Staying safe / spooky stories

[rgallant]

@Rachel821 Odd feelings about places just happen, at the risk of great laughter directed at me .

I very clearly remember a beautiful sunlit clearing, that just for lack better words creeped me out in a big way. Enough so that I avoided it on my return trip, it has always stuck with me because there was no reason for my reaction, no odd smells, noises, movement nothing. I have spent a great deal of time alone in back country, so it was not "new guy nerves", it still sticks with me 20 odd years later.

So there is that. I have had bears pop out of the brush very close , found downed deer (cougar and wolf most likely in both cases) none of which had the same effect on me. Sometimes things just seem off, there may be no good reason but since the event above I tend to go around might be silly be I feel better.

 

[86scotty]

There's a LONG thread around here somewhere with strange and unexplainable camping/exploring/overlanding stories. Someone will post it I'm sure.

As for a great read, absolutely check out the Death Valley Germans. It's one of the most eye opening things I've ever read.

 

[Rachel821]

@Rachel821 Odd feelings about places just happen, at the risk of great laughter directed at me .

I very clearly remember a beautiful sunlit clearing, that just for lack better words creeped me out in a big way. Enough so that I avoided it on my return trip, it has always stuck with me because there was no reason for my reaction, no odd smells, noises, movement nothing. I have spent a great deal of time alone in back country, so it was not "new guy nerves", it still sticks with me 20 odd years later.

So there is that. I have had bears pop out of the brush very close , found downed deer (cougar and wolf most likely in both cases) none of which had the same effect on me. Sometimes things just seem off, there may be no good reason but since the event above I tend to go around might be silly be I feel better.

These are the kinds of stories I want to hear about! They may seem silly to some, but to others who have experienced it - not so much.
A few years ago I went on a beautiful hike in Tucson. A few miles in the trail veers right and declines into the shadow of the mountain. I was cruising downhill, went through the lowest part of the slope and started the slight climb into the shadow which takes you around another curve. I felt...on display and kept looking behind myself every minute or so - convinced someone was approaching behind me. I eventually stopped and took my headphones out...silence. So quiet my ears rang. I just slowly scanned the hills around me expecting to see a mountain lion watching me lol. I didn't see anything. I was so unnerved I turned around and basically jogged back to the exposed part of the canyon. Creepy!

 

[Rachel821]

There's a LONG thread around here somewhere with strange and unexplainable camping/exploring/overlanding stories. Someone will post it I'm sure.

As for a great read, absolutely check out the Death Valley Germans. It's one of the most eye opening things I've ever read.

Oooo I would love to see that thread! And I'll check out the book

 

[86scotty]

Oooo I would love to see that thread! And I'll check out the book

Found it

https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/scariest-freaky-moments-when-camping-or-offroad.10705/

 

[4x4tripping]

I did travel over 110`000km (68`400 miles) in the last 9 years, did live over one year in my vehicle. I did mostly wildcamping, remotely in the past years. Africa, south america, europe.

If somewane decide to raid your vehicle at night, male / female will dosnt matter for that decission - the guys dont can know that before.

So usually they are scared. Someone who has the strenght to stay remotely is prepared, did carry a weapon, is martial arts specialist or similar.

I never got testet - and did travel also the 2nd and 3rd world. Do you really worry to do staying wild at home in the US or in Europe? Would you use a tank for staying wild in africa?

How likely it is, to get a knock on the door at night? The chance to win the lottery is better, so you should probably do that.

Yes, some places are better than others to staying wild.

Here is my little instruction guide - which i still are following when travelling:

Staying free and wild - wildcamping in the nature

The 1x1 of "wild camping" with by camping car, howto find a remote spot for a night at your own.

vanlife.4x4tripping.com

And no, I did NOT carry a gun in foreign country, nor a machete, nor a bear spray nor you can call me jet lee.

Nothing speak against to carry a gun, if it is legal to carry one. But for multicountry trips it is not possible to carry those, so I never did anyway.

So keep your hands, how often you did got a knock on the door of your RV from a guy at night - and who says - oh sorry, wrong gender, and did leave?

Dont fear the girls too much, who would like to travel.

4x4tripping

 

[craig333]

You never know what can happen. Randy was as experienced as they come as still succumbed to an accident. https://www.backpacker.com/survival...-ranger-with-28-years-experience-disappeared/

Really want to scare yourself? Read some stories written by Game Wardens.

