I'm not a deer. If you see me, you'll probably realize that. But I hope you aren't hunting where you will see me, particularly if I'm on the Appalachian Trail.

You're not allowed to hunt either on the AT itself or in the approximately 1,000-foot-wide corridor within which the AT twists and turns, sometimes closer to one or the other side corridor lines. Federal and state laws forbid hunting on the AT or within its corridor.

Not that hunters are going around shooting hikers. There is enough room in the woods of Maine for both, and I can't remember any reports of hikers being shot by hunters in Maine.

This is just a caution. Even if he (or she) is not me, still please don't shoot a hiker.

Actually, it's not likely to be me you see on or near the AT for the rest of this year's firearms deer season. I stay out of the woods all days in November except Sundays. But, believe it or not, there are those who are out walking on the AT this time of year on those other days of the week.

I met a guy on the AT three weeks ago, wearing shorts. That was pushing the hiking season a bit. He may have frozen to death, which may have put him out of danger from geographically impaired hunters anyway.

But others on the AT this time of year likely will be wearing long pants and jackets. Some will be wearing blaze orange to let you know they are not deer. Some will not be wearing blaze orange. Blaze orange isn't required by law for hiking in Maine during deer season, although it may be required by common sense.

I think it's time for me to fess up. Although I haven't been a hunter -- except with a camera -- for a number of years, I think lawful, careful hunting is good for all of us. As I've wandered along trails and sometimes off them, I've thought about the larger wildlife I could meet in our woods. I probably couldn't defend myself well with my Minolta, and I am sometimes where bigger critters also may well be wandering -- or looking for their next non-veggie meal.

So my thoughts run to what if there were no hunting at all. I know that moose haven't been hunted all that many years, and some of them haven't caught on to the plan of dashing wildly away from a human -- especially me toward whom they tend to amble. I've only seen a couple of bear, and, happily, both of them dashed wildly away. Had they dashed wildly toward me, I likely wouldn't be writing this.

And there are, despite DIFW's claims, cougar in Maine. I've only seen one, which was walking alongside the highway one dark night as I was driving along the same highway in the opposite direction. It didn't wildly race away or toward my car. I've had friends report seeing them, and in no case did the big un-housebroken kitties threaten these friends in any way. Can that be because cougar equate humans with those loud "bangs" that have made some big cats in long past years become dead? Do they fear humans so not bother them? (Don't they realize they'd be more or less safely on the endangered species list if they existed in Maine, even if they do live here?)

The same question comes to mind about coyotes, bear, and other woods residents (except for the endangered species part). Would they hunt people if people weren't hunting them with that big “bang” stick? If you have a thought about it, I'd love to hear from you.

Meanwhile, while you're out in the Maine woods during the next two weeks with your deer rifle -- not in your pickup and not with a can of beer or some other delightful though sense-impairing drink or substance -- please stay off the AT and out of its corridor.*

The AT runs roughly from just north of Route 2 at the New Hampshire border, through Grafton Notch State Park, northeast through the Saddleback area near Rangeley, on northeast through the Sugarloaf and Bigelow areas, farther through the woods eastward and across the Kennebec at Caratunk, on northeast crossing Route 15 just north of Monson, continuing through the Gulf Hagas area, and still heading northeast until it briefly follows the Golden Road and turns left into Baxter State Park just east of the Abol Bridge. The AT is marked on the Maine Atlas and Gazatteer, the DeLorme map of Maine, and other maps.

Generally, the road crossings of the AT are easily spotted -- easier than the deer you're hoping to spot-- and you can guess at about 500 feet on either side of that spot as the corridor's location. At times, you'll find a three-inch by one-foot sign reading, "U.S. Boundary" with the words "Appalachian Trail, Maine to Georgia" at the bottom. If they haven't grown faint or disappeared, sometimes you can also find yellow boundary line markings painted on trees or rocks.

So, please, keep your eyes peeled not only for that special deer waiting for you but for the AT and hikers not waiting for you. Including me, even though I'm not planning to be on the AT for the rest of November.

But, hey, what if I'm kidnapped by aliens and deposited somewhere along the AT in Maine?

* Thankfully for guys like me, lots of new trails have been created all over Maine in the past 30 years. Some of them may allow hunting, although I'm not sure of that. But they all allow hiking, and hikers on those trails will appreciate your not mistaking them for a deer and firing at them.

The Appalachian Trail heading west from the Shirley-Blanchard Road crossing. Photo by Milt Gross.

Milt Gross can be reached for corrections, harassment, or other purposes at lesstraveledway@midmaine.com.