!!Machete attack!!

[AK Troutbum]

I’m always carrying....oh, and I’m currently wearing Crocs as well, but only because I left my Birkenstock’s at work.


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[lyle_destroys]

Let's remember that carrying a gun is only half of the answer. Train! Ammo is pretty cheap.

 

[juan trueno]

Just got done with dry blank live day iterations of AT harassment scenario. Another coupe hours move into night iterations.


Nah. I’m just kidding I probably won’t train for that one per se. But I definitely stay ready.

 

[*zap*]

This guy had harassed the people he killed for a while. Told them he was going to douse them with gas and burn them...I’d say bear spray followed By liberal application of boot is the likely outcome of any interaction whereupon someone Anmounces their intent to douse my tent and me with gas and set it ablaze. Probably followed by more bear spray. You have to discourage that kind of behavior befor it escalates to knife play.

Someone tells me they are going to burn me alive when we are someplace many miles away from any civilization/law enforcement and they get a dirt nap, period, immediately and without any further discussion. Most of the at utube stars will tell you it is foolish/unnecessary to carry a handgun on the at.….. stupid is forevermore...

 

[Rmauch20]

If someone tells you their intentions believe them. Far to often people miss all kinds of pre-attack indicators.

 

[[email protected]]

This was what #12 on the AT? The AT started in the 20s and has seen millions possibly billions of hikers over the years seems like a lot safer place than the small town I live in when you look at the numbers. I agree a form of protection should always be carried but the trail is a MUCH safer place than most small cities in America.

 

[Fatcamp]

Turned out not to be very safe for that dude.

 

[*zap*]

Turned out not to be very safe for that dude.

Plenty safe, the nearest help is many hours away and you may have no cell phone ability.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

"man arrested" and the rest of the story- he won't be fit to stand trial and institutionalized instead, only to be let out 5 years later because he's "better"



even a good dose of bear spray might have been handy in this case

Unlikely, his previous drug possession charges will kick in and kick him into Genpop. Funny, when I first saw this thread I thought...yeah...lots of crazies on Archerytalk. LOL

 

[[email protected]]

Point is guys if a bad guys gunna do something a bad guys gunna do something it doesn’t matter if you have cell coverage or not, and most bad guys are to damn lazy to get out of the city. I didn’t say it was a safe place. A 100% safe place doesn’t exist.

 

[leprechaun]

Yep, it's unfortunate that so many thru hiker type are anti gun. Sounds like it would have saves a life and rid the world of a problem.

I like to think I have a pretty open mind but the AT is loaded with weirdos. I have friends who did it end to end and the stories they have make me wonder why anyone would go without some sort of protection. This isn't the first time people have been murdered on the trail.

Hope this incident makes some hippies put down there granola and Chacos long enough to buy a gun.

I'm a hippie gun owner who hiked the thing end to end. I didn't carry, I know only one person who did.

Truth is this is exceptionally rare and you're way more likely to run into trouble like this elsewhere, like in town. The AT is just closer to larger population centers and has a ton of people on it each year. The people on the trail are gonna be representative of our society as a whole, so not unusual that some of these are gonna be mentally ill and violent.

I hate it happened and my first thought was , "I wish a good guy had a gun." But the truth is if I were leaving on another thru hike I wouldn't take a piece.

ETA My take away from this is why the heck was he released a few weeks ago after getting arrested for threatening folks with a knife. Everyone that spoke to this guy knew he was crazy, why does our criminal justice system just jail/release insane folks? We had a chance to save 2 lives here that was squandered.

 

[*zap*]

The point is that your not really safe anywhere you encounter other folks so why not be prepared to defend your life or someone else life at all times?

 

[Ratbeetle]

I have a family that depends on me. I carry not because of the odds, but because of the stakes.

 

[longspeak74]

"I have a family that depends on me. I carry not because of the odds, but because of the stakes."

This.

 

[Fullfan]

Sad, arm yourself or become a victim....

 

[tdhanses]

I'm a hippie gun owner who hiked the thing end to end. I didn't carry, I know only one person who did.

Truth is this is exceptionally rare and you're way more likely to run into trouble like this elsewhere, like in town. The AT is just closer to larger population centers and has a ton of people on it each year. The people on the trail are gonna be representative of our society as a whole, so not unusual that some of these are gonna be mentally ill and violent.

I hate it happened and my first thought was , "I wish a good guy had a gun." But the truth is if I were leaving on another thru hike I wouldn't take a piece.

ETA My take away from this is why the heck was he released a few weeks ago after getting arrested for threatening folks with a knife. Everyone that spoke to this guy knew he was crazy, why does our criminal justice system just jail/release insane folks? We had a chance to save 2 lives here that was squandered.

I get what your saying but which politicians determines what is insanity? That could easily be used against people depending on the political climate. We can’t just be locking people up because we deem them insane, they have to commit a crime first. Also the Nazis had a program that locked up those deemed insane, mentally ill, I would hope our country doesn’t feel it should do the same. What we need is an actual mental health program for people and to give them help before they go this far. Next thing you now we’ll be locking up neighbors, many neighbors threaten each other all the time.

