Trouble on the trails - Let's hear your stories

[theonew]

There seems to be a genuine concern here of late about security and self-defense in the woods. I've learned some things from these threads and have thought a little more about the issues but given the vast experience of all the folks who visit this forum, I thought it would be interesting to hear some stories about trouble you've had and how you've dealt with it.

I'll start.

I had two dogs with me when we encountered a rabid deer that nearly trampled my dog and kept circling around to try it again. F-ing thing wouldn't go away. I ended up hitting it hard on the back with a large log and it ran off.

On another occasion I ran into another single hiker on a very steep and rocky section of trail. He was older and had a large walking stick with him. My dog was very wary of him, which was unusual and caught my attention. We passed each other and then he asked me where I was going. I kept walking till we were about 15 feet apart and turned around and told him. He said, you'll never get out before dark, you should hike out with me and I'll drive you back to your car. Big red flags went up. I had recently consulted my map and we were nearly equidistant from both parking lots. Still, not sure if he was just genuinely concerned or had other ideas, I told him that I was fine and even had enough supplies to stay the night (it was early fall then). He got more insistent and started with some over-the-top draconian warnings about how I'd get lost and hurt and blah blah blah. Now I was pretty sure this guy was trouble. I said thanks for the concern I'll be fine and started hiking off at a very fast pace.

 

[myright]

The wife and I were hiking one time in Falls Church and came across a small waterfall that we decided to stop and enjoy. We were sitting there next to eachother when I happened to turn around because it just felt like someone was watching us. Much to my surprise.... there was. Behind us and up a small hill, probably 75 feet away and not close to any trail was a man in regular street clothes and no gear with him whatsoever. It struck me as odd so I made sure to look at him until we locked eyes to let him know I knew he was there.

A few minutes later he decided he wanted to get a little closer and started to slowly walk down the hill a bit. I stood up, turned to face him and simply asked "Can I help you?" in a stern voice. Funny thing is, that small sentence did it. The dude turned and walked away. The wife and I both said we got that feeling where the hair on the back of your neck stands up and that it just wasn't just another hiker on the trail. It was very odd and I'm glad nothing else came of it.

Theonew - That dude wanted some lovin' in his truck

 

[theonew]

Theonew - That dude wanted some lovin' in his truck

That was my take too :barf:

 

[myright]

That was my take too :barf:

We've actually got a problem similar to that in two of our parks down here. They are known places where gay men to go have some free love in the woods. It's a shame because they are nice parks.

I've never been approached, but my brother has while he was Mtn biking one time. He just kept on truckin' as I would have too.

 

[PB Wilson]

Considering the amount of time I've spent on the trails and in the backcountry I've had no trouble to speak of.

There was the guy dressed only in sneakers, socks and a nipple ring, but he was friendly and just enjoyed being out in nature.

I hope he had good bug repellent.

It makes me feel pretty happy that I've had so many positive encounters with people while off the beaten path. Seems that most folks are out trying to enjoy themselves which is why I hit the woods.

 

[tonym]

No issues while hiking(knock on wood), plenty of crap in the city however. Glad I'm outa there...

 

[dougo83]

I have had people sneak up on me a few times, usually while I am in the process of harvesting firewood or plant samples for school. One incident that sticks out is when my ex-gf and I were out on the trails and she walked off the trail to answer the call of nature. I must have stood there for about 15 minutes before I decided to go see where she was since I started getting an eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach. From where I moved to I could see two guys about my size talking to her and one of them kept walking back and forth, getting closer and closer as he walked and talked. I unsheathed the biggest blade I had, the 24" Tramontina, and walked up behind the bigger of the two turds and said "hey baby!" Then asked them if I could help them with anything. One of them muttered something and then they both hightailed. The next weekend I took her out to take the CHL course and bought her a Bersa Thunder...

 

[Mentor]

I'll play, but with the caveat that I generally experience the wilderness as a place of peace and serenity, not as an environment chock full of threats. A little bit of preparedness buys a lot of peace of mind.

