Lots of rambling thoughts here, bear with me.
The Trail sure has changed...my first trip was in '75. Been 3 or 4 years since I have been on the AT. At 2 shelters (out of maybe 5 passed that weekend), there was a resident homeless/hiker/whatever person, that was there during the daytime, obviously long-term. (I have very rarely stayed in a shelter, long preferred to camp somewhere between.) Anyway, the more I read/hear (whiteblaze, etc), it seems that there is a growing population of warm-season homeless/crazies/whatever living on/along the trail. I guess it's an extension of the homeless problem, and also letting the crazy folks run free.
Most trips/miles for me in the past 20 years have been in the off season...Turkeygiving week thru early spring or so every year. Not unusual (15+ years ago) to go a week and just run into a small handfull of other hikers. Been on trips and not seen another soul on-trail on weekdays for a five days straight. I like that a lot better than the crowds.
From what I read, this incident happened in the wee hours..3 a.m. or so. Kind of hard to fight or run or anything in the dark, in an unfamiliar area. I have thought about what I would have done in that situation. Always armed since first got CCW 20 years ago....hiking would have S/W airweight 5 shot 357, with 5 more in a speedstrip. BUT...would the initial threat justify taking him out? At what point would incident have crossed that line? Could I/we watch him by flashlight for 3 or 4 hours until dawn (if he'd sit still at gunpoint)? Then what? Let him wander off, and possibly sneak back to camp later? Break camp, and risk an ambush on trail an hour later? Risk getting in contact distance to hog-tie him? With what? Wait for him to make a move, then drop him DRT? Kneecap him so I/we could out distance him? Drop off the ridge/into the woods and play hide-and-seek in the dark? Not all of those options would hold up well in court.
Sanchez (the victim) was a 3-tour Iraq war vet, 43 years old, and evidently (based on his current hike) in top physical shape. I am sure his military training/instinct was not totally lost over time. Seems that a vet (or even LE) of any age would at least have a better chance than a similar age/condition and equiped non-veteran. There were 4 people there. How much of his attention/time/effort was spent accounting for their whereabouts, protecting one or more of them, etc?
