Crazy Nazi Helmet Guy

You'd think the woods would be safer to run in after deer hunting season is over. Other types of hunting are still legal this time of year (all small game), but the woods should be safe for running as the odds of being mistaken for a snowshoe hare or coyote are pretty acceptable and the number of hunters out are small in number. However...

When running in the woods with daylight creeping away, and you come across a guy wearing a German World War II helmet with a big Nazi "SS" logo on it, clothing that looked like it was from the same era, and a bolt action rifle strapped over his shoulder, it makes you think twice.

The dude was walking in the opposite direction and I was puzzled, not noticing the details of his attire too much at first. And as I slowed I asked, "Hey, isn't deer season over?" (the rifle he was carrying looked pretty heavy duty).

"Yeah, I'm hunting coyotes," he answered non-chalantly and pretty slowly. I gathered the guy was a bit dim. "Got one yesterday. Also, there are rabbits, foxes, and bobcat. All sorts of stuff to hunt back here, the woods are full of them."

That's when I noticed the Nazi logo on the helmet and got a better look at the clothing. WTF?! Who goes hunting with a heavy German helmet and olive green clothing that looked like something an old school soldier would wear?! Had I not seen the guy's footprints, I might have thought it was a ghost from a German soldier who's U-Boat crashed off the coast of Maine in the 1940s.

It was pretty apparent that the cheese had definitely slid off this guy's cracker a little, so I just politely wished him luck and ran on. I ran out to the lake and then returned home the same way, keeping an eye out for the Crazy Nazi Helmet Guy. I could see his tracks in the snow, and fortunately he didn't turn on to the 1.5 mile long path that led back to my house. Whew.

Hopefully the guy won't stick around. He talked as if he's been hunting back there his whole life or something, but I've been running back there for years now and have covered a lot of ground and have never seen this dude before.

The run itself went well. Slow pace due to very loose and soft snow for half the run. Wanting to get home definitely helped me pick up the pace some though.

Ran 6.3 miles @ 9:52/mile pace.

AHR/MHR - N/A

Trails with very loose 8" snow for half, moderately packed the other half.

Very hilly.

Lower 40s to upper 30s, partly cloudy.

Brookes Cascadia 3, long pants, short sleeved shirt, beanie.