Anyway, the first bit of trouble I ran into on a trail was back when I was a kid, in elementary school (grade 3 or 4, I think). I was walking with my family on a trail that circled a lake, somewhere here in southern Ontario. As we were returning from a nice afternoon of hiking, we heard growling and barking in the bushes. Before we could react, we were charged by an extremely aggressive dog (a mix of Akita and German Shepherd, if I recall correctly). Unfortunately, I was the closest, and I received a pretty brutal mauling. Thankfully, we were pretty close to the parking area at the time, so, after disentangling me from the dog, my father carried me to the car and made a bee-line for the hospital. I passed out once en-route, probably from a combination of shock and loss of blood (more likely the former). Long story short, I ended up with a bunch of scars, lots of stitches, a few missing teeth (caught a paw right in the mouth - still have scars on the roof of my mouth!), etc. Being a kid at the time, I healed up quickly, and I'm none the worse for it today. The whole experience shook up my father though, and he still has a phobia of large dogs. By contrast, I love 'em! Anyway, the police took an interest in the attack. Apparently, there had been reports of an aggressive dog in that park before. Two officers went to pay a visit to the residence where they suspected the dog lived. As they approached, they were charged by the same dog, which they shot and killed. The owner was not charged. It's too bad that the dog had to die - certainly not what I wanted. I blame the owner for allowing a poorly-trained aggressive dog to wander off-leash and unsupervised in a public park. Lesson learned: carry a stout walking stick and / or a faithful dog of your own. Second lesson learned: the adage 'chicks dig scars' becomes applicable when you are older; when you are mangled by a mutt as a kid, girls will mock you for 'having rabies'. Those were the years.

I have not run into a serious patch of trouble on the trail during my adult life, and I hope it stays that way. The only time I felt a bit uneasy around other hikers was in the summer of 2006, as I was hiking up a mountain in a provincial park in the BC interior. It was grizzly country (plenty of evidence of activity), and my hiking companion and I were carrying bear bells and making noise as we walked. As we rounded a bend near the treeline, we encountered two hikers who appeared to be descending. They were clearly Americans (judging by the stars-and-stripes clothing). We were surprised to bump into them, as they were not making any noise as they walked. As we approached, we noticed that they did not have any bear bells, and did not appear to be carrying any bear spray. Instead, one of them was open-carrying a large revolver in a holster on his hip. Firearms are not permitted in this park outside of hunting season, and pistols of this sort are strictly prohibited. As we passed the pair, the fellow with the gun caught me glancing at it, which he took as a cue to launch into a quick diatribe about how stupid our Canadian gun laws are. Now, I'm all for a discussion of that nature (heck, I like to shoot), but the combination of attitude, weapon, and setting was a bit bizarre. The undertone of his remarks was "what - you have a problem with this?". Quite a bit different from the usual pleasantries one exchanges when passing a fellow hiker on the trail. I didn't know if the pair had any experience hiking in grizzly country (the guy with the gun had a southern accent), so I politely mentioned that it's a good idea to make a bit of noise when walking, just to avoid an encounter. I offered to give the pair one of my extra bear bells. The fellow with the pistol scoffed at this, put his hand on his gun, and said that he 'could handle a bear with this'. Whatever. We wished them well and resumed our hike. The experience unnerved me a bit. I was not concerned that this jackass would deliberately start something - instead, I was concerned that, thanks to a combination of macho attitude and a lack of interest in precautionary measures, this guy might mistake someone (or someone's dog) for a bear and let a few rounds fly. We made sure to make a bit of extra noise on the way down the mountain. I don't like being on the same trail as someone who is willing to illegally open-carry, announce that fact to passers-by, and act macho.

Please don't take that last story as a commentary about Americans (though this guy was a terrible ambassador for your country!), or as a sweeping condemnation of hiking with firearms.

All the best,

- Mike

 

[stabman]

Firearms are not permitted in this park outside of hunting season, and pistols of this sort are strictly prohibited. As we passed the pair, the fellow with the gun caught me glancing at it, which he took as a cue to launch into a quick diatribe about how stupid our Canadian gun laws are. Now, I'm all for a discussion of that nature (heck, I like to shoot), but the combination of attitude, weapon, and setting was a bit bizarre. The undertone of his remarks was "what - you have a problem with this?".
- Mike

Whack em with a stick as you go by.
Good luck trying to shoot someone when you're unconscious.
If they ain't a cop and they're within reach and openly carrying like that, down they go. I'm not giving the whackos a chance to decide to shoot me because they think they're above the law.

