Bad idea? Was going to go scouting and camping by my self next week but...

[tkdguy]

having second thoughts. The area to go scouting is about 20 miles off of paved road in the Eastern Oregon's Blue Mountains. Limited cell service. I was going to scout out some canyons. I was going to go with my adult standard schnauzer and new 9 week old girl standard schnauzer puppy. The area is frequented by bear, cats, and wolves. There are very shady white trash seen on occasion along with intoxicated natives. I have personal gps locator beacon. Hardly ever seen state police or forest service nor any state officials in the area. I am camping on the East side of the Umitilla Indian Reservation. I am healthy at 73 and am having second thoughts. Any ideas? Thanks.

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[cigars]

In this day and age, not worth the risk for all of the reasons you mentioned. If you really feel the need to go, at least take someone with you. Your dogs are pretty much coyote chow.

 

[The Heretic]

If someone can go with you, then take them, but with the beacon it sounds like you would be ok - just tell someone where you are going and when to expect you back. If you get a chance, text them periodically - that will help. Note that often short SMS texts (less than 140 chars - and no multimedia) get thru when voice does not, but there is no way to confirm unless they reply, and texts are lower priority than voice so often delayed or dropped without notice.

 

[Member 34319]

Flair gun. Good spare tire. Extra food. Go scouting.

I've been stuck in the woods more times than I'd like to admit. Always made it out.

Just this last weekend, we were scouting for campsites as well. Got a flat. Minor annoyance as we only made it about an hour into our searching area. Got some good spots saved to the GPS, but would of liked to scout the whole river.

Life happens. Plan for the most, but if your senses tell you otherwise, just stay at home.

 

[Howard1955]

Did someone say "schnauzer"?

 

[Bon Sauvage]

Go for it. Take a buddy (best if you owe him money) if you must, but go for it. Life is too short.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Use the live stream Periscope app so you don't die alone.


Lol, I shoulda died 1000 times, alone or otherwise so it don't matter. Gotta die some time.

 

[tkdguy]

Am thinking that If I do this my self, I'd take a mini-14, 20 gauge shot gun with 000 buck shot, 44 mag carbine and glock 17 with night lights. Ok?

 

[cigars]

Am thinking that If I do this my self, I'd take a mini-14, 20 gauge shot gun with 000 buck shot, 44 mag carbine and glock 17 with night lights. Ok?

That's a good start. How much can you carry on foot though or are you primarily car camping?

 

[tkdguy]

Truck and base camp camping. I drive a Toyota 4 runner. Ideas?

 

[cigars]

Your Toyota is a good vehicle to get you out there. Take your time planning this. Still a good idea to go with someone, there's safety in numbers. Meth zombies are probably the biggest concern, followed by mountain lions.

 

[P7M13]

No to the puppy unless you never leave the truck.

 

[gmerkt]

Being age 70 myself, my opinion is thus. Find a companion, especially if you're going out overnight. I mean this in the kindest way, at age 73 you're just not as capable as most bad guys. You yourself described the opposition. The bears and so forth are much less danger than two-legged critters.

I'd take a mini-14, 20 gauge shot gun with 000 buck shot, 44 mag carbine and glock 17 with night lights. Ok?

Sometimes just having a bunch of guns along makes you a target for bad guys. Like, "Hey, there's a guy over there shooting by himself and he's got several guns." I know personally of a case where an acquaintance of mine disappeared forever after going out to the desert by himself with some valuable guns (one was an MG). They later found his truck and broken eyeglasses (but no guns) 75 miles away. This was 30 years ago, things have gotten no better since then and probably worse.

You might be armed and able to face off one or two guys, but if there are more than one, they can circle around behind you.

Vehicle break-downs of all sorts could spell major trouble. I don't care how good of a vehicle you have, there are lots of variables. Just this alone is reason to have two guys. One to go for help, the other to watch your goods. Including the vehicle itself. I've been there a couple of times with this scenario.

The GPS locator beacon is great for what comes after but not much use at the moment of danger.

Then again, you might just throw your gear in the truck, go out solo, have a blast, and return just fine. You can never know for sure in advance.