The world is dangerous, we each currently have our own free will to protect ourselves. Do what you feel is prudent for yourself, don’t limit others because you don’t want to worry about protecting yourself.

 

[Savage99]

You’d be surprised how many are packing on the AT. Quite hush hush....especially being federal land.

Typically you should be able to conceal carry in NF’s, just not in a federal building. But, people should do their own research.


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[leprechaun]

I get what your saying but which politicians determines what is insanity? That could easily be used against people depending on the political climate. We can’t just be locking people up because we deem them insane, they have to commit a crime first. Also the Nazis had a program that locked up those deemed insane, mentally ill, I would hope our country doesn’t feel it should do the same. What we need is an actual mental health program for people and to give them help before they go this far. Next thing you now we’ll be locking up neighbors, many neighbors threaten each other all the time.

The world is dangerous, we each currently have our own free will to protect ourselves. Do what you feel is prudent for yourself, don’t limit others because you don’t want to worry about protecting yourself.

I think I failed to effectively communicate as I intended for my message to be the same as what you said here. We need mental health services for people like this guy, and those services need to go into effect any time someone fitting the criteria enters the CJ system. There should be a psychological eval anytime someone walks in the door.

That said, I think it's pretty irresponsible to release a guy who is threatening people with a machete and who is clearly unhinged. Threatening with a deadly weapon would qualify as a crime.

As for limiting others, I never suggested anything like that. For some people it is worth it to carry a firearm on a thru hike. I had trail family that did and no one knew until she told us.

I fully support responsible gun owners legally carrying on trail--I was just giving some insight as to why not all of us carry. For some it is political/moral for others it is merely practicality. If I hiked with my favorite piece it would have increased my baseweight by 25%-- at the time it didn't seem worth it. Keep in mind that thru hikers are not doing 8-12 miles a day for a week and hiking out if the weather gets bad. They are doing 20+ miles a day in all the weather you could imagine, including what seemed like 6 weeks of non stop rain. I had foot, joint, and nutrition issues--there were many very difficult days. What I'm getting at is that most of us make the judgement call to not carry. The same way we roll the dice when we get in a pool without our vacuum sealed glock. Or run a marathon without carrying.

If I had found myself in a situation where I needed it I'd probably be singing a different tune. I think I was probably triggered a bit by the granola and chacos comment since I fall into those stereotypes. I think backpackers and back country hunters need to form an alliance as they are some of the biggest stakeholders in the fight for public lands and wilderness protections. Often times I find myself having to defend hunters as well as around here many of them completely trash the forest (building shitters, meatpoles, leaving trash everywhere, packing in random stuff that they leave out in the wilderness where it's a real hassle to retrieve).

We can focus on the bad actors and our differences or we can work together to protect what we both enjoy about this country.

 

[tdhanses]

I think I failed to effectively communicate as I intended for my message to be the same as what you said here. We need mental health services for people like this guy, and those services need to go into effect any time someone fitting the criteria enters the CJ system. There should be a psychological eval anytime someone walks in the door.

That said, I think it's pretty irresponsible to release a guy who is threatening people with a machete and who is clearly unhinged. Threatening with a deadly weapon would qualify as a crime.

As for limiting others, I never suggested anything like that. For some people it is worth it to carry a firearm on a thru hike. I had trail family that did and no one knew until she told us.

I fully support responsible gun owners legally carrying on trail--I was just giving some insight as to why not all of us carry. For some it is political/moral for others it is merely practicality. If I hiked with my favorite piece it would have increased my baseweight by 25%-- at the time it didn't seem worth it. Keep in mind that thru hikers are not doing 8-12 miles a day for a week and hiking out if the weather gets bad. They are doing 20+ miles a day in all the weather you could imagine, including what seemed like 6 weeks of non stop rain. I had foot, joint, and nutrition issues--there were many very difficult days. What I'm getting at is that most of us make the judgement call to not carry. The same way we roll the dice when we get in a pool without our vacuum sealed glock. Or run a marathon without carrying.

If I had found myself in a situation where I needed it I'd probably be singing a different tune. I think I was probably triggered a bit by the granola and chacos comment since I fall into those stereotypes. I think backpackers and back country hunters need to form an alliance as they are some of the biggest stakeholders in the fight for public lands and wilderness protections. Often times I find myself having to defend hunters as well as around here many of them completely trash the forest (building shitters, meatpoles, leaving trash everywhere, packing in random stuff that they leave out in the wilderness where it's a real hassle to retrieve).

We can focus on the bad actors and our differences or we can work together to protect what we both enjoy about this country.

Sorry, I wasn’t directing the limiting other towards you, just a general thought.

 

[*zap*]

It is always worth it to be able to defend your life/others lives. There is absolutely no downside.