I thought I started a thread about this scenario but after some search, it was something else.

Lets say a disaster hits, and a woman finds herself in the hills with her BOB. She was travelling by car and due to blocked roads ..etc. she had to leave the car. She camps using her BOB contents, and a few days down the road, her supplies run low.

Then as she is moving, she notices another survivor fishing or chopping wood. She sees him and he doesn't.

Now she faces a dillema of joining him, or moving on. He may be a good guy, and cooperating is defintely better than anyone of them going it solo. However, he may not be such a good guy, and she maybe at risk.

What do you think ? Should she say "Hi" , or quitely head in the opposite direction ?

Very hypothetical, for sure. Might just as well flip a coin to make the decision. Important variables would be her sense of self-sufficiency, ability to take care of herself and maintain control of the social situation. Some kind of cautious interaction first, like leaving a note, etc. might be better than just stepping out into the open.

More likely she would first encounter a group, hopefully of mixed sex, which would have better odds than a group of guys.

Mostly when the situation comes around, if it ever does, we will just all have to deal with it, considering all the host of variables that will be in play.

Is he fishing or is he chopping wood? Which is it? What is his setup like? What items does she still have in her BOB?

Jeanette Isabelle

I'd be very hesitant. A single person alone is vulnerable and, as a single woman alone, I'm even more vulnerable. (Something that runs through my mind when camping alone even in a non-emergency situation.) I'd keep a low profile and try to sustain myself as long as possible while continuing to move toward home or another known safe house.

I agree extra caution is needed hence why I requested more information before answering.

Jeanette Isabelle

Hikemore basically summed up what I think about this scenario and I agree that meeting a group of people of mixed sex is generally safer. Also as Bacpac stated, a single person (female or male) is more vulnerable and to take that one step further, this applies to almost any survival situation

That said, in my area and my experience, there are a lot of single female hikers and campers who are by nature, are wary of any other people. However once they size you up and decide on how safe they feel, most women are receptive to talking and sharing notes about their hiking, camping etc. (Met an ex G/F this way and she nor I, worried about who was carrying a hidden hatchet...)

Would this be different in a disaster type situation where the woman may not of had much prior solo outdoors experience? It probably would and I would think that a woman would avoid any one single point of contact and probably seek out people in a group as their first choice.

Very Difficult to tell what would be the proper thing. The best would to be the STOP principles would apply greatly here. Evaluate your situation, Are you personally injured in anyway? Are you Lacking in Important supplies? Do you Have a way to defend yourself? Do you have a way to see without being seen the other persons situation such as a pair of Bino's? How far are you from other people or man made structures? Do you know where you are and where you are going intimately? Are there Other people at this destination that you know who should be going there or be there already? Are you Dehydrated or Starved (You may very well forget enough food and have been traveling long enough/in weather that could cause this)

Some questions that may provide more reason to avoid may be,

Does This person Look over the top prepared to the point they could be a danger? Do they have multiple large firearms in view? Are they Dressed in a fashion that presents a militaristic or "Mall Ninja" manor? Is their campsite surrounded by trigger devices for signaling presence such as Empty Cans on strings? Do they have any Large "Scarey" Lookin dogs? Do these dogs have items on them such as choke chains that often provide clues to their behavior?


At the Time It would be up to you to ask yourself the questions and figure out acording to the answers wether or not to make contact with them.

The other issue is HOW would you make contact with them? They may very well be Antsy and trigger happy from personality or just from previous situations they have encountered during the Disaster.

There is no SET is stone situation/What if Role play from what I read. This sounds to be just a What should a person do if they came across another singular person who already has a camp set up. Atleast I believe this would be more productive and helpfull since this is a very realistic and possible issue one can come across. The questions they should ask themselves and what they should consider to observe for key information of the other person.

I agree with Frisket that this is a STOP situation.

I suppose I would suggest going through a Rule of Threes review to decide if you are in danger of, or already are, violating any of them. If you are, then you are already in perhaps mortal danger and I would tilt toward careful contact. If you are not violating any of the Rule of Threes criteria and are not currently at risk, then contact is optional and I would tilt against contact and in favor of continued self-rescue.

If contact is optional, then I suppose you should try to do a risk-benefit type analysis. I am not sure what factors I would use in such an analysis, and await the discussion - especially from the female point-of-view.

In any contact scenario, I would think it prudent to keep some of your resources hidden in case Plan B becomes a necessity. I would also suggest carefully considering when and where contact is initiated, and concur some careful pre-contact observation is in order.

A Flaw I see in this is If you leave anything behind You may very well write if off just as you would it being stolen since you may have no way of running back to that spot and obtaining it again without putting yourself in further danger. When someone threatens your life Im sure Your last thought would be the "proper" direction to run.

Also you just made me bring up another factor just as important as if you contact them. If And when you DO contact them How do you handle yourself and what you say. Things I personally wouldnt do Is mention What Exactly I have all together on my person. Keeping your PsP thats in your cargo pocket and that Sidearm in your wasteband Holster a secret may prove smart. DO NOT Inform them of your Path or location of your hopeful destination. They may very well Follow you and get the jump on you if they decide to stay on different paths.

Things you may very well want to think about telling them is people you are expecting to meet or people that are "not to far behind or on their way" in the same direction you are taking. Even if this is a lie it may keep this person on better behavior with the risk factor of retribution. Especially if these people are men with descriptive features/professions even if this is a lie aswell. They may think twice if you say your 6 foot ex Cop Brother isnt to far behind you. Tho This may very well be the called bluff issue as well. You would have to depend on the situation not lasting long or being far enough away they wouldnt be able to follow/find you.