My SCARIEST Human Encounter while Hiking (learn from it)
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
- You are going to rarely but occasionally encounter dangerous, weird, or sketchy people while hiking and backpacking. This is the story of when it happened to me and what you can learn from it.
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I carry a front pack, and if you ask me about it on the trail I'll tell you it's for my map, compass and candy bars to avoid being the subject of someones "scary encounter" video. But really I'm packin a 9. When hiking, the police are hours, not minutes away.
exactly.....I have a candy bar or two sticking out of the small pocket. Both wife and teen carry 9's, but Im upgrading to a 10 even though Ill probably only put 40's in it.
@@Ali-7676 What's the point if carrying a larger, heavier pistol if youre just going to feed it the same rounds that you can fit in a smaller, lighter pistol? And to take it even farther, at the end of the day, the perceived advantages of .40 over 9mm are minimal. If you buy good critical defense loads for the 9mm, you're really not losing anything in terms of ballistics. Plus if you actually shoot your firearms on a regular basis, .40 cal pistols with only one or two exceptions, are just 9mm pistols that have stuffed larger internals into them to accomidate the slightly larger 10mm rounds...but this 9mm frames were designed and engineered with 9mm in mind. The higher pressures and snappier recoil of the .40 will eventually just result in premature wear and a shorter than intended service life of the pistol. .40 is a solution to a nonexistent problem. The FBI had to make changes after their boys had their asses kicked by a couple nutjobs in Miami so they demanded something with more power to handle such situations where they were outgunned. But they couldn't switch to .45ACP because it already existed so doing so would be an admission that they'd made a mistake in choosing 9mm for their duty weapons. So S&W modified 9mm frames to accept a bigger barrel and slightly larger chambering and viola! The in betweener compromise round that arguably provided better terminal ballistics than 9mm but not really any better and smaller with better capacity than a .45 but due to size and weight vs recoil, is actually not easier to shoot and actually even more off-putting than the .45 was to their dainty handed and timid agents who were scared of the .45. So get a 10mm if you want to but only if you're going to put the right ammo thru it. If not, stick with a 9 and don't buy cheap ammo, or get a Taurus Raging Bull in .44 or .454 casul. ...or a raging judge if you want a variety of options to load in .45LC, .454 casul, or .410 shot shells.
@@invictusbp1prop143 good question and valid points. I think for me the issue is that I'm only going to be in Black Bear country so a .40 would suffice, but I'd still have the option of training with and loading up 10mm if I was to enter Grizzly country.
@@Ali-7676 make sure you use moon clips shooting .40 S&W out of a 10 mm but I'm sure you know that.
@@invictusbp1prop143 in a word - Options. 10mm is a good deal more than 9mm so it gives him better options.
As a fashion-challenged grandmother, it's empowering to hear that I can actually creep people out with just small talk. Thanks Kyle!
Literally guffawed at this. Thank you!
First, I've gone running countless times, and nothing has happened. But there was one time I was running on a bike trail at a state park. It was early spring and cold, so no one was there. I go to this trail fairly often, and have never had any problems so I would say my guard was fairly down.
This trail is an up-and-back that goes by the road periodically and cuts through parking lots around this lake where the boat launches and swim areas are, but most of it is in the woods. I noticed a car in one of the more distant parking lots with headlights on. I noticed it because, as I mentioned, no one else was there- it was a complete ghost town. I go on for a mile or two.
I notice the same car in the next parking lot. My adrenaline starts going now. I felt uneasy but was also feeling irrational. I thought to myself that there were a million reasons why they switched to that other parking lot. And am I even sure that's the same car? At this point, it was time for me to turn around anyway, so I turned around to start heading back to where I started, 7 miles from my car. This time though I was hyper-aware of my surroundings, just constantly looking back and around me to see if I was being followed.
My guard starts to go down a little as I run a few miles. I go through 2 parking lot crossings and see no sign of this car. But then all the sudden as I'm approaching yet another parking lot i see the car pull down right next to the trail and the door open. Without any hesitation I BOOK it as fast as I can. I am panicking because I'm so far from my car. I was also really tired. I ran into the woods and called the ranger office and told them the story, and what mile marker I'm at. I saw no sign of this person but I was shaking. The ranger picked me up and dropped me off at my car- everything was fine after that. They called me later to say they saw no sign of this person. I still have no idea if there was any malicious intent, or if I was being watched and or followed. but i'm glad I played it safe and trusted my gut! It was unsettling and one of the only times I felt weak and helpless, but I learned a lot from the experience and am obviously thankful nothing happened.
Have you been running there after that? It’s such a shame that a beautiful experience can be so ruined by something like this.
I am glad you are here to tell the story.
I think you were very lucky.... There is a bigger probability you were followed than not.
It would be extremely coincidental if that person hadn’t of been following you. I would have done the same. Better safe than dead.
Yes, just when it’s more crowded. I feel better when I see families and other woman soloing
In my experience, when someone shows up to an area & mills around & then approaches, it’s always more sketchy than being approached straight away. It’s as though they’ve assessed you & have come up with a tactic for approach while they are milling around.
Same here and while off-roading. People who are lost or in search of other assistance tend to be very direct and considerate in their approach, often beginning to speak while still at a distance.
Better safe then sorry, no one will find the body in the middle of nowhere
Story from grandma's POV. Heads to park where she likes to let her dog off leash. It's a place that seldom has visitors which is helpful because her dog can be too strong for her when excited. This day some typical millennial, rolling their eyes, giggling at my attire from my granddaughters school, using big words for no reason, acting quiet as if under attack, stare at me as if I'm intruding on them. I make small talk and let them know I have a dog and I hope they are okay with dogs, but they make no reply and start hurriedly acting odd, as if I've intruded on their space. I feel that they are uncomfortable with dogs so I leash him up and cautiously let him out of the car. They leave quickly. I could sense something was clearly wrong with them, but they have little self awareness of it.
This is awesome!
Unpacking your entire backpack was 1 major wrong thing, never ever unpack an entire bag on a break or even after you set up camp unpack the things you need to use at that moment and keep the rest in the bag until you need it. Another tip keep the most important stuff in the bag because you do need to grab and go. It’s smart you learned that lesson.
yup i had never thought about it before, definitely learned my lesson
I remember when I was backpacking with a friend about 2 years ago and the weather turned shitty. Earlier in the hike we went past a covered picnic area so we decided to hike back and sleep there. We were about 50 yards from my car. At about 2am my friend wakes me up whispering to me telling me to get up but with fear in his voice. I wake up to see headlights on our shelter. Being a ccw carrier I did have a gun on me at the time. I start to get out of my hammock and 4 car doors open up and the headlights go out. I immediately dropped my pistol down into my sleeping bag, I start to dig for it. All at this time it’s pouring down rain. About 5-10 seconds pass. I find my pistol and get behind a Picnic table. It was the most scared I’ve ever been in my life. Then about 15 seconds later 4 doors open and the car starts and drives away. The car passes by us 2 times then on the last pass they fire a gun in our direction. We bolt for the wood line and hide in the rain till morning (about 5 hours) with my pistol at the road. Filed a police report and that was the end of it. I legitimately thought I and my buddy was going to be killed that night. I never hike or camp without a firearm period.
Curse you...you devil.
@@freeheel748 uh??!
For being first lol.
Aaaaannnnnddd, what neighborhood is this? Very scary indeed... Of course they were dangerous they turn off the lights you were right. I'm sorry you had to be in the rain that long a girl couldn't have handled it
@@kimvanhowe852 wasn’t a neighborhood lol was in a state park
Friend told me about this: They hiked this 5 mile out-and-back in Alabama every morning near their house. Nice trail, good start to the morning. One day they're about 2 miles in and see this giant dog sitting near the trail. Just sitting there, not moving, back facing them. They stood for a little while and determined that whatever it was, it wasn't alive. It ended up being a fully stuffed wolf...someone went up there, killed it, and stuffed it.
It was gone a day or two later, then would reappear in different parts of the woods. Someone kept moving it around.
What the hell
Okay that's creepy!
I would shit my pants
Fun prank 😈
That's creepy ASF 😲
Where in Alabama, so I can stay away? 😆
Trust your gut, it knew I was being followed and got me off trail and into a place where there were other people. Someone then alerted me to the fact I was being followed and the guy took off back into the brush. Stay alert and don’t share your plans, there’s a difference between being friendly and being safe. Young people especially don’t realize what they can let into their lives by being too open or too naive. Boundaries keep you safe.
Thats sketchy.
I was never taught boundaries. Damned miracle I'm still here considering how naive I can be. I get it now, though. And all these stories help to frame reality around me much better. Thank you, all. You can still be nice without being vulnerable. 💞
@@angelapastorius2377 I started watching true crime and serial killer stories after getting out alive from a relationship with a narcissist. Presumably to correct for my naivity.
I was hiking in Point Reyes National Seashore in California in 2009 with my friend, Monica. I had done this hike twice before, once when I was a Girl Scout in middle school and another time with an ex-boyfriend and I was introducing it to Monica. It was only a day hike- we walked the short earthquake trail (that talks about the damage from the 1906 earthquake) and then we hiked from the Ranger Station out to Alamere Falls and back, which I think is about 26 miles. We were about 2 miles from the beach when a man probably in his 40s rode up to us on horseback out of the bushes, from off trail. It was a bit startling because we hadn't heard a lot of noise before he was just there. We may have been busy talking to each other and that's why we didn't hear him. He was riding bareback, which was really odd for how rough the terrain was. He stopped and said hi to us and told us that we should follow him to a cliff where you could see a panoramic view of the entire seashore. He said that his friend was ahead of him and that the spot was a secret spot that they had found a while back. Monica and I said no thanks that we already had a hiking plan (we did not tell him where we were going) and he spent the next few minutes trying to convince us to go with him and he seemed really disappointed when we repeatedly declined. He finally gave up and rode off through the brush and off trail again. We were a little on edge for a bit afterwards, but we never saw him again. We never saw his friend.
Things we did right: We didn't tell him our plans and we didn't follow him.
Things we could have done better: I didn't have any way of defending us from him, if he had tried to hurt us or worse. After that, I started carrying at least a knife with me when I went day hiking.
