Safety on the AT?

Is safety that much of a problem on the AT? From individuals or hunters during hunting season? The reason I ask is because my girlfriend is convinced I need to wear a blaze orange hat and carry something a little bigger than my swiss army knife.

The blaze orange hat probably isn't a bad idea. I don't know how it is on the AT, but in southwest Ohio I sometimes hear local hunters talk about taking "sound shots," as in:

Hunter 1: "Did you get any deer today?"

Hunter 2: "Naw, but I heard something moving up on the ridge, so I took a sound shot."

As far as carrying a larger knife - remember the old saying about bringing a knife to a gun fight?

I know, that's not a lot of help. I have a friend who hiked the trail a couple of years ago, passing through a few hunting seasons in various states. He never had any trouble or unfriendly encounters with hunters, though he did wear a blaze orange stocking cap or hung a brightly-colored flag on his pack.

My own advice, based on sharing trails with hunters in Ohio and Kentucky, is to remember that, for the most part, they're as serious about their pastime as we are about ours. Even if you abhor the idea of hunting (I don't; I just never had any relatives who hunted), treat them with respect and they'll probably reciprocate. As soon as you see one, quit talking (unless you're effectively invisible to him/her, then keep talking) so you don't scare the game away. As you pass by, ask in a low voice how they're doing, or otherwise chat for a few moments if the hunter seems so inclined. (Most hunters I've met are quite friendly.) If you've been talking or otherwise making lots of noise as you walk the trail, and don't see the hunter until you round the corner on the trail, quietly apologize and explain you didn't know anyone was hunting here. Most hunters will normally acknowledge the apology graciously (though there are jerk hunters, just like there are jerk hikers.)

I hunt.

knife? no - silly idea.

blaze orange during the season. Yes.

Just like we find idiots on the trail who don't respect anything, and they are the minority in our community, they exist in the hunting community too. Any decent hunter will never take a shot unless it's safe, and they're sure of the target. Unfortunately that doesn't mean there aren't idiots out there. I wear blaze orange or red in hunting season. you
don't need to be covered but a good swatch of it somewhere on you helps. A red or blaze *hat* is actually the best thing.
better safe than sorry.

Now having said that, the AT is a pretty established trail, and I would expect anyone hunting near it would know what's going on, and would not be "surprised" or "unpleasant" about having hikers in the woods with them. On the whole I think you're probably in more danger driving to the trailhead in your car than you are when you're on it.

I finally found out my girlfriends issue with safety on the AT. She read a book about two hikers being murdered and now is all worried. I guess I should remind her I learned to take care of myself the hard way. I will wear an orange hat the whole trip to make her happy but it'll have the words General Lee and a big 01 on it. I wonder what kind of goofy trail name that'll earn me?

I'm betting it's either Duke,Daisy, or Boss Hogg.

Now, is that Bo or Luke Duke?

I'm votin' for Uncle Jessie.

I'll take Duke. I love John Wayne! I've got the wrong equipment to be Daisy, too skinny to be Boss Hogg and not old enough for Uncle Jessie. So Duke it is I guess.

You're kidding! John Wayne is my all-time favorite actor. The West may not have been like he portrayed it - but it should have been. I particularly enjoyed the humor buried in the drama film.

My favorite dialog is from Chisum. His horses have been stolen, so he rides out to find them. He does (of course), and rides down to confront the Mexican bandito leader:

Duke: Those are my horses.

Bandito: Ah, senor, there has been a mistake.

Duke: You made it.

Bandito: Maybe I will sell you these horses. Did you bring gold?

Duke: Nope.

Bandito: Silver?

Duke: Just lead.

Bandito: Ah, senor, now I must kill you.

He doesn't - quite the opposite, in fact.

Regarding safety, in most of the journals that I have read people get injured or sick and have to get to the nearest town. Sometimes that is more difficult than anticipated.

As for being attacked by a human, I have a theory on that.
There are a certain percent of crazy people in the world, so your likelihood of running into one is dependent on the number of people around. There's always one around somewhere. You just have to learn to avoid them.

Word travels on the trail pretty fast too so you get an idea of who to avoid. Most folks travel in groups. They're not really together but have a similar pace and end up generally at the same campsites in the evenings. So, if there is a problem there is usually people around to help.

Hope that helps.

Crazy people don't scare me. The one's claiming to be sane do! Thanks for everybodys advice though. It hopefully will help the girlfriends fears.

If you look at this statistically, you are SO much safer on the A.T. (trails in general) than in any urban area. I hiked alone much of the time and never felt the least bit uncomfortable or threatened (except by lightning ). I just kept my wits about me when near a road or when encountering someone I didn't know at a shelter or campsite, if I was by myself at the time--just a general awareness--but, again, I felt very comfortable. As a rule, though, I never camped in areas that were easily accessible by getting close by vehicle and walking in a short way, but that was mostly to avoid partiers from town.

One thing I found, though, is that you can only do so much about other people's worries. You try to your best to educate them and do what you can--like wearing an orange hat--to put their fears to rest, but in the end, you have to live your life and do your thing.

If you want to wear a bit of orange, feel free.

Just so you know, if you are starting in the spring in Georgia, the only hunting season you'll hike through is turkey in late April and early May in VA and TN. Hunting is not permitted in the main corridor and the short range shot will travel with a shotgun greatly reduces worries about an encounter.

Assaults HAVE increased in recent years, I suspect largely due to the sheer increase in number of hikers these last 10 years. All in all though, the AT is a very safe place to be.