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AllTheWayToMordor
10-25-2012, 11:54
I was talking to an east coaster (I live in CO) the other day and her first response to me saying I was going to hike the AT was "Whoa, you better bring a gun."

Have you guys had any uncomfortable, scary or dangerous encounters with other people on the trail or in towns?

Majortrauma
10-25-2012, 11:56
Oh no, not this again.

Hosaphone
10-25-2012, 12:02
It would be too much of a headache to learn the laws and get appropriate licenses for each state anyways. If you're concerned bring pepper spray (though you'll actually need a license for that in MA...).

I wouldn't be too concerned, though. I think statistically the trail is pretty darn safe.

Moose2001
10-25-2012, 12:05
most common, uninformed reaction of people who have no clue about what the AT is. Isn't that the number one question on the Tshirt?

AllTheWayToMordor
10-25-2012, 12:05
Just for clarification, I am NOT going to bring a gun.

Tipi Walter
10-25-2012, 12:05
I was talking to an east coaster (I live in CO) the other day and her first response to me saying I was going to hike the AT was "Whoa, you better bring a gun."

Have you guys had any uncomfortable, scary or dangerous encounters with other people on the trail or in towns?

Your post question reminds me of a trail journal entry on my last backpacking trip. It's an interview with a series of questions to Jackie and Jeremy Blowhole, Backpacking Experts. Here's one of the questions---


** I hate camping next to other people. Any suggestions?

J&J: We hate people too. It takes a bonobo to know a bonobo and so there are ways we have found to keep people away and to get them scattered. We hike with an adult monitor lizard and at 10 feet long and over 300 lbs it will bite anyone camping nearby and often drag them into our camp for later feeding. Even the people who get away usually fester and die a couple weeks later so it all works out in the end. If you want to be alone it's not all that hard. Here's another nifty technique: Take a dump on the ground at every campsite and leave it there along with stained toilet paper. With enough ex-lax me and Jackie can dump several loads around all the adjacent campsites and clear a swath for just us. Solitude is important.

Here's one more spoof on the whole subject---

** Do you guys carry guns in the backcountry?

J&J: Jackie humps a full auto M-60 and a thumper M-79 and I carry a 60mm mortar with baseplate along with a Glock .40 caliber handgun. The mortar works well in clearing any trail ahead of snakes and yellow jackets and Jackie uses the M-60 to do trailwork on brush and briars. Plus, we usually get the best spots in the trail shelters as people scatter when we arrive. Sometimes we even shoot up the shelters to get hikers to leave. One time in Vermont we ran into a tie-dyed hippie at a trail shelter who told us we were crazy but we made him dance with rounds in the ground by his feet. I told him it's our god-given American right to hike armed and eventually he agreed. Jackie tells a wonderful story of the time we bracketed Trail Days in Damascus with mortar rounds but that's a tale for another time.

By making light of your question I'm trying to say "you don't need a gun on the AT". It's just dead weight. I hope the ultralighters chime in to agree. They hate carrying unnecessary stuff.

Blissful
10-25-2012, 12:16
I blog (http://www.blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/2011/08/hiking-and-safety.html) on safety including some stories of what happened to me. Also if you look under the category of Safety, I also discuss car vandalism (http://blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/2012/04/crimes-on-trail-part-1-cars-vandalized.html), gear protection (http://blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/2012/05/crimes-on-trail-part-2-safeguarding.html), along with wildlife (http://blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/search/label/Bears) and hunting (http://blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-safety-during-hunting-season.html). Just makes it easier to point to my hiking blog then try to write it all up here. :)

hikerboy57
10-25-2012, 12:17
ticks are a much bigger threat than humans.

WingedMonkey
10-25-2012, 12:20
At least two hikers drowned on the AT last year. Promise your well meaning "friends" that you won't go swimming on the AT.

Hosaphone
10-25-2012, 12:22
I hope the ultralighters chime in to agree. They hate carrying unnecessary stuff.