I'm glad you never encountered him again. No man should ever, ever approach women in this manner. Anyone w/half a brain wouldn't put any woman into a vulnerable position whether or not they know they're not a bad person.
And for sure, don't tell anyone (except people you know) what your plans are. I watched an episode on another podcaster's channel about practicing personal safety while hiking in parks and I couldn't believe a commenter thanked the podcaster for the invaluable information and then went on to post which national park she'd booked her hotel stay at during her upcoming travels and that she'd be travelling alone w/her dog which was good information to post if she ever came up missing but she also provided all the particulars of her solo trip which wasn't the least bit very bright!
As an old lady who day hikes, I gotta say--the crazy old lady with a dog routine sounds like an easy way to get the camping spot to yourself ;) It worked like a charm on you two!
hahahaha props to you if you ever do that. respect.
Totally
Maybe she wanted the picnic area to herself. I don't think there was camping. I don't know if that even matters...lol
The woman was apparently on drugs and not looking for a camping spot.
That was a really the city mayor.....that little. That little shack rings an alarm around the dog's collar...."Time for the crazy lady and dog act". ......LOL
Not so much a sketchy story, but it relates to how you brought up hitchhiking...
In 99 I hitchhiked across the country and since it was prompted as an escape from an abusive situation, I had everything I owned packed in 2 backpacks.
After the first ride in a compact pickup (like 150, but import) and realizing how dumb this endeavor was bc the driver could have been a serial killer, I started thinking about ways to make it marginally safer, or at least survivable.
Once I thought I had that covered, I started thinking about what I would do if I had to immediately remove myself from the vehicle. Basically, if I had to ditch mid-drive.
So, yeah, jumping out on the freeway while traveling at high velocity is not ideal (ha!), in the event we're on a smaller road or slowing down, say at an exit, I realized I would lose everything.
Which, again, is everything I owned.
So, like you said, I didn't dump out the smaller travel pack, put on a few layers of clothing & after that ride I rearranged the bags to keep regularly used or needed items in easy access locations. And I decided that every ride afterwards I would wrap one of the straps on each pack once around my leg. My thinking was, that way, if I did ditch, I wouldn't lose everything.
That said, when my next ride was with a trucker I also realized doing that would likely mean a dislocated hip, a broken leg (or 2) and possibility being dragged behind or under the vehicle if the bags got stuck, not falling out of vehicle with me.
So i stopped doing that. Cause if I'm scared enough to ditch like that, stuff is less important than my life.
(I'm not religious, but that trucker was an angel or something; he couldn't take me the whole distance I wanted to go so before we got to the truckstop he was on his phone and radio to see if any of his friends or acquaintances were in the area or going that direction & once he had as potential ride he STILL checked out the guy's rig, looked at his log book, inspected the passenger seat area & left me his number with vocal instructions to call him when i got to my destination or when i had to change rides - giving him a license number, driver name & where i was - so that he would know who to tell the cops to look for & where if anything happened to me. I followed his instructions to the letter & safely arrived. I've since lost that guy's information but i can't tell you how grateful i am for his care.)
My scariest human encounters have all occurred either inside Walmart or the Walmart parking lot. 🧟♂️🧟♀️🧟
Walmartians 👽
Yup
🤣👍
Hahahaha 😂🤣
Hate to admit it but I tend to freak other hikers out with my routine at huts since I'm a solo hiker. I rock up to the hut and sign in, then wander out into the bush where I am away from other hikers and select where I'm going to sleep for the night and drop my pack. Then I grab my food, water, etc and go back to the hut and socialise. I feel people always treat me with suspicion because I hike alone and won't stay in the hut or right on top of it. I had an occasion when someone needed antiseptic cream, so I told them to come with me and they grabbed a friend to go with them. It made me paranoid but understood their concern. They were then concerned it was close to dark and I hadn't set up my tent. I told them I didn't set up until after dark. Their group of five packed up and left the campground. Which made me move my location further into the bush. So my protective security precautions freaked them out, just as much as their buddy system and group size freaked me out. Sometimes it helps to see things from other hikers perspective.
have you ever taken a big ol shit ON a picnic table? i have. it was epic! maybe spread about a foot and a half in diameter and roughly four inches high. nice consistency, a little thicker than pudding with just a couple fully formed turds. it was sprinkled with some corn I had the previous day. we watched after we left and some other people came by. i swear the one dude puked for a good two minutes! fun times...
Setting up after dark is pretty sketchy though. I wouldn't want to be camped anywhere near someone who didn't look like they were settling in for the night. It suggests they're planning to leave in a hurry, in which case why are they hanging around at all?
Ya you sound sketchy man lol
yeaaah if i met you I'd think you were a fking serial killer lol
I would leave to cuz you're acting like a freak. Piling your stuff in a bush area away and then telling people to follow you and having no visible set up? Creepy af
Hi. Trusting instincts is important. I started solo on the pct and was loving it. I teamed up with some other ladies. This guy came along ...I was camped separately out of the wind and he asked my name and enthusiastically said he'd been chasing me for days.... from a trail log he saw my name and was looking for someone to hike with. I thought well maybe that's just not the best way to put his interest in having a companion to a solo female hiker. Still I felt uneasy and was also exhausted. I started hiking the next morning for the first time with this small group super early to beat the heat.. At the end of the day he caught up and camped with us. He came over and announced that he and I would be hiking together from this point. Whoa. I got the creeps. I was also a bit pissed because now my idyllic experience was fraught with worry. I'd been dreaming of hiking the pct for decades. I determined to stay with this group for my safety. They were really positive people and I didn't want to impose my sentiment about this guy. ..And they seemed to like him so I just kept my uneasiness to myself but stayed with them for protection and I enjoyed their company. I finally had a conversation with him while hiking with this group. He just couldn't believe anyone would want to hike by themselves because he felt so lonely... (then walk with your loneliness and sort it out ...) He was weirdly possessive of me having spent days try to catch up I guess. This group was a little stronger than me on the hills but I desperately tried to keep up so that I wouldn't be alone with him. One day he teased me for being just that little bit slower and obviously struggling a bit. I don't think I was slowing them down but I certainly wasn't going at my pace. When we finally got to a resupply, they were resting for two nights for the heat wave and I was gone the next morning. I remained happily a day ahead for another few weeks until I needed to rest my foot. I was at a wonderful pct watering hole with many hikers and they showed up. He would glare at me at the picnic tables. It was so uncomfortable. I hiked with them briefly at another point and at two different campsites he gleefully threw rocks at the animals! I'd had enough. The thing is that his personality is very mild mannered had a career that required smarts but I just plain had this visceral bad feeling that I couldn't shake. I started hiking with someone whose company I enjoyed and we paced well together and I didn't see him again. He seemed to need having women take care of him. I had just seen both of my parents thru hospice. My dad thought I was his mother and it became clear to me that both of my brothers even tho helpful were unable to manage details. So maybe part of it was me that I simply could not take on a random someones odd and insignificant neediness by comparison. But really it was something I'd never felt before ...an intuition I couldn't ignore. One thing, I'm always packin....pepper spray. I Also suggest putting a name in the trail logs that is gender neutral; initials and sir name, a trail name... the permit number section can identify you if necessary.
Glad you realized what was going on and acted proactively setting boundaries, having a plan is seriously underrated, keeps us from being our own worst enemy. Just the part about him being possessive, demanding, and entitled makes my skin crawl. Congrats on the PCT! 🥳
@@apope2311 Thanks! yes it was an eerie imposition and a very curious thing to deal with such a clear sense of intuition, sort it out and look at it objectively as well ....so that it didn't have negative bearing on my overall experience. The pct and those who envisioned and created it, are worthy of esteem for sure. It is just so beautiful seemingly on every turn. I did learn something from that experience as well. To trust myself, to not create drama around it with others.... the backcountry experience provides so much indelible beauty right to the core. I am grateful and not willing to let anything overshadow that. BTW. I did the flip-flop meaning I hiked from the mid-way point to Canada, but when I flew back down to hike from the mid-way point to Mexico all of the CA National forests closed due to fires and so I'm making plans to complete it Northbound from Mexico to the midway point in the Spring. I'm so happy for what I have seen. The depth and breadth of the Cascades is astounding. It is challenging for sure.
People who get kicks from hurting animals tend to progress to killing animals and then progress again to hunting people. The possessiveness, that is another giveaway - serial killers want to control and own their victims.
I think you wisely dodged a bullet.
@@janefreeman995 how old were you when you did that if you don't mind me asking?
I agree with only not putting the first name in the log but also only introduce yourself with your nickname to keep yourself anonymous.
This isn’t a trail story, just a strange encounter. My friend and I were on a girls trip to the Smoky Mountains. We were driving along admiring the scenery and pulled off at an overlook to take pictures. No one else was there. We were standing right at the edge of a drop off, so were being careful. I heard something behind me. I turned and saw another car. A woman was walking straight towards us. She wasn’t looking at the scenery, she didn’t have a camera, she was looking and walking towards US. I turned my body to face her square on and looked her right in the eye. At that she stopped, turned around, walked back to her car, and drove off. She never smiled, never said a word, never looked around..... WEIRD! I wonder what would have happened had I not heard her and turned around. We still talk about this!
She may have been looking for someone specific and when you turned around you weren't who she thought u were. Maybe she was pissed and didn't feel like explaining herself
@@bryanbulmer6716 Logical enough.... ok.... I’ll go with that!
Could have wanted money after a gambling spree but thought better against it because you faced her squarely.
she prolly said something to you that you didnt hear and you turned and looked her in the eye and scared the shit outta her she prolly thinks about it to this day too... or she was a killer, who knows
This is probably the lamest scariest human encounter I have ever heard of. Thanks for sharing it with us Kyle :)
Agreed. Sounds like the lady may have had a touch of dementia. She may have also mentioned the dog not so much to threaten but she could have felt vulnerable and pointed out that she had some protection. But I wasn't there so...
Right? What a panty-waist! Unless she had Popeye forearms and cauliflour ears, whats so sketchy about that encounter?