 

[Kruel J]

Am thinking that If I do this my self, I'd take a mini-14, 20 gauge shot gun with 000 buck shot, 44 mag carbine and glock 17 with night lights. Ok?

You only have two hands. I'd narrow that down to one long gun and one handgun. Realistically you're probably not going to use or even be able to use all of those in any perceivable situation so maybe not go so Rambo.......just my opinion.

 

[bbbass]

having second thoughts. The area to go scouting is about 20 miles off of paved road in the Eastern Oregon's Blue Mountains. Limited cell service. I was going to scout out some canyons. I was going to go with my adult standard schnauzer and new 9 week old girl standard schnauzer puppy. The area is frequented by bear, cats, and wolves. There are very shady white trash seen on occasion along with intoxicated natives. I have personal gps locator beacon. Hardly ever seen state police or forest service nor any state officials in the area. I am camping on the East side of the Umitilla Indian Reservation. I am healthy at 73 and am having second thoughts. Any ideas? Thanks.

You know most of the roads still have heavy snow, yes?

4WD just gets you to a much worse place to get stuck. If you want to scout, I'd recommend waiting until at least June. We don't even plant our gardens here til then. Summer/July/Aug would be better.

When you do go, make sure you let people know where you will be and when to expect you back. Take water, a shovel, emerg supplies like firestarter and a space blanket, and extra meds if you use any. In addition to the beacon, take a cellphone programmed with friends that could help, plus the local # for SAR. Don't be afraid to call for help. If lost or stuck, stay where you are and call for help. Too many people run SAR around looking for them when they are no longer where they have reported. Also, watch out for hypothermia, it's killed many visitors to this area.

Use a real USFS road map. Navigator/cellphones are notoriously inaccurate and uninformed of the latest road conditions. Check with USFS Umatilla Forest or the Rez before you go. Ask about road conditions and let them know where you will be.

IMO, alone is not good at our age. But we do what we have to do. Stay safe!!!

 

[bbbass]

Am thinking that If I do this my self, I'd take a mini-14, 20 gauge shot gun with 000 buck shot, 44 mag carbine and glock 17 with night lights. Ok?

If you leave them in camp or the truck and go walk-about, they will not be there when you get back. IMO take only what you are willing to carry.

 

[gmerkt]

At my age, I do go out on day trips to the woods solo, usually for a few hours. And I'm a little squirmy about even that. Most times during the middle of the week when sites are not being used. If there is someone there already, I judge their appearance and vehicle and how many of them are there. If I stop, I don't get out any guns until I talk to them. They usually turn out to be okay people and it's something of a comfort having them nearby in case of need.

I've taken my 10 year old grandson with me when he's not in school, that's better than solo. I've got him trained to know what to do should bad guys come around and stop. He always knows the direction of the nearest highway. Most of my family members wouldn't approve, but when he's with me, he's usually carrying a gun when we are on-site. I myself open carry on such situations so the bad guys can see that I'm armed. I don't put out a big spread of weapons on a table or tailgate such as I see some people doing.

The bad guys are out there. You can run across the blue tarps off in the woods. They cruise by shooting sites, several scuzzy looking individuals peering out at you. They are not driving a $65K F-series truck. It's a shame that you must be on your guard while having fun.

 

[Xmark1]

SAD.

I too, am a senior citizen.
I enjoyed the Forrest a lot more, before I had an encounter with three heavily armed bad guys. They tried to end me.
I can tell too many sad stories of my time in the great outdoors.
I am a lot more cautious nowadays.

And as far as being prepared - My jeep has so much gear in it, in anticipation of flats, breakdowns, survival gear, winch, etc. that I am willing to bet a dollar that the next problem encountered in the bush will be unanticipated. Where did my joy go?

SAD.

 

[Stomper]

With all these seniors suggesting things, I'm surprised no one has mentioned bringing some viagra!

 

[Xmark1]

With all these seniors suggesting things, I'm surprised no one has mentioned bringing some viagra!

Bringing Viagra would imply that you are not alone in the woods..........