Creeps in the Woods

Rule #9 buddy. Not in a pack, but on you. I've seen a rope get caught in a shirt, and someone had to bring the guy a knife. The loose rocks were bouncing off the other guys head. A knife in your pack won't help your partner from inside a pack. Every climber should carry something.

You handled the situation very well, keeping your emotions in check is a great strength. A gun has the potential to help or hurt the situation. I agree with Rick, about jumping the gun. Negative emotions and fear can make you shoot when legally you will be charged. On the other hand, if you can keep cool, the gun can save your life.
 
Man that is a scary sort of situation, I'm never going into the woods again without my CS trench hawk. You handled it very well.
 
wow.. i'm glad you two are safe.. that is a wild ordeal to have to deal with.. i think you handled it well.. i don't think i would have..:mad: i have been a climber for many years.. messing with somebodys gear and anchors, is just WRONG...
 
HornyToad said:
Sorry you had to deal with those losers.

I know you are from New England but down here in Texas "red necks" are good guys like you that don't put up with sh*t like that.
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I don't mean to offend any one, I'm sure there are a lot of good of people down there. I'm friends with an illiterate guy who lives in a tent on an island four months of the year. When I say "red neck", I'm talking about the Deliverance type *cue dueling banjos*
 
You did the right/the only thing that you could have done. Don't ever second guess your actions even if they don't turn out as well as they did this time. Your thinking and your actions were impeccable. Especially the actions that lead to an awesome rest of your day.

You can only use this experience to be more prepared for a similar situation.

I carry a small pepper spray in a pocket and one of my favorite when I walk my dog. It gives me both non-lethal and SHTF options if I should run into a similar situation. It is also a light enough combo to take climbing.

I am not without a gun when I am in the great outdoors, but if you shoot some dirt bag that is just bothering you then you have to go through the hassle of planting a weapon on him, getting your story for the cops straight with you GF, having the story held over your head by your GF every time she wants something, being stalked by the dirt bag’s clan of hillbilly family that are mutated from nuclear fallout, and on and on. You know the story. We’ve all seen it a million times on those awesome Lifetime made for TV movies. If you spray him an kick him in the nuts on suspicion of being an asshole chances are the situation is over and you can all the cops. It is a lot easier to say “I feared for the safety of me and my girlfriend and ended the situation in a non-lethal manner” than “the deceased cut my rope and shot him in the face”.

Good job. Sounds like a great day aside from the obvious.
 
WOW, that's a crazy story, but I'm not suprised in today's climate where the crazies are treated as "enlightened beings" and the law abiding as the 'malicious folks".. We are living in truly remarkable times culturally when bad is good, and wrong is right, absolutely terrible..

I think you handled yourself well by remembering the old mantra of "choosing your battles' because it could have turned out differently, thank God it didn't.

Actually this has always been a concern of mine since I'm a solo hiker/backpacker, and have run into quite a few unusual types over the years... I try to be proactive by carrying bear spray even though the threat from bears is minimum, but here in the PRNJ, that's the best we law abiding can do while trekking on state/federal land..

When I do hike solo, I make it a point to suppliment my gear with either a Buck 119 or 120, SOG Recon Bowie, or a Case XX USMC combat/utility along with a MT usually either the TTI or Wave. The fixed blades all have custom made leather sheaths and I've had since my Army days..

These I carry in full view for both civilians and crazies alike, and seems to work as a valid deterrant so far, knock on wood.

I guess it really boils down to I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.. Just make sure that if you do, you know how to use it. As for me the Army and some studying basic knife fighting on my own has made sure of that..

Cheers,
Serge
 
Creepy dudes suck. I have heard a lot of similar stories. I always have at least a knife on me in the "wild", and often a firearm.

Although, I have to say, carrying a gun while hiking can be a pain if it needs to be concealed. I have been hiking and camping where open carry did not seem out of place, but any more, it will get the wrong kind of reaction in a lot of places.