Even if this was a great story with a truly frightening encounter, Kyle's telling of the story was tedious. As it turns out it was a snoozer of an encounter as well. That's 17 minutes of my life I will never get back. Lesson learned.
@@jdgoodwin3136 99% of your time spent on You-tube and social media is wasted time. This video is not different.
@@Kiev-en-3-jours I suspect that you are correct.
This is a 2 yr old post, but I’ll share. I live near Yosemite. Permit secured. Drove up to start. Mistake 1 was I didn’t fully understand that the High Sierra Camps and backpacker campgrounds had very different rules. Picked up my permit, but was informed I could not stay in the park that night. Chose to stay just outside at a forest service trailhead. A guy in coke bottle glasses and blue latex gloves approached me about a place to fish. I referred him to the huge obvious map there and sent him on. He approached again later. I explained that the river was at the beginning of the road and not here. Should have left, but nowhere to go, so just spent the night in my drivers seat, car locked with keys in ignition, About 4am, I just drove into the park and napped at a day use area. I should have left and thankfully I am still here. Creepy or maybe he was just challenged. Will never know.
It wasn't scary at the time. But, after getting back home and reading a newspaper article, I realized how bad it could have been. I crossed paths with 5 bandits just a few miles north of the border with Mexico while backpacking in the Huachuca Mountain of southern Arizona. It was near dusk and lightly raining. I had my poncho on with a full pack underneath. I was heading south at an elevation of about 8000 feet. I noticed some movement downhill and stepped off the trail a few yards to let them pass. Five men dressed in black stopped when they saw me. Only the first one spoke. We made light conversation. They asked if I had any cigarettes. I didn't, of course. After a few minutes they kept going the direction of the trailhead. I wished them good luck figuring they were migrants looking for work (This was in 1995.) and continued on to my destination.
When I got back to town a couple of days later and while reading the newspaper I saw a headline saying that two women were robbed at gunpoint by five men dressed in black of their pickup truck while parked at the trailhead I had started from. The women were not harmed but were loosely tied up and told stay while the men drove off with their truck. (This was long before cellphones.) I figured they didn't mess with me because I kept my hands hidden under the poncho and that their main objective was a vehicle. I wrote up a trip report and posted it on a backpacking forum and titled it Karma Check.
damn that's crazy. I'm glad that you and the women were not harmed.
@@KyleHatesHiking Yeah, you and me both. Here's the rest of the story. I made it to my destination which was a ridge top just as it was getting dark. I brought a camera and tripod along to capture some pictures of cloud-to-cloud lightning. But, just as I got set up, the storm settled where I was causing a complete white-out. I stumbled back to the tent and folded up the Thermarest (The old orange ones.) and sat cross legged (To protect against ground strikes.) for a few hours till the storm passed. It thundered and lightening throughout. (Imagine the sound of a machine gun and lightning flashing like a strobe light.) I heard and saw a flash-BOOM and knew something got struck nearby. The next morning I found the tree that got hit just 65 feet from the tent. A real karma check.
I was expecting something more sinister with this incident. Sounds to me like it was just another “normal” day on the streets of Los Angeles. I’ll tell you something weird…. A long time ago, up in the high country at around 9,000’, some guy shows up on a backpacking trip I was on, to a remote alpine lake shoreline. A few buddies of mine, all backpacking together suddenly comes across a “psycho in the woods.” Dude pulls out a machete and starts swinging it wildly, about 40 yards ahead of us on the shoreline. He’s not swinging it directly at us, but seems to be giving a “show” (or warning message) to us. He was arguing with his imaginary friends while swinging the weapon wildly. Well, decided to avoid direct confrontation and went around him, giving him a wide girth. But he followed us with his head, like Linda Blair from the movie the Exorcist. I really wasn’t “afraid” of him per se, because I knew he would lose bringing a machete to a gun fight (yes we were all legally carrying as two out of the three of us were off-duty cops). Now we definitely wanted to avoid any trouble or confrontation and believed that de-escalation is always the preferred plan. However had hommie-don’t-know-me decided to advance and threaten our lives with his insanity, it would have been his last day on the planet. So we hiked out after our fishing hike and reported him to the local sheriff’s department. We never did see him again while hiking down the mountain later that early evening. Also we warned a couple of other hikers we saw in passing that they were headed toward a potential lunatic that we saw earlier that morning. Moral of the story, always carry a gun in the woods. Cops won’t search you on a wilderness trail and it’s better to be tried by 12, than carried by 6. We all know that the cops won’t be there when you really need them, so protecting oneself is your own responsibility out in the remote bush.
Well said. And funny.
Wow. Do a Indiana Jones and fire a shot as he's swinging his big blade around.
" ... it’s better to be tried by 12, than carried by 6. " Damn true statement right there.
The real sinister act is the lack of paragraphs in this comment.
Damn you had me in the 1st half not gonna lie!!
Didn't realize the story was fake until you mentioned _former cops_ followed by "de-escalation was the preferred plan" 😭
Can confirm that wayyyy sketchier things happen to me walking around the city than ever happen on trail. I have so many stories about off encounters in the streets of Seattle.
Totally. I worked right where Pioneer Square and the ID met for 12 years and had quite the encounters to and from work and lunch. And I definitely feel safer hiking more remote trails around here than any city park trails alone.
Yeah, I would totally be shocked if a normal person DIDN'T have constant issues with the lunatics and drug addicts who seem to all now be Homeless in Seattle. That should be their sequel movie. I live in Oregon but used to spend so much time up there and in the surrounding area every year. A friend of mine from Longview and I used to go up and stay at the Camlin and The Renaissance, sometimes at the Doubletree at SeaTac. We have a ton of friends that we grew up with in Alaska, that live in the area. We used to walk around downtown all the time without any issues and didn't feel unsafe. But the last time I was up there was in 2018 and unless or until they clean the craphole up, I won't be going back, not even for a Hawk's Game. I will be at SeaTac, but only for a layover when flying to or from Alaska.
I feel for you; I’d rather hike Death Valley without water or Denali without a coat than enter that hellhole. It used to be nice, though.
@@Christina-71No need to travel to Seattle to experience "hell on Earth" lol Have been to/seen Portland lately? It's just as bad 🤦♀️
@@EmpressOfExile206 I wonder how Seattle's faring since KOMO News (2020) special "The Fight for the Soul of Seattle?" It broke my heart!
That's the biggest thing I taught my daughter, was to trust her gut. I know that woman wasn't being OVERTLY threatening, but that vibe you got? That's what you call a "hinkey" feeling. I wish more young women would be that fast to leave. They've been conditioned to be polite to strangers, which means talking with them when approached. If girls were as tuned in as your friend Flossie, they'd be a lot safer. You did a good job, and casually gathered your things and left as soon as possible, AND there were two of you. People who hike alone, double their risk.
If there weren't so many predatory males, women would be a lot safer too!!
I visited West Virginia alone, to hike a few gorgeous trails I was super psyched about, only to run into a very creepy older man. I hiked the Seneca Rocks trail and this older ( dads age) guy helped me to the summit and offered to take pictures of me. He immediately got super weird yelling at me to pose certain ways and at different angles. I said thanks for taking pics, and left, but he followed me all the way back to the parking lot. In the mean time he mentioned my weapons are useless if I encountered anyone dangerous to me because they are in my pack. Asked for a hug, I am a nice person so I was like sure, whatever gets him to leave. He ended up going in for a kiss. I quickly turned my head, so he kissed my hair. I ran to my car and drove to a convenience store to regroup and ask for directions since cell service was none. Who pulls up but the creeper. Continues to stare at be and say he is just using the rest room. Eventually leaves, but I told the cashier what had happened. I stayed there til he was long gone, then drove past my cabin to be safe I wasn't followed. It nearly ruined the entire trip.
That is creepy
@@misscandy84 It was super creepy. I am about 4'11 and this guy was like 6"5. He was super aggressive following me and wanting to take selfies with him, which I was like why? He was like I want to have a good memory of this trip and you're it. Ugh trust me by the time I got to the convenience store, I was shaking
Sounds like you had a lucky escape. Pepper/Bear spray needed me thinks.
@@chrisbentleywalkingandrambling Oh I actually have both bear and human spray, also a knife and a stun gun, tat my dad insisted on me carrying. Creeper asked me about what weapons I carried for defense and when I told him, his answer was that whole " you wouldn't have time to reach them". Which is sadly true.
wtf is wrong with people,glad that you got out of there safe!
This old video is hilarious. So nice to see how your channel has grown and changed in 2 years!
My scratchiest story.. I was commuting to high school when a maniac got on my NYC subway car with an ax. Now, if you come from a rural part of the country it may be normal to see an ax whirling person but not on a subway car. I got the hell off that car.
I used to be one of the homeless people at this point in the Trail. I lost my house in the floods from hurricane Irene and was homeless for 7 years. I know other homeless folks that are still out in the woods in the area. they are all harmless. But I never meet anyone on the trail but what I start looking for a way to safely part company at my desire.
This isn't really a hiking story, but it's semi-related. The area where I live, northwest VA, the AT goes through a wildlife management area where I hunt. Last year I went out and was scouting off trail, pretty far from where I parked, ~5-6 miles. I was creeping though the undergrowth looking for deer sign and heard this guy call to me. I turned around and saw this 6ft tall, fat, Billy-Bob lookin guy way out in the sticks with me (not sure how I missed him now that I think about it). Now, I'm not easily freaked out by much, but the initial fear of being called to when you're seemingly miles and miles away from any other human made my blood run cold for a second. As weird as it was, good 'ol Cletus was just out mushroom hunting, but it was still sketchy as all hell at first.
Lol
I bet he was just as scared of you, especially if you were carrying a gun (as a hunter).
The only weird vibes I've ever gotten on a trail have been directed at me, people looking at me like I am creepy even though I'm just standing aside waiting for them to pass.
Well…seems a bit lucky in this situation!
I’ve always been a tough girl so I’ve heard that I am ‘unapproachable’ so many times from my ever so kind friends about how I don’t pick up guys the way they do… except when I went blonde, I hated every moment of it due to all the people suddenly talking to me..
