being "trail safe"

[TheNewbie]

Timely thread as I'm about to take a solo trip to a national park. I don't ever do off body carry but the thought of hiking all day while carrying is less than appealing even with an enigma.

I’ve done 10 hour hikes carrying a heavy pack and a P-07 with a reload. I even carried in one of those old school Eagle Industries nylon holster that carries the extra mag (yes I know, but I actually like it!). I’ve done similar hikes with Glocks.



My preference would be to not even need a gun, but unfortunately it can be a needed tool. You obviously know that, just preaching to the choir I guess.


When I ran into the mountain lion, I was glad to have a gun on my person. Thankfully didn’t have to use it.

[cosermann]

Interesting article and link provide by Mas....

https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/...erous-animals/

A couple more along the same lines (bear-specific) as food for thought:

https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/def...#axzz5UFScHWeC
https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley....1002/jwmg.342

[Clusterfrack]

Timely thread as I'm about to take a solo trip to a national park. I don't ever do off body carry but the thought of hiking all day while carrying is less than appealing even with an enigma.

AIWB has worked pretty well for me.

10 miles, 2500 vertical. Reed Lakes, Alaska. G20 AIWB in JMCK Wing Claw 2.5.

[mtnbkr]

I've spent the majority of my life wandering around the Appalachian Mountains in East TN, Western NC, SW VA, and WV hiking, biking, camping, hunting, and lately chasing summits for my amateur radio hobby. For the latter, it's not unusual for an outing being based on a GPS target with no defined route or trail, just some map study to determine the best line. My trips range anywhere from day trips to week-long camping trips deep in the forest. I went through a period where I "needed" a big bore revolver, but I've "downgraded" to a 9mm semi in the last couple years. In terms of large, dangerous wildlife, we only have black bears and coyotes, both of which tend to be shy and stay away from people. When I've encountered them directly, they usually run away once they're aware of my presence. I did come across a mother and cubs last year who stood their ground from 50yds away but didn't act the slightest bit aggressive. Luckily my route took me parallel to them, so I just kept moving. There are venomous snakes (copperheads and rattlesnakes being the main two in the mountains), but watching the ground usually prevents surprises.

People are a bigger concern, with my haunts being in the middle of meth and moonshine country, but so far, they've all been non-eventful. I've never had my truck broken into or anyone act aggressive. I've had a couple "odd" encounters at campsites, but mainly locals wondering in after dark while we sit around the fire. Most have been friendly, just weird, and a few have become friendly acquaintances once they realize you're not there to cause trouble. There was the one guy who really wanted to share our campsite, but we made it clear we didn't have room and didn't want guests, so he moved on. Just another local hunter, nothing suspicious. We saw him later and he was cool, still talking about the 8-point buck he'd seen in the area. Most "mountain people" are usually pretty friendly once they realize you're not there to cause trouble.

My typical load-out, not including hunting or radio-specific gear, is a small pack with a 3L bladder, GPS, weather-relevant clothing, some food, some fire, a smallish fixed blade knife, a first aid kit for real wounds (ie not a boo boo kit), some meds for pain and such (I'm prone to sinus headaches associated with the weather changes common in this region), a small VHF HT, the gun, a spare mag, and a hiking pole for navigating rocky terrain.

The challenging part about wandering the Appalachians is you'll never know what is tucked away in various hollers and such. Cross a ridge on public land and you're suddenly on someone's property. Lately property boundaries are being marked with purple paint rather than "No Trespassing" signs, so it's good to know what that means. Also, while you might only be a couple miles from civilization "as the crow flies", you can be an hour or more from said civilization via any non-airborne means. The weather is also unpredictable and extreme for such low mountain elevations. I've been camping in the Spring and Summer and seen temperatures swing as much as 30 degrees in a 24hr period. Just this weekend I saw temps at my WV camp run from high teens Friday night to mid 50s Saturday during the day, then down into the 30s that night and 60s by Sunday afternoon.

Chris

[Dog Guy]

There was a series of murders near Yosemite NP in 1999, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Stayner . I had a conversation with a deputy from one of the other gateway to Yose counties not long after. He said that in most of those counties he couldn't throw a football without hitting a registered felon or sex offender. His belief was that they weren't there for nature and access to Yose. They lived there because they couldn't function well in denser cities so they moved to the fringe, but still had access to the bigger Bay Area cities if they wanted it. The idea that everyone out there loved the rural outdoors was (in his opinion) a myth.

Mrs. DG was a wilderness ranger for years, east side of the Sierras butting up against Nevada. Her experience was that any "wilderness" within a days walk of easy access was pretty sketch. She was always hyper alert, and would actively avoid contact unless she had time to observe the other human for a bit and get an idea of what she was encountering. The low lifes were generally too lazy to hike in any substantial distance so her human encounters on her long patrols were generally (not universally) positive.

Wildlife threats were way down on her list of worries.

[JCS]

AIWB has worked pretty well for me.

Were you wearing a pack?

That’s my conundrum

[lwt16]

Typical day hike load out.

[GJM]

As long as I am using a pack with no or a more minimal waist belt, I think AIWB is the preferred way to carry in a wilderness setting. Keeps the pistol protected from weather and other eyes, and a fast draw.

[Clusterfrack]

Were you wearing a pack?

That’s my conundrum

Just a daypack. AIWB works ok if the load isn’t too heavy.

Here’s my OWB rig for hunting and open carry hiking (not in national parks):
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....y-While-Hiking

[Salamander]

I've always carried in the woods since Jere Melo was killed near Fort Bragg CA; a couple of exceptions when in the east on travel in states where my permits aren't valid, but it's very unusual.

