Quiet vs Noisy

Some say when in the field it is imperative be extremely quiet and others say to act normal and make a little noise. I was discussing this with a friend not too long ago and decided to write a post on it expressing my views for anyone who might be interested and find it useful.

Well here are my feelings on this topic. I think it is best to use a combination of both noise and quiet. I believe that making some noise and acting more like regular hikers or campers, who though you remain very aware of the surroundings, yet you are pretending not to be is the best strategy while moving around through the forest and when at camp. My basis on this is that most animals will be aware of your approach and move away, which is a good safety measure as most know in areas where bear are a common animal. While since most animals will move away bigfoots which show to be very curious by nature, which is in itself a sign of intelligence, and with that curious nature and the fact you appear preoccupied(though in reality you are not), it might give them a reason to approach slightly closer to investigate you and your party then they might would under the alternative. The less likely you appear to notice them the more likely they are to get into closer proximity believing themselves to be less likely to be noticed by you. Though this is purely theory and I very well may be wrong here but I have found it to work.

Now here are my feelings on being stealthy and quiet. Most predators will move with stealth when stalking up on their prey so I would assume that when being stealthy and appearing to be stalking through the forest a bigfoot would associate you as a predator and keep a distance. Though it would dominate you with ease and be very aware of that fact you would still appear as more of a threat then otherwise. Appearing as a threat to any thing living in the wild with wild instincts tuned to survival as its main premise would react accordingly either with avoidance or with the potential of attack.  A threat is the last thing you want to be perceived as being if you are looking to get as close as safely possible which most are wanting to do.

Now for the mix. Regular talking and laughing at times and when something of relevance is heard then quietly listening, preferably with listening equipment like a parabolic microphone attached to a digital voice recorder and I often use a camcorder for recording as well. When things get quiet again start making a little noise again yourselves to get their attention again. They will probably be watching from right out of your field of view and hiding even in the dark, though with luck you might get a glimpse or with a lot of luck a full out sighting of them as they investigate you.

Brandon Garrett