charlieandwillow

As a farmer's daughter, here's how I understand it. We can use electric fence regardless of whether it crosses a footpath so long as it is marked as such. They're easy enough to get over; if the electric fence is permanent a lot of people will have fed the wire through plastic pipe to form an insulated safe lace to climb over. Otherwise, between two stakes step in the top wire and push it down GENTLY. Your boots will no doubt have a rubber sole which will insulate against the electric. You could also use a stick to push the wire down to get over, or pull a stake out of the ground and lay it down so you can step over (just remember to stand it up again and make sure it's pushed back into the ground). But remember please, that wire isn't there to stop you. It's there because the farmer needs it as part of their livelihood. Whilst you're out enjoying a walk, they're trying to earn a living. Instead of reporting the them to authorities, try actually remembering that farmers are humans too. Go speak to them. Ask if there's any way the fence could be moved to allow walkers through more easily. And be polite, you may have a right to walk that path, but the farmer also has a right to carry out their job.

Thanks for all of the replies. Back home, I shoot pheasant myself so I'm aware of how my stomping through the woods can disrupt a shoot. I also know that whilst it's not illegal, it's incredibly bad form to shoot on Sundays. I was hoping to discover some similar hints about the seasons (Thanks @ The Waldo's). As for dawn and dusk being prime hunting times, I admit my ignorance on this one. I'm used to dawn being the best time for deer stalking, but dusk is for duck flighting - and we were no where near open water so I didn't even think about it. The bar we frequent when working in PA considerately has the hunting seasons posted on the wall, but arround here I didn't really know where to start. I shall do a little googling and figure out when various seasons are and also where hunting grounds are. In the mean time, we'll stick to the middle of the day!

I'm a new convert to geocaching, and also a British ex-pat who's just moved to central MA. At home, I know when and where not to be so I can avoid being shot at, accidentally or otherwise. Here, on the otherhand, I know men in neon orange are either picking up trash as guests of the state, or they're carrying large rifles and want to kill things. The Vikings and I were out caching this afternoon and I figured we'd be safe since the light was fading on a cold Monday afternoon, but we saw several hunters out and about. We stick to clear, well-used trails and we are not a quiet group (baby Viking is three, quiet is not in his repetoire), but I still don't feel entirely safe. Can anyone give me some ideas how I can make our expeditions feel a little safer?

The baby Viking is Charlie, and since playing rugby at uni the girls have always called me Willow due to an unfortunate encounter with a certain tree leaving me with a 2 1/2 inch scar between my eyes (a lot of them don't even know Willow isn't my real name). Since we hunt with daddy Viking too, cache logs get signed Superdave, Charlie + Willow.