Camping...In this Crazy World You Just Never Know Anymore

Not afraid to admit that I sleep more soundly when I'm armed when out camping by myself in a random pull-out. This despite knowing that 1) the odds of anyone creeping up on you while camping are indistinguishable from zero and 2) successfully defending yourself when ambushed in your sleep aren't all that much better.
 
that's fucked up....nice to read right before heading out to go camping for the weekend...although, I won't be "out in the sticks"...
 
JayB said:
Not afraid to admit that I sleep more soundly when I'm armed when out camping by myself in a random pull-out. This despite knowing that 1) the odds of anyone creeping up on you while camping are indistinguishable from zero and 2) successfully defending yourself when ambushed in your sleep aren't all that much better.
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You are correct. It's about the same odds as a stray bullet coming through your house and hitting you in the back of the skull while watching your favorite TV show.
Life is short, get out and do it.
 
krusty said:
As long as my flyfishing doesn't require a walk in downtown Spokane at night I'm good to go!
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yeah, that is my thought. I grew up playing in the woods and have always lived in small towns. I do not get scared camping or when doing field work in areas with bears, but am always kind of nervous walking around some parts of Spokane, Seattle, San Fran, ........
 
I’ve only wished I was armed once in my life…

After driving off the grid for sometime I came across a campsite littered with empty beer cans and whiskey bottles, a pair of legs sticking out of a beat up tent, and a sketchy looking dude with a handgun in his hand shooting at empty bottles…he motioned me with his hand to come over; I pretended not to hear him, waved and kept going, getting ready to stomp on the skinny pedal…
 
Brute said:
I’ve only wished I was armed once in my life…

After driving off the grid for sometime I came across a campsite littered with empty beer cans and whiskey bottles, a pair of legs sticking out of a beat up tent, and a sketchy looking dude with a handgun in his hand shooting at empty bottles…he motioned me with his hand to come over; I pretended not to hear him, waved and kept going, getting ready to stomp on the skinny pedal…
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Sometimes....situational awareness is rather low hanging fruit.
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There are wackos everywhere.

Just based on population distribution and statistics, I figure it's waaaay more likely that one will break into my soft suburban home, or road-rage run me off the highway than that I will encounter one in a low population fishing/camping spot.
That attack in MT is horrifying, but probably less likely (assuming it was not someone he knew) than having a tree fall on his tent.
 
Northern said:
There are wackos everywhere.

Just based on population distribution and statistics, I figure it's waaaay more likely that one will break into my soft suburban home, or road-rage run me off the highway than that I will encounter one in a low population fishing/camping spot.
That attack in MT is horrifying, but probably less likely (assuming it was not someone he knew) than having a tree fall on his tent.
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Indeed...little doubt simply engaging in vehicle travel accounts for an astronomically higher percentage of deaths.

I've personally known scads of people killed in such accidents...including my father, but have only known three murder victims (assailants strangers) all of which occurred in suburbia.
 
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Peyton00 said:
You are correct. It's about the same odds as a stray bullet coming through your house and hitting you in the back of the skull while watching your favorite TV show.
Life is short, get out and do it.
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Agree. Could just be a personal quirk of mine, but I've often reflected on the fact that I can be pretty calm and comfortable in situations that are light years more dangerous than lying by myself in a tent in an isolated campground, but if I hear a twig snapping nearby or it can light up the risk console in my brain and it'll stay activated for quite a while.
 
JayB said:
Agree. Could just be a personal quirk of mine, but I've often reflected on the fact that I can be pretty calm and comfortable in situations that are light years more dangerous than lying by myself in a tent in an isolated campground, but if I hear a twig snapping nearby or it can light up the risk console in my brain and it'll stay activated for quite a while.
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Even more so when you've been seeing AK brown bears roaming the beaches looking for snacks!
 
krusty said:
Indeed...little doubt simply engaging in vehicle travel accounts for an astronomically higher percentage of deaths.

I've personally known scads of people killed in such accidents...including my father, but have only known three murder victims (assailants strangers) all of which occurred in suburbia.
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If you extrapolate out further, it's clear that the risks of a sedentary life and the low grade vices that most people indulge in have a vastly higher death toll.

Having said that IMO there's no small number of outdoor pursuits that are vastly more dangerous than driving but produce relatively few fatalities because a miniscule fraction of the population engages in them for a vanishingly small fraction of their lives.
 
krusty said:
I never worry much about animals when camping....but I do worry about some of the people I've encountered in the sticks.
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Agreed. Those animals that walk on 2 legs are my biggest concern. Never had a problem with the wildlife.
 
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