Local Camping Safety Concern

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hkeller

hkeller

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Not sure whether this should be here or chat. Mods, please move if need be.

There have been a few shooting near the area where the Apalachian Trail crosses the James River in VA. In the most recent, a guy awoke in his tent next to his wife on a remote forest service road because a bright flashlight was shining through his tent screen. When he put his hand up to sheild his eyes from the light, the nut outside (still at large) shot him through the hand and into the leg then fled.

I've camped at a nearby site (like within 1/4 mile) at least four or five times. My first thought is what the h*ll. I sleep with a .357 when camping, but if the guy is going to shoot me as soon as I wake up, what can I do? My second thought is how do we prepare for this? Battery powered motion detecting lights? Trip wires? Sleep in shifts?

I am not serious about some of these options, but I sure don't want to wake up with a light shining through my tent, with my two kids in the tent. My instinct, now, would be to shoot. But my luck would be it is a deputy sheriff just checking on us.

Any ideas?
 
big loud dog x2.

hike further to your campsite to make it harder on the creepers?
 
Doesn't help you much, but my suggestion... Find a better area to camp.


Mark...
 
10-4 on the dog. In our prime our lab let a few people know what time it was. But at 13, she not much of an attack dog. Good thought though.
 
Regarding the finding a safer place to camp: How do you ever predict this kind of thing? It could have been in a busy campground, our in a more isolated backpacking spot.

I think I'll get that kevlar motor home from the movie Meet the Fawkers. ;- )
 
hkeller said:
Regarding the finding a safer place to camp: How do you ever predict this kind of thing? It could have been in a busy campground, our in a more isolated backpacking spot.
Click to expand...

Like I said, it's probably not an answer for him, and wasn't really offered that way. But the best answer is simply camp in an area where you don't have other people wandering around in the first place. Second best answer is camping in a place where the segment of society that would create this problem is not a significant cross section of the local population. Fewer dirtbags in other words.

The title of the thread is local camping safety concerns. I take this to mean that we're talking about camping in designated campgrounds at the edge of or even in town. These kind of spots carry all the concerns of whatever urban/suburban area they are located in and the only (not so) helpful sugestion I have is to simply not camp in those sort of locations.
If I did have to camp in a campground like that and I had concerns about the possible adverse human activities, the idea of some sort of basic, portable alarm system which our original poster tossed out semi-jokingly would probably get some careful consideration. That act of consideration would probably also be enough to convince me to camp somewhere else anyway. ;)

In a truly "isolated" location the effort of reaching your camp, in and of itself pretty much eliminates most of the troublesome types. Folks don't wander into my camps. And if that was to happen the dogs by the tent or by the fire would be the first to greet them. :)



Mark...
 
The area in which this guy was camping was very rural. It was an isolated spot and not in a public or private campground. Don't get me wrong, it was not like camping at the end of the Rubicon Trail, but it was a spot that was well off the beaten path near a pretty rough forest service road in the GW National Forest. You would have to want to go there to be there. Before this, I would have felt perfectly safe camping there. The only other folks you see up there are people fishing or grouse/deer hunting. It is total primitive camping.

Could be there are some meth guys living near by. Also, occasionally, a backpacker in VA will stumble across a still. If they are smart enough to get out before they get caught, they usually live.

I think the dog and camp in a large group suggestions are the best and most common sense thoughts I have heard. Maybe a rooftop tent gives some safety advantage.
 
hkeller said:
The area in which this guy was camping was very rural. It was an isolated spot and not in a public or private campground. Don't get me wrong, it was not like camping at the end of the Rubicon Trail, but it was a spot that was well off the beaten path near a pretty rough forest service road in the GW National Forest. .....
Click to expand...

:lol::lol:
More asshats per square mile on the Rubicon than downtown anywhere USA. That place is a moron magnet.
 
Like I said. How do you predict and where do you go? I am talking some freinds here locally about this and I'll share there thoughts. I hate to be paranoid, but I camped at the same spot this guy was shot with my 5 year old son just last year and it has me freaked! I'm not in the mood to sell a few grand worth of camping gear because my wife and mother in law are also freaked!!!!!
 
This is a tough one to plan for. Recently, I've just taken my time when I go into camping areas, check out who my "neighbors" will be, what kind of walking/driving traffic I'll have nearby and settle in.

Still, some drunk or drugged up A-hole could come in and destroy something so positive, like the thread starter indicated. I think the dog idea is a good one along with strength in numbers.
 
hkeller said:
10-4 on the dog. In our prime our lab let a few people know what time it was. But at 13, she not much of an attack dog. Good thought though.
Click to expand...


I took my lab with me to GSMTR a few years ago. There was a bear that went through our campsite, banging the pots and pans and knocking over a few things. We didn't have any food out, but a few other campsites did...

the lab never woke from her snoring sleep - hence the nickname beardog was given to her....


I'd find a new place to camp...come on over to the George Washington National Forest - or better yet, I have some private land (~140 acres) that you can camp on....


bk
 
We've had a few Labs. Most would lick you to death. But our last Lab was great with the family, neighbors, freinds, etc. But, on a trip in the woods, she was all guard dog. It was the damdest thing. We've had a few people or animals breech the parameter and she was barking with her hair up in a pretty threatening manner. It backed away a few that would have probably otherwise just tried to bum a beer.
 
fishing line and and some empty cans or pots..yeah, hoky as hell and the skunks, coons, cayotes will trip it up too but at least it's a perimeter warning with a pretty good possiblity of getting tripped. You get a little creative with the trip line so it's a pain in the ass to get around. I also park my rig close enough to shield one side or end of my tent..Lot of times this is for a wind break but it cuts out one path for intruders...you can figure they gotta come form another angle.

You can't beat a light sleeping dog..most dogs do sleep lightly if they are normally laying in the den with the A/C on..lots of stuff out there in the wild to keep em busy..As a deterent a dog can't be beat. People see the dog and that makes your campsite less of a desireable target..

Oh yeah don't leave that ax stuck out there in the cutting block, lock it in the truck..Maybe the bad guys forgot their gun...

most anybody that's gonna sneak up on a camp site is a lowlife..lowlife types are not known for bravery..make your self a hard target and they will go to a easier target...maybe get a NRA sticker for the rig..I find that a little un-nerving when I'm at a soccor game and some mom comes in with one on her Volvo..
 
hkeller said:
There have been a few shooting near the area where the Apalachian Trail crosses the James River in VA. In the most recent, a guy awoke in his tent next to his wife on a remote forest service road because a bright flashlight was shining through his tent screen.
Click to expand...

Could you be a little more spacific to the area? I use to back-pack up there a lot years ago and still occationally backpack and camp at Little Rocky Row and John's Hollow. So I'm trying to see if these areas are still safe.
 
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