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  1. #21
    Registered User colorado_rob's Avatar
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    woops, hit submit too soon, I meant to say: Yeah, this is a great summary, IMHO. Very sorry you have to worry about this, and I hope this worry fades quickly for you.

  2. #22

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    Basically, don't use anything or talk to anyone that's connected. This includes credit cards (You can use cash or traveler's checks), cell phones (Use pay phones instead), email (snail mail still works), and don't give anybody you don't trust your real name. Perhaps you could also consider carrying pepper spray? I know a lot of people carry bear mace, but legally I wouldn't advise you to spray an attacker with bear mace. I'm pretty sure that bear mace's SHU (Scoville Heat Unit) rating is high enough that it could kill a human.

  3. #23
    ME => GA 19AT3 rickb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by evyck da fleet View Post
    That being said you may hike with someone who describes you in their journal which could give away your location. It's not to difficult to find a hiker on the trail with some basic info.
    True, but we all have the ability keep basic identifiers to ourselves. A description in a journal that lack's a person's hometown, occupation, etc. would be far harder to tie to a particular individual than one which does.

    Likewise, if you were asking othe hikers if they had seen someone with just a physical description it would be much harder to find them.

    Take Lone Wolf. I were to show up at Trail Days without knowing his name and asked around about a guy about my age with a beard, I don't think I'd have much luck. If I asked about a hiker with a beard who lived in Damascus and drove the volunteer Ambulance, I bet I could find him in no time.

    No reason one can't introduce themselves to their new trail family with some of your life details changed around a bit.

  4. #24
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    Change agenda to PCT.

  5. #25
    Registered User evyck da fleet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rickb View Post
    True, but we all have the ability keep basic identifiers to ourselves. A description in a journal that lack's a person's hometown, occupation, etc. would be far harder to tie to a particular individual than one which does.

    Likewise, if you were asking othe hikers if they had seen someone with just a physical description it would be much harder to find them.

    Take Lone Wolf. I were to show up at Trail Days without knowing his name and asked around about a guy about my age with a beard, I don't think I'd have much luck. If I asked about a hiker with a beard who lived in Damascus and drove the volunteer Ambulance, I bet I could find him in no time.

    No reason one can't introduce themselves to their new trail family with some of your life details changed around a bit.
    I agree. I didn't mean just a personal description. It could be a story you tell, like LW and the ambulance, or something you have in common with the other person that someone who knows you might recognize if they read the journal. It seems like most people who encounter strangers who read journals are well meaning so I'm not trying to cause fear just mentioning how much info can get out there with technology whether you want it or not.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Green Machine View Post
    Basically, don't use anything or talk to anyone that's connected. This includes credit cards (You can use cash or traveler's checks), cell phones (Use pay phones instead), email (snail mail still works), and don't give anybody you don't trust your real name. Perhaps you could also consider carrying pepper spray? I know a lot of people carry bear mace, but legally I wouldn't advise you to spray an attacker with bear mace. I'm pretty sure that bear mace's SHU (Scoville Heat Unit) rating is high enough that it could kill a human.
    Believe it or not, the opposite is true. Bear spray is lower concentration than human pepper spray.

    http://www.selfdefenseninja.com/bear...ts-difference/
    Time is but the stream I go afishin' in.
    Thoreau

  7. #27
    ME => GA 19AT3 rickb's Avatar
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    Here is the first thread I could find of someone looking to Whiteblaze for help in locating a hiker. You see thes requests semi-regularly.

    http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...u-seen-Montego

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skye15 View Post
    Hello, I didn't see a post like this so I figured I'd pose my question. I may have a bit of a stalker issue when I leave for the trail.

    There is someone from my past that knows I am doing the trail, I can't be certain he knows my exact leave date - but I assume he might. He has the potential to be a threat towards me. He has done a good majority of the AT and knows the trail pretty well. I know a lot of people will be on the trail at once, safety in numbers, but I am still nervous that he could follow/find me via the trail journals, my blog, social media, word of mouth (and find me alone or get me alone). I've started thinking about things I could do to be safe. But I am curious, how possible is it really for someone to find a thru-hiker? To know where they'll be at? And besides the obvious, posting different locations and dates on my blog and mixing up my leave date, anyone have advice on things I can do? And the big question - should I still even attempt the AT? I really do not want to have to give up doing the trail because of this guy. I am hoping I can still do it, but just be smart about it.

    Thanks!
    You want to publicize to the world every detail of your life and your whereabouts,and then worry?? The answer is simple. Leave the stupid social media behind. It is not that difficult to find thruhikers. A single post here sometimes narrows them down. Check a few shelter journals, skip ahead a week based on their pace, and wait. Done. The problem is they are always moving toward the destination

    Some college friends of my daughters posted on twitter about going home for spring break last yr. Their townhouse was robbed , very well robbed. Common sense says you dont tell the world all the details of your life.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 03-12-2015 at 20:46.

  9. #29
    Registered User Fireonwindcsr's Avatar
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    Use your head, Use common sense. If problem persists, whack it repeatedly. This has always worked for me.
    Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”
    Albert Einstein

    http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=18107

  10. #30
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    I wonder if crossing state lines to violate an order of protection would make it a Federal offense.
    I you don't have an order of protection it sounds like you need to get one. Time to play hard ball. IMHO

  11. #31

    Default hire a huge hiker bodyguard - me!

