Re: what is the reality of the dangers from other humans on the trail?

utahhiker,

I read the "Be Prepared" article and thought "This writer is being very foolish (actually, it was stronger than that)."

The writer worries about confronting the "crazy man" in court because then the "crazy man" will know his name and where he lives. Well, I'm not even a "crazy man" (well, that's subjective) and have no desire to harm the writer, but when someone blasts my actions over the Internet, with such specifics, I might want to spend five minutes and track the writer down. That is all it took for me to find the blogger's home address, phone number, wife's name and age, parent's address, etc.. Who is the "crazy man"... the one with the knife, or the one who first maligns the "crazy man" and then tells the knife wielder how to find him?

People should, IMHO, exercise more caution over their internet practices than they do at present.

As for the encounter... the man may be, probably is, an opportunistic thief, but that doesn't mean he was necessarily a personal threat. Remember we have plenty of members of Congress who might fall into the first category, but not necessarily the second. :)