Blaze Season 2

[Lihuel Harding]

Ifirst started watching The Bachelor with my best friend in high school. At first it was just to see what all the fuss was about, but now even across different states we still have continued to watch seasons together.

I waited for the episode to play out how it normally does: two girls fighting for one man, tears falling and each girl pleads that they should be the chosen lover. Same old love story, same old ending.

With resilience and determination, the season finale illuminated the unwavering strength of these women as they navigated the tumultuous terrain that is love. Amidst a whirlwind of emotions and heartaches, these remarkable women stood tall, displaying their unity and empowering one another through solidarity.

Instead of any negative feelings, Daisy and Kelsey held hands. This has never been done in the history of The Bachelor and it was a redefining moment. I have never seen such a wholesome and prominent ending.

Daisy not only handled her rejection with grace, but she did it out of love for both Joey and Kelsey. She chose acceptance over anger. With an enormous amount of strength, Daisy chose to support Joey.

I cannot comprehend how much strength Daisy had to be able to hold herself together and support her friend, while dealing with her own pain. This is what made her and Kelsey display something so pure and irreplaceable: sisterhood.

Since there are plenty of folks with guns out there, take a minute to review your local hunting seasons and land-use rules before heading into the woods this winter, and remember to wear plenty of blaze orange! Below are links to hunting information for the states that the AT, the PCT, and the Florida Trail cross through, along with a rough range of the current hunting season to give you a sense for why you want your blaze orange if you are thinking about doing a lot of winter hiking, or setting off on a thru-hike:

Different seasons and areas have different rules. GENERALLY rifle season requires blaze orange; strictly bow hunting season does not. But, again, find out the dates and regulations for the specific area first. The various sites I found for all the states had many outdated links. Better to Google, for example, Hunting season dates in Colorado More specific and up-to-date.

As you can see from some of the older photos, we did not 100% follow the hunting regulations during that weekend as hikers. As my awareness increased over the seasons, I changed my clothing for rifle season in particular.

Though hiker accidents are rare during hunting season (esp. compared to the number of people using the outdoors for recreation), any accidents that do happen are typical because no blaze orange gets worn.

Many retailers will not stock blaze orange or blaze pink items meant for hunting until around early September. If an item below is out of stock currently, the retailer might stock it again once the general rifle season starts before the fall.

What about other high-vis colors? If your clothing collection includes a high-vis yellow-green shirt such as found for construction or running, that should work. Assuming the local areas do not require blaze orange for all outdoor users regardless of hunting or not. However, many hikers tend to wear muted colors. Myself included. Unless you happen to have high vis colors already in your clothing collection, I think blaze orange makes for a better choice. Hunters tend to look for blaze orange, and there are more non-cotton options available for blaze orange, such as thermals, hat and hat covers, pack covers, etc., vs. the other colors.

Better yet, a vest or harness is going to give more coverage and visibility. And if you want something more durable, Ruff Wear sells a more robust harness if needed.

As noted by Colter in the comments, visibility is very low at dawn and dusk. The time when many hunters are out and about, too. Wearing a LED light of some sort is advisable. Many headlamps have a low light, blinking mode that works well for long-distance visibility.

Many hikers (myself included) tend to favor muted Earth tones or similar. Just yesterday, my clothing and gear consisted of green, black, gray, and dark blue. :O The only bright colors I own are the blaze orange purchased over the past few seasons. But, year, brighter colors could no doubt work, too!

Thanks for sharing. I noticed the hat covers go in and out of stock based on the season. Come early September or so, they seem to get back in stock. The buff provides an excellent alternative for sure.

Table of Contents Title 29.1. Wildlife, Inland Fisheries and Boating Chapter 5. Wildlife and Fish Laws Article 2. Hunting and Trapping 29.1-530.1. Solid blaze orange or solid blaze pink clothing required at certain times

B. During any firearms deer season, except during the special season for hunting deer with a muzzle-loading rifle only, in counties and cities designated by the Board, every hunter and every person accompanying a hunter shall (i) wear a solid blaze orange or solid blaze pink hat, except that the bill or brim of the hat may be a color or design other than solid blaze orange or solid blaze pink, or solid blaze orange or solid blaze pink upper body clothing that is visible from 360 degrees, (ii) display at least 100 square inches of solid blaze orange or solid blaze pink material at shoulder level within body reach visible from 360 degrees, or (iii) when hunting from an enclosed ground blind, display at least 100 square inches of solid blaze orange or solid blaze pink material visible from 360 degrees attached to or immediately above a blind.

