Few people can say this, but 麻豆原创鈥檚 Director of Law Enforcement Training Mike Smith was once robbed by raccoons.
The furry bandits made off with his driver鈥檚 license and debit card during one of his overnight camping trips to Cumberland Island in South Georgia.
It鈥檚 one of several harrowing adventures Smith has had since discovering his love for the outdoors shortly after retiring from a 30-year career in law enforcement. In October, he鈥檒l co-teach a one-day course in Camping, Hiking, and Backpacking basics with his friend and fellow outdoorsman Macky Goodman.
Here, Smith tells us more about his favorite trails, tips for selecting gear, and those wily raccoons.
Tell us how you got into camping, backpacking, and hiking.
I鈥檝e always liked the outdoors. I was in the military, but sleeping in the woods when you鈥檙e in the military isn鈥檛 the same as sleeping in the woods for fun. Throughout my law enforcement career, I would do surveillance, and sometimes that would mean spending time outside or looking for suspects in the woods. I always liked being outside, but when you鈥檙e working and raising three children, it鈥檚 hard to break away and find the time to go be in nature. Plus, I never had the money to spend on gear, so spending time in the outdoors got put on the back burner. When I retired a few years ago, I got to talking to a few of my retired law enforcement friends who had formed a hiking group, and I decided to join them. My first big hike was at South Mountain State Park. We did a two-night camp. I was hooked.
What is your favorite place to go now?
Cumberland Island, Ga. It鈥檚 a barrier island between Georgia and Florida. There is quite a bit of history to the island. It鈥檚 36,000 acres and once belonged to the Carnegie family. In the 1970s, it was designated as a National Seashore. John F. Kennedy Jr. was married there. There are wild horses and all the sand dollars you can find to carry. It鈥檚 a really neat place.
For those who don鈥檛 hike or camp, what is it that you like so much? What do you get out of your outdoor adventures?
When you get back, you realize how you really don鈥檛 need all this stuff. You don鈥檛 need all this hustle and bustle. You realize this isn鈥檛 what really makes you happy; it鈥檚 being out there, connected with nature. When you come back, you see things differently. It actually makes me a little sad because when I get back from a trip, all I can think about is getting back out there. It鈥檚 amazing how in touch with your thoughts you become when you get away from the cell phone signal. You never know what the next footstep is going to bring you. Every bend and every curve in the trail, you鈥檙e likely to see something different. You鈥檒l be walking along, lost in your thoughts, and all of a sudden, you鈥檒l see a wild horse or an armadillo or some other wildlife. Waking up to birds in the trees instead of an alarm clock is amazing. It changes how you think and what you see as important. I wish I would have started doing this a long time ago.
What big hikes are you looking forward to?
The group of guys I hike with and I are going to do the Palmetto Trail in South Carolina later this year. We鈥檒l be on the trail for nine days, and we鈥檙e looking to do 175 miles. That will be my longest trip yet. Hiking the Appalachian Trail is on my bucket list. I think eventually I鈥檒l work up to that.
What would you say to someone who鈥檚 just getting started in hiking?
My advice is to get a small day pack, something you can carry some snacks, water, and a first aid kit in, and start clocking some miles. There are lots of day trails within a couple hours of us. There are some great trails behind the Union County Ag Center where you can start practicing. Kings Mountain isn鈥檛 too far away; there are lots of great trails through there that aren鈥檛 too hard and safe to do alone. Before you start buying gear, ask friends or other hikers you know to see if you can borrow theirs. If you鈥檙e not careful, you can spend a lot of money. I say, try it before you buy it.
So about those raccoons, how did they get your license and debit card?
I went to Cumberland Island last year by myself. It was the last night, and I was camping. Me and this other gentleman who was also retired law enforcement started talking. I had already set up my tent, and I had suspended all my food in a tree, which is what you鈥檙e supposed to do to keep it away from critters. Well, it came time to go to bed, and I looked over at my camp, and I noticed something was wrong. My daypack was missing. I had forgotten about a little peanut butter cup I had in my daypack. These racoons had dragged my backpack into the woods, unzipped it, and fished out the peanut butter cup along with my driver鈥檚 license and debit card. I never did find my license or debit card. That was a lesson learned. That same trip, I had to cross through some water to get to the beach. I had run into some alligators earlier in the day and was worried there may be more, so I took off my shoes, waded through the water, and videoed it on my phone so that if someone found me, they would know what happened.