Don't go camping alone.

We have lions, wolves and bears. Encounters are rare, but not so rare that I dont go armed.

 

Solo camping rocks. I tend to sleep in the back of my truck tho. Not sure if that counts...

 

That does change things somewhat. If you can't outrun your attacker, and he's either bigger than you or works in packs, you need some means of protecting yourself. Our biggest risk (animal wise) is venomous snakes. Having said that, they are very venomous, and you're dead very quickly - without treatment. Still, when we cross paths with same .. which happens frequently - unlike your bears and lions - we just step quietly around them and continue on. It's not as though they give chase

 

Wouldn't a tent and sleeping pad be more comfortable?

 

Sounds like ur in Australia?

I heard the snakes wont chase you, but the spiders will.

Ill take something that can maul me over something that can poisen me from inside my boot anyday (tho we do have rattlers here).

 

my bronco is roomier than my tent, and easier to put away.

 

If we ever make the mistake of leaving boots outside, we always spider-check before putting them on. And sleeping bags turned inside out before use when camping. Though we also have deadly spider species (and snakes) in our suburban yards - in wood piles, sheds, rocks, etc. The spiders are normally only a threat to humans, but the snakes are a threat to humans and dogs.

It's odd though - we are generally a complacent lot in this country, when it comes to this stuff. Venomous critters are just factored into life and essentially forgotten about.

 

Well, I believe that the earlier poster was talking about carrying a shotgun when travelling in Alaska. I think that is a pretty common thing. You might not know if someone is carrying a handgun. I will admit, I've never carried a weapon (unless you count a knife, which I am rarely without, outdoors or indoors) in the outdoors except while hunting, but I don't presume everybody is unarmed.

 

I will admit, that (unless I was in grizzly bear country), that I wouldn't carry a gun for protection against wildlife. For protection against humans is a different story. If I were off a major path and outside of some kind of park/official wilderness area, I'd consider a handgun, because you never know what is being grown in remote areas, nor do you know if a meth lab is around. I always hear of people carrying guns for snakes (living in the Southeast U.S.), but my general experience with snakes is that any snake you can see is really not dangerous (unless it's close to your house). It's the snakes you don't see that are potentially dangerous.

 

yep, that is true in some areas, used to be moonshine, now is things like meth, prohibition is the gateway to crime

 

That’s a full grown cow elk in the foreground for perspective. That beast behind it lives in the woods in my state. Go camping without a firearm around here?

Nope.

 

I'll bet that big cat in the above picture is 200 lbs, maybe more.

My friend just lost a goat to a cougar and put out his game camera and got this photo.



And from Wiki ...

1970s
Lawrence Wells, 12, male January 1971 Attacked and killed in Lytton, British Columbia by male cougar while playing with his sisters
Kenneth Clark Nolan, 8, male January 20, 1974 Killed by a 3-year-old female cougar in Arroyo Seco, New Mexico
Matilda Mae Samuel, 7, female July 1976 Killed by cougar near Gold River, British Columbia, while walking on a road.[18]

1980s
Name, age, gender Date Location, comments
Jesse Sky Bergman, 9, male May 16, 1988 Stalked and killed by a four-year-old male cougar at Catface Mountain in British Columbia near Tofino.
Jake Thomas Gardipee, 5, male September 9, 1989 Attacked and killed by at least two, possibly three, cougars while riding a tricycle behind his home in Missoula County, Montana near Evaro.