 

[AbleGuy]

You never know what can happen. Randy was as experienced as they come as still succumbed to an accident. https://www.backpacker.com/survival...-ranger-with-28-years-experience-disappeared/

Really want to scare yourself? Read some stories written by Game Wardens.

JAMES RANDALL MORGENSON, R.I.P.
Park Ranger James (Randy) Morgenson drowned after being swept over a waterfall while on a backcountry patrol in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, California. Other rangers began to search for him after he failed to check in with dispatch at the regular time following the first day of the patrol.

Despite an exhaustive search, his remains were not found until July 2001, nearly five years after he went missing. The investigation indicated that he likely fell through a snow drift and broke his leg while crossing a creek, dying of associated injuries and hypothermia. His remains were washed down the creek and into a small cascade where they were hidden in the rocks for years.

Ranger Morgenson had served with the National Park Service for 27 years. He was survived by his wife.

from http://www.odmp.org/

This fits the spooky/odd stories category because of the two slightlydifferent COD’s reported above (drowned vs. died of hypothermia/injury)...so what really happened seems still a bit of a mystery...

 

[AbleGuy]

Looking for the above end of the story, I also came across another mysterious backcountry disappearance:

Skeleton found beneath California peak unearths a mystery | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

LOS ANGELES >> The climbers were closing in on the top of California’s second-highest peak when they came upon the grisly discovery of what looked like a bone buried in a boulder field.

www.staradvertiser.com

 

[rruff]

Have you ever experienced anything strange that you couldn't quite explain?

Let me see...

1) A hummingbird that kept sticking it's proboscis in my ear while meditating. I've had them do their soaring and diving dance/song many times, but only once did it get that intimate...
2) One day while reading I noticed a fly sitting on my arm. Not doing anything... just chillin'. If I tried to touch him with my finger he'd hop on it. Tame, not afraid. That part isn't so unusual... but a little later I notice hundreds of killer bees had been attracted to my solar shower and the puddle left on the ground. My truck was open and they were getting inside it also. I jumped up and frantically began to deal with the situation and soon discovered that I had an ally. Yep, my fly buddy... was repeatedly slamming into the bees, with enough force to annoy them and make them fly away. Damnedest thing I ever saw. Of course I can't prove it was the same fly, but who else?
3) A little lizard who appear in front of me one day and proceeded to do a dance complete with back flips, and finished with a flourish and a pose on his hind legs. Yes, I clapped.
4) One night saw silent objects flying very fast in a V formation at low altitude. All I could see was what looked like sparks streaming off them.
5) Camping along the Sea of Cortez, an incredible feeding frenzy in the bay on a night when there was a lot of phosphorescent plankton. Not sure what was feeding exactly, but they were large swimming creatures (dolphins for one, but others too) chasing smaller ones, and all leaving bright tracers and splashes of color in their wake. That wasn't hard to explain I guess, but man that was cool...

I've considered a gun AND a german shepherd but it's shocking how many hunters have disappeared. Maybe a GPS tracking device lol.

Those things are only effective if you treat everyone as a threat... ie you greet them with a loaded gun (or vicious dog) in your hand. Who wants to live like that? Otherwise if they really have bad intent, they've got the drop on you.

Better to just be kind and treat everyone as a friend. Don't act like prey (scared)... or a threat yourself. I lived in my truck, mostly in the wilderness, for 13 years straight. Saw several very sketchy seeming folks and some with guns pointed my way, but no worries, ultimately. Bears were always scared of me. Mountain lions didn't seem scared but they didn't try to eat me either. Just try to avoid stepping on rattlesnakes...

BTW, I never stayed in campgrounds (you're more likely to find predatory humans and animals there), and rarely where other people could be seen or heard. I've heard you can get GPS emergency beacons these days... might want to look into that.

 

[MattF350]

Best day to have a birthday, if I do say so myself.

Now onto the topic at hand.

My wife watches enough true crime stories that I think I may have heard it all. Nothing, in terms of crime, would surprise me.

My best advice I can give, seeing how you were suggested the best dog in the world and a firearm, is awareness. Dont be that person head down in phone, ear buds in walking in an alley.

Youll see, hear things way before it becomes an immediate issue for you if youre being aware of your surroundings. Not to say that every person or noise you hear may try to cause harm but there are times when one or both shouldnt be there.

