A narrow escape on the AT...

[teacher]

Regardless of discussion or legalese, I am gonna try and be prepared for any situation I may encounter.

I am going to do my best to be aware of my surroundings at all times & try not to put myself in a compromising situation. I am not looking for trouble from anyone. I will not give anyone any trouble, nor will I tolerate any from anyone.

If the 'situation' comes looking for me and cannot be avoided... I am going to do my best to be the only witness left as to what happened.

That is what I am going to do, and recommend that friends and family do.

The rest of the world can do whatever they wish.

 

[Codger_64]

Taking a life, even if it is later ruled by a Court of law as justified, is a very serious thing to consider. It is an easy thing to talk about if you have never done it, or seen it done in person. But take my word for it, even if you are in the right, the event, memories of it and repercussions from it, will follow you the rest of your life. Thinking that you can kill a person, even with the best justification, and covering it up is a fool's game. One way or another, you will lose.

 

[lmalterna]

I was once told that I was like a dog that had been beaten. If I decide I like you, I will approach you and we will be best friends. If I do not like you, I will keep my distance and keep my eye on you. Do not approach or someone will get VERY hurt.

Lifes' lessons should not go unlearned. Sounds like these women were fortunate enough to walk to the edge but not fall. These after action discussions serve to allow others to learn from these folks mistakes.
2Door

 

[BA_Colt]

I have been there. It is in Lee, MA. October Mt State forest. The shelter is a short hike through the park. The shelter is on the east.

 

[redpoint]

IMO on the story 2 hours is not that far in. If I hiked in and saw a guy eating takeout and drinking whisky from a bottle he had to carry in I would automatically suspect he was mentally ill or on the run.

Exactly. If I saw a guy like that at a shelter ... I'd keep going. Their first mistake was sticking around. This isn't a hindsight is 20/20 thing, it was very poor judgement on their part. Two women camping in the woods alone with a super drunk crazy guy - WTF were they thinking. If I had been in that situation, I would have either continued on or turned around.

Easily accessible wilderness areas are FULL of crazies. Especially, vehicular accessible areas. My advice, stay well clear. You can carry a weapon in the US, but there are many other countries where you can't ... or what if you're traveling, you can't exactly travel with your handgun. Weapon or no weapon, don't put yourself in this situation in the first place. Camping and hiking is meant to be fun, this kind of scenario just isn't fun - at all.

 

[redpoint]

Taking a life, even if it is later ruled by a cout of law as justified, is a very serious thing to consider. It is an easy thing to talk about if you have never done it, or seen it done in person. But take my word for it, even if you are in the right, the event, memories of it and reprocussions from it, will follow you the rest of your life. Thinking that you can kill a person, even with the best justification, and covering it up is a fool's game. One way or anothr, you will lose.

Very wise words.

 

[Codger_64]

At the risk of tainting this discussion, which I feel has gone far better than I had dared to hope, I'll reveal another little detail about the incident that I just learned.

All may not be as was presented by the "victim". In fact, after a bit of investigation by others, and a lot of web search by myself, it appears that the lady doth protest too much. In other words, the incident may never have happened.

...I talked to MA State Police at Barracks B-1, and was told there was no assault complaint filed, nor any arrest made. There was an incident of "disoriented hikers" who required assistance, to which MA State Police responded. The Sergeant went on to say that any other spin on the story was inaccurate.

There is no State Police record yet found of the incident, no news article, no announcement of an arrest. MA State Police deny even hearing of the incident, much less responding with multiple patrol units and subsequently making an arrest.

The woman has logged on to several sites and answered questions to bolster her story and gain sympathetic responses, but never responded to more direct questions such as the quote above. More and more, it is appearing to be a hoax for attention.


I apologize to members who feel I have done them a disservice in posting this in the first place. However, even if the story is a complete fiction, the points made by myself and others do still stand on their own merit. Enough incidents have come to light (proven, often tragic incidents) in the past few years to warrant our being aware of the possibilities, and teaching our loved ones to be cautious.

Codger

 

[Wanderlust]

Personally I don't think it matters whether it did or did not really happen. This has been a very productive and hopefully informational discussion with lots of good ideas and thoughts brought up. Thanks for starting this discussion.

 

[Codger_64]

Personally I don't think it matters whether it did or did not really happen. This has been a very productive and hopefully informational discussion with lots of good ideas and thoughts brought up. Thanks for starting this discussion.

And thank you for the kind response Wanderlust. I hated to post the above revelation, but I felt that it would be wrong to withold it from you and all of the members here.

As we can see, the web and the ease with which stories can circulate on it is a double edged sword. I guess that in this case, my carelessness in first thoroughly vetting the story resulted in myself being cut.

