Before your next trip·193 pages·9 printable cards·Instant PDF·$19

A retired ranger's field guide · 193 pages · Instant PDF

Most sounds in the woods at night are harmless. Five aren't. Do you know which five?

Thirty years on patrol, boiled down to one simple system. Every sound, sign and campsite gets a verdict: Stay, Watch or Go, with exactly what to do next.

Stay relax Watch be ready Go act now
The cover of Stay or Go: an older man in a felt hat and field jacket standing on a foggy forest trail at dusk, with the title above him.
  • 20 night sounds and 17 trail signs, each with a verdict and what to do
  • 16 places Otho would never pitch a tent, and why they look so inviting
  • 9 emergencies and the first minute of each, plus 10 lessons for bringing the grandkids
  • 9 printable cards for your pack, your glovebox and your grandkids' pockets
$19 once · yours to keep

Instant PDF downloadWorks on any phonePay once7-day refund

193Pages
100+Full-color photographs
78Entries with a verdict
9Printable cards

Sound No. 13 · Page 38

It didn't rain a drop where they were camped.

One August night, Otho sat on a ridge and listened to a creek come up. Clear sky over him, stars out. The storm was three ridges over.

“By midnight that creek was up in the trees where folks had camped that afternoon. They'd left before dark. They never knew how lucky they were.”Otho's Note · Page 39

Most of what you hear out there means nothing. A few things mean get out now. And the moment you need to know is the moment you can't look it up.

A mountain creek running high and white over rocks at night, lit by a single flashlight beam from the bank.
A mountain creek rising fast after dark
“Almost nobody who gets hurt out there is foolish. They just didn't know what the woods were telling them.”Otho Combs · Page 6
  • Would you knowwhich sound means a black bear wants you gone, and what to do in the next ten seconds?
  • Would you knowwhy the flattest, prettiest spot by the creek is the worst place to sleep?
  • Would you knowwhat to do in the first minute if your grandchild isn't behind you anymore?

Each one has a plain answer. You can learn every one of them at your kitchen table.

The Stay / Watch / Go system

Three words. Every situation.

Every sound, sign, place and emergency in the book gets one verdict. In five seconds, you know whether to relax, get ready or move.

Stay

Harmless. Here's why, and you can relax.

For exampleA screech owl's whinny. Knocks in old timbers on a cold night.

Watch

Not dangerous yet. Pay attention and be ready.

For exampleCoyotes yipping close to camp. The woods going suddenly silent.

Go

Act now. Leave, move or get help.

For exampleA creek getting louder. Thunder you can't see. A roar in the chimney.

Anatomy of an entry · Pages 32–33

Every entry reads the same way, so you can find the answer fast.

  1. Verdict and first move. Stay, Watch or Go, in one line.
  2. What you notice. The sound or sign, the way you'd meet it.
  3. What the old folks said. Tested: still true, half true or not true.
  4. What's really going on. The plain explanation.
  5. What to do. Numbered steps.
  6. Otho's Note. A story from thirty years on patrol.
  7. Remember. One line to carry home.

Tap the pages to read them full size

Try it yourself

Stay, Watch or Go?

Four real situations from the book. Tap your verdict, then see what Otho says.

What's inside

Everything Otho wishes every visitor knew before they walked in.

Page 7, Quick Start: If You Read Nothing Else, listing the ten rules on a dark page.

Quick Start · Pages 7–12

In a hurry? Ten rules, six pages.

Read them in the car. Every rule comes with a Do and a Don't.

A log cabin at night under a full moon, its porch lit by lanterns.Part One · pp. 13–53

20 sounds

Sounds in the Night

Know what's outside the tent before your heart rate does.

A misty forest trail between tall, dark tree trunks.Part Two · pp. 54–88

17 signs

Signs in the Woods

Read the trail like a newspaper: who passed, and how long ago.

A small tent pitched beside a mountain stream at dusk.Part Three · pp. 89–121

16 places

Places I Would Never Camp

Pick a spot that's still good at 3 a.m.

A dark forest at night with a single flashlight glowing beside a trail sign.Part Four · pp. 122–141

9 emergencies + Trip Plan Card

When It Goes Wrong

The first minute of nine emergencies, when it counts most.

A child's walking stick and small red backpack leaning against a tree in a sunny forest.Part Five · pp. 142–163

10 lessons + Little Ranger Card

Bringing the Grandkids

Raise kids who love the woods and come home from them.

An open old book and a lantern on a porch rail, mountains at sunset behind.Part Six · pp. 164–177

6 sayings + the Scorecard

Old Warnings Tested

Which of Mamaw's sayings were right, and which were dangerous.

A dark, foggy forest path at night.Part Seven · pp. 178–185

3 stories

The Ones I Can't Explain

Three things thirty years on patrol never explained.

The Night Sounds pocket card, a printable table of all twenty sounds and their verdicts.The Field Kit · pp. 186–193

6 cards + Field Notes

The Field Kit

A book stays home. These go with you.

Instant PDF downloadPay once7-day refund

Look inside

Real pages from the book.

The Field Kit

Plus 9 printable cards for your pack, your car and your grandkids.

  • Trip Plan Card. Leave it at home. It tells folks when to call for help.
  • Night Sounds pocket card. All 20 sounds and their verdicts, by your sleeping bag.
  • Trail Signs pocket card. All 17 signs, in your map pocket.
  • Campsite Card. Five minutes before you pitch.
  • Pack List. Checked off at the kitchen table, not the trailhead.
  • Glovebox Card. Emergency numbers and what to say to 911.
  • Weather Watch card. Thunder, rising water, wind, cold and heat.
  • Little Ranger Card. For the kids: "If I get lost: stop, hug a tree, blow three times."
  • The Scorecard. 28 old sayings, rated.

