Treasure Hunting Wilderness Hunting – Color or Camouflage?

I must admit that I am not the most sociable person in the world. I’m not one to walk up and start a conversation, especially with strangers. I’m also not one to enjoy people walking up to me and starting a conversation, although I can be sociable when that happens. But usually it’s not a long conversation. When I’m walking around the ‘big city’ I’m going somewhere to do something, and ‘sitting on a park bench chatting with the locals’ is not my thing. I also don’t stand out from the crowd… apart from my altitude. I don’t dress to be seen. I don’t act to be noticed. I am not intentionally calling attention to myself. Not that I have anything against being visible. I would just prefer to ‘be in the background’. Call it leftovers from living a life of being in the shadows.

A lot of this comes up for me when I’m working ‘in the field’. I’m there for a purpose…usually treasure hunting, metal detecting or gold prospecting. When I’m focused on my activities, I don’t want to be approached, especially if I’m wearing headphones (listening to the almost imperceptible changes in tone from my metal detector) or working around or underwater looking for gold. I’m not paranoid, but in my experience, not everyone is friendly and well-intentioned. I’m wary of people I don’t know coming up to me in the middle of nowhere, especially if I’m looking for or digging up valuables and some stranger comes up to me wanting to know what I’m doing. It’s not like I’m trying to hide, either. If it were, it would go into a full “stealth mode” (an entirely different topic). So when I’m “out and about”, I dress for success… my kind of success.

I can’t tell you how many times I go out into the woods only to see loads of people walking the trails dressed as if they are trying to be seen from space. Now, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with wearing neon colors, if that’s what you’re into. if it communicates [some kind of] A fashion statement is part of your enjoyment when going out into the desert, by all means do it. As a treasure hunter, doing so has some inherent risks…especially if you are successful or perceived to be successful in your search.

When looking for clothing and gear for my treasure hunting activities (in all its forms), I have a couple of basic criteria. First of all, it must be functional for what is needed. Second, it should be “earth toned” or at the very least “not flashy.” I won’t even consider bright reds, blues, yellows, oranges, lime greens, you name it. I choose to blend in. Camouflage is great. I have a lot of camouflage “stuff”. But, camouflage is not mandatory. Dark blue… OK. Dark orange (like an autumnal “burnt orange”) – OK. If I’m going to wear it, carry it, or use it, I want it to NOT draw attention…to him or me.

One of the easiest things to spot is a bright unnatural color against a natural colored background. Luckily, there’s a great selection of good-quality clothing and gear manufacturers make in earth tones…many of which also come in bright colors (if you choose). Fleece lining for warmth, rainproof Gortex, 400 Denier nylon for durability. They all come in “soft” colors. There are other technologies for modern fabrics besides these three, many of which are good. But, whatever it is, I choose ‘soft’. I recommend you do the same.

Now, a piece of contrary advice. Always… and I mean always… wear something that’s bright orange, signal red, or at least “very bright.” Because? If you hurt yourself If you get lost If you are marking a location for planes or rescue groups, you should have something they can easily spot. Keep it handy at the bottom of your pack, or carry a smaller version in your cargo pocket or a pouch on your belt/canteen pack. Goal, carry one.

The main intention of going out ‘into the woods’ while hunting for treasure is to have a good time. If part of that ‘big time’ is attracting people so you can interact and educate the public while you work, by all means “Dress for Success”. However, if you’d rather not have crowds around you watching you detect, dig, channel, and find coins, jewelry, and gold, then I highly recommend my “Dressing for Success” type. or not) on your next treasure hunting adventure!