So go blonde make trail friends or feel blessed that these assholes leave you alone! 🎉
Look right back at them the exact same way! Like you're leery of their presence. (Reverse psychology). And if you can't shake someone who won't leave you alone, pretend you're not right in the head. Start talking/behaving erratically and they'll move on!
@@annc.3908 That's a good gauge about what type of people no one needs in their life if it's all about appearances. How shallow! Safe & happy trails, annc!💓🏕💓
There was a girl wearing ballet slippers roaming about the White Mountains on the AT in 2018. She used a Walmart bag for her food sack, had a macrame hammock, and was really into Reiki. I don't think she was dangerous but she was definitely creepy.
that's a vibe lol
Creepy means pushy in some way... Maybe she was weird but pushy??? Was she overly friendly or threatening in some way?
@@marthas.4456naw, creepy means lots of things.
Great topic to cover Kyle! I hike alone 99% of the time...last summer I was hiking in a state park in the evening...only one other car was there and I noticed it had out of state plates...started my hike out to a waterfall got about 2 miles into my hike and saw a very tall middle aged man coming towards me...wearing dress pants/shirt/shoes...looked very out of place for a rugged dirt path...he was looking right at me NOT smiling but staring and he looked angry...I said hello when we passed on the trail...he ignored me...the hair on the back of my neck was standing up goose bumps the whole I got a bad feeling here...I had my phone in my hand took a picture of him from the back I had cell service sent it to my brother with a message described his car...only one way out on this trail so I was a bit freaked out...I carry mace on my shoulder strap bear spray and a large knife EVERYTIME i hike...I continued my hike took pictures of the waterfall and hiked back out...I never heard or saw him on the trail out but his car was still in the lot when I got back!! I called my brother to let him know I was in my car and leaving it was getting dark and as I backed out my lights flashed the outhouse and the guy was hiding behind it😳ok now I was freaked out...I drove past his car got the plate number and got the hell outta there! The ranger station was still open and I stopped to let them know...that guy creeped me out big time!!!
at least you made it!
@@KyleHatesHiking Yes very grateful
that's creepy af.
@@dustyc324 Totally agree
One of my biggest fears while hiking is to randomly see someone in the woods in non-hiking clothes
My brother and I were walking a relatively short trail close to a neighborhood we lived at at the time years ago. The neighborhood itself was pretty sketch we didn't know it until much later after this experience but the trail was where a lot of people would go to deal drugs. We never communicated with the people on the trails most of the time other than a brief greeting. This specific instance my brother and I noticed two people sitting at a bench along the beginning of the trail when we were coming back, I instantly got a bad feeling. One of them kind of looked back at us as we approached saying something we couldn't hear to his friend. As we walked past them it felt as though they were sizing us up, they had been carrying on a hushed conversation that halted when they heard us approach. Like they didn't want us to hear anything.
My brother also picked up on the feeling, I noticed him rest his hand on his waistband casually nodding to the two men as we past. They never acknowledged us other than staring kind of pissed off at us. Like we were interrupting something. The two guys stayed where they were until we were a bit ahead of them before they got up. My brother and I casually picked up our pace and made it back to our vehicle. Managing to leave before the two men could leave the wooded trail. We debriefed as we drove away, coming to the mutual agreement that that experience was sketchy as hell.
Although not an outright "horrifying" experience it's always rubbed me wrong. No one got hurt, no words were exchanged, but the feeling alone leaves me unsettled even today.
First, I never hike alone. Was hiking in the white mountains in New Hampshire with friends. After a while, we all fall into our own pace and distance comes between us. This time I became the lead. I summited a ridge and came upon a couple in their 40's and immediately the hairs on the back of my neck went up. As an old er nurse I quickly triaged them as unsafe. Especially, since they didn't say hello but rather, the first thing they asked was whether I was alone or not. I told them, no, I wasn't alone and quickly made my way back down the trail to meet others in my group. We waited for everyone in the group to get together and told them of the creepy couple.we submitted the ridge once again and saw them. This time I wax with 5 people and we hurried past them. My gut told me they bad news. I wonder what would've happened if I was hiking alone? I would never tell someone I'm hiking alone. I'd tell them that my group is just behind me and quickly move on.
Or maybe they were just were wondering why you are alone so they had to ask.
Well, that’s certainly not what I expected in the Scary Trail Encounters category: an old lady approached our picnic table with her dog on a leash.
Ok!
She sounds eccentric but probably harmless. The dog comment was maybe because she felt a little nervous about you guys
Lol. Then she shouldn't have approached them first.
I am a solo hiker and go full “ equipped “ . I make sure my mace, knife, Chinese throwing stars, cattle prod, and nunchucks are highly visible. Seriously.. if I feel uncomfortable.. I always talk and call out randomly to my “hiking partners”. hey I have 4 guys hiking behind me..did u see them? Or if u act crazy..talk and argue with ur self.. no one bothers u! This has work when I have found myself on trail interrupting drug transactions, adult entertaining ( I can’t make this shit up man) or just when u know the person does not look like they belong on a hiking trail in wing tip shoes and a suit. If the sketchy person thinks u are in a larger group , they usually move along.
What is with these people on trail in suits?🤔
As a neophyte hiker, I've been going on practice hikes through summer and fall as training for full day hikes in 2022. It was back in the early fall that I was doing a practice hike in my city and stopped to rest on a bench in a city park. As I was resting and relaxing, I noticed this big guy walking towards me. He looked young, had short hair and was dressed casually; I could tell that he must have lifted weights as he had a big torso and big arms. The stranger looked at me as he walked in my direction; I didn't think anything of it. He got up to me, seemed to look right through me and said that we all make mistakes but if I ever showed up in this park again, he'd knock me on my ass. He stared at me for another second then turned around, walked away and disappeared down a side street.
To this day, I never saw the stranger again and I'm not sure who he was or what he wanted. Given his clothes and hygiene, I don't think he was some unbalanced homeless man. At no time did he identify himself, especially as an authority figure like a police officer or a city parks staff. He also didn't appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. I was in a city park open to the public during the daytime so this couldn't be trespassing. I suspect that he thought I was someone else.
know what... i bet he was a dealer and you were invading his turf. a lot of dealers carry around backpacks and he saw yours and thought you were one. dunno why, but i am almost positive.
you were prolly just staring at him lol and he didnt like being stared at
Okay so...first off. Flossie obviously smarter than you because you shouldn't assume just because she was old that she's not incredibly smart, surprisingly strong, and there's been lots of older ladies who were actual serial killers.
That's just first off.
What you did wrong; in any way acknowledge that you were hikers and not just local guys out for a hike. The reason why so many hikers are targeted on the Appalachian trail is that it's a huge opportunity for people to attack someone in a secluded location...and specifically target people who wouldn't be missed for weeks or even months. That is a huge counter measure for forensic anything.
Just supposing you HAD been naive enough to think oh what a sweet little old lady maybe it would be nice to stay in an actual bed for a night or two at least...and then you are never heard from again.
Would they look for you at her place? Of course not...they would assume you got hurt or lost or something on the trail. You would join the unknown number of mysterious disappearances from the trail. Assumed eaten by wild critters or something.
My most sketch encounter in the bush took place near Bancroft Ontario, back in about 1990 or 91. Context: we were subcontracting a provincial government forest resource inventory on private land; landowners were supposed to all have been informed of the undertaking. Basically, the government wanted more accurate data on the amount of merchantable timber on private land and that area of the province has a great deal of prime hardwood forest worth a tremendous amount of money. If you have been in old growth hardwood, you would know the understory is surprisingly clear and you can often see for a great distance as long as the topography is fairly level. You can also hear every sound for quite a distance. So, we, my partner and I- teams only for remote work, were on the shoe leather express, on a 2 km compass line transit between sample plots. Generally, we would plan our day, based on the target number of plots we thought we could finish by mapping our transits out, all of which had to be marked with flagging tape at regular intervals with coded info for the auditors that spot checked the project, basically they would follow X number of lines and re-cruise X number of sample plots. We would park the truck and, if all went well, hit our target and be back to the truck by mid-afternoon, after about 10 or 12 km of humping compass line and doing plot sampling, then head for a lake and some R&R. You encounter all manner of wildlife out there. That day, we heard something at a long distance behind us, it was big and moving fast but it was out of eyesight. We listened for a bit then started following our line again. The sound was still there and definitely coming up on our line. after what seemed like an eternity, we could make out 2 guys on a b-line straight for us and they did not look friendly. Once they could see us clearly, they knew we were cruising timber because of the vests and gear we were carrying. I explained what we were doing on their land, thousands of acres by the way, and then they calmed down a bit but were still pissed 'the man' was on their land. Turns out, they had been fighting a war against timber poachers for a couple years and thought we were out scouting to steal from them. I'm glad I had government ID and the sampling data because I suspect if we had been poachers, we would have disappeared in that forest.
I'm glad I don't live in Canada...
I already don't agree with the fact that we're *forced* to continually pay "property tax" on land *owned & payed for* that *we maintain* not the government... but at least in 🇺🇸 as long there is a fence and "no trespassing" sign, we're free to send lead 1st, ask questions later! As it should be 💯
That's f•cking wild that the Canadian gov thinks they can send gov employees onto *_private land_* to "assess what resources they available"... uhhh that would be whatever hardwoods you find *on state land...* It's none their damn business what "resources" are *_owned_*_ by citizens on their _*_private_*_ land!_
Imagine my surprise when I see a comment about the obscure part of the world I'm from... whoa. That would be a terrible feeling in such a remote area.
Picnic Table next to a shitter?!?! What a dream spot
EXACTLY
She could’ve been a “spotter”, someone who scouts out people to attack later, & then they tell the people they’re spotting for where to find them, then the attackers come out & look for their opportunity! Beware of bad people & be armed!
Sounds to me more like she was a Carolina AT Trail Cougar. Once she determined they were no-score she used the dog to move them off her spot. Waiting for more het... ter... o... sex... uaal hikers. 😅
@@drewodessa2483 LOL! That certainly is another possibility! That was hilarious!
After a 10 mile day I decided to camp in a beautiful riverside area about 150 yards from a bridge where a rural road crosses the river about 30 ft up from the wate. I built a small fire to cook with and it lasted till after dark. Traffic would pass on the road once and a while. I was aware of my light signature so I kept it small and placed myself between the road and the firelight as much as I could.
