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.

We have remote marijuana plantations showing up even here in the northern Boreal Forest, I have found a few over the years but never any booby traps. Many are found in August when the blueberry pickers head for the cleared places in the bush.

Legal possession/carrying of sidearms are strictly controlled in Canada so that is not an option here. It is best to just keep your wits about you and bail-out if trouble is located.

Mike

For the most part this is true. Backpacking into the woods I've never had a problem. Unfortunately I've had to leave two different (dirt-road accessible) campsites that were quite remote. It seems a fancy jacked up 4X4 will take an idiot just about anywhere these days.

No, I haven't had a similar experience, but then I don't often camp alone. It's usually a family outing. Perhaps the group discourages some of the aggressive people. We have met up with our share of drunken/annoying people at public campgounds, which is why we look for the more remote areas, as other people have already indicated in this thread.

There is a time to oppose evil and there is a time to avoid it. I think you made the right decision and acted on it very appropriately.

Frank2135

"...drunken/annoying people at public campgounds..."

You should try being the camp host at one off those. The stories I could tell...

"...a fancy jacked up 4X4 will take an idiot just about anywhere these days..."

You must have had the bad luck to find the rare ones that will take their fancy 4x off road at all (or knows how to get it into 4WD)...

EDC firearm is essential when camping anywhere, IMO.

Actually the lack of sleep is what irritates me the most. I'm always amazed at how inconsiderate so many people are... and how they could care a less that others might actually want some sleep for their float trip, etc. the next day.

"You should try being the camp host at one off those. The stories I could tell..."

I do feel for you. Back when I worked in a prosecutor's office and pulled "Monday morning complaint" duty, from June through August the local campground managers were regulars. They would come in with a stack of police reports of drinking, drugging & fighting at their campgrounds over the weekends, and we would sit with them and figure out who to charge with what. The weekend craziness seemed to taper off a little toward the end of my time there (1992), but it was still a problem.

Frank2135

I "worked" at one campground that was so much fun I carried pepper spray and a pair of cuffs all the time. Never a boring moment...

I am glad we were unarmed, since the farmers had large potent friends with them.

Years ago, I remember seeing a guy run across the freeway. I thought to myself he was going to get himself killed. As I got to the spot where he ran across, I found out why he was running. Coming out of the woods was a "farmer" with a shotgun and a pack of dogs chasing the guy.