I was stationed at Fort Gordon (now Fort Eisenhower) from January 2018 to May 2021. One night in April of 2021, I met with an alligator near the Leitner Lake campground.
There is a big sign on a gate near the campground that says "WARNING: ALLIGATORS". The gate is on the boundary between Upper and Lower Leitner Lake.
Late one night, I couldn't sleep, so I took a walk on the trail that loops around the upper lake. Bad idea, it turns out. I mistakenly thought that since alligators are cold-blooded, they are inactive at night. Oops.
It was just light enough that I could see, but not clearly. Not taking a flashlight was my second mistake. Seems it was mating season; the gators were out in force and ornerier than usual. As I walked around the lake, I could hear splashing noises that kept getting louder.
Suddenly, a large shape bolted out of the water and scampered into the woods. It was hard to tell how big it was, but it sounded big. It was at this point I decided it was time to head back to camp posthaste. I heard another loud splash, so I decided to fight fire with fire and let out an intimidating shout, a technique I learned from World of Warcraft.
I walked at a brisk pace back to camp, periodically yelling and clapping my hands whenever I heard a splash or a gator bellow.
I made several foolish decisions that night and was lucky to come away unscathed. My adventures in Africa gave me a false sense of security. After all, after you've eaten lunch a few feet away from a bunch of wild hippos. there's not much left to be afraid of.
"In the jungle you must wait until the dice read 5 or 8" - Jumanji
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