For the ULers:

http://pic40.picturetrail.com/VOL265/11349613/20106353/386843768.jpg

Lone Wolf
10-25-2012, 12:22
Have you guys had any uncomfortable, scary or dangerous encounters with other people on the trail or in towns?

yes, a few iffy situations on the trail and a serious threat here in town. my new toy
http://ruger.com/products/lcrDE/models.html

Tipi Walter
10-25-2012, 12:24
I blog (http://www.blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/2011/08/hiking-and-safety.html) on safety including some stories of what happened to me. Also if you look under the category of Safety, I also discuss car vandalism (http://blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/2012/04/crimes-on-trail-part-1-cars-vandalized.html), gear protection (http://blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/2012/05/crimes-on-trail-part-2-safeguarding.html), along with wildlife (http://blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/search/label/Bears) and hunting (http://blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-safety-during-hunting-season.html). Just makes it easier to point to my hiking blog then try to write it all up here. :)

Thanks for the link, I'll copy pertinent pages and read on my next trip (can't seem to get any in-depth reading here at home). I have one picture to share on car vandalism which greeted me on the way out during a recent trip. Welcome to the Cherokee NF.

http://assets.trailspace.com/assets/a/a/f/748207/TRIP-129-279.jpg

hikerboy57
10-25-2012, 12:25
For the ULers:

http://pic40.picturetrail.com/VOL265/11349613/20106353/386843768.jpg

bet you cant hit a tick from 20 yards

max patch
10-25-2012, 12:26
Have you guys had any uncomfortable, scary or dangerous encounters with other people on the trail or in towns?

Once; I got a hitch from Gettysburg back to the trail from the worst driver in the world. I terminated the trip well short of the trail.

Re guns, I question the masculinity of anyone who feels the need to carry on the trail.

Hosaphone
10-25-2012, 12:31
bet you cant hit a tick for 20 yards

Those little buggers are certainly by far the most dangerous thing out there (well, cold wet weather is high on the list too). I tell people that all the time - forget bears and coyotes...

Tipi Walter
10-25-2012, 12:42
Those little buggers are certainly by far the most dangerous thing out there (well, cold wet weather is high on the list too). I tell people that all the time - forget bears and coyotes...

On my last trip I was camping on an open bald at 5,300 feet and around 3am a hellish lightning storm pounced and make me a believer. It started with one long loud, very loud, crash and rumble and the weird sensation of imminent death passed thru my peanut sized brain. Other than old age, heart attack or stroke, I consider lightning strikes, falling trees or tree limbs and rattlesnakes the most life threatening stuff in the woods, at least for me.

Other people? Heck, most sickos won't get much further than a quarter mile from their cars or the parking lot, if that.

Feral Bill
10-25-2012, 12:48
yes, a few iffy situations on the trail and a serious threat here in town. my new toy
http://ruger.com/products/lcrDE/models.html With the pink grips?

Mags
10-25-2012, 13:19
I think your Colorado friends had too many Coors and/or watch Deliverance a few too many times. :)

Reminds me of my Mom asking me if people use horses to get around in Boulder not long after I moved out there. I sh** you not.

It ain't Deliverance down south on the AT. This ain't the Widlwest in Golden.

fredmugs
10-25-2012, 13:39
It ain't Deliverance down south on the AT. This ain't the Widlwest in Golden.

Do you know that the banjo scene was shot really close to the AT and those weren't actors?

turtle fast
10-25-2012, 13:57
Plainly the guy did not know what he was talking about. You have more to worry about driving on the streets of Golden Colorado than while hiking the AT. A firearm is completely unnecessary on the trail its just dead weight that I would rather trade off to have something I may need like extra Snickers bars....and this is from a NRA Life Member.

gizzy bear
10-25-2012, 14:02
from your profile info, you are a 23 yo female....are you planning on hiking the AT alone?? what is your hiking background? just curious....

Cookerhiker
10-25-2012, 14:19
Oh no, not this again.

+1 to this.


To the OP - I suggest researching and/or inquiring about prevention of ticks and their attendant diseases (e.g. Lyme) - they're of far greater concern.

Mags
10-25-2012, 14:19
Do you know that the banjo scene was shot really close to the AT and those weren't actors?


..and did you know that it was shot 40 yrs ago?

WHat's next, you are going to bring up GRAPES OF WRATH to show how Oklahoma and California is?
How about THE GODFATHER to show current Italian-American culture?
I know! I know! You are going to show FIDDLER ON THE ROOF to show the modern Russian-Jewish experience!

