57. Wrong Address
Not entirely outdoorsy, but as a kid, probably around 11 years old, I was “camping out” with a friend and her sister, in a tent set up beside their carport, right beside their house. We were awakened in the middle of the night by a vehicle coming up their private drive. Sleepy, confused, and a bit frightened, we all laid there staring at each other as the vehicle stopped right beside us and at least two people—men from their voices, got out.
They walked right past our tent and argued in low voices in the carport for a minute before getting back in their vehicle and driving away. We then ran inside and woke my friend’s parents, after also discovering the flashlight we left on the nearby picnic table was gone. It turned out some teenagers further up the main road were having a “country kegger” (a party involving a keg of beer in a field) and someone took a wrong turn trying to find it.
Now, if you want some really creepy hiking/camping stories, find some Appalachian Trail hikers. I’ve heard some crazy stuff goes on in some of the more remote stretches.