re: critters...
I've stared down a cougar, and walked up the Taboose Pass trail with a bear. In neither situation did I think I
needed a gun. I
needed to shit my pants at first, but then I calmed and assessed the situation, made myself large and noisy, and took steps towards both animals. In the case of the bear, it simply turned and walked with me (about 100ft ahead) and I just kept talking to it so it knew I was still there. It finally got tired of my jabbering and headed down into the creek.
re: generalizations...
Both sides of this discussion are making gross generalizations. One is saying that
everyone who carries is trustworthy and has the knowledge and skills to know when and how to use said tool. The other is saying that
all of those people who carry are not to be trusted, destroy my sense of peace and quiet, etc.
With something like this, which in part hinges on human nature(s), generalizations are pointless and worthless. We each know how
we, individually, would react to a situation. There is no way of knowing, until you have been in a situation with another person, to know how they will react. I've seen some of the bravest people I know reduced to standing around in shock and assume a follower role instead of the leaders they usually are.
It is that variability that concerns me. Not the right to carry or not. Hell, you want to carry the weight, go right ahead. I used to throw my K-Bar on the side of my pack on my solo trips. I got a lot of looks, mostly from men, btw, and comments about the size of my knife. Helluva lot more useful in the backcountry, too.
Of course, as I say this, I do have to take into account that I'm 10 feet tall, I chop down trees with my bare hands, lug 100 pound packs full of three bear cans over the tops of mountains, and cuddle with the mountain lions at night.
Speaking of which... maybe I need to go find DUG and keep him company in that winter hole of his...