Any other stereotypes you'd like to illustrate through old movies? :)

max patch
10-25-2012, 14:23
Any other stereotypes you'd like to illustrate through old movies? :)

Gone With the Wind.

atmilkman
10-25-2012, 14:24
Any other stereotypes you'd like to illustrate through old movies? :)
Yeah. Reefer Madness 1936, to show how rampant pot smoking is on the trail and the ill effects of it.

kayak karl
10-25-2012, 14:30
Have you guys had any uncomfortable, scary or dangerous encounters with other people on the trail or in towns?
quite the opposite. i have had some uncomfortable encounters with well dress, yuppie, preppie people. theys smelt funny too.

gizzy bear
10-25-2012, 14:32
..and did you know that it was shot 40 yrs ago?

WHat's next, you are going to bring up GRAPES OF WRATH to show how Oklahoma and California is?
How about THE GODFATHER to show current Italian-American culture?
I know! I know! You are going to show FIDDLER ON THE ROOF to show the modern Russian-Jewish experience!

Any other stereotypes you'd like to illustrate through old movies? :)

i always thought all pigs could talk & were very nice...after seeing charlotte's web

Namaste
10-25-2012, 14:32
No. Lucky for me I've never had any encountered any problems with people on the trail except for the irresponsible woman who insisted her unleashed dog charging me was friendly just before it planted its teeth into my calf. I sure hope the AT never becomes a place where a gear list will include a firearm.

AllTheWayToMordor
10-25-2012, 14:40
from your profile info, you are a 23 yo female....are you planning on hiking the AT alone?? what is your hiking background? just curious....

Male actually... Not planning on hiking alone, but alone time happens. And hiking background is pretty strong, I'm a geologist, so I hike for a living.

Sman
10-25-2012, 14:58
The trail seem safer than most places now days; sad to say, ie. movies.......................

turtle fast
10-25-2012, 15:02
No grizzleys to need a firearm for or rebels from some leftest third world insurgent army that has not told their members that communism is dead. The AT is classic mountain orogeny and many cuts and slumps that would excite a geologist. (I was a geophysics major for awhile)

Feral Bill
10-25-2012, 15:29
Male actually... Not planning on hiking alone, but alone time happens. And hiking background is pretty strong, I'm a geologist, so I hike for a living. Do you add a gun to your equipment load while working now?

leaftye
10-25-2012, 15:35
Chances are your friend has lived a sheltered life and is the type to blatantly ignore the homeless, crosses the street to avoid black people, and has little to no backpacking experience.

gizzy bear
10-25-2012, 15:40
Male actually... Not planning on hiking alone, but alone time happens. And hiking background is pretty strong, I'm a geologist, so I hike for a living.

sorry...i was mistaken...and if you have that kind of background...maybe you should be answering questions and we should be asking ;) have fun!!!

Pedaling Fool
10-25-2012, 15:50
+1 to this.


To the OP - I suggest researching and/or inquiring about prevention of ticks and their attendant diseases (e.g. Lyme) - they're of far greater concern.I'm also sick of gun threads. Can't we all just get along and talk about global warming:eek::D;)

Don H
10-25-2012, 16:00
Nope, I like guns!
Wolf, what are you gonna do with that little pop gun? Trade it in for a 1911 45ACP.

T-Rx
10-25-2012, 16:17
Yeah. Reefer Madness 1936, to show how rampant pot smoking is on the trail and the ill effects of it.

I was always told pot smoking effects your short term memo...? S*** what was I saying???:)

AllTheWayToMordor
10-25-2012, 16:27
Do you add a gun to your equipment load while working now?

... Actually, yes. I work in Colombia and have had armed guards follow me around. It was awkward. Also heard many stories of people working in Alaska carrying guns.

But I didn't want to turn this into a gun thread, I was just curious about some stories you guys may have.

gizzy bear
10-25-2012, 16:38
... Actually, yes. I work in Colombia and have had armed guards follow me around. It was awkward. Also heard many stories of people working in Alaska carrying guns.

But I didn't want to turn this into a gun thread, I was just curious about some stories you guys may have.

your curiosity is valid...those that are uninterested in gun threads can simply pass by your thread ...pretty simple.

hikerboy57
10-25-2012, 16:41
... Actually, yes. I work in Colombia and have had armed guards follow me around. It was awkward. Also heard many stories of people working in Alaska carrying guns.

But I didn't want to turn this into a gun thread, I was just curious about some stories you guys may have.

well you'll meet all kinds of people on the trail, mostly good people.as far a sthe gun thiing, i dont remember hearing or reading about anyone who carried a gun and felt that it actually helped prevent them from an attack(at least not on the at), but i may be wrong.