The problem with your situation is it does you no good, even if you are armed, if some crazy cuts your line while you are on a cliff. Especially if you have a vertical drop beneath your toes!
 
The title of the thread got me curious, but ur story is really creepy...never experienced anything even close to that (worst thing wasa bunch of boar hunters stopping us with their rifles just to ask who we were and what we were doing, but I know my way through my homeland and I knew that, even tho it seemed a potentially dangerous situation, we were running no risk).
U did run a risk, both in climbing, and in catching up with this guy later.
Personally, I do value alot the way u handled the whole thing. In time, when ur anger will lower and u will think back to this story, u will get more and more convinced that u chose the best way out of this situation.
I will go further and say that probably, if u had carried a gun, u would have been tempted (or driven) towards other "strategies", which were likely to have a worse ending. So if I were u, I would thank my brains and my cold blood and my love for my GF (cause they led u to the safest solution), and thank Heaven that I wasn't carrying any gun on myself.
:cool:
 
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You handled the situation well except for making yourself vulnerable by repelling down the cliff.It's better to listen to that voice inside and be wrong than to ignore it and be wrong. The best policy is to have a gun handy.It was not time to use it yet.I would have done the same thing even armed but I would have had my hand on my pistol in case I was attacked while trying to get away.

I don't trust pepper spray or knives for self defense.It's better than nothing but not by much.If that guy had pulled a gun on you or even if both had attacked at the same time,I would want my Glock in hand.

Years ago,when I was just a kid about 15.I went camping with a bunch of the neighborhood boys.There were about 5 or 6 of us,all close to the same age.Were were a couple miles from home camped along a creek ,under a rock overhang which we call bluffs around here.We were all having a good time untill around midnight when another slightly older boy I didn't know showed up.The other boys knew him and told us he was just out of basic training.He had been drinking and had a fifth of Everclear and a fifth of some kind of whisky with him.All the boys started drinking except for myself and my cousin.We just sat and watched.

As boys that age will do,it wasn't long untill they were all wrestling.They were all still playing but starting to get a little rougher than we normally did.One of the boys had brought his brother's Mini 14 along and about this time I thought it a good idea to get the rifle away from the drunk wrestling boys.My cousin and I took the gun and walked away into the woods on a hill about 30 yards away from the fire and everyone else and sat and watched the show.

It wasn't long untill things got crazy.The older boy back from basic, kicked one of the smaller boys in the face and dragged him a short distance,picked up a big branch of dead wood off the ground and threatened to bash his head in.The other boys sobered up in a hurry,and tried to calm him down.He told them that they would do exactly as he told them or he would kill his hostage.

I was just a 15 year old kid with my 13 year old cousin.The cell phone hadn't been invented and we were a couple miles from anyone.I sat there in the dark with the loaded Mini 14,wondering at what point I would have to shoot this nut.I didn't think he would really try to kill my friend but I wasn't sure.Things were crazy.He kept the hostage boy face down on the ground with his club in hand while he ordered the other boys to do push ups and sit ups and played Sergeant.

After an hour or so things just calmed down,they all got tired and passed out.I stayed awake outside all night though with the gun in hand.The older boy left sometime just before daylight and in the morning everyone acted as if nothing strange had happened.I was in no more mood for fun though after wondering most of the night if I would have to shoot someone.We left after a bit with me still carrying the rifle which I returned to it's owner as soon as I got back.None of us ever told a parent or anyone about what had happened.
 
I'm not a climber, but I can say that I never leave the house without a gun. Not in today's wacky world. If you can carry a gun with you when you are climbing, then that's what I would do. And, carry the most gun that you can comfortably carry.
 
instead of getting a gun when you not climbing get a big loyal dog like some kind of mastiff breed. no one will bother you with that. i have a great dane and that dog would take a bullet or a rock to the head for me any day.
 
There are times when I wish we didn't live under rule of law. Skells like that need to be taken put of circulation.
 
Stories like this make me happy I live in GA, where open carry of any weapon I want is no biggie.
 
