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I grew up in these mountains and personally it's not the wildlife such as bears that worry me. All that I've ever encountered, with the exception of wild hogs, were very shy. It's the two-legged predators that I worry most about.

You've got that right. When I go camping in the national forests here in Florida, my gun is always by my side. Not because of the bears - Florida black bears are just about the most timid creatures you can imagine, as long as you don't corner them or mess with them or their cubs. And usually they're long gone before you can even get close enough to harass them, if you're fool enough to try.

The same cannot be said, however, about some of the people you encounter. Just a couple of months ago, a couple of hikers were murdered in the Ocala National Forest, in one of the wilderness areas. They were students at the University of Florida, and I'd expect that they were good little liberals who probably got palpitations when they even saw a gun holstered on some cop's hip. Some psycho with visions of becoming a serial killer ran into them in the woods and ...

It's impossible to say that they would have lived if one of them had pulled a piece from his/her backpack, but certainly their odds of survival would have gone way up if one of them had.

"The same cannot be said, however, about some of the people you encounter."

Yep....the two legged predators are typically by far the most dangerous one is likely to encounter. Even when backpacking, I like to maintain multiple 'layers' of redundant self-defense ranging from two german shepherds, edged weapons, which typically end up performing mundane camping tasks anyways, to what I lovingly refer to as my '185 gr. death pill dispenser.'

In places other than National Forests, where rifles are not viewed adversely, it's hard to beat a paratrooper stocked .30 carbine for general utility...some will debate the efficacy of the round, but I've never heard of any naysayer volunteering to be shot by one to prove their point. Ballisically, from a 16" barrel, the effects aren't that much different than .357 with a lighter (110gr) bullet and slightly smaller wouund channel.

For rougher country, I've always been intrigued by the big bore lever actions, i.e., .444 marlin, .45-70 etc.

My philosophy toward self preservation (be it at home, on the road or on the trail) is based on the axiom of the two hikers who are charged by a ravenous bear...The one hiker drops his pack, and quickly begins swapping out his hiking boots for a pair of running shoes. His partner says, 'you really don't think you're going to outrun that bear do you?" to which he replies, "I don' have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you." I think most predators, two-legged or otherwise, will cry off of prey that looks like it may be some trouble when something easier is available.