This friday (the 13th), I rode my bike, after work, to the local forest preserve to use thier public shelter for the night. My wife and son are in the States visiting my family so I wanted to get out and "play". There were some people who came by along the paths, and two girls were occupying the shelter across the field from me. At about 10:30 pm two guys (20's) and thier girls friends came by and wanted to use the shelter and when they heard that I was going to be there all night they got a bit upset but went off. I kept my eye on them since I didn't like their tone, and didn't they come back, but this time quietly and in a round about path to the shelter. But I was in the shadows watching and when I stepped out saying "hi there!" the guys played tough and said thay came "to take some fire wood" (all the shelters have alot of precut wood for the public). That was fine since I already had plenty put to the side incase it rained in the night. Some time went buy and my instincts told me something wasn't right so I packed my pack with the valuables which I couldn't keep on me and hide it in the forest. After about another hour something still wasn't right so I decided to go into the forest just out of the fire light which gave me back some of my night vision and gave me a clear veiw of the two paths which led to the shelter.
Just as I got into the forest two OTHER guys come bursting into my camp to have a look around (the only thing in the shelter was my theromrest and sleeping bag). They didn't do anything and soon left. I waited awhile and then headed around to were my pack was hidden, retreived it and got to the shelter and packed, that was at about 1:30 am.
I made sure that I had everything I needed on me (fleece, warm hat, rain pants in my pocket, a packet of biscuits, my cell phone (on "silent"), boots well tied, Leatherman and PSK were I could get to them and my Fallkniven A1 on my belt). I drank as much water as I could from my MSR water bladder, grabbed the cup of coffe I had just made and headed off through the woods.
I had ,as always, reconned the area around my camp so knew were I was going to go which gave me the best spot to watch the fire at my camp and the surrounding area (there was some activety around my camp). There I sat quietly until the sun came up (beautiful!!) and got on my bike and came home.

Today (sunday) I went back and found that one of the shelters (the one which the girls were staying in) was completely burned down along with a small house near by, apparently some people were sniffing lighter gas and started a fire with gasoline.

After thinking about what happened I was happy that I:
1)knew the area around my camp
2)knew how to move through the woods
3)had all the essentials (water, food, warmth and defense near me)
4)had patience and confidence

Sorry that this was so long, but has anyone else had similar experiences?

This type of incident shows the fallacy of not only pacifism, but of being unarmed as well (Hitler didn't have invade, he only had to wait 50 years).

I'm glad you made it out okay. I have had a few similar experiences while camping. Most of the time it involved the other "campers" using lots of drugs and alcohol. Although I didn't wait until they decided to cause trouble, I packed up and left as soon as I started to feel uneasy. I figure that packing up and moving on to another campground is easier and safer than having to deal with a bunch of hooligans at 2AM. Good thinking on your part but next time I'd say don't take the risk.

I too am glad you made it ok. Did you notify the authorities?

Hey Flashman,

It is terrific that your personal situational awareness was acute enough to inform you that something was not right and you took steps to avoid a conflict. Thousands of years of human evolution has provided our species with a refined sense of intuition and excellent ability of reasoning. It just takes the "Survivor Personality" to listen to these clues and react appropriately. This topic is well explained in Lawrence Gonzalales book, "Deep Survival", a very worthwhile read.

My experiences have been very similar to LED's; in easy access locations (e.g. campgrounds, urban areas) where drugs and alcohol were being abused I have had any trouble with other people.

Most of my adventures are now in remote locations and the only other people you meet are other avid outdoor enthusiests.

Good topic,

Mike

"...Most of my adventures are now in remote locations and the only other people you meet are other avid outdoor enthusiests..."

That has always been my experience too. The farther you are from a parking lot the better the quality of people. Bad guys are lazy...

Thanks for the positive responses. It was good to feel that I was in control and if any did decide to folloow me into the forest then I was going to be the predator.
That was the last time I stay at an easyly accessed location, the deeper into the woods the better.

For the most part they are lazy.

I've found a few pot patches over the years in some pretty remote spots. And a few crude booby traps. *growls* They get avoided, marked on the map, and then I talk to the cops.

I keep waiting to smell ether.

A friend and I went on a little fishing trip many years ago. As we were hiking out, he led us on a "short cut" that took us into somebody's marijuana patch. I was surprised, and so were the "farmers." That is one I am really happy to have walked away from!!

The farmers are why I usually have a small but potent friend with me these days. I can remember when you didn't need to carry a sidearm in the woods. The pot growers didn't have traps, didn't guard their plots. Fewer feral dogs.

*sighs*

I feel old.