I was out hunting in Northern Ontario, no roads (except for logging roads) within 130 km. I was late on the bear season, so no one was out hunting in my quadrant. I found a nice campsite alongside a river and hunted from there. On the second day of my hunt, I came across the bear tracks. I tracked it for about two hours, and then turned around. It was when thing got very weird. I always tracked on one side of the tracks and returned on the other. About 200 meters down the east side of the tracks, I ran into another human foot print which disappeared across the trail and into the woods on the west. My dog (Czech wolfdog) didn’t seem to smell anything, so I returned to camp with minimal concern. I got back to camp at around 7:30 in the evening, made a quick dinner and had a cigar by the camp. At around 12:00, I heard a snap of a branch. After hunting for 20 years only two things snapped branches, bears and humans. I grabbed my firearm as well as a flashlight and went out after the noise. Every 100 yards, I would scan with the flashlight. My dog freaked, started growling and advanced into the woods slowly. I pulled back on my leash to slow his advance and switched on my flashlight. I saw a pair of eyes looking right back at me. It stared for about five seconds and disappeared into the woods. On the walk back, I felt anxious, scared, and uncomfortable. I could feel someone watching me. The next night, the same thing happened. My dog went wild, like I had never seen him. He was whimpering, growling, and clearly very anxious. At this point, I was terrified. I didn’t go hunting that day and didn’t close my eyes once. That night I sat up with my flashlight, constantly scanning the tree line. I guess I dozed off at around 1 and woke again at 3. I was sweating, confused, and very scared. I scanned the forest, and just barely visible about 25 yards in the forest there was a man and his dog. He was looking right back at me. I stared to approach him, shouting to him. I got within 10 feet, he looked awfully disheveled and stank, the worst part was that he just stared and smiled. His eyes showed zero emotion and whispered “Good night”. I ran back to my tent, packed it into my pack and loaded it onto the trailer of the ATV and drove out of there. What did the writer do before following his dog into the woods at night?

Question

I was out hunting in Northern Ontario, no roads (except for logging roads) within 130 km. I was late on the bear season, so no one was out hunting in my quadrant. I found a nice campsite alongside a river and hunted from there. On the second day of my hunt, I came across the bear tracks. I tracked it for about two hours, and then turned around.

It was when thing got very weird. I always tracked on one side of the tracks and returned on the other. About 200 meters down the east side of the tracks, I ran into another human foot print which disappeared across the trail and into the woods on the west. My dog (Czech wolfdog) didn’t seem to smell anything, so I returned to camp with minimal concern.

I got back to camp at around 7:30 in the evening, made a quick dinner and had a cigar by the camp. At around 12:00, I heard a snap of a branch. After hunting for 20 years only two things snapped branches, bears and humans. I grabbed my firearm as well as a flashlight and went out after the noise. Every 100 yards, I would scan with the flashlight. My dog freaked, started growling and advanced into the woods slowly. I pulled back on my leash to slow his advance and switched on my flashlight. I saw a pair of eyes looking right back at me. It stared for about five seconds and disappeared into the woods. On the walk back, I felt anxious, scared, and uncomfortable. I could feel someone watching me.

The next night, the same thing happened. My dog went wild, like I had never seen him. He was whimpering, growling, and clearly very anxious. At this point, I was terrified. I didn’t go hunting that day and didn’t close my eyes once. That night I sat up with my flashlight, constantly scanning the tree line. I guess I dozed off at around 1 and woke again at 3. I was sweating, confused, and very scared. I scanned the forest, and just barely visible about 25 yards in the forest there was a man and his dog. He was looking right back at me. I stared to approach him, shouting to him. I got within 10 feet, he looked awfully disheveled and stank, the worst part was that he just stared and smiled. His eyes showed zero emotion and whispered “Good night”.

I ran back to my tent, packed it into my pack and loaded it onto the trailer of the ATV and drove out of there.

What did the writer do before following his dog into the woods at night?