[RumiDude]

[jbsimm2]

This thread reminds me of the movie Tucker & Dale vs Evil.

[RumiDude]

[joker]

[Slugman]

I advise against trusting your gut when it comes to trusting strangers, since creepy people are often charming, but I think a person who has a weird feeling about someone needs to pay attention to that. So don't trust the good feelings but do trust the bad ones. I know that sounds negative but in practice, for me anyway, I usually don't get a strong feeling one way or the other. The negative feelings are either some subliminal clue of real danger, or even if that's not true, you still won't feel comfortable around that person. Reading the original post, I didn't really get a sense of danger or creepiness. The gun is no big deal to me, I recently did a BP trip with an open carry person, that's just the way some people are. And the ax? Trail work no doubt. The clothing not being "hiking clothing"? Without a description of what the clothing was, this doesn't ring any bells for me. I did notice the OP said he or she watched the other person carefully, which might have creeped them out. Anyway, I wasn't there, so I didn't have the feeling the OP did, and the fact that the words of the first post don't really convey the creepiness to me doesn't diminish what the OP felt. So I agree with the decision to hike somewhere else that day, but at the same time I would acknowledge to myself that there probably was no real danger. I don't think "actual danger" is the proper threshold for leaving, just being uncomfortable is enough for me.

[joker]

[RumiDude]

[tigermn]

Yea if someone was just out to be evil why carry both an ax and a gun? The gun would be enough (especially if it had a silencer). Still though if it don't feel right to me it ain't worth the risk. I am trying to remember if I have ever left/not started a hike because of a bad feeling. I almost did once when some guy asked some questions in the parking lot, left, then I started up and he was coming back down after going a very short way up (Ok it was Mailbox maybe he hit the steep part). I decided to just keep going and in the end no harm no foul.

[Grizzy]

The only thing I have received from this thread, is the same thing I have always felt....The only thing I'm ever afraid of while I'm in the wilderness is whacky humans.... ....and my own stupidity of course

[-lol-]

[JennieEl]

Been keeping an eye on this one and thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. Gut instinct is often based on subtle cues that may be difficult to bring to conscious awareness, much less describe clearly in a post. Several people have mentioned that an ax or a gun or even both are not reasons to be afraid of someone. I get that - I carry a hatchet for trailwork, and have gotten some looks just lugging my (sheathed) Pulaski to the car from my front door. I have seen people with guns while hiking, and they mostly have not bothered me. The first one I saw in a park with a gun definitely gave me a turn, not so much because he was crazy or mean, as because he was, after a minute or two of conversation, clearly too stupid to be trusted with a spitball and a straw. Pleasant, but a mountain-man wannabe who was carrying his rifle in case those wolves came at him (in MRNP). With no other information, I might put a guy who carries his weapon stuffed in his back pocket in the same general category - not necessarily dangerous by personality, but it doesn't seem to be an intelligent thing to do. It could have been unloaded, of course, but if it wasn't, I'd hate to think someone that dumb is wandering around with a loaded gun. Gut instinct has served me well. I don't always know why I react as strongly to some people as I do, but when the reaction is negative and I ignore it, I am always sorry. You wouldn't think a couple of guys walking down the busy street to a bus-stop in broad daylight in a nice neighborhood were dangerous. I felt scared, kicked myself for it, did not take any precautions, and was mugged at knifepoint for my bus money. I didn't know why I was uncomfortable with a smiling, pleasant neighbor, a family man my friend introduced me to in junior high, until I discovered he was molesting his preschool children (and my friend, too). I have no difficulty at all with responding as my gut directs, and I won't ever argue with the gut instincts of someone who was there when I wasn't.

[Backpacker Joe]

Remember, they never caught the person(s) responsible for murdering those two women on the Pinnacle lake trail a few years ago. One never knows what you might run into. Especially up the Mountain Loopski.

[HitTheTrail]

Everything is not always as it seems. A couple of years ago my neighbor ask me to join him on one of his hunting trips up the Icicle. I went along thinking of it as a backpacking trip. To make a long story short, he blasted a huge deer up above Caroline Lakes without having a clue how he would get it out of there. He did manage to get cell service and call his brothers. As we were taking our gear out we met one of his brothers about a mile up from the TH. My friend dumped all his gear, including his rifle, in the brush and ask me to make a trip back to get it. A European couple with a baby at the TH started asking me questions about the trail as I quickly unloaded my pack and headed back for the gear. The met me about a half hour later as I came back down the trail with a full pack and carrying a rifle. I can’t even imagine what they thought I was up to.

[Malachai Constant]

[RumiDude]

Studies about the dependability of gut instinct show that it is no better than random selection. It is like the "stop and frisk" tactics the NYPD uses which which supposedly uses criteria for the selection of individuals targeted. But the statistics reveal the results are similar to what they would obtain with pure random selection. The gut instinct of trained police officers = random selection. Why? Because the criteria they use to profile/select people are based on their gut instincts rather than proven indicators. Here is a scenario from real life. A buddy of mine is backcountry skiing and approaches a slope which his gut tells him might release. He contemplates digging a pit and checking the snow out. But instead he ignores what his instinct tells him and begins to cross it because the sun is getting low and he wants to make it back to his truck before sunset. He triggers an avalanche though escapes serious injury. Later that night he tells a group of his friends, of which I am one, that he should have listened to his gut feelings. WRONG! He didn't ignore his gut instinct, he ignored all the signs a reasonable person would understand indicated dangerous avalanche conditions. Feelings are real whether they are reasonable or not. And everyone has a right to their own feelings whether they are reasonable or not. There have been many times I have bowed to my feelings even though I knew they were baseless. But I resist being ruled by my feelings on matters like the scenario presented by the OP. Rumi