I was "awakened" that night to the sound of a vehicle stopping on the road on my side of the river. Shortly I hear gunfire - pistol I'm sure -- and the bullets cracking through the tree branches toward me above my hammock. FIve shots. Vehicle left. OK for now -- I go for sleep again. Some time later another vehicle stops on the bridge. Engine running -- doors. A splash in the river. The vehicle departs. Right before dawn I hear the bass notes of a familiar song before the engine of the vehicle approaching. It came to a stop nearly across the river from my hang. Two or more voices speaking in casual elevated tones for a minute. My dog was with me and she put out some modulated "ruffs". Voices stopped after that. I actually never heard them leave.
If I was to go to that area now I would definately be armed with something other than a border collie or bear spray. What a night.
Damn bro wtf is this, stay safe
@@turcarumimperator1395 yeah buddy!
I'd say she was more afraid of you and letting you know she could take care of herself. Just in case you were up to no good. People with knives or axes talking to their voices or looking you up and down, asking about who knows you're here , do they expect a call from you daily etc ...now THAT is scary.
I have travelled all over the world and the only place I scared people was the USA! I once asked a man about his fancy looking camera at the Grand Canyon and he ran away! Culture of fear…
I was hiking in Vermont this one time and I came across two younger guys that had stopped by the side of the trail. One guy was taking a piss and the other guy was filming him. Vermont is weird.
Brilliant! 🙌🙌🙌
😂😂
A UA-camr no doubt LOL
I dare you to hike a trail alone dressed as a f3male. The whole game changes and you should experience it
We possess gut instincts fir that reason exactly. If something doesn't feel right it's best to separate from said person or situation.
As someone who watches entirely too much true crime and horror movies, I was underwhelmed here. 😂 Glad everything went okay.
Corpulent, stop eating
@Menstral I'll stop eating, if you stop breathing. 😉
lol
Me too!
But great reminders here tho:)
Just an idea Kyle, instead of looking for a picnic table when you want a break, you could carry a camp chair so you can have a break where ever you want! Great idea right?
He pays me to carry his camp chair so nobody knows he brings one...
bahaha!
NEVER
What a great idea!
Spoken by a day hiker....
I often go hiking off trail with my dog. Now that I have another dog we walk in a pack off leash. One time I was in a desert patch frolicking with my dogs when I see something behind a bush. I make a hard right as soon as I see it as the bush is infront of me. I see a man pop his head out from behind it. We stare at each other. I say "hi" as I dont know exactly what I'm looking at or why its there and he goes "hello". I immediately turn around and my dogs follow. Maybe he was taking a crap, I dont know but he was rough looking and seemed like he was just waiting behind the bush.
Interesting topic.
Now for the longest post here:
Thinking about your encounter, photographing her, her car and her plate and then texting those photos to a reliable person with a message along the lines of, "We are at X location and this sketchy person rolled up in Ford Blah Blah. She appears to be on drugs and has been saying strange things including a vague threat of her dog attacking us. We needed to inform somebody, just in case."
I have had three weird encounters, all of them on the AT in CT and MA, two of those at shelters and one at the water source of a campsite.
1) A guy who decided to do a full AT flip flop with no hiking experience and not equipped properly. He was not threatening, but he was dangerously stupid, spilling his food all over the place at a shelter know to have recent, bad bear encounters. He had trench foot, the order of which is brutal. The guy was a total mess. He had been shadowing a married couple for hundreds of miles. I heard them whispering that they needed to break out early enough so he could not catch up with them. Was he dangerous? Who knows? He was creepy though.
2) On my last, recent hike in CT, a young guy at a water crossing was hanging out, talking to another older guy, who left soon after I arrived. I know why - the young guy was talking a blue streak about equipment in a manner that can best be illustrated as he was on meth or had a pretty heavy case of mental illness. Not kidding. He was smiling, but weird in an unsettling way. I am glad we were going in opposite directions.
3) I stayed at a shelter in MA, joining two strangers already there who were not together.
Hiker X was young, on a full AT SOBO. The other guy, "Jazzman", was in his sixties, with shocking white hair that made him look like a Bond villain. Neither were sociable.
The young guy was eating and the old guy was already in his quilt when I showed. The old guy was section hiking and claimed to have thru-hiked all of the big trails, including the Triple Crown, and he looked the part.
Anyway, neither seemed dangerously weird at first, just anti-social. Most people will talk to strangers sharing a shelter. Not this (one) time.
The young guy turned in around 8 and snored like no other. Not steady snoring. It was more like beebop jazz snoring, with a sound effects machine from Ferris Beuhler's Day Off. Such is shelter camping.
Naturally, Jazzman and I could not sleep, so we are whispering and quietly cracking jokes about our plight as Thelonous Monk snored at 90 decimals. No big deal.
At about 9, the old guy got up and headed to the privy, letting the door slam on the way in and the way out, so I could hear him. (He must have spent 20 minutes in there.). Yet he did not return after the second slamming. He was out in the woods.
After about ten minutes, I heard slamming a third time. And about 20 minutes later, slamming a fourth time, then a few minutes later he walked back into the shelter, not talking, and went to sleep.
Morning came. I had only slept about two hours. I got my Bear Vault out of the bear box. I only saw the young guy's food bag in there the night before, and that morning only my Bear canister was in there Nothing for the old guy. I had noticed it the night before - no food bag for the old guy. ("How on Earth can this veteran hiker be so stupid as to sleep with his food in the shelter in an area known for bear problems?!")
I was just about to unpack my canister as the young guy is eating and the old guy is just heading out, and I ask him if he will be eating with us, and he replies that he will eat later on the trail. PDQ, he was out of there.
As I unpack my food canister, I immediately recognize that somebody had clicked the lid shut. I could not click it shut the night before because after I had emptied the food from my hip pocket, and it being my first day and night on the trail, I could not fit all the food in there with my stove kit and pots AND lock the lid. It was just too tight. But in the morning, the lid was clicked and could spin effortlessly - it was no longer too full to click the lid shut. Missing from my canister we're three trail bars. Yes, the guy had "raccooned" food from my stash after he had rummaged through it AFTER he had dealt with his diarrhea in the privy! The third and fourth slammings I had heard the night before were not from the privy door. They were from the bear box lid being loudly opened and closed.
At the next shelter on that second night, I discovered that one of my soaking-wet Darn Tough socks from the first, rainy day was also missing. I always do a thorough inspection for anything I might leave behind mistakenly after I have packed and before I leave camp, and I am always the last to leave. In this way, I have never left anything behind. Not ever. There was no way I mistakenly left that sock there, yet grabbed three other socks sitting with it on a shelf. This dude stole my sock as a trophy! That is creepy of the dangerous, psychopathic variety. Stealing food, maybe not. Stealing a single sock, too? That is what serial killers and rapists do.
I bet at least one person on this comments section has heard of this guy. I warned others along the trail and a couple of people had met him.
An old, seasoned hiker I met who was doing his 7th AT thru-hike told me the guy was likely homeless and living off of trail magic, abandoned food, and failing those, stealing food and making a quick, early getaway.
I am a pretty big dude - 6 feet and 195 lbs., who has twice had knives pressed against my belly, guns pointed at me, been threatened with murder twice, (once by the drunk and insane father of a girlfriend because he thought I was his fugly ex-wive's new lover, and once as a witness to a gang shooting, and it was the Aurora, Illinois cops working with the gang that I was told would assassinate me if I did not shut up), so I do not get scared nor feel threatened easily.
Still, a serial killer is a whole different deal. They kill via intelligence, not brawn. And yes, I have even crossed paths with a then-future serial killer, though not on the trails.
The average American will encounter two serial killers in their lifetime, I had learned from a criminal profiler. The guy also told me about the trophy-collecting, petty theft and burglary that serials killers do before they become killers. This is why Jazzman is a guy you should avoid on the trails if you encounter him. You cannot miss him...shocking white hair, in his sixties, skinny as a rail and tall, and now you know his trail name. Hey, he may not be violent, but he is a thief, a terrible conversationalist, and he slams privy doors in the night, so you will not want anything to do with him.
You made it this far? Impressive.
Happy trails to you.
Not a bad idea. I seem to recall that we didn't have any cell service though
@@KyleHatesHiking
Yup, that would be a wrinkle.
BTW, regarding your video on alcohol stoves and my comment about the new Dragon stove I had just purchased, I got to use it three weeks ago, and I really like it. It is not ideal for long trips that require resupply because you will not find the fuel for sale in a retail store, but it is good for the shorter trips. It is compact, the fuel pods burn for a long time, the fuel is non-toxic and the fuel does not mar the cook pot in any way, unlike Esbit cubes or wood. Best of all, it is cheap.
He needed a wet sock to wipe is ass
@@straykitten4998
Good guess. If true, he probably wishes I had bigger feet because he set an AT record for time spent in a privy.
I once seen people about a mile off, so i waited in the woods until they were gone.
This is kinda what it's like being a female. Except, typically, with _younger, very capable men_ -- who have a _disturbing_ amount of persistence -- and with different stakes involved. I assume that most females will find this situation all too familiar, and most females (by a certain age, at least) have some scary stories to tell. Maybe not all, but most. ...Either way, I'm sorry this happened.
I think we all do. We are vulnerable just due to our sex. Sucks
This is why I say EVERY female in their right mind should be licensed to carry
Yep! This is what we deal with all the time! You men have no idea!
I have to carry bear spray for the men not for bears. It’s so unfair and it sucks.
If that is your worst, then you have been lucky. Hiking/backpacking in Australia is generally safer than in the USA, BUT... Personally the following brings back uncomfortable memories: Once when I was lot naiver than now, I was backpacking around Tasmania. I came to town and went to the local newsagency to orientate myself and maybe get a local map. I had a heavy backpack on. Whilst waiting an older guy came up to me and began chatting in what Im thought a friendly manner(it was actually coldly calculating, I worked out later), and asked if I would like a tour of the local sights in his car. Me being a good trusting Aussie guy, said yes. We parked at a couple of underwhelming local spots, before he asked whether I would like a drink back at his place. I felt I couldnt say no, so back we went. It was in the suburbs in an upstairs apartment, and I didnt know where we were. He kept offering beer, and I kept accepting and getting drunker. He then started bringing out hetero porn, which being young did interest me!! He then started to point out the guys in the porn rather than the girls, and suddenly a shocking realisation came over me. I was being set up for god knows what. Long story short- I took an opportunity to bolt, running as far as way as I could with a heavy packpack on. Luckily it was daylight and I was fit. I learnt a lot of lessons that day, BUT...