Feral Bill
10-25-2012, 16:44
Straight answer to the original poster: No, not "wish I was packing" uncomfortable. I am, however, 6'3" and pretty oblivious.

rickb
10-25-2012, 17:25
... Actually, yes. I work in Colombia and have had armed guards follow me around. It was awkward. Also heard many stories of people working in Alaska carrying guns.

But I didn't want to turn this into a gun thread, I was just curious about some stories you guys may have.

I stated my thru a couple weeks after spending 2 years teaching ESL in Bogota. I felt safe both places.

But statistics matter.

On the AT five thru hikers ( yes, thu hikers) and 1 long distance section hiker have been murdered.

If that number of thru hikers had perished from any other common cause, the discussion would be about how to manage the particular risk-- rather than to deny it.

Lone Wolf
10-25-2012, 17:56
Wolf, what are you gonna do with that little pop gun? Trade it in for a 1911 45ACP.

nah. it conceals real well. i can do a lotta damage up close

HikerMom58
10-25-2012, 18:16
I bet the reason no one can tell you stories about carrying is b/c that was their best kept secret. ;) I doubt they ever "needed" it on the AT but who really knows... no one.

Lone Wolf
10-25-2012, 19:07
I bet the reason no one can tell you stories about carrying is b/c that was their best kept secret. ;) I doubt they ever "needed" it on the AT but who really knows... no one.

filters, bear spray, walkin' sticks, cell phones aren't "needed" either but who really knows...

Tinker
10-25-2012, 19:09
Anyone have any info on ultralight hand grenades?? :D:D

Tipi Walter
10-25-2012, 19:21
Anyone have any info on ultralight hand grenades?? :D:D

Is there a "right to carry" for hand grenades?

SassyWindsor
10-25-2012, 19:25
Not to get too technical, but to give friendly advice. It takes a balance between stopping power and weight of a gun. If you follow the "Hatcher" or the "one shot stops" protocol you'll see that the range of stopping power varies widely from a 22 to a 44 mag wad cutter. Ammo design is very critical in selection, you can double your rating within one caliber by selecting the right round. I choose to carry a Federal .380 round 90 gr JHP hydra-shok, the CorBon 90 grain JHP has about the same rating, but a little harder to obtain. I feel this has the best weight to stopping power for me while hiking, these rounds are at the very top in stopping power ratings for the .380. No one should fool with carrying a handgun unless they are very well experienced in the use of it. I never disclose, display or even talk about having one while hiking among strangers, but I'm alway on alert.

hobby
10-25-2012, 19:58
I think your Colorado friends had too many Coors and/or watch Deliverance a few too many times. :)

Reminds me of my Mom asking me if people use horses to get around in Boulder not long after I moved out there. I sh**

It ain't Deliverance down south on the AT. This ain't the Widlwest in Golden.

Does this trail
go to'Aintry'?

Rasty
10-25-2012, 20:11
Anyone have any info on ultralight hand grenades?? :D:D

Is there a "right to carry" for hand grenades?

Unfortunately no! They are good for fishing!

Train Wreck
10-25-2012, 20:13
Unfortunately no! They are good for fishing!

and Monty Python skits :D

Hosaphone
10-25-2012, 22:01
Not to get too technical, but to give friendly advice. It takes a balance between stopping power and weight of a gun. If you follow the "Hatcher" or the "one shot stops" protocol you'll see that the range of stopping power varies widely from a 22 to a 44 mag wad cutter. Ammo design is very critical in selection, you can double your rating within one caliber by selecting the right round. I choose to carry a Federal .380 round 90 gr JHP hydra-shok, the CorBon 90 grain JHP has about the same rating, but a little harder to obtain. I feel this has the best weight to stopping power for me while hiking, these rounds are at the very top in stopping power ratings for the .380. No one should fool with carrying a handgun unless they are very well experienced in the use of it. I never disclose, display or even talk about having one while hiking among strangers, but I'm alway on alert.

This isn't a gun forum, but... There is no such thing as "stopping power" when discussing handguns. When you shoot someone with a handgun, one of three things happens:

1) They say "Ow, please don't shoot me again!" and cease their hostilities
2) They ignore it and carry on with whatever they were doing
3) You hit something important and their body stops working

This isn't the movies. People don't get knocked into the air when they get shot by a 9mm. When the adrenaline is going, they might not even notice that they were hit until they see blood on their shirt... Only 1/7 people shot with a handgun dies from their wound.

