How do you protect yourself and your family in the wilderness ?

I pack 3 or 4 ninja stars - they're sharp and all business! :thumbup:

i agree that injury is your greatest threat - maintaining mental awareness as to how and where you're stepping so that you don't fall or trip and sprain something and being careful and slow when using your tools will keep you out of most trouble.

i do usually cut a stout walking stick for peace of mind. i've spent years training martial arts, but when it comes down to it the simple mental preparedness to go smashy-smashy with a big stick outclasses most kung-fu. i'd love to do an elbow strike followed by a guillotine choke to a cougar but i just don't have the guts.... :(

in the end the best option if possible is running - the art of not being there is a very difficult technique for any opponent to overcome. definitely something to teach the kids - "let daddy get eaten by the cougar/shot by the crazy man - you run for help!" defending the wife and kids is priority number one but defending them while they run like hell is always a plus :thumbup:
 
Brains were what my dad said were needed more than anything. That said, I have always carried a handgun in the woods, no matter what I was doing there. Down herein sunny south florida, all the 2 legged threats are crack heads and bangers, but I have yet to see one of them in the woods. We got hogs tho, so I carry just in case one of them decides to sacrifice himself on my smoker. I always carry a big stick, hornbeam I think, and have carried a blade of some kind all my life.
 
pepper spray then gun spray, if the first doesn't the second one will.....I don't really worry about it, but I always keep these two and a cell phone on me when I'm out and about.........
 
Once I finish up my EDC blade I'll feel a bit safer...

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Ran upon a deer hunter passed out & sprawled out w/rifle across gut, right beside the trail. Fortunately I saw him first so I had time to do some wake up calls before I passed him :D

Was conoeing once with the GF in a remote area and all of a sudden guys with badges summoned us to the bank - turned out a fugative was loose in the area so they made us walk out - that made a lot of sense :mad:
 
To deter animals, I am just loud. Bells on the pack, constant banter with companions, heavy steps and a standby air horn are regular normalities when hiking. I have never had a problem with aggressive people when hiking, but that is not to say it cannot happen. I recall several years ago a female friend of mine was out for a walk with her dog in a fairly common hiking area, and she suddenly had some weirdo throw rocks at her from atop a cliff, demanding she leave his area. The assailant was just some hobo that decided to become a mountain man, or maybe he watched one too many Grizzly Adams episodes, not sure, but his rock chucking really ticked off this friend of mine. She had the RCMP go out and look for him, but I don't think he was ever found. That's about all I have in terms of accounts of hostile human encounters in the wilderness, but I suppose if I was a younger man in today's world, I would consider ways of defending myself against attacks by humans in the brush, since it certainly seems more common now than in the past. A good old knuckle sandwich is always handy to know how to use, I suppose. It amazes me how few people these days know how to clobber a person without the aid of a weapon... and that includes aggressors.
 
RedbeAR15 said:
Ran upon a deer hunter passed out & sprawled out w/rifle across gut, right beside the trail... :mad:
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This stirs up something that always chaps my hind quarters… :mad:

…It seems that every year I come across hunters on public lands using the Blazed Hiking Trails as shooting lanes, and I try to avoid the prime state lands during deer season.

There is nothing more disconcerting then spotting a guy with a long gun peering down at you from his hidden spot.

I’m a hunter myself, but I always scout my spots and clear lanes where needed; hunters hunting the trails are just lazy and foolish as far as I’m concerned, not to mention dangerous. :grumpy:

Ok…rant over. :rolleyes:





"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike

Forest & Stream
 
+1 on that Big Mike..... I would walk that trail all day just to piss him off so he moves.
 
attej said:
I was once attacked by a pack of reindeers in northern Lapland. Those things can be plain crazy! :) I didnt have any means to defend myself against two dozen reindeers at the time, so I made a tactical retreat to a freezing cold river (+4C) :D
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Those bloody reindeers! :D The males sometimes get absolutely batshit insane, pardon my french, when they're in heat during the fall... And then you get to run like hell, because it's not like you can actually do anything else when a full gazillion of them run after you. :eek:

I don't really feel like I need any special protection out in the wilderness. There are criminals in any country, and most have some dangerous animals, but the risks are small. "Protection" consists of a balanced combination of awareness, avoidance, almost always some type of knife or axe, knowing how to use them and also bare hands and feet, and last but certainly not least, a lot of Nike-fu. Nothing beats Nike-fu. As for the family? Heck, none of them run slower than me! :D
 
After touring through the Kruger National Park we stayed for a few days at a resort just outside the park. I wanted to climb a koppie (steep sided hill) across the Crocodile River. Nobody was keen to join me so I went off alone. Carried a holstered 9mmP, a can of pepper spray and a folder (of course). Had to cross some farmed tribal land - no fences, just stacked thorn branches. Walked across a field with about 20 grazing cows. One of them looked at me and I swear her eyes 'lit up' when she saw me. She trotted up to me and started nuzzling me. Well, all this is very uncomfortable and undignified. What does one do against an amorous cow? I'm sure that Chuck would roundhouse kick it in the head, but I didn't really want to upset her....I mean she was quite pretty in a cute cowsy kinda way. So there I was, in full view of the resort, running across a field being pursued by Daisy....I swear I heard baboons laughing up in the krantzes...
I had to walk a long way back around that hill to avoid meeting her coming home. Couldn't even cross the river - it's not named that for nothing!
Moral of the story: Don't wear aftershave before taking an afternoon hike.
(And my wife says I'm past my sexy prime....whatdoessheknow!!!)
 
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I find that moth balls work best for keeping bears and other critters away from me while I sleep. It actually works very well.
 
BlackHills said:
I thought that sounded strange so I did a little looking....and you are right. :eek: You only have one NF in TN, the Cherokee. I have never seen a more restrictive policy for firearms in a NF before, I'd have never thought that would be the case in TN.
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I also found it hard to believe. I called the state about it about a year ago and they informed me of the "law". The person I spoke to essentially said he was summarizing the law, not if he aggreed with it.

There has been a substantial increase in black bear populations within the Cherokee NF. You had the killings in the Smokey Mt, Nat Park and further south in the last couple of years. Lots of great country in the Cherokee NF. It offends my sense of right and wrong not to be able to tote a 22 rifle out in the woods there (legally) any time of the year.

This needs to change. The whole WMA thing needs to be modified in TN. This is public property and folks should be able to take a walk with a firearm any time they want to in these rural areas.
 
Andy,

I've used mothballs to keep varmints (up to bear size) off my food for years. I've found that you need to use the paradichlorobenzene mothballs. The napthalene mothballs don't seem to have the same deterrent effect. When staying in a base camp for a few days I've occasionally put a few mothballs around the tent to help keep curious varmints from chewing into the tent.

Needless to say, any food that gets near mothballs needs to be carefully sealed to avoid getting stinky. The scent-proof zip loc bags sold at REI seem to work best. [A friend or mine once stunk up some fresh grayling with mothballs and the single bite I tasted (and spit out) was truly awful. He ate the whole damn thing---and didn't barf!]

My friends and I have found that mothballs don't seem to work well on mice. However, I've had numerous bear walk within a few feet of a mothballed food container or cooler without tampering with it.

DancesWithKnives
 
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