# protection



## xisle (Aug 17, 2008)

This fall I will be camping alone quite a bit. I like to backpack up into the mountains. I am trying to think of a way to safeguard the area just around my small tent, from animals (man or beast). I thought about having some rolls of felt, say about 2 feet wide, and just lay these in some grass full of stickers. We have some ferocious stickers in Oklahoma. Then I could just fold them over, and roll them up for storage. When camping I could open them and lay the strips around the perimeter of my tent at night. We have many wild and vicious animals here that attack; cougars, black bear, coyotes, and wild hogs. The latter will attack in packs and have been known to kill people. The weigh around 500 pounds and can bite your head clean off. I would hate to be sleeping on the ground when one entered my camp site. Stickers wouldn't stop a hoofed hog. Or a boot wearing good ol boy either. Anybody have any suggestions. I do carry a rifle.


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## amy0807 (Aug 13, 2008)

You are a brave soul! The only thing we have here is coyotes and my worst fear while camping is if I got all the food and trash in so the raccoons don't make a mess. I don't really have any ideas but the rifle sounds like a step in the right direction to me.


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## ctfortner (Nov 16, 2007)

Yeah same here. The only things we have to worry about really are coyotes and snakes. No bears or anything of that nature. Sounds like where you go takes camping to a whole new level :shocked:

Rifle is a must, and I know I would also be snuggling with my best friend, smith and wesson as a backup.

Short of putting up some razor wire  ,the felt with thorns/stickers sounds like a good idea. I would think that would definitely help warn you of an animal intruder.


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## xisle (Aug 17, 2008)

My friends have decided this is a brilliant idea. They further suggest some kind of scent deterent. I am going to add a S&W .44 Mag to the camp checklist. I know it sounds a bit ridiculous, but there are a couple of reasons to be concerned, other than being torn to pieces and eaten by wild animals. In this area of the country, some of the most prolific serial killers in the country have been born and raised. And a couple are still active. Just a few miles north, two little girls were mailiciously gunned down on a country road. A few miles south, the highway killer still abducts and murders hotel night clerks. Children are abducted right from their own bedrooms here and never seen again. And not long ago, one little girl was abducted from her tent when the killer simply cut a a hole in it and ripped her from her sisters tent. And then, there is the "good ol boy" factor. These freaks of unnatural inbreeding roam about in the secluded areas of the state, and people wind up missing all the time. I think they are turning up in some remote delapidated kitchen as sausage. Oklahoma has a huge wilderness area where people wander into and are never seen again. There are even Bigfoot festivals in these areas, and the creature is seen all of the time in these areas (so they say). 

Yep...Oklahoma offers alot to keep that blood pressure up, camping alone in the night in a remote area. So my little burglar alarm/animal repellent idea doesn't sound so ridiculous now...does it? X


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## mikey (Feb 20, 2008)

I am just reading this and thinking....why is it you still live there, if its that bad? Or is there some good parts too?  Of course there is crime everywhere, but that doesnt sounds like somewhere I am itching to move to.


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## xisle (Aug 17, 2008)

Ah Mikey, the people here are the nicest anywhere. I have literally lived almost everywhere in the lower 48, and Oklahoma has the nicest people around. You will never see a woman stranded with a flat here, because the first person to see her will pull over and fix it for her. Great people here. You won't see old men run down in the street here, and people just standing around watching like they do in other parts of the country. I watch alot of news. I think you will find, that with a little research, you would be surprised what lives in your own neighborhood, muchless the state. There are maniacs everywhere my friend. Everywhere. Only a fool leaves their doors unlocked these days. Now, I have never been very attracted to the landscape here. But some parts are very cool. I was surprised to find out that Oklahoma has more complete ecosystems than anywhere else on the contenent. You can go from marsh and swamp to forest and mountains or desert, etc. The Arbuckle mountains here have some of the oldest rocks on the planet, and the oldest meteorite was recovered just a mile or two from where I live. There's outlaw caches, spanish gold, and some of the best hunting in the country. And the fishing is off the chain. Large mouth on a top water lure...my favorite! They come clean out of the water shaking that buzz bait in their mouths! Love it. The economy here is still growing. Houses we pay $130,000 for go for 3.5 mil on the coast. The wells are still pumping oil here. The girls are cute. Gas is $3.35 a gallon. Milk is cheap, and Oklahoma City is second only to San Francisco for dining. I love it here. But I am well aware of what lays under the surface, where most aren't. I spent many years in law enforcement, and these things are just on my mind, where most just go about their lives oblivious. lol. Everybody knows they should lock their doors. But they don't really have a clue as to the horrors that can take place if they don't. Oklahoma is a fantastic state to live in...but I'd rather be in Alaska where it is really wild, and nobody for hundreds of miles. X


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## amy0807 (Aug 13, 2008)

Off the chain? Cute girls? Ummm...wow. 

My cousin was stationed in Alaska back in the 80's. They were warned to never attempt to urinate outside because of the extreme cold. Now THAT doesn't sound like a place I'd like to camp.


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## mailfire99 (Nov 16, 2007)

amy0807 said:


> They were warned to never attempt to urinate outside because of the extreme cold. Now THAT doesn't sound like a place I'd like to camp.


You mean because its cold, or because you couldnt urinate outside? :rotflmao1:Sorry couldnt resist.


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## amy0807 (Aug 13, 2008)

mailfire99 said:


> You mean because its cold, or because you couldnt urinate outside? :rotflmao1:Sorry couldnt resist.