Flossy has a much better survival instinct.
Thanks for the tip who is new to camping. I use to be a caregiver and I assisted mostly seniors who are schizophrenic, paranoid or has dementia/Alzheimers, it can be scary. I only had 3 people say they wanted to kill me after saying how l lovely I was and resemble a relative.
I did that on and off for about 10 years. It's a hard job kudos. I only had one of my mental clients come after me and boy I tell you, that was terrifying enough to last a life time.
When my sister and I where kids (10 & 12) we would ride our bikes through a near by orchard to a little convenient store. One day on our way back through the orchard there where three men in the orchard they started to yell at us and kept moving closer wanting to know what we where doing there we told them we knew the owners and did this all the time they started getting to close for comfort and I could tell my sister was super uncomfortable so I told them we are leaving and will not be back! Then I jumped on my bike and we both took off down the dirt road. Two of the men chasing us while another one ran toward a big red pick up truck. We happed to be on the end of the road closer to the paved road to our house thank goodness but the men where catching up FAST when out of nowhere a huge skunk 🦨 runs out into the road we where able to ride around it but the men chasing us stopped. We got home and hid our bikes in the garage just before that red truck drove by very slowly! It was terrifying!! We did tell our parents and needless to say we never when through the orchard again!
here in the black forest in good old germany there are many farmhouses that can be very spooky at dusk. On a hike a few years ago I walked along a creek on the other side of which was such a farm with a barn. the barn door was open and looked like a deep black hole. at the first look there was no one to be seen. neither did the second time, but the third time I looked, there was a farmer standing in that f..cking door and I had the feeling that he was staring straight at me. chills ran down my spine and I picked up my pace to get as far away from there as fast as possible. I've done so many hikes and so many overnighters in the black forest before and after that but I never felt that scared 🙈
Okay, don't capitalize all the nouns, but at least capitalize the first word of each sentence. Das wird gross geschrieben!
In her mind you was the crazy threat that's why she mentioned her dog 😂😂😂
I ran into a couple of young Maoists thugs in Nepal while hiking back in the 90s. They were shaking down the locals who were scared enough to give into their threats and hand over what little they had. My uncle was playing with his Lieca binoculars and they really latched onto them and came after us hoping to get us to hand them over. There ensued a long, slow motion foot chase up the trail, it was at elevation and we had packs, but we were fitter back then and we managed to out paced them. We spent a nervous evening wondering if they would find us and start something, but luckily they went off looking for easier targets. Not a big deal, but it could have gone south fast, and all we had as defense were a couple of hiking poles. Trust your senses and work on your 'runfu'!
I went to Nepal and went backpacking as well five years ago. Nothing happened to me there but my pastor friends and I got shaken down on a bus in Bangladesh by a gang of transvestites. No joke.
Many years ago I went hiking in Scotland with a buddy. Back then there were very few signposted trails, so we mostly walked cross-country with a map, pencil and compass. (GPS only existed as military applications, if at all - and the idea of smartphones wasn't even born yet.) The 2 scariest things ever since happened to me on this hike:
1.) We were camping in the plain of a creek and in the middle of the night I went out to pee. As I was doing this, I suddenly saw a dark shape in the semi-darkness 30-40 m away that looked like a bear shifting its weight menacingly, moving from side to side, right foot to left, like he was going wondering if he would attack me or not... I had no idea if there were bears in Scotland at all... I backed very slowly into the tent, always keeping an eye on the "bear" and - did nothing, except eventually falling asleep again. Then, in the light morning, I saw that it was just a bush - about the size and shape of a bear - swaying in the wind that blew quite hard all night.
2.) We camped in a small valley with heather hills somewhere in the middle of nowhere, no settlements closer than a day's walk. Suddenly in the morning the tent shakes, an angry male voice scolds and when we open the zipper, we look directly into a double-barreled shotgun (like this: previews.123rf.com/images/andreyuu/andreyuu1605/andreyuu160500001/57753016-hunter-in -camouflage-clothing-ready-with-hunting-rifle-on-the-hunt.jpg)
and a very "Scottish" looking man in a tweed hunting suit (similar to that:
previews.123rf.com/images/ufabizphoto/ufabizphoto2201/ufabizphoto220100350/ 180817854-attentive-strong-nice-hound-weimaraner-waiting-for-the-command-from-one.jpg) roared: "This is my property! Get out of here immediately!"
When we quickly got dressed and came out of the tent, the guy had already disappeared. We packed up and left this inhospitable place.
Sketchiest we had on our hikes was in NZ. On our way to a Northland beauty spot we took a left instead of a right and kept walking for sometime feeling we were on the wrong path but we kept going. We get to the end of the path but my hike pal said lets go ask someone in that house. I wanted to backtrack but let him go. He got about 20 yards towards the house and two big dogs came out, they bypassed my friend and came towards me. So I call him back which he ignored. I've now got two growling dogs at my feet who I have to keep discouraging from attacking whilst he blithely wanders towards a house with an obviously hostile owner. At one point one of the dogs goes for my leg but I shout him off and then start shouting at them to get back home. Which thankfully they did scooting off, but still standing, guarding about 10 yards away. By this time my bud has got to the house and a woman has come out with a gun! I'm still trying to get my pal back. A short convo with the lady gleens us with a recall of the dogs and and short goodbye. And I hear you ask did we get directions to the beauty spot - no we bl**dy well didn't. What I learned from this is to trust myself.
And somewhere in NZ there's a woman who's telling a story about how sketchy hikers keep coming up to her door and, because she can't tell their intent, she got two big dogs and a gun.
@@kristygraves320 yes she's telling that story in jail after killing innocent hikers lol - 20 years to life in Aukland HS prison!
@@angelacraw2907 😆
I slept walked out of my tent and woke up in the woods when I was a kid. Wandered around jumping at sticks and stumps. Found another camp. Crept up while this couple was sitting by their fire. They spotted me at the edge of their camp which must have been strange to them. Anyways they drove me back to my camp I guess they saw me come in or something. This was in northern California around the early 2000s
Thank you for this. As an older woman hiker, this video tickles me, and….it’s great. When I was your age and a paramedic, the worst I was ever beaten up by a patient was a 63 year old woman. While hiking, the only person I’ve been freaked out by was a woman who pulled a gun when I came around the curve of the trail. I guess I startled her? Scared me sh-less. We all need to be aware of our surroundings. I always carry a small pepper spray (person sized, not bear sized). Again from my paramedic days. The people I treated who’d been pepper sprayed were fine in the long run, but in a load of hurt and unable to hurt anyone else for a couple hours after being sprayed. Highly recommend.
thanks for sharing!
I talked to a security guy that worked at a mental institution. He said if you sprayed a crazy person with pepper spray/mace , they’d just shake their head at you . Please ladies arm yourselves (especially in this day and age ) and get at least a little training . If only from a friend. Thanks . 🙏💕
I live in Colorado and although I would say that it’s unlikely to encounter sketchy people on a trail, i’ve had the strangest encounters here versus anywhere else. Two instances come to mind. First was when my girlfriend and I were hiking on a trail that was on the edge of a suburb and had a lot of stores close by. If any of you are familiar with Colorado Springs, you know that North CO Springs is a higher income area, whereas south gets kind of sketchy. Anyway, we were on a hike that started in the North and went South more towards the direction of downtown. We approached a corner and saw a man walk out of a more dense part of the forest without a shirt on. Now, the area he appeared out of literally did not have any trails, housing, etc… I have no idea what this dude was doing and when we saw him, he had a look as if he almost caught doing something wrong. We decided to continue straight to pass him and I had a pocket knife with the blade out and kind of pulled up hidden behind my arm and had my girlfriend walk on the left side of me/ the side away from this dude. We passed him and once he passed, we stopped and watched where he was going. He quickly stepped off the trail after passing us and went back into the forest again. The spot that he went into was again, more secluded and there was nothing but miles of forest in the direction he went and no trails. The second sketchy encounter was seeing a guy who was completely nude and looking around as if to scout out the area. Overall, Colorado is a weird place.
You said Clemson Orange and included a wonderful Clemson art on the orange jumper, but did it say Clemson or was it possibly CCC (Clemson County Corrections) and "Prison Orange"? Similar but not the same.
I live at the point where the AT crosses from Vermont into New Hampshire. We see many folks coming through the AT. I want to let folks know that there is a community dinner 6 miles from the crossing in White River Jct. with local bus access 6 days a week at 5 PM at the LISTEN Center.
One of my friends used to go up to Lyme or Hanover, one of the trail crossings, and hand out candy bars. He called it being a " trail angel".
Kind of nice.
I'm over in The G.
Beyond Canaan.
Two books that relate to your story: "The Gift of Fear" and "Left of Bang" really worth reading for ANYONE....
The Gift of Fear is great! I had my sister read it. She agrees; best book. She's in college now, and she's always picking up on red flags and satellites.
Once, when I was dropping her off, we both kind of stopped talking, and we realized that we were both getting the same intuition. It turns out the man knew the girl and her mom (the 3 left in the same car), but their interaction was just creepy af. I mean just the way the girl jumped and reacted, and how he had been listening to our conversation (he mentioned what we were saying and suggested they wait for my sister to go up so she would "unlock" the door.
Then there was the guy in the elevator who first asked them their year, THEN invited them to a party. She got a bad vibe and politely declined. One of her friends "scared him off." She said he had been accused of rape.
One thing she can also rely on is school lingo; it helps identify who's pretending to be students at the University. It all starts with "what GRADE are you?" "which DORM are you in" "The RAs are..." I mean, when someone is presenting as a student, but say something like that, it's either an undercover, or someone up to no good.
