Got news, that area wasn't safe to hike when I was a green 2LT in the US Army stationed at Fort Lewis in the early 1980s. Even back then, a buddy of mine was nearly killed by an IED laid along an isolated mountain trail by a pot farmer. If the trip wire hadn't been white monofilament and the point guy a 'Nam vet SFC (E-7), the damn thing could have wiped out a section of troops, like maybe 20 guys. As it was we were all evacuated from the training area via CH47 choppers while EOD and the MP's flew in. Also, serial killers have always abounded in the area. Look at Ted Bundy and the Green River Killer to name but two. I know there have been many more. The area is simply perfect for that sub-species.
All the officers I knew in the infantry back then always carried one or two mags of live ammo just in case. Of course they were always kept carefully apart from the training blanks. Still, doing so was a clear case of the time honored infantry game we called "BET YOUR BARS" Because if you were ever caught, even if you had to use them to drive off the bad guys, you were going to get a court martial and lose your A$$. We were constantly being briefed by the FBI and BATF (before they added the "E") on biker gangs who were looking to steal arms or ordnance from the military. A working M60 LMG could bring plenty big $$$$. To them it was worth a certain amount of risk if they could get us near a road and figured we'd not be carrying live ammo. So we "O's" tended to play that game and also drew extra supplies of flares (trip & parachute) and tear gas for training... lol.
Moreover, being a Park Ranger got more dangerous in the 1990s. When the true flood of illegals really started to roll in singles and in groups from the smugglers. Back then it quickly became a shift from Ranger Rick to Ranger Rambo as they started being issued M16s and other equipment from the military, especially in the area of surveillance and weapon mounted night optics.
Exactly, and a good example when the last ranger to die by gunfire took place in 2002 in AZ:
Ranger Kristopher Eggle was shot and killed while he and several U.S. Border Patrol Agents attempted to apprehended two armed, illegal aliens.
The suspects had fled from Mexican authorities into Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona at 1400 hours. The Mexican authorities called the Border Patrol and notified them of the suspects. A Border Patrol helicopter in the area located the suspects and directed Ranger Eggle and Border Patrol Agents to the area.
One of the suspects was apprehended without incident, but the second suspect opened fire with an AK-47 rifle. Ranger Eggle was struck below his vest, causing a fatal wound. The suspect then fled on foot south toward the Mexican border. He ran to approximately fifty yards from the border, where approximately 30 to 50 Mexican officers from numerous agencies opened fire from Mexico killing him. A medivac helicopter was sent to the scene, but Ranger Eggle had already succumbed to his wounds.
The suspect who was arrested during the incident was sentenced to 15.5 years in prison.
Read more: http://www.odmp.org/officer/16353-park-ranger-kristopher-william-eggle#ixzz1iFeGqHSG