    Not drawing attention to yourself is out the window. If you're recruiting knights in shiny polyester fabric then you just created a new annoyance - a hero parade in your wake. Change your trail name until your pals give you a new one. Guarantee you just attracted two creepers and you only had one when it was a secret. Your pack will be way lighter if you leave your drama at home where it belongs. Don't make your problems others or you'll run out of heroes. FT 11, AT 12, 13, PCT 14

  12. #32
    Registered User O-H-10 Lil Ohio's Avatar
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    Like the others said I would probably hike another trail but if you are going to do the Appalachian Trail I recommend that you get a satelite phone, for additional immediate communications. I don't think it'll take much research to get the local county sheriffs along the Appalachian Trail using 911. if you feel like you are being watched or someone tells you somebody is looking for you ,make the call to the local law enforcement, see if there is a Ridge Runner, and make sure you stick with other hikers if you get into that kind of situation. In your case if you're planning to do do the hike take some self defense courses if you really believe there's a physical threat ,make sure you understand that you can do a lot of harm if you have the tools speed and skill. Before you leave on your hike I would recommend also find it out if any of your close friends have any law enforcement friends that can give you a few tips.
    Your hike is supposed to be a beautiful thing enjoying the outdoors enjoying your friends you make on the trail, it would be difficult to hike knowing that you have to watch back during your hike. Let's hope for the best.

  13. #33
    Registered User Hot Flash's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by swisscross View Post
    Everyday I am convinced that our society has gone to....
    Why on earth would someone want to either stalk or frighten another person is beyond me.
    Actually, violent crime has been steadily dropping for decades now. There was far more danger of it when I was growing up than our young people face now. The only reason people think things are worse, and make comments like yours is because of the pervasive and immediate access we now have to the news. Twenty or thirty years ago, something you would only hear about if you were local to the event is now broadcast across the entire world.

    So no, society hasn't gone to hell. You only think it has, and you allow confirmation bias to reinforce that thinking whenever you hear about something bad. If you need reassurance that things really aren't that bad, just take a few minutes and look up some statistics.
    Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish.

  14. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hot Flash View Post
    Actually, violent crime has been steadily dropping for decades now. There was far more danger of it when I was growing up than our young people face now. The only reason people think things are worse, and make comments like yours is because of the pervasive and immediate access we now have to the news. Twenty or thirty years ago, something you would only hear about if you were local to the event is now broadcast across the entire world.

    So no, society hasn't gone to hell. You only think it has, and you allow confirmation bias to reinforce that thinking whenever you hear about something bad. If you need reassurance that things really aren't that bad, just take a few minutes and look up some statistics.
    Now is that just violent crime, or does it include all the stuff we never hear about or gets swept under the rug...like white collar and political faux pas.

  15. #35

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    ...cause I'd suggest the proverbial hand basket is well on it's way to...yeah Hello.

  16. #36

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    If you stay active on social media a trench coat with the collar pulled up, hamburg hat pulled low over the forehead and wearing sunglasses would be a decent disguise. Staying off social media will likely lower the opportunity of easy discovery by a significant amount. Otherwise, it would be like ancient times and rustling around in the brush hoping something doesn't come along to eat you.

  17. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hot Flash View Post
    Actually, violent crime has been steadily dropping for decades now. There was far more danger of it when I was growing up than our young people face now. The only reason people think things are worse, and make comments like yours is because of the pervasive and immediate access we now have to the news. Twenty or thirty years ago, something you would only hear about if you were local to the event is now broadcast across the entire world.

    So no, society hasn't gone to hell. You only think it has, and you allow confirmation bias to reinforce that thinking whenever you hear about something bad. If you need reassurance that things really aren't that bad, just take a few minutes and look up some statistics.
    My bad, I see you mentioned violent crime.

  18. #38

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    Hire a couple wranglers to beat the @&$t out of the dude.

  19. #39
    Registered User Walkintom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by perdidochas View Post
    Believe it or not, the opposite is true. Bear spray is lower concentration than human pepper spray.

    http://www.selfdefenseninja.com/bear...ts-difference/
    There seems to be a lot of conjecture about which sprays do what. The can of bear spray I am familiar with is 2% Capsaicin and capsaicinoids and I've always heard that it was stronger than human pepper spray.

    Given that there are several different measurements available and that it's not really regulated about what manufacturers print on the human pepper spray it is genuinely hard to tell without some independent testing, of which I decline to participate in.

    However, I do see that Sabre shows a pretty good chart which helps break things down. https://www.sabrered.com/formulation...rength-and-law

    These are the folks who also produce the bear spray I mentioned above and they don't specifically talk about that product on the same page as their human sprays, would imagine because they don't want people getting bright ideas and using it against other people.

    https://www.sabrered.com/bear-spray

    Either way, it's not a product I carry on the AT. Bear spray is something I consider worthy of grizzly territory.

  20. #40
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    I just read the original posting out loud to my wife and she could couldn't believe it. "What a dumbass", she said. "Is this poster a troll?"

    I'm not as harsh. But for me the decision has to be whether the OP wants the world's attention on them or if they are going to be a hiker. Right now she's wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood.

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