Looking after yourself?

[PeterHW]

Dealing with your point on "having a plan"....in terms of getting out of somewhere very quickly....using heavy green wool for your tarp if tied to trees instead of para cord enables you to pull it away very quickly by snapping it and bundle all kit into it and take off....this works well with a bivi bag set up....a hammock is a bit slower because of the need for sorting out knots...but avoiding the confrontation is definately the best course...and if they persue you it will count in your favour as to justifying defending yourself...a camera helps certainly if you take a few pic's and the visible phone call is also certainly a good idea...

Taking things to a different level....on expeditions abroad in Bear country I prefer to set up a camp line with fishing line filament....very hard to see and if linked to a modified mouse/rat trap trigger for an unloaded ( ie shot and wad removed ) shotgun cartridge which goes off as a loud blank...this acts as a good perimeter alarm...however you need not use a shotgun cartridge...wire it up to a hotel travel alarm for a room which works on batteries ( available from many travel accessory companies ) which emits a loud siren...this works just as well and gives some comfort that when you are asleep nothing encroaches too close before you are aware of it. Never used this type of set up for humans...but the principle is the same.

I usually carry flares and flash bangs when abroad like this...they work well as Bear scares....over here flares certainly can be bought from a Yacht Chandlers...popping one of those if it was dark helps and you can get the hand held versions...they also burn at clossal temperatures...if humans are the problem you can defend yourself with that very effectively...and it looks better later on than having used a knife or an axe...just as effective as well I would imagine...

If it's not dark and you spot them then do as you did...move away...

 

[tobes01]

If it's dark, then a damned good torch will do the job 9 times out of 10 - just shine it straight in their eyes and make sure your voice means business, and they'll clear off.

 

[tjwuk]

Some good advice here fella's, and also some interesting stories.

Always makes you wonder when you post as thread like this, but I think most people here understand the ways of the World, and even if you stand to fight things don't always go according to plan, even if heavily trained-armed!

Basically my thoughts are, get out ASAP. On night trips I use a similar technique to 'PeterHW' with fishing line, but with logs/branches.

Another thought would be to sharpen a couple of straight branches and stick them back into the soil. If done properly could look inconspicuose!

 

[Shingsowa]

That is an impressive umbrella! No i know why Nick Crane carries on wherever he goes!

One site that i was introduced to by a friend is in the middle of a large forest in North Wales. Good vehicle access, good views, nearest house over a mile away, and then several miles to the next one...

However on more than one occasion we have had cars arrive in the middle of the night to 'investigate' our vehicles etc. Mostly youths form the local towns (Denbigh and Ruthin), but one time it was a minibus, full of travellers (the new-age kind, not the 'da ya like dags?' kind). It's 2 am, our campfire is hidden by a rise in the ground, all lights extinguished etc etc...
I quietly wander over with the hood of my smock up, long wax drovers coat on and staff in hand...
They are setting up an array of tarps for the night, and lots of laughing and joking. I step into the edge of the pool of light form their lantern, and wait... the guy who spots me nearly explodes with fright! I drop my hood, stick my hand out and say

'Hi, i'm Richard, there are a few of us camped in the woods around here, just wanted to know if you needed a hand....'

Stammering replies of 'no... thanks.....' and a quick goodbye and i disappear into the woods again.... no trouble, everybody had a good night's sleep. They were gone by 7am...


This story would have been a lot cooler if i hadn't have fallen in the frigging ditch trying to be a nightwalker and get back to our camp without a headtorch... sigh...

 

[tytek]

It's not something I take to the woods, but on the odd occasion I have to wander round town at the wrong hours, I tend to carry an umbrella that a relative gave me. Not any old umbrella though, oh no...

http://www.real-self-defense.com/unbreakable_umbrella.html

That's a bit too far - Do you have an Omega watch too???

Seriously, you don't have one do you???