The story of the Fort Bragg shooting is in a book by ex-Sheriff Tom Allman https://www.amazon.com/There-Woods-D.../dp/1481251767 . Jere was the ex-mayor of Fort Bragg, working as part time security for one of the timber companies, investigating a report of an illicit grow in Jackson State Forest. He was gunned down by a head case with an AK, at what turned out to be a small opium grow. It took LE weeks to chase Aaron Bassler down, he'd been wandering those woods since childhood. Fort Bragg is quite a ways south of here, almost three hours on winding roads, coincidentally I was there for work while the search was still on. The barista at the downtown coffee place said everyone had long known the shooter was a little off... there were wanted posters in the window. Anyway the second security guy got away because he was able to shoot back, that bought him enough time to get clear. Jackson State Forest is a tangle of second-growth, visibility tends to be very poor.

My current setup is a pair of HK's, a USPc 9 for in town or close to town use, and a full size USP 45 for more remote backcountry. The former is pretty much OWB carry since those close to town walks are with not more than a daypack. The USP 45 can be either OWB or in Hill People original bag if paired with a backpack. For higher risk sites there might be a J-frame in a pocket as a backup, but now that I'm recently semi-retired those sketchy sites don't happen often. Going forward, my hikes will be mostly where I want to go, not where a client needs something.

Regional conditions are variable. For the past 21 years I've lived in a very small tourist town. We're five miles off the highway which is enough that homeless are unusual. Low-lifes happen mostly county fair week in August, there's more petty theft that week than the rest of the entire year. No one can remember the last homicide in town, and most weeks the police report is a cow in the road and a couple of noise calls. This might be California, but most everyone owns a gun up here in the far north of the state and most have at least half a clue on how to use one. Last year a grandmother outside of town held a burgler at gunpoint until LE arrived, and I've coached plenty of other locals at the range on my RSO nights.

Go to the nearby towns which are mostly on the main highway, it's not that simple. Lots of petty crime, lots of tweakers and junkies, too many homeless. A bad year is 20 homicides in the county; in my old Chicago near north side neighborhood that was sometimes an average summer weekend. So I don't buy into the occasional local media hysteria, the criminals here are mostly lame by big city standards and it's mostly loser-on-loser crime. That said, anything can happen and occasionally the bad stuff can spill over. When I had an office in the biggest town 12 miles away pre-pandemic, it was a rare lunch hour when I didn't see a tweaker or two talking to imaginary friends in the middle of the street. The local catch and release program usually has the losers back on the street the same day, there's simply not enough room to hold them.

How does that translate to trails? This region is known for outdoor recreation opportunities, 35% of the county is public open space and it's only a little further to the vast Klamath-Siskiyou region where 200,000 acre wilderness areas and multi-day trails abound. Close to towns, there can be losers on trails although it's not real common except in a very few specific areas. One of the coastal trails is a problem in one segment, and the next county north there are some issues in part of one State Park. Get away from town and one encounters only other serious hikers. Get into the large wilderness areas and it's rare to see another human on the lesser known trails, the few best known trails (parts of Trinity Alps) can be crowded in season. I've never seen anyone else in the Kalmiopsis except right at the trailheads, and the sightlines tend to be long so it's hard to miss someone. Always be prepared though, it takes only once and it's a very long way to help.

This time of year it's mostly coastal hiking, the interior mountains will be snowed in for a while. There are a few trails really close, including a city park I can see from my front door. Small (105 acres) and steep with mature Sitka spruce forest, it's pretty safe. The occasional black bear, they tend to run. The occasional noisy high school kids, at least they pick up their beer cans and try not to attract too much attention. Then there are a few trails in the national Monument at the coast five miles away. Interesting that BLM has no restrictions on carrying firearms, just a reg against discharging them in the NM which is partially about summer fire risk. It's mostly locals and serious hiker city tourists on those trails which are only about a mile and 800 ft elevation change and spectacular beauty. From there it's another 30 miles drive to the King Range Wilderness and the Lost Coast Trail which is viable in all but the worst winter storms. More risks there, mostly natural ones.

We lose a few tourists every year, it's almost always sneaker waves, falls off cliffs, rarely some tourist who takes a road he doesn't belong on. They never learn. Some years back a family followed GPS across forest roads in the southern Oregon coast range in winter, got stuck in snow, the husband tried to walk out for help, they found his body months later when the snow thawed. The rest of the family was rescued. Even after hearing that story my visiting Irish cousin tried to repeat it, he was lucky and only had to get towed. Nature can kill you in the west and it's not to be trifled with.

Wander those forest roads in summer and it's easy to get lost, to get stuck, to run out of water, a little harder but possible to stumble on a illegal grow. The problems are mostly on private lands and on seldom patrolled USFS lands, and mostly well inland.

One big difference here: The tribes are still on their ancestral lands, the reservations are sovereign nations with their own LE and their own firearms regs. Some are fairly orderly, a few are anarchy. If in Mendocino County, be careful around Covelo which is currently having issues with packs of abandoned former grow guard dogs, they mauled a kid just the other day https://kymkemp.com/2023/02/21/wild-...ing-livestock/ . That's an extreme example, an example though on why a little research is in order because that's on the way in to some of the Mendocino NF trailheads; and the trail I permitted a few years ago just north of town has probably been built by now and is near where the dog incident occurred.

ETA: Here's a hiking blog by a locally based young woman who as far as I can tell hikes alone and unarmed, if otherwise very well prepared; and seems to not have had any major problems: https://valhikes.blogspot.com/