C. During the special season for hunting deer with a muzzle-loading rifle only, in counties and cities designated by the Board, every muzzleloader deer hunter and every person accompanying a muzzleloader deer hunter shall wear (i) a solid blaze orange or solid blaze pink hat, except that the bill or brim of the hat may be a color or design other than solid blaze orange or solid blaze pink, or (ii) solid blaze orange or solid blaze pink upper body clothing, either of which shall be visible from 360 degrees, unless such person is physically located in a tree stand or other stationary hunting location.

F. This section shall not apply when (i) hunting waterfowl from stationary or floating blinds, (ii) hunting waterfowl over decoys, (iii) hunting waterfowl in wetlands as defined in 28.2-1300, (iv) hunting waterfowl from a boat or other floating conveyance, (v) hunting doves, (vi) participating in hunting dog field trials permitted by the Board, (vii) on horseback while hunting foxes with hounds but without firearms, or (viii) hunting with a bow and arrow in areas where the discharge of firearms is prohibited by state law or local ordinance.

This is about color choices in apparel and gear, nothing chaff-wise: In the local NF (AZ and NM), hunting season is in full swing but I keep seeing hunters in camo instead of blaze orange. Being ex-military, I know the advantages of concealment (though I wonder if it's really needed for most animals), but the advice is to wear blaze orange, especially around high powered rifles. If the hunters aren't wearing blaze orange does that mean they are using smaller caliber shotguns?

I am participating in a backpack planned for a NF in Arizona in the middle of deer season (not the leader, so will not be the first "in the line of fire"), and curious as my only blaze orange currently is a relatively heavy Nike ACG fleece vest. Guess I could find some orange-rich Denver Bronco sportswear on sale this football season, too.

Let's keep this discussion out of chaff and away from whether or not hunting should be allowed. France/Germany/Scandinavia allow hunting (I saw at least 2 deer stands next to an autobahn last year in the Rhineland), so it's not like it's going away.

I can only speak for Missouri and Kansas, but both of those state require deer hunters wear blaze orange hats AND vests/jackets (applies to both firearms and bow hunters). The laws in your area may be different. Most all of the sporting goods stores (even Wal Mart) sell all kinds of blaze orange this time of year. When I was in Scouts we had a section of the highway adopted and the DOT gave us a bunch of thin, vinyl orange vests that I still use during deer season. Hardware stores (Lowes, Ace, etc) might have hi-vis vests as well. If it were me I'd wear some blaze orange, even if its not required in your area.

Most hunters can tell a hiker from a deer but they also need to know you are around if they are shooting at something else. You might start up a deer or whatever and you want any hunters in the area to know you're around.

If you haven't seen it in action you would not believe how visible blase orange can be compared to other colors, even non camaflague.

I took it out on a section hike of the AT this year during archery season. I keep a bandanna on the left front shoulder strap and it also was "blaze orange". See the bottom RH corner of the picture below.

It is required to have 144"sq of blaze orange with no prints on the fabric while in the woods during hunting season unless elevated in a stand above 10' here in Alabama. This is during all seasons except turkey season. Some states require it during turkey season( Pennsyvania I think?). My advice is wear an orange beanie or hat at least esp if you are goin to be outside a tent a dusk. Anything moving can look like a game animal in low light conditions.

Texas and New Mexico don't require blaze orange (don't know about AZ). Except in a few instances on Federal preserves. You should wear all the orange you can. Since most big game animals see in black and white, wearing orange really wouldn't hurt the hunters, but it is what it is. I saw a great picture of an almost invisible gun in a tree stand in black and white, then you see it in color, he's wearing a Hawaiian shirt with blue and red parrots.

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