Unlike rifle rounds which often create a large cavity and destroy stuff as they pass through, bullets fired from a handgun do damage only via their permanent wound channel. This means you need to hit something important if you are trying to stop a determined or drugged up attacker. Power is important because handguns are pitifully weak and you need to be worried about having enough penetration to actually get the job done should you hit something important. Really all a hollow point does for you is expand and make a bigger hole. Of course bigger hole = better chance of hitting something useful assuming the bullet still has adequate penetration and you can handle the recoil.

Just fwiw. Maybe the louder bang and bigger muzzle flash of a more powerful round will increase the chances of getting a "psychological stop", but it's not really going to do a better job of causing a "physical stop" - you still need to hit something important or be stuck waiting around for 5 minutes for the guy to bleed out while he stabs you to death.

Alligator
10-25-2012, 22:06
This isn't a gun thread, please don't turn it into one. The question is
...

Have you guys had any uncomfortable, scary or dangerous encounters with other people on the trail or in towns?Any further attempts to make it into a gun thread will be deleted.

Thanks.

Hosaphone
10-25-2012, 22:11
This isn't a gun thread, please don't turn it into one. The question isAny further attempts to make it into a gun thread will be deleted.

Thanks.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. I thought I might clear up some misconceptions some people may have.



Have you guys had any uncomfortable, scary or dangerous encounters with other people on the trail or in towns?

Yes, one time I stumbled upon a bunch of naked old guys laying out in the sun a little ways off the main trail. This made me uncomfortable, so I left.

SassyWindsor
10-25-2012, 22:13
This isn't a gun thread, please don't turn it into one. The question isAny further attempts to make it into a gun thread will be deleted.

Thanks.

Sorry, I mis-posted in this thread (post#48). I immediately reposted into the thread "Guns". I could not delete this post, if you can, then it's OK with me.

McPick
10-25-2012, 23:19
Do you know that the banjo scene was shot really close to the AT and those weren't actors?



Trail angels?

OldStormcrow
10-26-2012, 11:34
For the ULers:

http://pic40.picturetrail.com/VOL265/11349613/20106353/386843768.jpg
A while back I decided to "lighten up" and try to carry one of those wee derringers instead of my trusty .357 revolver. One evening while sitting on the rock overlooking Pearisburg and drinking my evening Irish whiskey, I decided to pull the wee gun out and play with it a bit. When I looked at the bullets I noticed that both of them had holes worn in the primers where the firing pin had been bouncing against it as I hiked. That simply scared the pee out of me. I kept the bullets out of it the rest of the trip and traded it at a gun show when I got home. This is a common problem with almost every derringer made. By the way, in the photo you are holding the gun pointed towards yourself.....bad practice.....almost as bad as drinking Irish whiskey and playing with your weapon/gun.

Hosaphone
10-26-2012, 12:34
A while back I decided to "lighten up" and try to carry one of those wee derringers instead of my trusty .357 revolver. One evening while sitting on the rock overlooking Pearisburg and drinking my evening Irish whiskey, I decided to pull the wee gun out and play with it a bit. When I looked at the bullets I noticed that both of them had holes worn in the primers where the firing pin had been bouncing against it as I hiked. That simply scared the pee out of me. I kept the bullets out of it the rest of the trip and traded it at a gun show when I got home. This is a common problem with almost every derringer made. By the way, in the photo you are holding the gun pointed towards yourself.....bad practice.....almost as bad as drinking Irish whiskey and playing with your weapon/gun.

With the hammer cocked back and ready to fire, no less! It isn't actually my picture, I just did a google search and found it.

Good tip about the firing pin, I had no idea that would happen or was a problem.

bamboo bob
10-26-2012, 12:45
I got a hitch from two stoners in Maine. That was scary.

Train Wreck
10-26-2012, 13:50
We were on a short section hike, I forget where, in the mid-1990's, and got spooked by all the thru hikers who were talking about the infamous Ward Leonard, who was on the trail somewhere behind us. Apparently his MO was to arrive at a shelter, and depending on his mood, start in on any hapless hiker unlucky enough to be in range, and criticize his gear, food, and whatnot. Can you imagine anyone doing that :rolleyes:
Sure enough, near dusk, he came striding out of the woods with his tiny pack. He didn't spare us a glance, though, just keep right on going without breaking stride. Maybe he never bothered with lowly weekenders ;). Kind of a letdown actually, after all the tales we'd been hearing!

