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[pct-l] Personal safety on the trail

Polite Cat brings up an issue that I have been curious about and which
has been absent from this list. What about carrying a gun? I don't want
to fan any flames here, and I'm sorry if this offends some of you. I
would not have considered it prior to a hike I made in the Angeles 
Crest area in the summer of 1995. My son and I were camping at Coopers
Canyon (this is on the PCT). The only other people there was a group
of four women. Three of the four were volunteers for the forest service.
They were the first people we had seen for two days so I was anxious
for conversation. They were delightful people. Lots of food which they
shared freely! And once they determined that I was not a threat, they
showed me their pistols. Two had 45 caliber semi-automatics tucked
into their pockets. They wore a bandanas on their belts that hung down
so as to cover up the guns. I never would have suspected the guns if 
they had not showed me! They said they knew lots of weird stories
about the strange people in the mountains, and that some friends on
the LA Sheriffs Department told them that no woman should go camping
there without some protection. 

Not what you wanted to hear, Wendy, but that's my most recent 
experience.

I should also mention, however, that my son and I were not bothered,
and I have never been bothered. 

Incidentally, the very next day, about seven miles from there, on the
slopes of Mt. Williamson between Williamson and Islip Saddle (also on
the PCT) we saw five big horn sheep! You takes your chances and sometimes
you gets lucky!

Bill Qualls


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