 

[Guyon]

Whack em with a stick as you go by.
Good luck trying to shoot someone when you're unconscious.
If they ain't a cop and they're within reach and openly carrying like that, down they go. I'm not giving the whackos a chance to decide to shoot me because they think they're above the law.

I wouldn't advise whacking someone with a stick just because they have a firearm on them. Sounds like the start of a story for this thread...

"I was hiking one day with a friend, and we were about to pass a solo hiker who kept eyeing my sidearm suspiciously as he approached. The hairs on the back of my neck went up and sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed when the guy got within about five feet and raised his walking stick and took a swing at me. I managed to fend off his blow with my forearm, turned, and ran back up the trail while drawing my weapon. Since he came after me with the stick and obviously meant to do me harm, I..."

Best thing to do would be to make eye contact, be civil, stay in one spot while the armed hiker passes, and watch him till he's out of sight. Listen and watch to be sure he's not coming back. If he starts to draw, you can always make a mad dash into the brush, woods, etc. In other words, don't take a walking stick to a gun fight.

 

[Mentor]

I think Stabman was joking.

 

[stabman]

I wouldn't advise whacking someone with a stick just because they have a firearm on them. Sounds like the start of a story for this thread...

"I was hiking one day with a friend, and we were about to pass a solo hiker who kept eyeing my sidearm suspiciously as he approached. The hairs on the back of my neck went up and sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed when the guy got within about five feet and raised his walking stick and took a swing at me. I managed to fend off his blow with my forearm, turned, and ran back up the trail while drawing my weapon. Since he came after me with the stick and obviously meant to do me harm, I..."

Best thing to do would be to make eye contact, be civil, stay in one spot while the armed hiker passes, and watch him till he's out of sight. Listen and watch to be sure he's not coming back. If he starts to draw, you can always make a mad dash into the brush, woods, etc. In other words, don't take a walking stick to a gun fight.

It could go badly, or it could save my life. I wouldn't be obvious about eying the gun, or challenge them to a fight.
Think sucker punch but with a big stick.
Of course, this is only for a close-up situation when the gun is visible and a bad vibe is felt. If I'm at distance and see the gun and get a bad vibe, then it's time to run like hell and get the hell out of there.
Oh, and I've never had any bad experiences on the trail.

 

[Guyon]

It could go badly, or it could save my life. I wouldn't be obvious about eying the gun, or challenge them to a fight.
Think sucker punch but with a big stick.
Of course, this is only for a close-up situation when the gun is visible and a bad vibe is felt. If I'm at distance and see the gun and get a bad vibe, then it's time to run like hell and get the hell out of there.
Oh, and I've never had any bad experiences on the trail.

I don't think stabman is joking.

You hit an obviously armed person with a stick and mis-judge or mis-hit, thus failing to render him/her unconscious, you'd best have fast feet and a strong will to live.

I want to repeat my opinion for emphasis: Don't take a walking stick to a gun fight.

Edit: I agree that, in a pinch, you have to fight with everything you have at your disposal. However, I wouldn't start swinging with a stick until I saw the fellow trying to clear the pistol from its holster. A misinterpretation (aka "bad vibe") could just get you killed if the armed person really meant you no harm. Sucker punching someone just because he's armed could turn into a really bad idea fast.

 

[stabman]

I think Stabman was joking.

Partially.
You have to take each situation as it comes of course. In your case, it worked out that what you did was exactly the right thing; they were just blowhards.

 

[stabman]

I don't think stabman is joking.

It's a situation I've given a lot of thought to, what to do when you encounter someone with a firearm.
Like you said, in some cases playing it cool works well; it did for Mentor.
But sometimes a response is needed, and given what I have to work with(within the laws of our country), I think my other option is viable(in some instances).
I started thinking about how to deal with these situations after some hick farmer fired off his 12 gauge beside the window of the car the girl I was making out with was driving. We didn't know we were on someone's property, and the jerk response he had got me thinking about the real possibility of having to deal with some lunatic with a gun.

