Probably the most spooked I've been in the woods was two years ago in CO. All alone, I killed a buck right at last light in an area where we had seen 4 bears, a huge boar, and a sow with two cubs. Matter of fact, there was an elk kill only 200yrds from where I dropped this buck. I'm not real fast at boning out a deer so it was pitch black for most of the job. No moon. All I had was a minimag I held in my mouth while working. I would freeze at every little sound, listen for movement, and pan around with the light.
The packout was just as bad. Smelling like a fresh kill myself, I had a long way to go to my truck. I had seen ML tracks earlier in the day also. After getting turned around a couple times, it was almost a 5 hour hike to the truck. Several times, I could have swore something was following me. With rifle in hand, I was ready to do my best Chuck Connor imitation if I saw the slightest eyeshine. Boy was I happy to see that truck!
"The value of any trophy from the field depends not on its size but on the magnitude of the effort expended in its pursuit." ~ Aldo Leopold