Plus a Field Notes page · Everything's included · One price

Part Five · Bringing the Grandkids

The best thing you can give a child in these mountains is a reason to love them, and the know-how to come home safe.

Ten lessons for taking kids along, from a first hike for little legs to the first night at camp. Then the Little Ranger Card: fill it in together, read it out loud, and it goes in their pocket on every hike.

01Hug a tree
02Never run from a bear
03Nothing in your mouth
“We practiced bear freeze in my yard every summer. Last fall my granddaughter met a real one on a trail with her mama. She did it exactly right. The bear left. She's been bragging ever since.”Otho's Note · Lesson 7 · Page 156
The Little Ranger Card, page 163: If I Get Lost: stop, hug a tree, blow three times, answer. With spaces for the child's name, their grown-up's phone, and trail badges to color in.

Part Six · Old Warnings Tested

Mamaw was right about the creek. She was wrong about the moss.

Can you guess which old sayings held up? Tap to see how each one tested.

28 sayings tested. Find out which ones your family got right.
7 still true8 partly true13 not true

Part Seven · Pages 178–185

And three I still can't explain.

Everything else in the book, Otho can explain, or near enough. These three he can't. He tells them the way they happened, no more and no less.

Story No. 1 · p. 179

The Hollow That Held Its Breath

Three times in one evening, in the same thirty steps of trail.

Story No. 2 · p. 181

The House That Knocked

Three knocks on the door, twice in one night, and fresh sleet on the porch.

Story No. 3 · p. 183

The Camp That Wasn't Trash

A folded blanket, a tin cup and a pair of boots, set down just so.

“I'll tell you what I can explain. Then I'll tell you what I can't.”

Is it right for you?

Who this book is for.

It's for you if

  • You camp, hike, hunt or keep a cabin in the Appalachians.
  • You take kids or grandkids out.
  • You love Otho's stories and want the practical side.
  • You want something you can actually use in the moment.

Skip it if

  • You want a gear review or a bushcraft manual.
  • You need a printed book. This is a PDF only.
  • You only want ghost stories. There are three, but this is a safety guide first.
Otho Combs sitting on a cabin porch in a rocking chair with a mug, his hat on his knee, misty blue ridges behind him.

A letter from Otho · Page 5

Before we start.

“I was raised in these mountains, and I spent thirty years walking them for a living. A lot of that time, I was the one who went out when somebody didn't come home.”

“Most of what you'll meet out there is harmless. A few things aren't. I want you to know the difference before you need to.”

Otho Combs

Thirty years on patrol

Watch Otho on YouTube · @OthoCombs

Before your next trip

Everything for $19. Once.

The cover of Stay or Go by Otho Combs.
  • 193-page illustrated field guide (PDF)
  • Quick Start: The Ten Rules
  • 78 sounds, signs, places, emergencies, lessons and sayings, each with a verdict
  • 9 printable cards
  • 3 stories Otho can't explain
$19 One payment. Yours to keep.

Secure checkout by GumroadInstant download7-day refund

7-day refund. If it isn't what you hoped for, ask within 7 days of purchase for a full refund.

Questions

Good questions, plain answers.

Is this a physical book?

No. It's a PDF you download instantly and keep forever. Read it on your phone, tablet or computer, and print the cards at home.

Will it work on my phone with no signal?

Yes. Download it before you go, and it opens anywhere. It has a clickable bookmark menu for every section.

Is it only for the Appalachians?

It's written for the Appalachian mountains: black bears, copperheads, hollows and balds. But most of it applies to any eastern forest.

Is it a ghost-story book?

It's a safety field guide first. It ends with three stories Otho can't explain, and it tests the old folklore against what we know today.

I'm not a hiker or a survivalist. Is it for me?

Yes, especially if you take grandkids out, own a cabin, or just want to know what's outside your window at night.

How do I get it?

Checkout is through Gumroad. Right after you pay, you get the download link by email, and the book stays in your Gumroad library to download again any time.

What if I don't like it?

Ask within 7 days of purchase for a full refund. Just reply to your Gumroad receipt email.

Does it replace first aid training or the rangers?

No. It's an educational guide. In an emergency, call 911 and follow posted rules.

Before you go

Read it at home. Keep the cards in your pack. Then go love these mountains. Just come home.

On your phone in under a minute, readable with no signal.

Instant PDF downloadPay once7-day refund

“Watch where the woods go quiet.”Otho Combs

Terms

Stay or Go is a digital PDF sold and delivered through Gumroad. When you buy it, you get a personal license to download, read and print it for yourself and your family.

Please don't

Resell, share publicly or upload the PDF or the printable cards anywhere else. Printing cards for your own family and trips is exactly what they're for.

Not professional advice

The book is for education and entertainment. It does not replace posted rules, park staff, weather warnings, first aid training, medical care or emergency services. In an emergency, call 911.

About the author and images

Otho Combs is a storytelling persona. The photographs in the book and on this page are illustrations created for the book. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service or any agency.

Privacy

This page doesn't ask for your personal information and doesn't set its own tracking cookies.

Checkout, payment and delivery are handled by Gumroad, which hosts this page. When you buy, Gumroad collects what it needs to process your order (like your email and payment details) under Gumroad's privacy policy.

We receive your email address with your order so we can help with downloads or refunds. We don't sell it.

Refund policy

7-day refund. If Stay or Go isn't what you hoped for, ask within 7 days of purchase and you'll get a full refund. No hard feelings.

To ask, just reply to your Gumroad receipt email. Refunds go back to your original payment method through Gumroad.