A co-worker recently got his deer — with archery equipment, no less. When I spoke with him a few days ago, he was looking forward to aiming for a second one during the regular firearms season, which begins Wednesday in New Hampshire.

Presumably, he’s got a good-sized freezer.

As the Appalachian Mountain Club’s North Country Trails Volunteer Programs supervisor, Alex DeLucia is familiar with the questions of trail adopters, some of whom wonder if it’s safe to do maintenance work on the trails during hunting season. As both a hiker and a hunter, DeLucia can offer them some helpful tips.

People needn’t fear traveling in the woods during hunting season if they prepare properly. Part of that preparation involves choosing a place to hike.

Hunters typically know where trails are and will avoid hunting near trail networks, DeLucia noted. He advises trail maintainers and other hikers to stay on the trails. “That’s probably the best piece of advice for hikers — to just stay on the trails and avoid bushwhacking,” he said. “When people are bushwhacking, they’re hunched over” as they’re breaking through the brush. “They look very different and sound different, and could be perceived as something else,” he said.

And, while New Hampshire law doesn’t require hunters to wear hunter orange clothing, most hunters choose to do so, to enhance their visibility, and hikers should, too. The idea is to be seen in the woods, and wearing hunter orange clothing that is visible from all angles — a jacket, for instance, or a hat — is a great way to get noticed. Hikers traveling in the woods during hunting season should avoid wearing white, which could be mistaken for the flash of a deer’s tail, DeLucia noted.

I have an orange watch cap and an orange vest that I wear on fall hikes, and if I’m hiking with a dog, the pooch will be fitted with a blaze orange vest, too. One of my departed canine pals used to sport a bright orange T-shirt (a freebie, emblazoned with the Reese’s logo) when we’d hit the trails in fall. He endured some odd stares, but was never mistaken for a deer or a bear.

In the White Mountains, hikers and hunters tend to focus on different areas in pursuit of their pastimes. DeLucia noted that hunters will often avoid areas that see heavy hiker traffic. “They’re going to look for the out-of-the-way places, because that’s where the wildlife are going to be,” he said.

Hikers seeking the expansive autumn views found in the high country aren’t likely to run into too many hunters, since deer usually don’t roam the high peaks.

All that said, it’s the responsibility of the hunter to be certain of his or her target, and what is behind it, before firing. And successful completion of a hunter safety course is required prior to purchasing a hunting license.

Opening day of the regular firearms season for deer in New Hampshire is Nov. 12. The season runs through Dec. 7, except in Wildlife Management Unit A, in the state’s northern reaches, where the season ends Nov. 30.

New Hampshire sees about 60,000 deer hunters per year, according to the state Fish and Game Department. “For many New Englanders, the firearms deer season represents a traditional opportunity to get together with family and friends, enjoy our bountiful resources and put meat in the freezer before the onset of our long winter,” said Kent Gustafson, Fish and Game’s deer project leader, in a press release. The department posts hunting season dates and regulations and maps of wildlife management units at wildlife.state.nh.us.

Rob Burbank is public affairs director for the Appalachian Mountain Club in Pinkham Notch. His column, “Outdoors with the AMC,” appears every other week in the New Hampshire Sunday News.