Have you all heard about the missing woman near Blood Mt.?
I hope she will be found safe and sound.
It wasn't long ago an elderly couple went missing in NC. It may be a good idea to carry a pistol while caching. It seems to be getting more dangerous.

I've been following it closely. The Byron Reece trailhead is just a few miles north of me.
Hate to say it, but I fear the worst.

I agree -- it doesn't sound good. Even worse, the AJC is reporting that there may be a connection between this case and the case of the couple in NC. It seems that the man she was spotted with was wearing a yellow jacket. An ATM camera in Ducktown showed a man in a yellow jacket using the NC couple's ATM card.

A lot of women are under the misguided notion that a dog is a good deterent from attacks. That false sense of security is very dangerous. It is really a sad state that women cannot walk alone without fear. I have been in the woods on many occasions and came upon some weird people. Weapon or not I have had fear in more situations than I care to admit.

I've been in some areas were I wouldn't get out of the car to find a cache if I was alone. I try to cache with someone, I feel safer. That's one of the nice thing about the GGA having meetings in different areas of the state. I've met a lot nice cachers at the GGA meetings. Now, if I want to go caching somewhere else in the state besides Columbus I have folks I can contact in different areas to see if they want to meet and go cache with me. It's to the point that not only is it scary for us ladies... you gentlemen need to be careful too!

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A lot of women are under the misguided notion that a dog is a good deterent from attacks.

Labs, which is the dog she had, are particularly not good deterrents. We have a Lab that we refer to as our "empty bucket of love" and all she wants is for you to fill it. Further, she's not particularly picky about who fills it. She'd show any robber where all our valuables are if the robber will just rub her tummy!

I met with a couple of DNR officials today regarding some history at a WMA that involved my Grandfather, and they referenced their contribution to the search effort which is, at this point, 'recovery of the body'. They are certain there will be no 'rescue'. It is sad to say, and I hate to be the one to pass along the news, but they seemed certain.

It is also sad that you can't trust everyone you meet in the woods, but since that is the fact, we can all probably stand to exercise more caution than we currently do.

Common sense is becoming more uncommon...

And I fear the worst in this case. She was an experienced hiker and the fact that the authorities so badly want to talk to a "person of interest" makes me suspect foul play. But at this point even if it's a broken leg or something, multiple nights in these temperatures would be fatal.

Even an experienced hiker and outdoorsman is only a twisted ankle from being in a lot of trouble especially this time of year when the weather is bad and the trails aren't as traffic'd.

I consider myself experienced as an old boy scout, albeit out of shape, but I dont go very deep in the woods alone. I dont fear man nor beast, as I'm a pretty big guy, but lots of unexpected things could happen to make it tough for me to get my fat butt back to the truck without assitance.

Depending on how this shakes out, two more people may be joining my hiking party a bit more often, Smith and Wesson...

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Depending on how this shakes out, two more people may be joining my hiking party a bit more often, Smith and Wesson...

Mr. Glock and The Heckler & Koch brothers usually travel with me. Was up at Tray Mountain today as I wanted to avoid the search parties. I love the mountain caches and want my kids to love them, but fear when they grow up they want to trot off into the woods. I'm sure they will have a carry permit []

I've disabled the cache on Blood Mountain. The area has been cordoned off while the search is underway.

If there are any other caches in the area along the AT let me know and I'll disable them as well for the time being.

~erik~

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Depending on how this shakes out, two more people may be joining my hiking party a bit more often, Smith and Wesson...

These two folks travel with me just about everywhere. I have a carry permit. The trick is to not let anyone know these people are with you. If you need it, you have it - if not, no harm done. Not everybody's opinion, but, as I have said in before in these forums, I prefer to make it home to my family and am very serious about preserving my well being.

Totein a gun on the AT may and may NOT,be a good idea,but along with that,a camera is a good thing to use and have fun with,talk to hikers take their pics for fun,and in a case like this it may help you or another lost with pics of a face at a place,Even a tactic to get the "first draw"

Just saw the news on the tely. This story is taking a turn for the worse. They found her dog, alive in Forsyth Co, and they have in custody the 'person of interest' in DeKalb Co. They also found some of her personal effects in a dumpster at a QT near Cumming.

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Originally posted by geomuse:

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Depending on how this shakes out, two more people may be joining my hiking party a bit more often, Smith and Wesson...

These two folks travel with me just about everywhere. I have a carry permit. The trick is to not let anyone know these people are with you. If you need it, you have it - if not, no harm done. Not everybody's opinion, but, as I have said in before in these forums, I prefer to make it home to my family and am very serious about preserving my well being.

Same here, I have a CCW permit. And if I'm packing you'll never know it. Or if you do, you'll be glad it was.

I had someone teach me respect for fire arms as well as how to use them safely, and accurately, from the time I was a kid. Yall probably know him.

And I saw same thing phat.bak did, and that doesn't look good. Only good news so far is the dog is ok. She had the dog chipped so they made a positive ID on it very quickly.

I second what geomuse and Ricky wrote, but find that walking softly and carrying a big stick is a good idea too. As someone else eluded to, greeting people you pass on a trail and looking them in the eye is also a good way of reminding people that you're cognizant of your surroundings and not going to let them surprise you.

That's the opposite of what I often see: folks with iPod wires dangling from their ears who are oblivious to what's going on around them as they jog or walk.

~erik~

More info had been released. Geomuse is right, they are in recovery mode, now. After finding her wallet and 3 blood-soaked fleece jackets in the QT dumpster, they broke the news to the parents.

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Authorities told the family Saturday "the chances are slim to none that she's alive," family spokeswoman Peggy Bailey said.

SWMBO has insisted that I look into the possibility of 'packing heat' when I go out alone on the mountains. I'll check out the pawnshops, but always I thought I was too ugly and ornery to have to worry about it.

Note: Now is the time to take your 'shots' - the door was left wide open.

What good would "heat" do?


Other than to help keep you warm in cold weather.

That's what I thought, until she explained it to me.

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I'll check out the pawnshops, but always I thought I was too ugly and ornery to have to worry about it.

Well, as you never know what someones motivation is, everyone is a potential target. They could be after Double D.....you just never know.

Whatever level of personal protection it takes to make someone feel comfortable should always be a personal decision.

I think the unfortunate real lesson learned here though is always be aware of your surroundings and never let your guard down around a complete stranger.

It's pretty easy to envision how this could've happened. Lone female hiker with a dog, who is known to be a friendly person meets another lone hiker with a dog. They meet, converse and end up hiking together back to the parking lot. Guard is down, she gets el kabong'd with a baton when her back is turned.

You could have grenades and a rocket launcher on you and still get clocked if you let your guard down.