It was actually too cold to urinate outside...a whole new meaning to the old term of blue....objects. lol One soldier tried it when the temps were very low and the urine actually froze solid as it was exiting the urinary tract. I can't even imagine. I wasn't going to go all there, but I couldn't resist either after the comment. :rotflmao1:


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## xisle (Aug 17, 2008)

That's a great story to tell around the fire, but it is hardly accurate. There isn't a place on the planet that will freeze warm urine solid, mid stream from the body. 

Are you making fun of the way I talk? 

Camp? I want to move there. I like the idea of being far removed from society, as long as prison isn't involved. lol. I would like to be far enough out where the laws of nature supercede the laws of man. I hope there's a Walmart close, though.:shocked: X


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## amy0807 (Aug 13, 2008)

Making fun of? Hardly. Never heard a 49 year old use those words. If you say off the chain to someone around here that age, most would think you were talking about your dog being loose.

As far as the story goes, it was told to me by my cousin and it was told to him by one of the officers. It may have simply been a scare tactic used by the army to keep them from doing it. I honestly don't know. 

Honestly, I hate that you feel like you have to be on the defensive with me. I'm as harmless as can be. I apologize if you misunderstood what I was saying.


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## happiestcamper (Mar 6, 2008)

Okay, I admit, I'm 46 and had to google "off the chain". However, I went back to read the original post, and the reason I don't remember this remark is I was able to get it from context - "the fishing is off the chain" - I didn't think they had discovered some new mono filament or anything like that.


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## amy0807 (Aug 13, 2008)

It just stuck out to me and I found it humorous because my teenagers are always telling me I'm too old to try to talk like they do. It's a big joke between us. I tease them for being wet behind the ears and they call me an old woman. (I'm only 34.) Sometimes I'll sling in a "groovy", "far out", or "totally" to get them started. They say "off the chain", "off the hook", and "tight". 

Isn't having teens an adventure? lol


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## happiestcamper (Mar 6, 2008)

amy0807 said:


> Isn't having teens an adventure? lol


My day is coming - my oldest is 10. Though I have 8 nieces and nephews that range from 20-35, so I've seen it all :smack-head:


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## xisle (Aug 17, 2008)

I hear you. I have raised six. Just two left in the nest. I use their terms to irritate them. lol. I sometimes find myself using them elsewhere. "Snap...Sweet...Off the chain, etc". I'm not defensive..just playful. lol. No harm here. Have you noticed the word "cool" has just transcended several generations without a glitch. In any case, "off the chain" only shows to prove that our children have just as much an influence on us as we do them. Atleast in my case...after six of them. lol.


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## amy0807 (Aug 13, 2008)

Now that you mention it, yeah. Thinking about it, "cool" is the only word I know that has made it through a few generations. 

I know exactly what you mean about irritating them. It's weird how things change with their ages. I give my 6 year old daughter a high five, my 9 year old son knocks knuckles with me, my 13 year old girl rolls her eyes at me if I try to do either, and my 16 year old son does this combo of pounding fists, knocking knuckles and a half handshake sliding your hand back quickly. I guess I am doing ok. 3 out of 4 of my kids think I'm cool. lol


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## xisle (Aug 17, 2008)

Hahaha! That is hilarious! We should consider ourselves lucky though. I heard a skater guy the other day, and I couldn't make out a thing he said. I can live with a few colloqialisms. lol.


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## amy0807 (Aug 13, 2008)

Oh I know. There are some kids that I can't understand a word they say...and I just smile and nod. lol I mean, I don't want to give them the impression that I'm not "hip" or, heaven forbid, embarrass one of my kids by not being "cool".


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## orangecamper (Apr 1, 2009)

LOL! I'm not all THAT old, and I had no idea what Off the chain was! Thought it was some kind of dialect type slang... Off the hook, yes, off the chain... I just thank the gods for Urban dictionary.com! I think I read too much and interact not quite enough.:comfort_:
And Way to chicken (read urban, haha!) to go camping where I would need guns! I greatly admire your courage and foresight!:10001:


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## cuzican (Aug 9, 2009)

xisle said:


> This fall I will be camping alone quite a bit. I like to backpack up into the mountains. I am trying to think of a way to safeguard the area just around my small tent, from animals (man or beast). I thought about having some rolls of felt, say about 2 feet wide, and just lay these in some grass full of stickers. We have some ferocious stickers in Oklahoma. Then I could just fold them over, and roll them up for storage. When camping I could open them and lay the strips around the perimeter of my tent at night. We have many wild and vicious animals here that attack; cougars, black bear, coyotes, and wild hogs. The latter will attack in packs and have been known to kill people. The weigh around 500 pounds and can bite your head clean off. I would hate to be sleeping on the ground when one entered my camp site. Stickers wouldn't stop a hoofed hog. Or a boot wearing good ol boy either. Anybody have any suggestions. I do carry a rifle.


I am not meaning to offend anyone and I'm certainly not trying to pick a fight, but am I the only one that finds this comical??
I've tent camped in remote wilderness areas of Montana for 15 years of my life and I've never had a problem with the wildlife and we have everything mentioned above except the hogs plus grizzly bears and wolves. I guess I have never really put any thought into worrying about it after growing up around it. I admit we don't have to worry about "criminals" much up here...but the animals are nothing to worry about if you keep a clean camp. I've been hiking, hunting, camping for a long time and seen alot of wildlife but the only times I've shot an animal were for the simple reason of putting it in my freezer. 
Again I'm not trying to be a jerk, just wondering if I'm the only one that thinks it is common for people to overestimate the danger level of wildlife.


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