1990s
Name, age, gender Date Location, comments
Scott Lancaster, 18, male January 14, 1991 Killed while jogging a familiar route on a hill above Clear Creek High School in Idaho Springs, Colorado.[19]
Jeremy Williams, 7, male May 5, 1992 Attacked and killed in Kyuquot, British Columbia by a young female cougar while playing in the school yard.[20]
Barbara Barsalou Schoener, 40, female April 23, 1994 Long distance runner and Placerville resident was attacked and killed while jogging on the American River Canyon Trail in California's Auburn State Recreation Area.[21][22]
Iris M. Kenna, 56, female December 10, 1994 Killed while hiking alone near Cuyamaca Peak in California's Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.[22][23]
Cindy Parolin, 36, female August 19, 1996 Mother killed while defending her 6-year-old son on a horse back riding trip in Tulameen, British Columbia.[24]
Mark Miedema, 10, male July 17, 1997 Killed by an adult female cougar in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park while hiking when he got ahead of his family.[25]

2000s
Name, age, gender Date Location, comments
Frances Frost, 30, female January 2, 2001 This Canmore, Alberta resident was killed by a cougar while skiing on Cascade Fire Road just north of Banff National Park in Alberta[26]
Mark Jeffrey Reynolds, 35, male January 8, 2004 Attacked and killed while mountain biking at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in southern Orange County, California. It is believed his chain fell off and the cougar attacked when he bent down to repair his bicycle.[22][27]
Robert Nawojski, 55, male June 24, 2008 Searchers found his body on this date near his mobile home in Pinos Altos, New Mexico. Investigators concluded that he had been attacked and killed by a cougar several days earlier.[28][29] [30]

 

I make that assumption (here) because we don't have a lot of guns in the community. Our Park Rangers don't even have them. I can understand needing them if you're hiking amongst bears, though

I never hike without a good multi-tool. And paracord!

 

We don't have forest dwelling drug manufacturers here. The primary dangers are crazy people (as in, rapists and the like), pilot error (getting lost, hypothermia, etc), and snakes. And you're right, you don't need guns for snakes. Not even our very deadly ones. That's just silly.

 

yeah .. nope. there's no way I'd hike in territory which contained crazy humans, snakes, AND cougars/bears. not even with a gun.

 

Did you make it back out of the wilderness?

 

I love solo backcountry outings, both backpacking and canoe camping. I also love solo hikes, long solo mountain bike rides, and other daily excursions into the woods. I did my first overnight solo when I was 13, and have spent as long as 17 days solo in remote backcountry. I have done 5 days where I brought no food with me and I foraged and hunted to eat.

On these trips I have encountered bears, wolves, snakes, big cats, gators, boars and a few odd people over the years. I have also sustained some moderate injuries or illnesses.

But, I have never had any serious concerns for my life, despite seeing a cougar in the wild being a tad unnerving. I rarely carry a firearm unless it is a hunting trip, but do carry a pistol in certain areas. Those are not typically real backcountry, though. Generally I carry when I am relatively close to roads in parts of the country where I may not trust the human population to be trustworthy.

I will continue to solo in the wilderness so long as I am physically able to do so. Yes, there are risks, but life without risk would be dull beyond description.

 

This is a key point. Crazies looking for victims, don't normally go where there are none.

 

It's way too cold to go camping now.

So I get up at 3 a.m. like for a fishing trip and drive to my hunting site.

Hunt from dawn to dusk -- shooting hours.

Then return home to my nice warm bed by 10 pm.

 

Saw my first 5x5 bull moose last weekend.

They are huge. Bigger than a horse.

 

I'll join with the story of the Bigfoot. Many kids go missing in the Yellowstone. Children that got separated from their parents walking on back. Story goes, Bigfoot eats them.

Solo camping. It's all very stupid decision to go in the country, national parks, woods and forests at night, alone. And I'd say, if you after all go, tell people where you're going. Not that it's gonna help you, but they may be able to find your body at least.

 

Against a bear it'd suffice. But against a Bigfoot, it's too big and fast for your gun. You'll not harm it and it'll rip your heart out of your chest in a second.

 

Ummmmm, OK.

To each their own, I guess. I will continue to live my life doing the things that make me happy, and pity those that don't get to experience the amazing things wilderness has to offer.

And if your "Bigfoot" (sarcasm font) is so prayerful and fast, would I be any safer with another person?

 

Cool story bro! I've been going 2 weeks up in Alaska for the past 22 years. Someone has serious mental health issues.