 

[Toddy]

My Granny had one like that, she called it a gamp.
Used to be incredibly common.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[_scorpio_]

in my experience, when your out in the woods with a tent and fire going or wandering around cutting firewood or making a shelter with a machete you tend not to see anyone apart from other people doing the same thing, a curious policeman or (never yet in my experience) someone with less than honorable intentions.
i am not sure how bad the teenagers around your areas are like but where i live and camp is known to be "dodgy" and i know that nobody between the age of 0 and 17 around here is going to bother you when you have anything that could be used as a weapon. i dont blame you for being paranoid though! im really paranoid about that kind of thing and always keep all my sharp tools near me in a tent and have gone over the scenario of what could go wrong too many times to count.

 

[Lasse]

Reminds me of a film I saw recently, Eden Lake, about a couple going for a nice weekend camping in the woods when some insane teenagers pass by.

Never met anyone at night in the woods but must admit usually being quite alert when out at night. That also makes it the best place to tell horror stories etc, not without a reason!

Have unintentionally been the boogie man myself though: was walking home in the city in the middle of the night (after a party) and a girl happened to be heading to almost the exact same area, so was walking the exact same roads for kilometres. Since I'm quite tall I was walking slightly faster than her and slowly came closer, as usual dressed in rather dark clothes (black is stylish you know ). When I noticed the girl was getting a bit scared I hurried past her and smiled in a friendly way which immediately got her calm. The poor girl said she thought I might've been up to no good so was quite comforted when I clearly wasn't that type of guy. Had a nice walk talking for the last couple kilometres

If I'd ever be getting in trouble in the middle of nowhere though, I'm sure I'd be happy I followed at least a bit of self defence classes and especially: I'm quite a good runner with good eye sight... The best defence when seriously threatened still is using your legs to get the hell out of there, or at least that's what the local Krav Maga teacher told me, and he doesn't look like someone who needs to run in case of...

 

[Elines]

Not sure where I read/heard it but one tactic is to:

• throw out both your arms to the sky
• say/shout in a strong forceful voice, something like:

SUPERMAN - SON OF JOR EL - I COMMAND YOU TO COME HERE NOW!!!

Don't know about you but it would scare me. I’d almost like the opportunity to give it a go (but in a city maybe rather than out on my own!)

 

[Stryker]

Thanks for sharing your story tjwuk. I think we all get a bit complacent about our abilities, so it's really good to have a sensible reminder to prepare for the "what if" scenarios.

Cheers

 

[kINGPIN]

I have often thought about self defence and the like out in the wilds. Sometimes your mind can play games when out by yourself but in this case you actually saw the threat. The positives are that you saw them coming, not to mention the fact that you were probably more tooled up then them!:BlueTeamE This is probably going to sould paranoid but when I am sleeping outdoors I always have my knife very accessible, not just for peace of mind or threat of violence, but there is always a poosibility that you will need to make a quick exit out of your tent if a stray spark/faulty meths bottle starts a fire. ....I suppose its all just piece of mind really.

 

[slasha9]

Hiya! my local woods are quite small and criss-crossed by lots of tracks, so wherever u pitch camp you will b fairly close to people at some point. Twice now while I have been solo camping someone has tried to sneak up on my camp after dark (both occasion were on Saturday nights) It may have been local army cadets, or teenagers but my tactic was to stay very still with headtorch/lantern on full, then as they get closer (and there's nothing louder to a human ear than another human TRYING to move quietly through woods!) without making it obvious that I am aware of their presence i switch off all the electric lights and move to just ouside my camp area. That now means that a) they know I am aware of their presence b) they don't know where the hell I am any more.

Done that both times and the next noise I heard was the buggers beating a hasty retreat!

On the other hand, earlier in the same day, before I pitched camp I was sitting in my camp spot against a tree, next to my green backpack, dressed in my subdued clothes and a young lady walking her dog followed the pooch off the trail. Poochie had come to investigate the strange object that was sitting in the shadows and seemed content that I was okay, however the young lady ran off the path into the undergrowth and obviously did not spot me until she was pretty much nose-to-nose. She actually SHRIEKED when she caught sight of me (to be fair I was holding a copy of Lord of the Rings, not a two-handed axe love!)

ooooops


I wasn't hiding or anything but I guess that sitting still in woodland might amount to the same thing ( I sit still a lot, the alternative is actually doing stuff)


Just goes to show that maybe we can all get hold of the wrong end of the stick.


anyway, hope that helped a little



Sean

 

[_scorpio_]

yes, even if someone may seem to be sneaking around or trying to hide, it may be someone like you just reading your magazine or someone "sneaking around" might be looking for their keys or something.