I'm honestly thankful (and a little bit surprised) that I can't really think of many specific examples of times I've encountered someone truly "off" while out hiking. The closest thing I can really think of is an encounter that happened on a trail in a forest near me here in Massachusetts. There's a really long, straight, narrow boardwalk with railings on both sides that runs through a swampy area right by the edge of a lake. Normally it's a really nice walk... there are beautiful views across the lake and wild blueberries growing along the edge of the boardwalk, and it's the shortest cut-through to get to my favorite trail so I often hike across there when I head to this particular place. But it's hard not to be sketched out by the fact that it IS so long and narrow, and the fact that there are a couple corners in the boardwalk that keep you from seeing if there's anyone way down on the other side of those blind spots.
No big deal though, the only people I ever really need to pass are usually friendly old dudes who like to just kinda saunter along over there taking in the views. It makes sense, you're only a few tenths of a mile from the parking area, and for folks who may be beyond the age where they can handle a long hike, it's a great spot to feel like you're getting out in nature without a ton of effort.
But on one particular day, I'm walking along the boardwalk on my way back out to the car at the end of a great lunchtime hike. I get to the boardwalk, and I'm walking along when I see a guy come out from the blind spot way down at the other end and just... stand there. Staring at me. Now, I could have turned right around and noped out of there, but it's a long way around to skip the boardwalk, and I'm already running a bit late in getting back to work, so I figure... what the hell, I'll just take my chances.
So I keep going, and the guy just keeps standing there, watching me as I get closer. He's definitely another one of those old dudes, and I've got hiking poles so I feel pretty confident I could take him if s*** goes sideways. But still, I don't like this at all. I finally get to the point where I'm passing by where he's standing, and I play it cool, greeting him with a "Great day for a walk, eh?" He just kinda grunts, and I squeeze past, facing him as I sneak by. Thankfully he doesn't really move, he just keeps standing there, watching me with disinterest. Once I was past, I definitely picked up my pace and thanked every deity I could think of for the fact that I didn't get horribly murdered.
Honestly, the smart thing would have just been to turn around and take the long way back. I'll probably do that next time.
im in western ma i have ran into alot of strange people in the woods since the pandemic started way more people were in nature since then. seems to be clearing out though the masses are starting to go back to shopping which is fine with me
My two scariest situations didn’t happen when I was hiking, but when my friend and I were driving across country. East coast to west coast, on our way to driving through Mexico to where Cancun is now (it hadn’t been built yet, but was mostly a fishing spot at the time. A long, long time ago!). But, we did camp at night because we couldn’t afford a motel or hotel as we had to save our money for Mexico. If the weather was good, we just threw our sleeping bags on the ground, not too far from the car, and if the weather was bad, we slept in the car. So, in the first creepy occasion, she and I stopped in a truck stop restaurant, I think it was Indiana or Illinois. We were enjoying our hamburger and fries followed by coffee for the night driving, and this young guy comes up to our table. If I remember correctly, he just sat himself at our table (about our age) without invitation. For clarity, this was in the early 70s, and we were a couple of hippie chicks, and people often did stuff with others in our age group like that. We were much more open to being friendly with strangers at the time. He was acting pretty nervous and started talking about his time in Vietnam, and he had just returned from there. We were interested in hearing his experiences, but it became very clear very quickly that he was having severe mental problems, apparently because of the things he saw and did in ‘Nam. He rapidly started to crank up into fairly loud anger, and he started saying things about killing “g**ks” and that he’d be happy to go back to kill some more “g**ks”. We got pretty uncomfortable, but didn’t want to set his anger off more than it already was because we worried how far it might go. So we started politely saying we had to get back on the road to make good time, and we paid our meal, gathered our stuff and started exiting the restaurant. He actually FOLLOWED us outside in the parking lot, yelling louder than before about how he wanted to kill more “g**ks”. His rage was building, so we hot-footed it to our car, jumped in and raced away as fast as we could go.
The next day we were driving through a Kansas town I had lived in when I was a child from 3-9 years, so we were driving around, going down memory lane as I pointed out the 2 houses I used to live in, then we went to the park that I played in as a kid, where we saw two young boys dunking weighted strings into the stream. We asked them what they were catching, and they said crawdads. And they had a styrofoam cup they were putting them in, and they were very good size, and I love crawdads, so I was already thinking about dinner! They said they were catching them to sell to the guy who runs a bait shack on the river, so I asked him how much he gets paid for that many and he said a dime. I asked if he had promised the guy he’d sell him crawdads and he said no. So, I said I’d give him a quarter for that cup of crawdads and he was overjoyed. So we leave the town, continuing on our trip and thinking how lucky we were to have crawdads in the cooler for dinner. After a while we were driving by a cornfield with ripe, juicy corn. Since it was growing right up to the fence, I thought fresh corn would be very good with crawdads. So, I pulled off the road close to the corn, but my friend still had to get out of the car to go get a couple of ears, so I kept the engine running. My friend had just grabbed the first ear when we heard some old man yelling, and a shot rang out! I yelled at my friend to get the hell back in the car because we could split one ear and it would be fine (and definitely better than getting shot!) but she insisted on getting a couple more. Shots were still firing, but she finally ran back to the car and we were off with no one hurt. That evening we had one of the best and most memorable dinners! We were definitely wild and crazy girls in those days, but we sure made some fantastic memories!
The "vet" at the truck stop I bet didn't go to Vietnam but didn't have anything interesting to say so he made this up. I've never met a war veteran that went up to strangers and just opened up about their war experiences and I, too have lived a good while.
@@sstritmatter2158 That could very well be true. I’ve heard guys brag about a whole lot of things they probably didn’t do, just to impress the girls. And I’ve known a number of vets who didn’t want to talk about their experiences in the war. Thanks for your input.
One time when I was hiking with some friends all day in the rain. We came upon the shelter we thought great we’re going to chill out in the shelter for a little bit and then get to our destination. The shelter was full of people drinking their asses off. When we come up to the shelter the biggest of the drunk people carrying a giant hunting knife with his hand on the handle told us that we had to get out of there and that we couldn’t stay there. Of course we had no intentions of staying but my friend being the guy he is doesn’t like being told what you canning can’t do. So some words got exchanged and the rest of the group started getting a little grumpy with us and a little bit combative. So we decided it was probably a good time to throw the packs back on and split down the trail. When we got to our destination we ended up camping with some really nice people they had to head the same situation with those folks. Other than that I never have too much trouble with anybody on the trail.
Back in the 60's our dad would take us fishing with him. My siblings and I would walk the paths in the woods if we didn't want to fish. Once when I was in gradeschool I went walking in the woods by myself. Dad told me not to go too far and stay on the path. This was not a mountain area but just a lake in MI with a woods surrounding it. Well he gave me a lecture about being safe and I took off. After a while as I was walking I heard someone walking in the woods off of the path. I would stop and they would stop. I didn't really feel too scared. Just a little. We went on for awhile like this, stopping and going. I was never approached by anyone. I soon turned around on the path and went back to where my dad was fishing. No one followed me back.
I was hiking a 14 mile loop out in BFE, and some guy passed us going one way, and 20 minutes later came back the other direction and started telling my date how good her perfume smelled...So I carry a self-defense knife when I'm hiking now lol. I work on a psych unit and your crazy lady would just be entertainment for me ;) But I do understand, I would have been terrified of someone like that in my early 20's.
I think REI stocks " Old Lady Spray". It's right next to the bear spray.
😂😂
Once on trail with my dog in WV’s Dolly Sods, we saw a guy in a black suit, kinda hunchbacked coming our way. He looked like the character from the movie Repo Man. We stepped of trail and let him by. Hours later when coming out of the woods and passing that spot, my dog went into defensive mode, hair raised, teeth shown and growling. I saw nothing but it scared the shit out of me. Lol
sketchyy
If your dog doesn’t like someone BEWARE. No kidding, they know!
I would bet the guy was still around but out of sight, otherwise that would be quite a coincidence.
I don’t think your “what I did wrong” is an actual wrong. Dude you two handled it as polite and swift as possible. It’s nice to know you two stayed safe and unharmed.
thank you!
Things only backpackers say: "Picnic tables are sick."
Lmaooo its true
In weird,awkward ,and annoying situations with undesirables one of the last things I do before violence occurs Is to repeat what the late John Mcain said to a pesky reporter as he was trying to enter a building, “ Please go away “
It always works ,but I think it’s important to use the word please.
People of all ages can be sketchy and substance abusers. Most of us older folks are just bored and love to talk about it lol. We just recently had some weird middle aged guy on the AT around here ( VA, MD) that was following women hikers and being semi threatening with a hammer. Good advice to practice situational awareness and to be prepared to move quickly if necessary.
The chihuahua broke it's leash, and with a blood curdling guttural growl lunged at Kyle. Being a primeval predator, the canine sank his teeth into Kyle's left hiking boot and proceeded to drag Kyle back into it's lair, grannies 1971 Ford LTD station wagon. Once inside the station wagon, the fearsome creature from Dante's inferno began to systematically destroy Kyle's left boot laces licking them with ferocious intensity, oozing it's acidic saliva all over the Scotch guarded tanned leather. Never fear, Kyle was able to regain his wits and Sherlock Holmesed his way out of this predicament. In these moments of abject terror, Kyle recalled Grannies musings about her Airb&b. He quickly succumbed to the incredible pressure he was under and signed the 2 months contract granny had shoved under his nose. With signed contract in hand, granny kicked Kyle to the curb, put the wagon in gear and sped off while singing "She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes!" Thank goodness our hero always comes prepared on hikes. Regaining his composure, Kyle sought out the "Out House" to bandage his pride, change his laces and put on a new pair of undies. The end.
Hey that's the funniest thing I've read in quite awhile. I've stopped watching tv at night. Instead I search the comments and once and awhile find a comment that makes all the searching worthwhile. Such is your funny take on Kyle's granny encounter. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
I did go to Clemson. The official orange is just called "Clemson Orange" officially. The purple is called "Regalia" if anyone cares.
my worst experience on hiking trails is overly loud and intrusive yuppies
Be aware of your surroundings, great advice! Backpacking along Poncha pass, southern Colorado it took me a while to realize the same jeep had been going up and down the pass. I wasn't paying attention. When it finally clicked, it had just passed and I dove off of the road and hid in a big culvert, with my trusty pocket knife out! All the while thinking this person is going to figure out what I did. I hung out in this culvert for a good hour or more. It was spooky.