RED-DOG
10-26-2012, 14:08
Nah Ward Leonard was just a homeless guy with Mental Problems, but to answer the op Question if you need a gun to feel safe on the AT you don't need to be out their at all.

Slo-go'en
10-26-2012, 15:14
I got a hitch from two stoners in Maine. That was scary.

Less scary then getting a ride with a car load of drunks in NC! (or anywhere else for that matter!)

Slo-go'en
10-26-2012, 15:17
Nah Ward Leonard was just a homeless guy with Mental Problems, but to answer the op Question if you need a gun to feel safe on the AT you don't need to be out their at all.

Ward leonard wasn't exactly homeless and he had a sizable trust fund to tap into. Although he did have personality issues.

rainmaker
10-26-2012, 23:15
As a section hiker it took me ten years to complete my hike. In all those ten years we only experienced two or three times when our radars went off and since I'm writing this obviously nothing happened though I do remember telling my wife to keep walking, just keep walking. Then last year I made it to New England for my final hike and learned the true meaning of trail danger, BOG BRIDGES, particularly bog bridges in Maine after a rain or a morning with heavy dew. No matter how careful you try to be and lightly you try to walk, you will encounter a slick patch at roughly the moment you are convinced you made it. Though they may be necessary, bog bridges are evil. Beware of them at all times. Other than that, the AT is a piece of cake.

Wise Old Owl
10-26-2012, 23:24
Nah Ward Leonard was just a homeless guy with Mental Problems, but to answer the op Question if you need a gun to feel safe on the AT you don't need to be out their at all.

you just described a large group who end up in prison eventually, or in a ward... Yes I too have had a few "scary situations" on the trail - NY gangs, who stole the groups gear in the middle of the night.


one does not need a gun for the AT.

-SEEKER-
10-27-2012, 19:42
Have you guys had any uncomfortable, scary or dangerous encounters with other people on the trail or in towns?[/QUOTE]

I have been doing long sections for the past five years. I am a female who hikes alone. The year started in MD and hiked to NJ I ran into a scary guy. My first night on the trail that year I stayed in a shelter. This guy looked a bit like Grizzy Adams, if you know who that is. Checked shirt blue jeans and boots. He had a whiffle baseball bat, three flutes and a pot with a potato in it that he kept on the campfire. He decided to be my friend and asked me if I wanted a swig from his bottle of Vodka. He told me he had been staying at the shelter (which is near a road) for 5 days because his digestive system was upset from eating several different kinds of mushrooms. He also kept talking about a guy named Andy who kept giving him stuff. The creepy part was when he told me his favorite movie was about sacrificing people. He said "it's like if I told you that if you can make it to that tree before I do I will let you live". I'll never forget those words. I asked him what his intentions were and he asked me if I was headed north. When I said yes he sail"well I'll see you on the trail tomorrow". Well that thrilled me to death. As it turns out I saw him five more times between PA and NJ. A ridge runner passed me the next day and I told him about my experience. He took down my info and said he would pass my story along. He also gave me his cell number. I talked to other hikers who were creeped out by him but they didn't say anything to anyone. Each time I ran into him he had something new, a pink water bottle, a knife etc. I stopped for lunch at one shelter and he showed up. Another man was there and warned me not to stay there if this guy did. He said something wasn't right about him. Later I hooked up for a while with another lady who had been forced to spend the night with him as she wasn't feeling well. When she woke up the next morning he had taken her knife and when confronted he returned it to her. At Pine Grove State Forest a Ranger was waiting for me and asked me to share my story with him firsthand. After doing so he went inside the store and told them to call him if this guy showed up. Well, he did. The Ranger came and long story short told him to hit the road, that he was scaring hikers and he wanted him out of PA. When I got to The Mayor's House in NY word had already spread.

Wise Old Owl
10-27-2012, 21:12
Hmm four pages... folks distance is your best safety....

Alligator
10-27-2012, 22:07
Quit hijacking the thread folks.

SassyWindsor
10-27-2012, 22:51
................Have you guys had any uncomfortable, scary or dangerous encounters with other people on the trail or in towns?


I've met plenty of creepy, scary, disgusting degenerates on the trail. I just don't describe them here in detail. Might step on some toes.:D

bubonicplay
10-29-2012, 23:01
Carry a knife closely. That's my advice, very handy tool.