Gadget Man wrote:Is it because I feel a bit more vulnerable in such a small space? When we go out in the bigger camper I feel like I can jump out of bed and grab a big kitchen knife or something else for protection from "questionable characters"
oh my.
I'm a five foot tall woman. In the 80s, weighing a whopping 130 lbs., I used to medic arena concerts and sporting events at a 50,000 seat domed stadium, and manage scene control at multi-department fires. Medics aren't allowed to carry anything except sick people, stair chairs, O2 cannisters, flashlights, a medic case and their brains. Not that a medic case can't help a girl clear a path through a crowd, but bandage scissors don't usually make 'weapon of choice' lists. I never even carried mace, and I didn't even have a D-cell MAG light for the first five or six years as a medic.
I used to camp in unimproved remote (free) NYS national forest camping areas. With a tarp, or in a two person pup tent, because that was 'ultralight' in the 70s. I camped alone, or with a dog, in the Adirondacks, in Pennsylvania and all around NY state. In the 80s when my nephews got to be three and six, I then started taking two little kids and five dogs camping. Still in a tent, although I'd moved up to a small dome tent by then. No cell phones back then--at least, nothing I could afford-- although I did have a CB radio in the truck for awhile. Now I mainly camp in campgrounds, but I still camp alone or with a couple of dogs who, together, weigh a whopping 50 lbs...and one of them is 13 and not exactly in the running for defender of the year.
In no camping experience in the last 35 years, remote area or state campground, have I ever encountered a situation involving people (far and away the most dangerous critter in the woods IMO), wild animals, poisonous snakes or personal danger that would make me feel like I needed any weapon besides the ones I was born with.
I suppose if I was at risk from wild animals or planning an extended stay in a dangerous location, a weapon *might* make the camping list. But in a campground? In a relatively populated area? When I started going camping, I lived in an 'urban redevelopment' area. I went camping to get AWAY from the imminent need to defend myself that was presented at every overgrown hedge and abandoned garage. And heck, the only gun I ever owned in that house in 13 years was the starter pistol I used when starting the dogs on bird work...
Guess it's just a miracle that I've managed to survive all these years of camping armed only with a swiss army knife, a flashlight, some matches and my brain. 'Cause it sure isn't my size and physical conditioning that's been keeping trouble under control all these years...
by madjack » Thu Sep 06, 2007 6:47 pm 
