App Trail killer arrested.

1-tonmudder

Doin my part to stir the pot.
Joined
Apr 17, 2005
Location
Greeneville TN
Trail days is this weekend in Damascus guess it’s a good thing they caught him when they did
 
A very good friend of mine left the Army and walked the trail as a bucket list thing before he got back to the “real world” he text me today and we chatted about this. He remembers having a run-in with the weirdo but kept on walking and nothing came of it. I don’t know how it would have turned out if the time table was different though my buddy is a pretty beefy dude who can more than handle himself in a situation. I hate that it took a murder to make this turd get brought to justice though cause his harassment has been ongoing for a while now.
 
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?
 
I have two friends that through hiked the trail in the last year but did it solo and are females. I don’t think I could do the trail solo wouldn’t want to try it being a women


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I know a woman through a mutual friend who is out on the AT right now. She was taking a hiatus from the walk maybe 2 weeks ago to go to a wedding or something. We were talking about the trail over some beers and she referenced this dude by name. It was in response to my question on whether she carried a weapon with her...
 
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?
Absolutely this. It's easy to armchair quarterback, but we live in a world where you can't just shoot crazy people because they are crazy.
 
Absolutely this. It's easy to armchair quarterback, but we live in a world where you can't just shoot crazy people because they are crazy.

“Dead people can’t defend themselves. If you felt threatened enough to think you should pull your gun you better be ready to kill someone.”
That’s what my neighbor told me and he’s a cop.


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My wife and I spend a ton of time outdoors. Whether hiking, riding bikes or walking/running the dogs.
You meet some very weird people in the woods. This is especially true in areas (like North Mills River) that close the campgrounds seasonally, but you still find people staying there. Nobody present to shoo them away or tell them they need to leave. For that reason, my wife is very careful wher eshe trail runs in the winter.
A couple years ago we went out snow "wheeling" on Yellow Gap Rd in Pisgah. Long, remote road that connects Mills River Rec area to near the Parkway. We came around a curve and saw a van off the road in the woods nearly out of sight. Obvious that it had been there a while and equally obvious someone was living in it. This person either wanted some peace or was trying to lay low. Regardless, we kept on going and never looked back.
 
A friend and I were bushwhacking (no homo) through the woods on the east side of Curtis Creek a few years ago. Following a Ridgeline (no Honda) straight up the side of the mountain, no trails with a half mile or so. We hear something coming through the woods, sounds like a bear, so we are on high alert. Goofy dude (no hobo) walks out of the brush. We chat with him a bit, he talks about contrails and government listening devices, and then we part ways. I wonder if he tells his friends the story about the 2 random guys in the middle of the woods who work for the government?
:confused:
:lol:
:shaking:
 
A friend and I were bushwhacking (no homo) through the woods on the east side of Curtis Creek a few years ago. Following a Ridgeline (no Honda) straight up the side of the mountain, no trails with a half mile or so. We hear something coming through the woods, sounds like a bear, so we are on high alert. Goofy dude (no hobo) walks out of the brush. We chat with him a bit, he talks about contrails and government listening devices, and then we part ways. I wonder if he tells his friends the story about the 2 random guys in the middle of the woods who work for the government?
:confused:
:lol:
:shaking:

I’m never surprised by how far people are willing to get way the hell off the trails and into no where.
Hunting last year i ran into “campers” in the middle of BFE. I mean there wasn’t a trail or logging road for miles but here where these sum bitches hanging out in lawn chairs and 3 huge ass tents. I still have no idea how they got all that stuff in there and didn’t make a trail as they went.


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We do a lot of hiking, so this story spooked my wife. She ordered a tazer and some mace/pepper spray. She turned the tazer on this morning after charging overnight, and holy cow that thing throws some sparks! It looks like it would hurt like hell! She suggested that maybe I should buy a gun.
 
I assume she bought the contact device? You can also get a non contact device that shoots the darts. Gives you some distance between you and the threat.
 
I treat the woods like the pioneers.....a tool is always carried. Some call it by other names.
That and my tomahawk. I have a small fetish for those handy items.
 
I assume she bought the contact device? You can also get a non contact device that shoots the darts. Gives you some distance between you and the threat.

Yes, it is a contact device.
 
I know of at least 3 women that hike quite often and are always carrying. Weighing the reasons of should or shouldn’t seems like an easy decision. Even some bear spray or the like could have put the guy in a position to have his ass kicked by the smallest person. Really hate this happened but goes to show why you should always be prepared.
 
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