Just saw this on the news.

Woman Attacked On Silver Comet Trail

This is very, very close to where I live. This is exactly why I don't like to cache alone, and why no woman should be caching alone.

The attacker had a knife ... too bad the woman did not have one of these.

Lady Equalizer

You see me caching, you see my little helper. All there is to it. And I'm a big guy to boot. If anyone decides to start carrying, make sure to take a safety and defense course, and get a permit. It's just a blunt object if you can't use it in a high stress situation.

I have a pepper spray on my GPSr bag for a variety of situations from a robbery attempt to dog attacks.

If you get a gun, be sure you know how to use it and will. Cause if you don't use it without hesitation, they can take it away from you and use it on you.

Best to reduce attempts by caching in numbers, but don't rule out even then as people have attacked more than one person.

But don't let all this scare you into not getting out there and caching.
There are thousands of people out there everyday that this sort of thing never happens to.
Just be smart and always be aware of your surroundings....always.

Kenneth

quote:

Originally posted by CharlieP:
The attacker had a knife ... too bad the woman did not have one of these.

Lady Equalizer

That's what my wife has.
She grew up in a family that firmly believes in protection by firepower.

When we first started dating, one of the family outtings that I went with her & her family on was to a shooting range to try out some new guns her dad had traded for.
I knew right away this was a woman that wouldn't take no crap from anyone!
We had enough guns with us to start a small army. My wife jumps right up and the first gun she grabs is a Ruger .44Mag Redhawk.
(Looked just like this one!)

quote:

This is exactly why I don't like to cache alone, and why no woman should be caching alone.

That's why I posted it. Just to give you guys that frequent the SCT area a heads up that some "whack job" was on the loose.

In the famous words from the show "Hills Street Blues"

quote:

Hey, let's be careful out there.

D-man

My thoughts:

1. The Silver Comet Trail is several years old now and this is the first reported assult, so according to my reasoning that makes it a relatively safe place.

2. The victam was a female jogger in good physical condition and was able to fight off the attacker and flee. That to me is an extremely important point.

3. What I carry or don't carry on the trail is for me to know and a potential adversary to find out. Hopefully in a very startling manner!
I do not consider it prudent to advertise, being just plain street sense. If this lady had developed good street senses, she may not have been attacked in the first place. Many situations can be avoided just by being aware of ones surroundings.
You know that rock in the woods that doesn't have any moss on it when all the others do, or those branches that fell out of the trees and arranged themselves perfectly parallel will sometimes produce a cache. They just don't fit. The same goes for some people.

ng