[pct-l] Safety on the trail

[Dan Jacobs]

On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 10:18 AM, Dana Cash <danakcash at gmail.com> wrote:
> Several people have suggested that I carry a gun with me, but I am very
> opposed to that unless it is absolutely necessary.
>
> Thanks,
> Dana

I will preface what I am about to say by saying that I am pro self
defense and gun ownership.

However, I will not take a gun on a hiking trip, and while I don't try
to tell others what to do, I don't recommend it for a thru hike. Why?

First, California has weird (to me) laws about how the firearm and
ammo must be kept separate, which will greatly increase the amount of
time it will take to load and fire it.

Second, weight is an issue, as in the gun and ammo is unnecessary
weight that can be used to carry other stuff.

Third, a gun isn't as useful as you might think when it comes to
animal attack. There are studies showing those that use firearms to
prevent a bear attack get hurt by the bear too much (IMO). People
using bear spray fare much better than those using firearms at the end
of the encounter, and the bear may have an experience that teaches it
to avoid humans. A win-win.

Do what you want, but there are more reasons to use bear spray for
self defense on the trail than a gun. the vast majority of folks hike
trails without bear spray, and a very small number of hikers with bear
spray ever use it for anything.

If you are concerned about safety on the trail, and definitely want to
have some reasonable protection with you, bring bear spray. Legal in
CA, OR, and WA, light enough to not cause problems, easy to use even
in a high stress adrenaline dump situation, and even if it misfires,
it is a less lethal chemical that can be washed off or wears off over
time. I've been pepper sprayed a half dozen times and it's awful,
makes my eyes shut and burn very much, causes my nose to become very
irritated, and my skin burns very bad. Learn how to use bear spray
properly, and it can prevent animal attacks. You make a wall of mist
with it that an animal has to pass through to get to you. Point a can
of bear spray at a potential human attacker, and they'd be pretty damn
stupid to try to harm you, and easier to justify spraying them with a
spicy concoction than shooting someone for self defense.

If I had to bring something, I'd bring bear spray.

Dan Jacobs
Washougal
-- 
"Loud motorcycle stereos save lives"
Motorcycle to hike, hike to motorcycle