imported post
So, I've typed out this encounter 3 times now and decided not to post it. I don't really want to be MMQB'd about it. It happened fast and I don't know the whole story. I'm just going to give some of the more prominent details. It's not an OC specific encounter per say but I think that it applies.
I was backpacking in the Blues, the trail that I was going to go on was in poor shape so I decided to just camp near the trailhead for a couple of days and day hike. I didn't want to be right on the road so I took my pack and went maybe 70 yards into the timber onto a nice flat above the creek. I cooked my supper, hung my pack, and crawled into my tent about 9:00pm for some.
I heard a rig approach, I could hear them bouncing off the washboard and washouts. I saw their headlights, they parked next to my pickup. At first, I thought that they were going to turn around but when the lights didn't move - I began to get concerned. Now, I've spent a lot of time in the woods, much of it alone and I've never really had any problems. I always carry a pistol with me but its more out of choice than need (of course you never know). My first thought was that something was wrong. There's snow all over that area and someone could get stuck and we're about 30 miles from the nearest town (Asotin) so if something happened, someone could be in bad shape. I crawl out of my tent and sit in my vestibule, putting on my boots when I hear them shout for me. "Where are you? Anyone out there? etc..." I'm not sure exactly what they said. I almost responded but I didn't want to shout. I started walking back towards my truck as I hear my tailgate open. My tailgate is broke so you really have to yank and jiggle to get it to open. As I came out on top of the flat but still in timber, I could see two guys standing in my pickup bed. One was messing with my toolbox. At this point, I entered "oh ****" mode and I drew my pistol (686+).
I stood in the timber, watching for about 2-3 minutes - although it seemed much longer than that. They jumped out of my bed, slammed the tailgate shut, tried both of the door locks, shined a flashlight in my windows, called out for me a few more times. They got back into their rig (some sort of Jeep/Samurai model) and drove back the way they came. I never said anything to announce my position, I do not know why they left. I walked back to my tent, struck camp, loaded up my truck, locked my hubs* and hauled ass down the hill. I never saw them again, I don't know where they went. I got back to Pullman about 1am Saturday. When I arrived home, I found that someone had drawn a smiley face on my front rocker panel on my passenger door.
I'm still running through the incident in my head and it shook me up quite a bit. First of all, I felt very inadequately armed. I had my 4" 686+ with 125 grain Hydrashocks and 14 extra cartridges in my pocket. I counted three voices, I never saw the other guy. I'm currently re-evaluating my backpacking weapon choice in light of this event.
Second, I was in an extremely poor defensive position downhill from the rigs. I wouldn't have had a chance. In hind sight, I should have attempted to move sideways to flank them on even ground. However, I believe that my choice to not give away my presence was the best that I could do. I'm not sure what I would have done if they had attempted to break in to my truck or if they attempted to come find me (I heard them comment on my tracks that I had left in the snow when I hiked out to my camp site.)
Third, I'm not totally convinced they were looking for trouble. However, I cannot think of good reason for them to be in my truck and messing with my door locks. I had a guy get stuck in the Gifford-Pinchot national forest once who borrowed my axe and shovel that I kept under the toolbox while I was on a lake. He later brought them by my campsite with an apology and a $20 bill which I refused so it's possible they just needed help. However, it was a very strange encounter and I'm not sure if I'm going to go back to that area. It was the holiday weekend but I thought I had gone up far enough to where this wasn't going to be a problem (5300').
The attached picture is where my truck was when I left it earlier in the day. I was over to the left down the embankment. The other rig was parked to the left side of my truck.
* edit to say hubs, not lugs.
So, I've typed out this encounter 3 times now and decided not to post it. I don't really want to be MMQB'd about it. It happened fast and I don't know the whole story. I'm just going to give some of the more prominent details. It's not an OC specific encounter per say but I think that it applies.
I was backpacking in the Blues, the trail that I was going to go on was in poor shape so I decided to just camp near the trailhead for a couple of days and day hike. I didn't want to be right on the road so I took my pack and went maybe 70 yards into the timber onto a nice flat above the creek. I cooked my supper, hung my pack, and crawled into my tent about 9:00pm for some.
I heard a rig approach, I could hear them bouncing off the washboard and washouts. I saw their headlights, they parked next to my pickup. At first, I thought that they were going to turn around but when the lights didn't move - I began to get concerned. Now, I've spent a lot of time in the woods, much of it alone and I've never really had any problems. I always carry a pistol with me but its more out of choice than need (of course you never know). My first thought was that something was wrong. There's snow all over that area and someone could get stuck and we're about 30 miles from the nearest town (Asotin) so if something happened, someone could be in bad shape. I crawl out of my tent and sit in my vestibule, putting on my boots when I hear them shout for me. "Where are you? Anyone out there? etc..." I'm not sure exactly what they said. I almost responded but I didn't want to shout. I started walking back towards my truck as I hear my tailgate open. My tailgate is broke so you really have to yank and jiggle to get it to open. As I came out on top of the flat but still in timber, I could see two guys standing in my pickup bed. One was messing with my toolbox. At this point, I entered "oh ****" mode and I drew my pistol (686+).
I stood in the timber, watching for about 2-3 minutes - although it seemed much longer than that. They jumped out of my bed, slammed the tailgate shut, tried both of the door locks, shined a flashlight in my windows, called out for me a few more times. They got back into their rig (some sort of Jeep/Samurai model) and drove back the way they came. I never said anything to announce my position, I do not know why they left. I walked back to my tent, struck camp, loaded up my truck, locked my hubs* and hauled ass down the hill. I never saw them again, I don't know where they went. I got back to Pullman about 1am Saturday. When I arrived home, I found that someone had drawn a smiley face on my front rocker panel on my passenger door.
I'm still running through the incident in my head and it shook me up quite a bit. First of all, I felt very inadequately armed. I had my 4" 686+ with 125 grain Hydrashocks and 14 extra cartridges in my pocket. I counted three voices, I never saw the other guy. I'm currently re-evaluating my backpacking weapon choice in light of this event.
Second, I was in an extremely poor defensive position downhill from the rigs. I wouldn't have had a chance. In hind sight, I should have attempted to move sideways to flank them on even ground. However, I believe that my choice to not give away my presence was the best that I could do. I'm not sure what I would have done if they had attempted to break in to my truck or if they attempted to come find me (I heard them comment on my tracks that I had left in the snow when I hiked out to my camp site.)
Third, I'm not totally convinced they were looking for trouble. However, I cannot think of good reason for them to be in my truck and messing with my door locks. I had a guy get stuck in the Gifford-Pinchot national forest once who borrowed my axe and shovel that I kept under the toolbox while I was on a lake. He later brought them by my campsite with an apology and a $20 bill which I refused so it's possible they just needed help. However, it was a very strange encounter and I'm not sure if I'm going to go back to that area. It was the holiday weekend but I thought I had gone up far enough to where this wasn't going to be a problem (5300').
The attached picture is where my truck was when I left it earlier in the day. I was over to the left down the embankment. The other rig was parked to the left side of my truck.
* edit to say hubs, not lugs.