 

[stabman]

You hit an obviously armed person with a stick and mis-judge or mis-hit, thus failing to render him/her unconscious, you'd best have fast feet and a strong will to live.

Agreed.

 

[tonym]

Most dudes that intend to do you harm will not open carry. They will stalk and surprize you. Just because a man is carrying a firearm doesn't mean he is a threat.

I am with Guyon on this one bro, I'm not an advocate for attacking someone who has a holstered gun.... It can only end badly.

 

[dougo83]

Most dudes that intend to do you harm will not open carry. They will stalk and surprize you. Just because a man is carrying a firearm doesn't mean he is a threat.

I am with Guyon on this one bro, I'm not an advocate for attacking someone who has a holstered gun.... It can only end badly.

The one thing negelected in Mentor's story is the carry status of the other hiker. What if you crack the open carry feller on the head and his buddy is CC'ing and decides to ventilate your carcass? Hitting with a stick is a bad plan...

 

[ROCK6]

A few occasions...

My dad and I ran into poachers late on night. It was way up the Naches valley in WA. It was the day before opening season...we arrived late and were literally hiking the trail in the dark in a down-pour. We were almost run over by two guys on horse...both had pack horses with deer on the back. My dad and I dove into the bushes to avoid being run over and stayed there in the pouring rain for about 15-20 minutes...I was 16 and scare poop-less! They took off and we went on to make camp about a mile or two down the trail.

I ran into two mountain lions...two separate occasions while hunting near Ellensburg, WA. One spooked the crap out of me the other almost ran into me and we were both pretty shook up I will say that of all the animals other than brown bear/grizzly, I have the most "respect" for the large cats.

My cousin and I ran into some amateur pot-growers hiking up near the Canadian border in WA...we were all kind of surprised and I was quite leery; nothing came of it. I was packing my brand new Sig P228 and my cousin had his 1911A1 .45; we were cordial and moved on quickly but kept an eye over our shoulder.

I had an interesting adventure down in Ecuador when I was on a 6 month mission. We only “locked and loaded” when we went on helo-patrols of the DMZ between Ecuador and Peru. Well, typically on Sunday, I took the afternoon off and would go hiking down to a small waterfall/swimming hole. I did a little exploring but nothing more than a few miles from the compound. On one of my little hikes I ran into two Ecuadorian conscript soldiers hunting…they just had a single shot shotgun between the two of them. We kind of ran into each other on a trail and startled each other. It only took a few minutes before they realized I was one of the American Soldiers and they relaxed, but my pucker factor was pretty high (I wasn’t armed). We stumbled through a little spanglish and I shared some of the food I brought along from out dining facility. All went well, but at the time, there was a lot of tension between Ecuador and Peru.

Our first family scare was up on Panther Creek trail, GA. It was our first family backpacking trip and that night there was a bunch of ruckus...loud yelling followed by several shots. We were off the trail always, but me and my P-12.45 sat by the fire for the next several hours. I was actually a little spooked and worried as my son was only 5 and my daughter was 9. This is one of the main reasons my wife now packs here own pistol.

Just last spring up at Colorado Bend, TX...we were hiking up a creek trail and were attacked by about a dozen little wild piggies!!!! Momma sow took off and the pigs scattered right into us. It about made me crap my pants at first, but comical afterwards. If they had been bigger, I would have had some scuffed shins

Fortunately no "Deliverance" stories...but I'm always prepared because I refuse to "squeal like a pig" for anybody

ROCK6

 

[stabman]

The one thing negelected in Mentor's story is the carry status of the other hiker. What if you crack the open carry feller on the head and his buddy is CC'ing and decides to ventilate your carcass? Hitting with a stick is a bad plan...

For me it's all hypothetical.
I've never had to whack anyone in the head with a big stick. Hope I never have to.
It's all just supposition of what I might do in certain situations I hope to never encounter.
I'd probably end up doing something I can't even think of right now. Real life situations are chaotic, so who knows in advance what the correct course of action will be in the moment?
I don't.
Not for certain.