 

[teacher]

Taking a life, even if it is later ruled by a cout of law as justified, is a very serious thing to consider. It is an easy thing to talk about if you have never done it, or seen it done in person. But take my word for it, even if you are in the right, the event, memories of it and reprocussions from it, will follow you the rest of your life. Thinking that you can kill a person, even with the best justification, and covering it up is a fool's game. One way or anothr, you will lose.

+1 ... I totally agree and anyone would be an absolute fool to try and "cover it up".

But being prepared beats being dead.....

 

[Codger_64]

+1 ...But being prepared beats being dead.....

100% agreed. Being prepared can help one avoid situations altogether, get out of them before they get ugly, and survive them reasonably intact should things go irrevocably "South". As several pointed out, teaching our loved ones to do the same is, or should be a "prime directive" for us.

 

[teacher]

100% agreed. Being prepared can help one avoid situations altogether, get out of them before they get ugly, and survive them reasonably intact should things go irrevocably "South". As several pointed out, teaching our loved ones to do the same is, or should be a "prime directive" for us.

Well said, all of it; I could not agree more. :thumbup:

 

[halfcocked]

All may not be as was presented by the "victim". In fact, after a bit of investigation by others, and a lot of web search by myself, it appears that the lady doth protest too much. In other words, the incident may never have happened.

I'm glad someone called "bullshit" on this before me so that I'm not the first bad guy. A quick glance of her multiple blogs told me this story was probably made-up. Another red flag should be her claim that the State Police texted her. Yeah, that doesn't happen.

That said, protect yourself when in the woods alone by whatever means you feel comfortable with. Just don't let fake stories like this one make you paranoid.

 

[Codger_64]

Several details of her story did not ring true, The supposed text message was just one of them.

This story may have been BS (wrong forum for profanity sir), but the story of Meredith Emerson was not. And she apparently did have some level of MA training. http://ourgeorgiahistory.com/ogh/Meredith_Emerson

SO the danger is real, even if this particular story is fiction. And by the way, shame on the perpetrator of this hoax!

 

[DocGP]

Codger,

Whether THIS incident is true or not, I am quite sure something similar has happened many many times, and the thought process and mental preparation were worth the post for sure.

Doc

 

[imaginefj]

Taking a life, even if it is later ruled by a Court of law as justified, is a very serious thing to consider. It is an easy thing to talk about if you have never done it, or seen it done in person. But take my word for it, even if you are in the right, the event, memories of it and repercussions from it, will follow you the rest of your life. Thinking that you can kill a person, even with the best justification, and covering it up is a fool's game. One way or another, you will lose.

I teach a CHL class and make that point as many times as I can.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

True or not, like I said, I'd run into guys like this for real when I was homeless more than a few times.

Good discussion all around.

 

[ROCK6]

Yeah, it's sad somebody has to trash the outdoors to get attention. I would feel much safer on the trail than a downtown city, but whether true or not, it's a good reminder that situational awareness and judging situations is paramount regardless of your location. It still brought up some good conversations though Codger:thumbup:

Taking a life, even if it is later ruled by a Court of law as justified, is a very serious thing to consider. It is an easy thing to talk about if you have never done it, or seen it done in person. But take my word for it, even if you are in the right, the event, memories of it and repercussions from it, will follow you the rest of your life. Thinking that you can kill a person, even with the best justification, and covering it up is a fool's game. One way or another, you will lose.

I've seen enough death and seen enough troubled Soldiers who have killed in combat where killing is their job. It's not something I would wish on anybody and this is truly a soul searching event that you can't take lightly. I've taken two different CHL courses and they can't stress the implications and consequences enough. One thing has to be clear...if you draw your firearm, it should be the last resort and you should be intending to kill. Taking another life is no little matter and you must truly be convinced your life (or you’re the lives of your children) is in danger before heading down that path. My wife and I have had serious talks on such situations. You should do everything to avoid or deescalate a bad situation; however, once that line you've established where you life is threatened you can't hesitate to stop the perpetrator. The times I was deployed, we had a lawyer on tap for the worst case scenario.

Good discussion despite the wolf-crying.

ROCK6

 

[Professor]

We've had folks murdered on the AT here in Virginia, so it does happen unfortunately. Two lady hikers in fact, some years back.

http://www.aldha.org/arrest02.htm

This was certainly a worthy and timely discussion for me personally, as my family and I are hiking the AT more and more.

We'll be the well-armed folks on the trail, so if you see us, feel free to say hello!

Professor.

 

[Shoki]

Not the AT but my wife and a (pacifist) friend from Massachusetts are heading out to explore an old orchard down a farm road near my house in a few minutes. I'm staying home to sign for a UPS package so I'm sending her off with a handgun.
The chances of them running into anyone out there are slim and the chances of anyone they run into being sketchy is even slimmer but the possibility still exists so why not be prepared for it?