Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:46:12 -0700
Reply-To: Donna Skarloken <dskarloken@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Donna Skarloken <dskarloken@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Women and camping
In-Reply-To: <4387de760909261827i3da600bbp96ca063a109ff630@mail.gmail.com>
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I guess since I used to be a single female who traveled alone in my 87
Wolfsburg I should weigh in. I am a little late to this thread, since I
rode the motorcycle this weekend and did not check the computer. If anyone
on this list was in a Westfalia eastbound on Hwy 88 on Sunday and saw
someone on a Harley give you a peace sign, that was me.
#1 is just use common sense. I try to be aware of my surroundings. I have
never felt unsafe in national forest campgrounds in the Eastern Sierra,
where I used to camp frequently. Yosemite, as someone mentioned, is just
too crowded. I live in California, was born here, and don't expect to move
anywhere else except possibly Nevada, but as someone also pointed out, it is
an extremely crowded state, depending on where you go, and I think there
tend to be more weirdos here just because there are more people. Also,
there are more rural areas for them to hide in. As much as I hate to admit
it, being what I consider a hard core country girl and cowgirl in training,
I do have to agree with whoever made the comment that in some respects you
are less safe in a rural area (maybe I think that just because I spend most
of my time in California). It has been my experience, especially in the
foothills of California, and of all places, Lee Vining, California, that
some apparently undesirable types tend to live/hang around.
Several years ago some of you may remember the mom and girls that were
kidnapped and killed at a motel in or near Yosemite by a kook that worked
there. That gave me chills because for a while they couldn't find the
killer, yet found one of the ladies' wallets in nearby Modesto, California.
I tend to have to get gas late at night, so I was even more alert for a
while. The point is, however, this person was able to live and not really
be noticed in what many people consider a completely safe "tourist" and
"rural" environment, and I think many city/urban people let their guard
down, thinking that the "country" is safe.
I will not camp, and most of the time will not stop to use the bathroom at
night in the rest stops on I-5 or US 99 in California. Been harassed
several times. I've wrote on the list before that my husband, a truck
driver, has been approached by "lot lizards" at night and one scam is to get
you involved with a lot lizard, and then her partner robs you. My husband
was harrassed a couple of years ago at the rest stop in Turlock, and just
quit stopping there (that is only the most recent example). Better to go to
a truck stop if possible.
By the way, IIRC Kristen's killer also killed a woman in Merced,
California. Yet another community on US 99 where you need to exercise
caution. Most of it is just a bad neighborhood, at least the area close to
the highway.
Having said all that, I have no problem going on the road by myself, and
never did when I was single. I may or may not carry some form of
protection, and have no problem doing so. As Maggie pointed out, life's too
short to stay at home or be scared all the time.
Buckarette (BenT named me that!)
On Sat, Sep 26, 2009 at 6:27 PM, Maggie Dew <wildebus@gmail.com> wrote:
> I spent several years camping and hiking alone in remote spots in the
> Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. I was
> cautious and usually had some form of protection. I love camping and
> wasn't about to stay home because there was no one to camp with. I
> never had any trouble with the four-leggeds (a couple of benign bear
> experiences during all that time) and only had one scare from
> two-leggeds in a remote dead-end spot along the San Juan River that
> eventually turned out OK. Life is too short to stay at home!
>
> Maggie
>
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