"I especially wouldn't want to be without a light when camping in an area where skunks roam. The thought of tripping over one in the dark isn't very appealing!"

Been there, done that.

We had taken a scout troop to summer camp for a week, and had all gotten used to walking around at night without a light since we had at least some moonlight every night - it's easy to get sucked back into that 14-year-old macho nonsense, I guess.

Nature called around 2am one night, and I got up to open the door, so to speak. As I was walking down the path to the outhouse, I suddenly tripped over something. (Come to think of it, can you trip any way other than suddenly?) I looked down, and saw the white stripe. "Oh, darn." I thought - or words to that effect.

Now, we were the sixth or eighth group to have occupied that campsite, and luckily the skunks (and raccoons) were fairly habituated by then. It looked up at me as if to say, "Ever hear of a flashlight, dummy?" and meandered off into the underbrush.

Good thing I was heading to the outhouse anyhow.