Hayden poked his head through the brush, careful with his footing as the moss and fallen leaves laden ground was still damp with the previous night's storm and easy to slip on. He may know his way through the woods pretty well around here, but he knew better than to let this give him confidence in his surroundings. Too often you hear about experienced hikers and woodsmen getting injured from something as simple as a slip and getting stuck in the woods for days or worse. So he took his time being careful with each step. This may take him a little longer to walk through the woods, but if he needed to set up camp he had all the know how and equipment to do so.
Thinking of which Hayden peered up through the dormant leafless tree's branches judging the weather for himself wondering how much daylight he had left before needing to set up camp. It was still overcast and the air felt damp with what he expected to be another light drizzle later this evening, but you could still see the sun well above the horizon. He had perhaps a couple of hours before it began to set over the tree lining giving him enough time to continue walking down his path for another hour or so before having to set up camp for the night.
A snap of a twig drew him from his thoughts. He knew he hadn't stepped on one, and no familiar around these parts would be so heavy in their steps unless spooked, making him wonder if he was not entirely alone in the woods. "Odd." he thought stepping into a more cleared out path in the woods, checking for tracks. Usually you don't see many other hikers out here this time of the year after the trees have already lost their leaves. After a few moments of searching he spotted a shoe print in the mud that had kicked up a bit of the moss that was there. It looked fresh and from the pathing looked as though they were going towards the general direction he was heading. He didn't want to spook the other traveler by coming up behind them, and they probably don't want to be disturbed on their walk in the woods, but he thought it better to announce his presence in case it was a hunter. Cupping his hands over his mouth Hayden shouted a greeting in the direction her believed the traveler to be going. "Hello!". . . He waited for a response before calling out again. "Is there anyone else out here!" He quieted down waiting longer this time with his ears perked awaiting a response.
