[at-l] Self defense on the trail

[KarenS62@xxxxxxx (KarenS62@xxxxxxx)]

In a message dated 1/10/2003 3:25:56 PM Eastern Standard Time, jbryankramer=
@msn.com writes:

> 1) Avoidance: darn hard to do on a linear trail with fixed stations (shel=
ters), maybe if you turn around and go the other way. That would seem to ma=
ke it tough to finish your planned hike. I suppose you could hid under a bu=
sh everytime that you think that you hear someone on the trail, a bit hard =
to contemplate for you gregarious types.


Not so hard to do if you carry your own shelter. I have had two occcasions =
(if you've heard this before, just hit delete now) where I have run into pe=
ople who made me uncomfortable at the shelter I intended to stay in that ni=
ght. Both these times I was hiking solo and he was the only other person in=
 the shelter that night.

The first time this happened, I got to the shelter to find a man there who =
just made me uncomfortable. I trusted my instincts and when he asked if I w=
as staying, I told him I hadn't decided yet. I cooked dinner and made a poi=
nt of engaging him in conversation. By the time dinner was done, I had lear=
ned enough about this man that I felt comfortable staying. We actually had =
a very pleasant evening talking.

The second time was almost the exact same scenario except that by the time =
dinner was done, I still had that nagging generally uncomfortable  in-my-gu=
t feeling. I packed up my stove and pot, put my pack on, said I was going t=
o the next shelter and wished him a good hike. I then went about another ha=
lf mile, ducked into the woods, and set up a stealth camp.

Now, I don't know that this second guy was anything to be concerned about, =
but I paid attention to my gut feelings and didn't hang around to find out.=
 By carrying a shelter, I was able to avoid a potentially dangerous event. =
By continuing to be pleasant, I avoided escalating the eratic behavior he w=
as demonstrating into a risky situation.

Trust your instincts and if it looks like a duck and quakes like a duck, th=
ere's a good chance it is a duck. Just get out of there - no one wants to b=
e attacked by a duck!

POG