[pct-l] ...and other critter stories

[mkwart at gci.net]

Animal encounters don't just center around food. I now store my pack 
inside my tent or in a garbage bag outside of the tent. Too many rodent 
nibbles on the straps to get salt are threatening to compromise the 
stitching. On the Colorado trail a squirrel actually cleanly chewed off 
a strap from my hiking pole that was stored next to my tent over night. 
It perched on a nearby log and greeted me as I emerged in the 
morning--probably waiting to see my reaction. It had also used the side 
of my tent as a trampoline the evening before. Other rodent practical 
jokes--on the AZT this year a rodent grabbed a teva type camp shoe away 
from my vestibule and abandoned it on the top of a rock about 25 feet 
away. Animals aren't dumb and I'm convinced that they get pissed off at 
us, but also have a sense of humor.
--Fireweed