Posted on 05/07/2008 8:01:41 AM PDT by neverdem
East Brainerd resident Monica Dobbs hikes 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail every winter with friends and craves the quiet days without cell phones, television and work.
Hikers who want to leave their daily lives behind sleep next to strangers in shelters, and many trade their real names for trail names. They sometimes can walk two or three days to find a town or a phone.
While leaving society behind is refreshing, being alone in the woods also can be terrifying.
“It’s an invitation for a disaster,” said Ms. Dobbs, a 28-year-old hairdresser, who plans to take a 9 mm handgun with her on her next trek.
“I think you should be allowed to legally carry a weapon for defense purposes. If someone comes after me, what am I going to do?” she said.
Guns have been restricted from some national parks for more than 100 years, except for hunting areas. However, there is a growing interest in easing the restrictions. U.S. Department of the Interior officials have proposed bringing federal gun restrictions in line with state laws. If approved, the change would allow hikers to carry loaded concealed weapons in some national parks.
Though crime in America’s national parks has decreased in the last 10 years, 384 incidents including killings, rapes, robberies, kidnappings and aggravated assaults occurred in national parks in 2006, according to the National Park Service.
In January a 24-year-old woman, Meredith Emerson, was found bludgeoned to death on a North Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail, and the killer has been linked to other park slayings.
Since 1973, 10 killings and 10 rapes have been reported on or around the 2,176-mile-long Appalachian Trail, which comprises 40 percent national park land, 40 percent national forest land and 20 percent state land, said Brian King, spokesman for the...
(Excerpt) Read more at timesfreepress.com ...
Carolyn
Lol!
I started hiking in the Cherokee National Forest and on the trail back in the early 70’s. I always carried a firearm with me even where I wasn’t supposed to. It can be dangerous up there.
BFR in .30-30 5.3 pounds
Then my 2-1/4lb .475Linebaugh in a drop-leg holster should be just what the Dr. ordered.
“The USNPS is exactly correct in allowing concealed carry in our parks”
Here’s a very good reason:
Your parks and national forests are being devastated by armed Mexican drug cartels growing pot farms on thousands of acres every year. They destroy the habitat for miles around them and the garbage....take a look.
http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/search?q=invasion+800+miles
Well, depending on how old it is, it may be marked for “9mm Kurz.” - aka .380 ACP.
Bump for later reading.
“Sorry, but a 9mm handgun isn’t going to do much to deter an angry mama bear.”
What about a .357 Magnum? I prefer revolvers...they’re point and click. :)
Almost in another world back in the late 60s, but my first hike ever was when I was 14 or 15 in Glacier National Park, where I hiked the Trout Lake trail.
I saw exactly what bears can do to people there. - In fact, I even saw that bear up front and personal.
- Scared me senseless.
I swore at that young age never again to hike long distances without being well armed.
and I never have.
I usually carry my .357 or .44 mag on the trail. A little more punch, no matter if the violating critter is 2 or 4 legged.
Man who killed two hikers in 1981 in custody for shooting two fishermen
http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/161026
>>>>I never saw a woman that attractive on or near the trail.
Lots of babettes in the White Mountains of NH.
Otherwise, your correct, you would need a permit to carry the loaded gun while hiking on the trail. That could be a concealed carry permit, or a hunting license. You might have to convince the ranger your 9mm is an appropriate hunting gun.
I’ve had friends encounter drunken louts on the A-T in spots where it intersects with favorite rural “drinking spots”.
I personally encountered some guys - one with a Remington bolt action rifle - way deep in the White Mountains and they weren’t hunters or hikers, not dressed for it (cowboy boots!). No packs, no water, nothing. That’s when I decided to pack discreetly while hiking (I was with my girlfriend).
Just outside Dolly Sodds in WV, we were chased off private property by some psychotic hillbilly with a rifle, after the owner had already given us permission to camp there for just the night. He fired several shots at us as we were leaving.
In Abiqui, NM I was compelled to display my loaded and cocked Marlin 1894s to some dudes in a van who were brazenly checking out every campsite in this small Forest Service campground. They finally got the message and left post haste.
Bears? Don’t ask. But some friends were stuck on the top of a large boulder for a good 30 minutes while keeping a black bear at bay.
It’s legal to open carry in most National **Forests**, and where it isn’t I’ll make my own decision.
I was thinking more of hiking than at ones campsite, which would put local “transport” regulations into play. Which in most places would mean at best cased, unloaded and in the pack. Unless open carry is legal. Obviously people need to check to local laws, which is why imo consistant laws on federal land would be nice, but I don't think castle doctrine overrides local gun laws. For example while Illinois doesn't have a distinct "castle doctrine" law, deadly force is authorized to prevent bodily harm, that doesn't override local handgun bans, for example. Or state ownership licensing.
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