As an Leo I agree with devil pig, if it's lawful where you are at to carry a gun do it. Everyone talks about knives as weapons, but I'm sorry they are very poor weapons. First and foremost is unless you have seen or done it, the amount of violence it takes to commit to stabbing/slashing someone is emmense. Most people will stop the attack after the first cut, because of the amount of blood, and looking at a large wound area. the psychology in a stabbing large. Also distance is your friend. An average shooter is probably ok with a 25 yard shot. Bet that other creep can't throw that rock that far. Just because you have a gun doesn't mean you'll use it, but it's AN OPTION. From someone who has been stabbed, and knows the dredges of society first hand don't be a sheeple. And believe it or not guys, cops are out for the good guys even when they defend themselves.
 
Being from New England, I would like to know where you were...sounds like an area not far from me...but then you mentioned the ocean, so it isn't my spot (crow hill)
I have met individuals that have creeped me out in the woods before..I try to remember that I might be creeping them out to. I believe much of this stems from us all living in little communal bubbles sometimes. NOW, saying that..cutting my ropes would have been a problem for me as well.
You did good getting your loved one out of harms way..thats all that counts really.
As for the REDNECK comment, man, I lived down in TX for almost 10 years, and my only friends are REDNECKS, so I guess I am one to.
After all that, I think this could end up in Prac Tac and really get silly...or we could just talk about getting freaked out in the woods. If you guys that would SHOOT someone want to keep throwing in your 2 cents..thats cool to. Funny how your on line, and not in the pen though..tells me you hav'nt shot anyone yet...why not? Seems someone is going to piss you off sooner or later. Blast away.
 
Wait, so you are insinuating that if you shoot someone you will automatically be in jail?

There are plenty of times when defending yourself with a firearm is justified. And apart from a few who were being sarcastic, I don't think anyone was advocating shooting this guy for the heck of it.
 
Very scary story. I wouldn't have repelled down. But I am a bit paranoid in general. I a
Usually packing in th out of doors
 
Yup..thats what I am saying.
If you shoot someone in New England, while out hiking, for kicking sand in your face..you will end up in the pen. I don't care if its fair or not. You will get arrested on the spot, you will go to jail on the spot, you will...need a lawyer.
I am a big fan of guns, and the right to defend one's self...I am also not living in la la land, where I think I can blast someone for any reason anymore.
Unless you are in your home, or on your OWN property, shooting someone (even being fully justified) you are going to jail..maybe for a week..or maybe for years. Does it matter?
What I am saying, is that sometimes, you can do the right thing, and be wrong.
I would love to really get the mods pissed and ask this. Tell me of all the "plenty of times" its ok to shoot someone...really, tell us about it.
I think that when you back up from the keyboard, and get in your car with your pistola strapped, you go out there in the world, when do you shoot? When your in a store, and a clerk has a tweeker pointing a sawed off at them? When your in the bank, and guys with masks barge in screaming "get down!!", When someone jumps in your car and tells you that they know a secret code to save the world, and your in great danger........??. Come on, this isn't a movie, its a day hiking, and somehow, the OP got in some weirdo's head, and the guy acted out. It happens.
If the OP went back and broke the jerks nose, I wouldn't have said it was wrong...I would defend him. IF he shot him for endangering his girlfriend, I would have defended his actions, while sitting in a restaurant talking about the " guy they arrested for shooting a guy for cutting a rope"...thats just the way it is.
I believe in the right to carry 100%, and I know when its better to be judged by twelve than carried by six, but when to use that right isn't up to us anymore. I don't think its fair, but I know what will happen if I shot someone while out hiking.

EDIT: Devilpig, I write like I talk, so when I say "you" I don't mean "you" entirely...imagine me waving my hands and on a rant, and you have my speach here.
 
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A little thread drift is fine... but it is starting to shift toward another "gun in the woods" debate. Lets keep on track with the OP's original question...

What kind of troublemakers, goons, murderers, creeps, vagrants, tweekers, red necks, or meth heds have you guys run into out there?
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