Im just rambling at this point, but hopefully that makes sense. Ive done campgrounds and camped in the woods. I worried more about the campgrounds than the woods. While yes anyone can visit BLM/public land, most of them are doing the same as you.

 

[Arclight]

The down side to stopping a problem with force or implied force is you will need to move, not a couple of hours later, right then and move far 10 to 20 miles. A morons bruised ego is likely to stop what little common sense they have cold, letting the get even side take over.

This is the best quote of the whole thread. It's also the reason why engaging with your idiot neighbors is usually a bad idea. You can't afford to have a 24/7/365 feud with someone who has time to waste and lives next next to you.

 

[Arclight]

As a SAR person for 20 or so years, I have searched for various people who were either never found or only found months/years later. Here are some things I have noticed:

1. They were almost always alone.
2. They did not have any effective means of communication. A PLB or satellite beacon is the "Gold Standard" for this outside cell range, but other methods can work too.
3. They were hiking off-trail, in a place where nobody would come by during the time when help would have made a difference.
4. By the time we were searching for them, they were probably unresponsive or dead. A responsive person with a whistle is a LOT easier to find than an unconscious one. In some terrain, our POD (probability of detection) is like 10%. If you are in the wrong ditch, behind a bush, etc. SAR is NOT going to find you unless you say something or whistle.
5. When they got lost, they were in an altered state compared to what most of us would view as normal and rational. Examples I can remember include being off their medications, autistic, recreational drug user, drunk, dementia, severe dehydration, etc.
7. They just took off and left their phone/etc. behind. Nobody had a clue where to even start a search until their car was located or the detectives found the place where they bought gas two states away from home. Much of the time these end up being suicides, unfortunately.
8. The subject is very competent, having done much more difficult hikes/mountaineering routes/etc. before and decides to an aggressive solo adventure. See point #1. Having an accident or getting chest pain under these circumstances is extremely unforgiving.

 

[Arclight]

The handful of times a crime was suspected, it fell into two categories:
1. A domestic partner that probably planned to kill them already, just happened to do it in the backcountry.
2. Someone already fragile and vulnerable is taken advantage of due to an "easy opportunity" by scumbags.

There have been a few isolated instances of people who live with very little contact with society on public land and survive by stealing from cabins, begging food/money from PCT hikers and that sort of thing. These are very difficult for detectives to solve because those kind of hardcore dropouts don't have a license plate, cell phone, permanent address or any other normal thing that would help identify them.

As other have said, situational awareness and not doing difficult, off-trail hiking and similar activities alone is most of what you need.

If you see weird people living in a car, don't approach them and keep driving. If you pull into a BLM campground and the people next to you are having a loud, angry domestic, this might not be the night to stay there. And so on. Let your pride go. Don't let "But I was here first!" or "They're the ones causing a problem" keep you from finding somewhere better and less stressful to be.

 

[rruff]

As a SAR person for 20 or so years, I have searched for various people who were either never found or only found months/years later. Here are some things I have noticed:

1. They were almost always alone.
2. They did not have any effective means of communication. A PLB or satellite beacon is the "Gold Standard" for this outside cell range, but other methods can work too.
3. They were hiking off-trail, in a place where nobody would come by during the time when help would have made a difference.
4. By the time we were searching for them, they were probably unresponsive or dead. A responsive person with a whistle is a LOT easier to find than an unconscious one. In some terrain, our POD (probability of detection) is like 10%. If you are in the wrong ditch, behind a bush, etc. SAR is NOT going to find you unless you say something or whistle.
5. When they got lost, they were in an altered state compared to what most of us would view as normal and rational. Examples I can remember include being off their medications, autistic, recreational drug user, drunk, dementia, severe dehydration, etc.
7. They just took off and left their phone/etc. behind. Nobody had a clue where to even start a search until their car was located or the detectives found the place where they bought gas two states away from home. Much of the time these end up being suicides, unfortunately.
8. The subject is very competent, having done much more difficult hikes/mountaineering routes/etc. before and decides to an aggressive solo adventure. See point #1. Having an accident or getting chest pain under these circumstances is extremely unforgiving.

Well, you got me pegged. ? But I'm also considerate enough to not let anyone know where I am... and if I did, nobody would be surprised if they didn't hear from me for a month or year. So SAR would have no reason or location to look until it was obviously too late.