Get a handgun . A knife is totally useless without being trained in knife fighting. And carry EVERYWHERE. I would have never believed in that 20 or even 10 years ago. This is a crazy world nowadays. 🙏💕
My friend and I went to a hike in camp site on Kauai, you could drive in too, we didn’t have a car, just one night to travel on to hiking trails, a guy approached our campsite, making small talk, it took a while to get rid of him as he wasn’t taking the hint, we finally said we needed to sleep, went to the washroom to change and prepare for sleep, it was a high ceiling with open air holes at the top, I looked up for some reason and there was an eye peering in at us, I quietly let my friend know, a different guy had climbed a tree to watch us, we got out of there, packed our stuff in the dark and hiked out of there, on the way out saw the first guy’s vehicle hidden in the bushes, we got up to the road and called a hostel, they picked us up. This was pre cell phone days, the people at the hostel told us that was a dangerous place to camp, no kidding. The rest of the trip was awesome and safe camping/hiking.
daughters classmate ran across sketchy guys on a trail to a camp site, shed gone with her kid sister, who was only 17, those guys ended up trying to rape them, this was a few years ago, but good lord...thankfully my daughter and my son (US Marine, Raider), hiked up to surprise them, and came upon the guys trying to get the girls clothes off, he put 2 rounds into one when he got up with a machete that he had threatened the girls with, after that the second guy stopped for a second, was going to rush them, but daughters mali mauled the second guy.
Other daughter had hiked out in cali, was living her van life, after coming down a trail and setting up in town, this was during riots, her van was tipped over on a side street she was stealth camping. Local business owners she was sleeping behind, came to her defense/rescue!
Be safe out there!
Tldr. One time we were hiking and we saw a lady with a dog who talked to us.
One time i was hiking on a trail in So Cal. As usual i always carried extra pieces for defense. 1 survival knife, 1 aluminum baseball bat, 1 bear spray, and discreetly 1 9mm and a lot of smiles. My daughter handled her regular hiking pole, my hiking pole was a disguised spear. One time we were traversing between the hills. We saw a big muscular man who’s jogging with a wood baseball bat in his hand. As we approached each other all of us were smiling. My right hand was inside the parka coat with safety off. I’m sure he’s just as wary as i was. There’re cougars sightings reports down the hill. The trail was about 15” wide, i figured he changed the bat to his right hand I’d pull my piece out in 1/3 of a second. He passed us and i turned to my daughter to say “baby, your safety is my foremost concern, and such encounter is why i bring all these safety equipments” i made sure he jogged far from us before i felt at ease with the distance. Ahh i felt kinda better this way
If anyone interested: my hiking pole was 4 ft ling oak dowel 1.25” in diameter. One end and capped it a rubber cap using epoxy glue
. Another end i had an pointy 5” long iron rod with 8” inserted deeply inside and secured by 1” brass ring. Outside of this end it’s covered by a pvc pipe to conceal the whole thing. 1 twist and the pvc pipe comes undone.
bro you bring a spear, a knife, a gun, and a fuccin baseball bat?!?! you by far the most dangerous thing in the woods i wear flip flops
@@destroystreets1023
you'd be glad if you're chased by something or man and you saw me. If you ran behind me asking for help, I'll make sure no one bothers you. You're safe with me, despite my outward "loaded friendliness" LOL
Many years ago me and husband went camping in popular area. Just finished setting everything up and my husband got his gun out of car and sat at picnic table to clean it when we hear this thrashing in the trees. Expecting a animal to jump out but it was two men in orange jumpsuits handcuffed shackled together. They see me first and take a step forward then they see husband with gun, they turn and take off in another direction. I started to run to ranger at entrance to alert them and at that moment sheriff pulls in. All I had to do was point in the direction they went and sheriff was on it.
Hiked up Hurricane Ridge in Olympic Nat'l Park in 1993 with some friends attending the Wood Boat school in Port Townsend. Just a day hike. We got there and got into the hot springs - there was already an older man there who had set up with a short-wave radio picking up a Russian station. We were young and nubile and he fixated on me and asked all kinds of questions. He said he would marry me and give me $10,000 and he kept reaching out for me underwater. I was there with my boyfriend who would later become my husband and all of this was super uncomfortable. We had hiked up to the hot springs though and watered to thoroughly enjoy our adventure. and by now it was dark as well. He was sketchy for sure but eventually we just left and he stayed. It was awkward but not too bad of an ending.
On the AT in PA there is an underpass. A homeless guy who goes by "The Wolf Man" lives under Route 61 in Port Clinton PA. He stays for about a year at the time according to locals. It is by far the most uneasy section of the AT through ever. Complete with stuffed animals hung from the bottom of the underpass to the entire underpass of the highway covered in song lyrics, random candy wrappers and the entire communist manifesto. The Wolf Man is nice enough to hide and lurk off the trail if you look closely you may find him! That is by far the most bizarre hike I have done.
that is bizarre. I remember Port Clinton and that weird pavilion they let hikers use.
On my NOBO this year, the guy hanging out at Ensign Cowell shelter in MD (hiked past it in early May) was insane. Had a 5th of something in his hand and was talking crazy when I passed that shelter. Even the ridge runner didn’t want to deal with him, despite “no alcohol” signs everywhere in MD... Gotta love shelters within a mile of a road crossing!
I was in a rest area somewhere during a cross country road trip when suddenly about 40 bikers with colors pulled in . As I watched, the leader got off his bike, walked over to one of the others, gave him a smack, walked back to his bike, and everyone just sat there straddling their bikes until they got the signal to get off . That was enough for me as I slowly pulled out and left. I wasn't gonna wait to see what's next.
Then there was the 'Chainsaw Guys'... my useless brother decides to yell at people somewhere near us chainsawing firewood. As annoying as it is after travelling 120 miles to escape noise, this is not a good idea.
Sure enough out of the forest come two guys with a chainsaw. I'm sitting cleaning my fingernails with a 'survival knife' as I calmly explain how annoying the noise is, in the forest, and that my useless brother was just frustrated . That seemed to be enough to diffuse the situation and they left. There's all kinds out there. Be wary because they know it's a venerable environment and can be taken advantage of. In this stage of my life I didn't carry, but you bet your ass I do now.
This should be a horror movie. Not the old lady encounter, the Kyle is off his meds and having a manic chat. Truly horrific. 😂
Every sketch encounter I've ever had on a hike has been at or near a road crossing. I've given up stopping near them because of all the zig heads.
That's a very good point. My feeling would be the place you'd find these creeps would be close to parking lots or on short hikes. Highway rest stops I'm definitely packing.
Many years ago...2001...my boyfriend, friend and I were backpacking around the Big Island HI. We would hitch hike occasionally and one time we got picked up by a guy in a white van, sketchy already right? Well we pile in and when he starts talking we realize he is absolutely hammered. We somehow convinced him to let us out a few miles down the road but it was terrifying.
I used to work in the mountains of certain Eastern European country and frequently used to go for all day hikes. I never felt threatened, all people I met on the trails were usually friendly or neutral. The attacks I encountered in my life happened in towns. I still have this impression only good people are going into mountains and bad people stays in urban areas. Obviously US is a completely different planet.... Geez, I nearly forgot what happened me in Peru appr. 16 years ago.... I decided to walk an old Inca trail in the mountains. The beginning of the trail was behind a village. So my plan was camping on the edges of this village for the night and continue hiking early morning.... I did put up my tent when 2 young men appeared. We exchanged few words and they started checking out my camping gear and quietly muttering among themselves.... It was clear they have a plan. I knew immediately I have to get away from that spot. They didn't do anything yet because it was still clear daylight and the closest houses were only appr. 20 m from my tent, but I was sure these two men would return after nightfall..... So when they left I immediately packed up and went into the middle of village to ask somebody to give me a a board for a night. One lady invited me to stay at her small shack , she lived there with her children. They haven't had any beds, they used to sleep on a primitive ceiling joists above the living area. I had to put up with same sleeping arrangements for a night, but I was happy to be safe!!!
About 30 yrs. ago, I walked pretty deep in the woods to take a pee. I was at a swimming hole in Oregon.
So as I'm peeing I look up and see a face! A man had followed me. So I pissed all over myself and got the hell out of there! I was surprised I didn't hear him, but I'm very aware of my surroundings as weird things have happened!
Yes, always listen to your intuition, that's why God gave it to us.
I walked into a campsite and all the spots were full. Dude there with no vehicle and small hikers tent is there. Figure he's a hiker, asked if I could stay on that site. He said sure. Then I find out he's homeless and has severe mental and alcohol issues. He told me after I was settled in, then he proceeded to demonstrate for me. I slept like 3 hours after a 15 and had 15 back to the car. I thought seriously dude was going to kill me.
glad you're okay!
@@KyleHatesHiking I laugh now. I wasn't laughing then. Dude I ran into in the morning said he came across that dude an hour before me and he was not right in the head.
Was his name Baniel Decker?
I would have asked her "What's up with the orange suit?" May be she was lonely and needed some friendly talk. Or maybe you could have offered a small snack. I get that on a hike there needs to be a degree of situational awareness. But an old lady vs two male Hikers. Also, what have we become now in this day and age that we can't engage in a friendly conservation.
And here I thought the crazy Clemson lady was going to do something, well crazy and instead, I wasted 11 minutes of my life.
I've saw people shooting some assault rifles constantly all afternoon, evening and even in the morning about about a quarter mile from where I camped. This was in the Mill Creek wilderness out in the Ochoco mountains in Oregon .
I had a similar experience dispersed camping on a forest road in Washington. Had a great first 3 nights and then on Friday night it seemed like the entire environment flipped like a switch. It was 4 big trucks and for about 10 hours after they came roaring through, all I hear was gun shots and all kinds of hollering. They knew I was there and were far enough away that they didn't come back to mess with me thankfully. I had my entire spread packed up within 35 minutes of daylight which was a record for that big set up.