Travel Security
Camping Safety Tips

Travel Security and Outdoor Safety means knowing that predators hunt for victims in urban, suburban, rural, and wilderness areas. Violent crime rates, per capita, are roughly the same everywhere – even in remote wilderness areas. After all, psychopathic predators like hunting for isolated human prey where very few, if any, witnesses or rescuers are nearby – and the wilderness is the ultimate hunter’s paradise.

One month after the homicide of 84-year-old Irene Bryant — who was hiking with her husband, John (who is still missing), in Pisgah National Forest – local outdoors enthusiasts remain shocked that something like this could happen in their otherwise serene playground. ... “You cannot assume that just because you’ve gone on a public land that you have automatically gained some level of safety,” said John Garrison, chief ranger for the Blue Ridge Parkway. “And yet we see that time and time again with visitors. I can’t tell you through my career how many people have been involved in an incident and said, ‘We never dreamed it would happen here.’ ... “People are looking for a sanctuary when they go into the forest, and when we turn our thoughts to other things, we drop our guard.” ... “We tend to over-rely on the fact that, ‘Well, if anything ever happens I’ll just call, and the cavalry will come,’” Garrison said. “Well, first of all, you may not be able to get phone service. Secondly, in the forest, the cavalry is a long way off.”
Excerpted from The Asheville Citizen-Times (NC) – 22 November 2007

Terri Jentz and a friend, who had joined her on a summer cross-country bike tour, were asleep at a campsite in a remote part of Oregon when a man in a pickup truck drove into their tent and rode his front tires up the right side of Jentz's upper body. The man got out of his truck, started hacking at the two girls with an axe and came within inches of killing them both. Then, without a word, he stopped, climbed back into his vehicle and sped away. Terri Jentz later wrote of it in her book, "Strange Piece of Paradise."
Excerpted from The Contra Costa Times (CA) – 24 June 2006

The victims, found in their sleeping bags, had been shot through the head. Julia Bechtold said she was at the same spot on the beach last weekend. "Now we see this is a place where someone who camps can get shot."
Excerpted from The Oakland Tribune (CA) – 22 August 2004

A hiker discovered the bodies of the mother and daughter alongside the trail - each had been shot in the head. ... After the killings, a hiking group developed new rules for outdoor safety. Now, they hike in two groups — fast and slow — and carry two-way radios. “The wilderness still speaks to us," one hiker said. "We’re just more cautious. As you hike a few miles in, you leave the craziness of the world behind. This reminded us that the craziness of the world is everywhere...”
Excerpted from The Everett Daily Herald (WA) – 27 October 2006

Outdoor recreation experts have been inundated with questions about trail safety ever since hiker Meredith Emerson was abducted and subsequently murdered in the Northeast Georgia mountains last week. "Everyone’s afraid now. Even myself," said David Foot, superintendent of Vogel State Park. ... Foot said there’s no particular item a hiker can bring along that will necessarily keep them safe. "Guns are not allowed in state parks," he said. "Some women carry mace, but that’s not a cure-all. And a dog is not protection either." ... The beauty of the wilderness can blind people to the possible dangers. "I think you develop a sense of complacency out on the trail," a frequent hiker said. "Bad things happen everywhere."
Excerpted from The Gainesville Times – 10 January 2008

In the years between 2002 and 2007, there were 63 homicides in U.S. national parks, 240 rapes or attempted rapes, 309 robberies, 37 kidnappings and 1,277 aggravated assaults, according to National Park Service statistics. ... Why are many national park rangers now carrying sidearms and wearing soft body armor? They didn't used to find that necessary. ... When you are in remote campgrounds, there is no 911 and help isn't coming.
Excerpted from Dave Workman's guest column in The Seattle Post Intelligencer – 11 March 2008

Camping Safety Tips, Travel Security Products, Camping Security Products,
& Personal Safety Devices

By the way, remember that almost 50 percent of all Search and Rescue missions are for a hiker out for a short hike – and that 39 percent of those result in finding the hiker injured or dead. Be truly prepared for travel security on even the shortest of jaunts. For expert backpacking and camping tips, see www.Ultimate-Ultralight-Backpacking.com.

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