Camping Warning - Joshua Tree

[woolybugger]

Who knows what the guys real intent was. But the. recyclying/scavenger dudes out there are really ballsey/ stupid.
I live in a fairly nice neighborhood and have been woken up numerous times past midnight to find some tweaky looking dude on my side yard rooting through my trash. It really irks me and is a recipe for a bad confrontation.

[Featureless]

Thanks for posting this. People need to understand how dangerous this state is becoming after 30 years of psychoDem rule.

[floogy]

We camped at Indian Cove in the 70s and 80s. I remember a specific weekend we were there when a young child was abducted. They found her scull in the desert years later.

http://www.hidesertstar.com/news/article_32b51599-2916-57d2-9dad-42a1d937c9f7.html

We never went back.

Sad story. It always bugs me when people say "this never used to happen". Yeah it did. Violent crime is actually less than it was in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

I think perceptions have changed. We probably weren't any safer playing unsupervised in the alley until dark when we were little kids, those types of random abductions and killings were/are exceedingly rare. But current perception is that it's more common due to media being much more widespread.

20 years ago, we wouldn't have heard about these things happening halfway across the country, but in a world where Twitter posts get front page coverage, we hear about everything. Mass media sensationalizes anything they can get their grimy fingers into, the more rare the event, the more views and clicks it gets. It certainly creates the perception that things are more dangerous now than ever. It isn't.

But it's a good reminder that most of us probably aren't ready for the bump in the night. Particularly if it's somewhere unfamiliar.

[Canucky]

Friend or foe. Nothing good ever happens with uninvited guests at 2am.

[71MUSTY]

Sad story. It always bugs me when people say "this never used to happen". Yeah it did. Violent crime is actually less than it was in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

I think perceptions have changed. We probably weren't any safer playing unsupervised in the alley until dark when we were little kids, those types of random abductions and killings were/are exceedingly rare. But current perception is that it's more common due to media being much more widespread.

20 years ago, we wouldn't have heard about these things happening halfway across the country, but in a world where Twitter posts get front page coverage, we hear about everything. Mass media sensationalizes anything they can get their grimy fingers into, the more rare the event, the more views and clicks it gets. It certainly creates the perception that things are more dangerous now than ever. It isn't.

But it's a good reminder that most of us probably aren't ready for the bump in the night. Particularly if it's somewhere unfamiliar.

Agreed.

[Usmc0844spare]

What is the current lay of the land as far as being armed in state or federal parks?

LONG before CA started going "left of Fidel" I camped with a pistol once or twice. I've not backpacked since.

I would prefer not to open carry, but I would assume that carrying it in my backpack would probably constitute concealed carry, so that seems to be out.

I'd like to think that in general, the further you backpack in, the lower the chance of running into dirt-bags, since they are inherently lazy, but there are always exceptions.

[VictorFranko]

I'd like to think that in general, the further you backpack in, the lower the chance of running into dirt-bags, since they are inherently lazy, but there are always exceptions.

I'd rather be alive to face the charges of bringing a firearm into a state park than be dead with the engraving on my headstone reading "He always followed every law to a tee."

I bet Tristan Beaudette would agree with me.

If it's buried in your backpack, who's to know?

[Bill Carson]

The guy could sincerely have been on the lookout for recyclables. Really ? You sound just like a liberal.

[IVC]

Better yet find a better/ safer place to camp next time or invite a 3rd dad to video you two doing Ninja stuff and put it on you tube

Are you guys related?

There is nothing tactical or ninja about waking up in the middle of the night with a stranger in your camp. The gear is what we talk about on these forums, so suck it up - it's for those who are interested in, you know, guns. Just don't read it. The outfit is what I was wearing at night in the middle of the summer and what we did was minimal to get rid of the intruder. Absolutely nothing tactical or ninja about it. Quite the opposite.

So, indeed

[Bill Carson]

Friend or foe. Nothing good ever happens with uninvited guests at 2am.

This. I do not care what the other guys intentions are at 2am. I know what my intentions are/will be.

[Bill Carson]

Sad story. It always bugs me when people say "this never used to happen". Yeah it did. Violent crime is actually less than it was in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

I think perceptions have changed. We probably weren't any safer playing unsupervised in the alley until dark when we were little kids, those types of random abductions and killings were/are exceedingly rare. But current perception is that it's more common due to media being much more widespread.

20 years ago, we wouldn't have heard about these things happening halfway across the country, but in a world where Twitter posts get front page coverage, we hear about everything. Mass media sensationalizes anything they can get their grimy fingers into, the more rare the event, the more views and clicks it gets. It certainly creates the perception that things are more dangerous now than ever. It isn't.

But it's a good reminder that most of us probably aren't ready for the bump in the night. Particularly if it's somewhere unfamiliar.

Violent crime down = Liberal lie.

[omega]

only "Tweakers" drive around at those hours looking for scrap / or to steal

I have a homeless camp near my area , and they never go to sleep, you can see them moving around , hammering things, digging cr@p holes for human waste, burning garbage, driving in and out all through the night, almost like rats, vermin.

[guntrk]

Note to Self: Stay away from Indian Cove campground...

[WWDHD?]

We camped at Indian Cove in the 70s and 80s. I remember a specific weekend we were there when a young child was abducted. They found her scull in the desert years later.

http://www.hidesertstar.com/news/article_32b51599-2916-57d2-9dad-42a1d937c9f7.html

We never went back.

It's stories like this and the OP's that are the reasons why camping in tents out in the middle of nowhere as anything other than a last resort has never appealed to me. I want some solid walls around me when I'm sleeping.

[vinny_land]

Thank you for sharing OP. I live out here in the Coachella Valley and you hear stories of people's cars getting broken into near the trailheads, especially towards the East Valley. Considered a day trip to Joshua Tree with my girlfriend later this year and don't plan to spend the night out there.