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Poll:
what do you carry for self-defense on solo trips
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gonzobeer
Joined: 02/08/07
Outdoorzy Maniac
Louisville, KY
Posts: 246
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Posted: 01/13/08 1:26pm |
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Quote:
i always have a knife, or usually... but its not for self defense.
I'll remember that.
*muuhahahaha*
Licentia Haud Vestigium
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Greensap
Joined: 10/23/07
Outdoorzy Explorer
Frisco, CO
Posts: 49
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Posted: 01/13/08 9:54pm |
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I always take a gun backpacking and a knife hiking more just survival tools
Lets Get Green
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mikekey
Joined: 01/14/08
Outdoorzy Explorer
Virginia Beach
Posts: 6
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Posted: 01/14/08 6:30pm |
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The NPS has a ban on firearms, but I always pack a gun. Period. My Right, my problem should I get fined. Glock 21 with two mags.
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nwoods
Joined: 05/07/07
Outdoorzy Adventurer
Posts: 81
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Posted: 01/16/08 4:04pm |
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I take my brother.
Six foot five and almost three hundred pounds.
He has a bad temper.
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Wade
Joined: 07/23/06
Outdoorzy Original
Bowling Green, KY
Posts: 860
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Posted: 01/16/08 10:25pm |
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Yeah be careful with those guns. We don't want any Outdoorzies ending up in the Pen for bringing firearms into a national park.
What about bear spray? I haven't thought about using it here where there are no bears, but I bet that would be a pretty good deterrent against thugs too. 
I'm a lover, not a racer... --Wade
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gonzobeer
Joined: 02/08/07
Outdoorzy Maniac
Louisville, KY
Posts: 246
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Posted: 01/16/08 10:29pm |
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Yeah that stuff is really nasty. It's what Dog uses. It sure would knock a thug on his ass.
Licentia Haud Vestigium
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WildeGeek
Joined: 09/13/07
Outdoorzy Explorer
CA
Posts: 5
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Posted: 01/17/08 1:51am |
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Answer: My brain.
As a long-time professional in the "media biz" I can say that these accounts of backcountry violence are about exceptional, unusual, extraordinary events. In other words, they're weird, that's why they're news. Literally, the likelihood of these kinds of mishaps happening to any one of us is in the one-in-millions chance. I'm just not too worried about loosing with those odds. You're far more likely to meet your fate at the hands of hypothermia, a fall, or a traffic accident on the way to a trailhead--thousands of times more likely.
That said, I rarely go solo, because frankly, I like to spend the time with people I enjoy. And as a bonus, we can help each other out when there are problems.
The WildeBeat "The audio journal about getting into the wilderness"
Download the MP3 programs or subscribe to the podcast at... www.wildebeat.net
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abenson
Joined: 10/09/06
Outdoorzy Adventurer
Louisville, KY
Posts: 180
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Posted: 01/17/08 10:22am |
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yeah, I am probably paranoid. It may be my Kentucky upbringing or my militaristic personality (from my wife), but I would rather have something than not. That being said, I do go solo, I am one of those types, and it sometimes makes me appreciate company, other times I camp far away from people just so I don't have to listen to voices in the woods.
Another thing, I am not a believer that everyone means well. I think a lot of people have evil in them and given the opportunity, they might take it. I am thinking back specifically about a wierdo that I encountered on the AT one time that felt necessary to intimidate me by telling me he used to be a mercenary and he was eating what he could capture and kill along the way. Most of the people I encounter are great, but the small percentage you all keep reminding me that I will never encounter are out there.
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The Other Wade
Joined: 10/12/07
Outdoorzy Explorer
Roswell, GA
Posts: 23
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Posted: 01/18/08 8:11am |
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When I solo, I usually bring a snub nosed .38. I clip the holster onto the bottom tie down on my pack, so it's in plain view. I don't ever plan on using it, to be honest I'm horrible shot with handguns anyways. BUT, it's like burglars and the house with two bigs dogs - predators, thugs, and a**holes will move on quickly if they see you packing... and look for somebody else to toy with. For what it's worth, it might as well be unloaded or a replica - hopefully a replica weighing less than 2 1/2 lbs.
PS- there's no reason to bring them to the NP though, most trailer park trash won't make it 10 miles into the park, and most my redneck encounters have been at the trail head or close by.
OutdoorsBlogger.com || RainmakerWebDesign.com
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ArcticTough
Joined: 12/16/07
Outdoorzy Explorer
Anchorage, AK
Posts: 15
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Posted: 01/18/08 9:33pm |
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I've carried bear spray before, but I treated it with kit gloves. Frankly, the thought of that thing going off backwards or in my pack scared me. My friend and I tried it on a tree for the hell of it and the big WHUU-OOOSH and awful sting in the air keeps me away from it. I have pepper spray, very small canister. Does anyone know if you can take that in checked baggage? I would carry it if I could only travel with it. As for now though, as I said before.... Knives dude... ka-nifs.
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