nice gooey black pond that’s just starting to dry up. It’s near enough the road I can see if someone comes, yet far enough away that they most likely won’t see me if it’s dark.

I also went back to check on the trail truck bog. It’s losing water off the surface but it’s still mushy and deep. It was late and getting dark, so I stopped to enjoy it briefly. Do the usual wander around making sure I’m safe routine, start to settle in… And then? Headlights. You gotta be kidding me. It’s dark out and noone’s around because it’s a work night. Oh except for these losers, who decide to park just across the trail overlooking my mud hole and hang around for maybe a half hour or so.  I’m muddy and shivering cold again lying in a water puddle in the bush too afraid to move a muscle.

It wasn’t so scary that some guys showed up. Once over the initial shock I start thinking things like ‘I wonder if he’s looking for me and more of them are gonna show up’ and finally ‘maybe they’ll drive around in this mud pit’ – The latter would actually have been desirable despite the wetness-chill! The real problem is the fact that they showed up. The constant paranoia I feel while I’m visiting various locations is killing much of the fun. And the fact that this paranoia is justified is troubling.

The problem is aggravated further by what I believe to be parking way too close to the place I’m using. This adds the additional are-they-specifically-looking-for-me layer. I can easily overcome that by making sure I’m a half hour walk away at least. If someone does come looking for me they have a much wider search area and might even give up earlier or just not care.

Out of the three holes I’ve actually used this year, the best one in terms of interruptions was back in a field behind a hill. While the paranoia was there to begin with, it subsided once I became familiar with the local sounds. In this case, the field won’t stay muddy for long, but I got the idea right. Find a spot I can get to easily and during daylight hours that is out of the view of the main road. If you want to stake it out a bit you can even!

I prefer to avoid private land. Public land is public and the public and I don’t agree on what is considered proper land use. This leads to unavoidable instances where people visit me unexpectedly and they are happening significantly more frequently than I would prefer.  But these seem to be the awesome spots!  I’m considering actually digging a hole at the sticky clay/silt site. There’s good hiding spots there and it’s not too frequently traveled.  The topsoil is thin and it’s silty/clayey underneath (with a few stones that won’t be a huge problem). But it begs the question:

Am I being too risky?

… On the other hand. I know there’s a man made gushy mud hole an hour drive from here… On private property… Another 6400 km² section to check out but I have my doubts.