 

[R3XXY]

I bet that umbrella guy hangs out with those dudes from the Cold Steel vids

 

[Cobweb]

I haven't had that kind of trouble yet, but being a female alone in the woods does scare me somewhat. Luckily I know most of the people that live around here, good folkes and the not so good ones tend to get drunk in each other's houses and not bother taking the trip up to the woods.

I try to stay out of sight anyway and my new camping area is quite difficult to get to and very well hidden from anyone who might be wandering around.
I have had people following me around town at night but I have found that turning around and asking them if they are following me usually works.

After reading these stories, I'm a little more paranoid now. I might have to find a couple of burly blokes to camp with now! (Or I could move up to Toddy's - she could see off a Bear!)

 

[Matt.S]

I might have to find a couple of burly blokes to camp with now!

You taking offers?

 

[Native Nathan]

Having a Black Belk in Karate, Judo & Ju-Jitsu Kid of gives me some confidance

I have never been in that situation, but if trouble comes looking for me I have a Mora Frost around my Neck, A Kukri or Axe on my Belt and my Main Knife with in arms reach at all times.

So i would feel sorry for them.

I know this behavior is not one that BCUK would endorse, but personally it is better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6.

 

[PREPER]

It's not something I take to the woods, but on the odd occasion I have to wander round town at the wrong hours, I tend to carry an umbrella that a relative gave me. Not any old umbrella though, oh no...

http://www.real-self-defense.com/unbreakable_umbrella.html

Lovin that umbrella :swordfigh

PREPER.......

 

[PREPER]

Three of us were out wild camping in a well-chosen spot where we had camped several times before and never seen anyone after dark. We had just finished our meal and where partaking enthusiastically in some liquid refreshment if you get my drift when.....
I heard some noise not too far from us, we all listened intently as the noises got closer. A large group was attempting to creep up on us using 'red' light torches. We knew they had heard us and could probably see our campfire; it all went quiet.
I called out "Who are you why don't you come over and join us?" After a few minutes a group of around 12 approached.
They were the local bat appreciation society looking for local species. We had a short but friendly chat and introduced ourselves. I think they were at first scared of us. If you look at it from their point of view they were out in the middle of nowhere, come across three 'big' lads sitting around a fire with various bushcraft sharps about.

PREPER…………

 

[_scorpio_]

Three of us were out wild camping in a well-chosen spot where we had camped several times before and never seen anyone after dark. We had just finished our meal and where partaking enthusiastically in some liquid refreshment if you get my drift when.....
I heard some noise not too far from us, we all listened intently as the noises got closer. A large group was attempting to creep up on us using 'red' light torches. We knew they had heard us and could probably see our campfire; it all went quiet.
I called out "Who are you why don't you come over and join us?" After a few minutes a group of around 12 approached.
They were the local bat appreciation society looking for local species. We had a short but friendly chat and introduced ourselves. I think they were at first scared of us. If you look at it from their point of view they were out in the middle of nowhere, come across three 'big' lads sitting around a fire with various bushcraft sharps about.

PREPER…………

and thats where things go wrong. they see you all sitting around drinking and sharpening axes and machetes then there going to be concerned, and being a group of people stupid and a bit reckless too. they will all be thinking about whether to confront you or call the police and how to confront you, whether your going to go berserk and slice them up and cook them or not, and depending on who was in the group (a group of people 25 and under will be a lot worse at judging a situation than over 25's) they might pick stupidly and try to chase you off or go in as armed as they can make themselves, making you lot instantly worried when a group of people turn up with pitchforks a and flaming torches so you get up brandishing axes etc. and it all gets a bit dodgy and it only takes one idiot in the group to throw a rock or something and you have a problem.
of course thats worse case scenario but it is possible anyway that two people/two groups of people who don't want trouble can end up causing it by misjudgment of the other person/groups intentions.