Confrontations and bad company

[whitefoot_hp]

Ive been thinking, and have heard differing opinions on this topic. What is one chances of being accosted, possibly robbed, by an armed/ semi armed individual on the trail? or in gneral, encountering some "bad company'?

[The Solemates]

Ive been thinking, and have heard differing opinions on this topic. What is one chances of being accosted, possibly robbed, by an armed/ semi armed individual on the trail? or in gneral, encountering some "bad company'?

a lot less likely than in any city in america

[Newb]

Does hiker smell count as being "accosted"?

[Bloodroot]

Only places that I would have a concern would be some of the shelters near the gaps. The local yocals like to come up and party. Very, very unlikely you would encounter any trouble anywhere.

[MOWGLI]

Don't camp near road crossings. Especially on Friday & Saturday nights. You'll be fine!

If you get a bad vibe from somebody, just move on along the trail. In other words, use your head. Chances are you can out hike just about any thug.

[Bloodroot]

Ive been thinking, and have heard differing opinions on this topic. What is one chances of being accosted, possibly robbed, by an armed/ semi armed individual on the trail? or in gneral, encountering some "bad company'?

Come to think of it, I was robbed of some food and some of my bear-bag fabric within a few weeks on the trail. Must have followed me the rest of the way because I had several instances where this happened. Never did catch the perp. Anyone else have any similar crimes committed against them?

[Alligator]

Come to think of it, I was robbed of some food and some of my bear-bag fabric within a few weeks on the trail. Must have followed me the rest of the way because I had several instances where this happened. Never did catch the perp. Anyone else have any similar crimes committed against them?

Yeah. Some nut-jobber ripped out a half-dollar sized hole in the bottom of my top lid.

[sliderule]

What is one chances of being accosted, possibly robbed, by an armed/ semi armed individual on the trail?

Semi armed? That must be a tactic in the ultralight crime community.

[Disney]

Yeah. Some nut-jobber ripped out a half-dollar sized hole in the bottom of my top lid.

See that's why some hikers get a bad name. I met the same guy, took all the m&m's out of my gorp and left a little something of his own behind.

[Bloodroot]

See that's why some hikers get a bad name. I met the same guy, took all the m&m's out of my gorp and left a little something of his own behind.

LOL...yeah smaller chocolate M&M's.

[LeeF]

You believe in recycling don’t you? He just did it immediately!

[Blue Jay]

Only places that I would have a concern would be some of the shelters near the gaps. The local yocals like to come up and party. Very, very unlikely you would encounter any trouble anywhere.

Plus they always bring beer and share it freely.

[doggiebag]

My mom used to warn me about falling in with bad company. Untill she realized that I was the bad company. She was then pretty embarassed when she had to warn the other kids about falling in with me.

[ASUGrad]

It's easier to drive to the Hardees and start trouble. Walking a mile to a shelter is a pain. Plus the trail is so crowded now, there are too many witnesses. And there is one certainty in life. Every hiker carries a knife. The last thing a redneck wants is to have a 60 year-old woman cut him in front of his buddies.

Face it, iceholes are not going to walk 300 miles just to be a PITA. They can do that in an elevator at the mall.

[Miss Janet]

I have always felt that the trail is generally safe. If my girls said they were going to spend a week, alone, in Atlanta or New York or even Knoxville... I would be very afraid. If they wanted to go hike for a week I wouldn't worry about them being accosted by an armed robber or a knife weilding crack head.

But I am curious about something. When these threads are being discussed there are always warnings to stay away from shelters close to roads because of the local yokels that always party there. In all the years that I have lived near the trail... even in high school when I WAS a LOCAL YOKEL... I have never heard about a party at a shelter by anyone other than hikers.

How many of you have actually seen this happen and where did it happen? I agree that there are often many reasons to not stay at shelter or campsite close to roads but is this mostly trail Urban Legend stuff or is it a REAL problem?

[hammock engineer]

a lot less likely than in any city in america

I agree with you on this one. My walk to my car just off campus in Cincinnati is way more dangerous than anything I will run into on the trail. The trick is to leave in the early afternoon while there is still a lot of other students around. The real crazies do not come out until 7 or 8pm. In Cincinnati there are usually around 80+ murders and countless robberies every year, compared when single digits on and around the trail over the last 20+ years.

[whitefoot_hp]

I have always felt that the trail is generally safe. If my girls said they were going to spend a week, alone, in Atlanta or New York or even Knoxville... I would be very afraid. If they wanted to go hike for a week I wouldn't worry about them being accosted by an armed robber or a knife weilding crack head.

But I am curious about something. When these threads are being discussed there are always warnings to stay away from shelters close to roads because of the local yokels that always party there. In all the years that I have lived near the trail... even in high school when I WAS a LOCAL YOKEL... I have never heard about a party at a shelter by anyone other than hikers.

How many of you have actually seen this happen and where did it happen? I agree that there are often many reasons to not stay at shelter or campsite close to roads but is this mostly trail Urban Legend stuff or is it a REAL problem?

yeah i hear you. i was a local yokel in high school and we live in north georgia. there are way too many more conveinent spots to camp at and party that you can drive right up to than shelters.

[Alligator]

I have always felt that the trail is generally safe. If my girls said they were going to spend a week, alone, in Atlanta or New York or even Knoxville... I would be very afraid. If they wanted to go hike for a week I wouldn't worry about them being accosted by an armed robber or a knife weilding crack head.

But I am curious about something. When these threads are being discussed there are always warnings to stay away from shelters close to roads because of the local yokels that always party there. In all the years that I have lived near the trail... even in high school when I WAS a LOCAL YOKEL... I have never heard about a party at a shelter by anyone other than hikers.

How many of you have actually seen this happen and where did it happen? I agree that there are often many reasons to not stay at shelter or campsite close to roads but is this mostly trail Urban Legend stuff or is it a REAL problem?

I made the decision one late winter afternoon to camp at a road crossing because I didn't want to hike in the dark to the next shelter. The road was I think on NF land and was within 75 miles or so of Damscus in VA. I made camp about 100 yards from the road or so and had some evergreen bushes for cover.

Around 9 or 10, some guys in a pickup showed up and ran their coon dogs up and down the valley. This went on for about 2 hours.

After drifting off to sleep, I was woken to the sound of car doors slamming. It was after midnight. They partied on the side of the road for about an hour to an hour and 1/2. Then drove off. They left a bit of trash too. There was a can there and other older trash, it looked to be a common hang out point.

[whitefoot_hp]

sounds horrible!

[Alligator]

Indeed. The next shelter had been empty that night too .