What's that smell?

[+markp99]

I was out caching this evening, just at dusk, in a somewhat unfamiliar area. It was a preserve very rural area with am extensive watershed and nearby stream. A beautiful area.

 

As I began my walk into the woods, I was surprised by a pair of large deer bounding across the trail just in front of me. Ok, that was cool enough.

 

I continued in.

 

As I made my way through a thicket (a few hundred yds from where I saw the deer), I was overcome by an intensely strong, musky/pungent smell. It filled my nose and seemed to be everywhere. "Oh crap", I thought to myself, "This is an animal scent I dontl recognize, and I'm right on top of it." I stopped, listened and looked up and around. I saw nothing, heard nothing.

 

By now, with it getting just a little bit darker in the deep woods, the hair on the back of my neck was standing on-end. I though it would be a GREAT idea to get away from this spot!! So, I slowly bee-lined out of the wooded area to a bit of a clearing and the trail I was looking for. I found a footbridge and made my way across the stream, happy to be on the far side, away from whatever smelled THAT BAD.

 

So, what kind of animals native to this area (southern NH) can possibly smell so strongly?? I thought i could have been deer urine, but I've smelled that scent (in a bottle - hunting). This was wayyy different than that. I didn't hang around to look for any other signs... I took a more round about route on my way back to my Jeep. Oh, I did find the cache!

 

Any ideas as to what it might have been??

[+BlueDeuce]

huh, is it that time of year again already?

 

There are a couple wooded areas driving home from work that just knock me out. Tis the season.

[bogleman]

My first guess would be swamp stink - rotting stuff. Critters should not stink up a wide area unless it is a skunk. Racoons, muskrats, beaver, coyotes, fox stink but only where they live.

[+6 Feet More]

.....or . . .. . . . . . BIGFOOT! (aka the FL Skunk Ape!)

Edited August 30, 2007 by 6 Feet More

[+markp99]

Nothing like rotting swamp smell (I know that one very well). Not skunk either, we have ~resident skunks near our house, who have nailed our dogs a couple times over the years. Ugh!

 

It was more similar to very strong B.O. (human body odor) , but MUCH MUCH stronger and muskier!

 

I'm guessing I was very close to whatever it was, which is why I moved away from that area. I'd say the smell was concentrated in an area of ~20ft diameter.

Edited August 30, 2007 by markp99

[+6 Feet More]

Dude! Were you eating beef jerky and messin' with Sasquatch?

 

 

Ok, ok......I'll stop

[bogleman]

Nothing like rotting swamp smell (I know that one very well). Not skunk either, we have ~resident skunks near our house, who have nailed our dogs a couple times over the years. Ugh!

 

It was more similar to very strong B.O. (human body odor) , but MUCH MUCH stronger and muskier!

 

I'm guessing I was very close to whatever it was, which is why I moved away from that area. I'd say the smell was concentrated in an area of ~20ft diameter.

What type of trees were in the area? I set up a stand under an old hollow Beech that had a family of racoons living inside, it was pretty funky once it got warm outside.

 

man, could have been my gym shorts - just tossed them in the wash. Now that was funky

[+markp99]

What type of trees were in the area? I set up a stand under an old hollow Beech that had a family of racoons living inside, it was pretty funky once it got warm outside.

Almost exclusively pines in this area (white, red) and some spruce. Not much hardwood.

 

My first instinct was to look UP. Could have been a nest of some sort, I suppose.

 

It was quite warn tonite (75-80F), which probably enhanced the effect.

[Tahosa and Sons]

Did you eat beans and sauerkraut before you went caching.

[+team moxiepup]

I've heard that female moose have strong pheromones in their urine. They'll pee on their legs to waft it around to attract a mate.

 

Glad people don't do that!

 

Seems a bit early for mating season, but who knows... maybe some moose need a longer time to get worked up?

[+StarBrand]

Did you eat beans and sauerkraut before you went caching.

 

 

 

My bet is on skunk.

[+H2OBob]

Is there the possibility of a fur ranch nearby? There is one near me that raises foxes, and on a hot summer day, the stench can be terrible! The male foxes emit a strong scent. Mix this with scraps of rotting horse meat, and you have what it takes to lower the neighbor's property values.

[+chuckwagon101]

Nothing like rotting swamp smell (I know that one very well). Not skunk either, we have ~resident skunks near our house, who have nailed our dogs a couple times over the years. Ugh!

 

It was more similar to very strong B.O. (human body odor) , but MUCH MUCH stronger and muskier!

 

I'm guessing I was very close to whatever it was, which is why I moved away from that area. I'd say the smell was concentrated in an area of ~20ft diameter.

 

 

It COULD have been my EX!! She has been known to roam around that area. In fact, one time she..............................JUST KIDDING!

 

DayyyyyyyYummmmmmm! (I hope she doesn't see this!)

[+mousekakat]

Could it have been something dead decomposing?

[+Belfrypotters]

Bush cranberry (Viburnum species, not the Vaccinium species that you eat with turkey at Thanksgiving) smells musky-sour at this time of year. Some people really hate the stink, and assume something has died in the woods. In Alberta it's one more sign that summer is over.

[+BlueDeuce]

 

[mtbikernate]

I've smelled various animal urines before, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the deer. I once smelled what I'm wholly confident was mountain lion urine (near a rock outcrop on a scree slope...no vegetation nearby and an area that is a pretty typical sort of place for lions to mark their territory).

[+Stargazer22]

Could be a fox, especially if you're not familiar with the odor.

We regularly go to the forest to stargaze and we have a fox who lives in the area who has become familiar enough with us to stop by and check us out every so often.

I always know he's coming a few minutes in advance by the smell.

It reminds me of a sweaty basketball team locker room.

[+Confucius' Cat]

Trappers use various scents for cover.

 

I'd bet that's what it was.

 

I have found that trapping laws are pretty lax regarding where traps can be set and also many trappers trap nuisance animals in places that are quite close to populated areas and in parks where one would not expect such activity.

[+markp99]

I was talking with my niece and her husband who live in a very rural/wooded area.

 

They are frequently visited by a family of black bears. They claim that black bears can be quite funky smelling (like human B.O.). When I described the "smell", they quickly agreed it was probably a black bear. They said while foxes can get pretty ripe, their smell is quite different.

 

When the hairs were standing on the back of my neck, I think this is the sort of beast I had envisioned. The magnitude of that smell was quite powerful, probably no small animal!

 

:eek:

 

There is a multi-cache in this same area. I'll be sure to visit that one during bright daylight hours and stay on the primary trails.

Edited September 4, 2007 by markp99

[+wesleykey]

I've smelled various animal urines before

 

 

I don't think I would have admitted to this.

[+DustyWalker]

I am betting that what you smelled was a porcupine. They have a very distinctive musky smell. (B.O.) I have often found them in the woods after smelling them first.

Edited September 8, 2007 by DustyWalker