Does it have more than one use?
How many ounces does it weigh?
How much does it cost?
Is it durable?
Will we even use it?
One thing we have not considered is a firearm.
I could leave it at that, but I can't. I live in the South. I was raised here. I actually like it here. But there is a problem with many people in this part of the country and it has everything to do with "hardware".
I hunt. I started hunting in my teens. I had a BB gun when I was six. I have hunted, and successfully harvested many different animals. Deer, quail, pheasant, squirrel, rabbit, wild hogs. and turkey. I also hunted humans. It is not difficult to teach somebody to shoot. The fact is it is quite simple. It is a practical skill, and Bailey knows how to do it. We have been hunting together for several years now, and we have brought home something to eat often enough.
In my previous life (almost ten years now) I would leave the house and he would help carry my gear to the truck. A little boy toting a kevlar vest telling me to be safe. Funny. Maybe not. It was the nature of the beast. I came home every morning though (for fifteen years). I carried a gun then as a necessary piece of equipment. Two of them, my issue sidearm and the shotgun (sometimes a carbine). It was part of the job.
Guns are not part of my job any longer. I still hunt, and I own a small assortment of firearms. I do not open up the gun cabinet and marvel at them. I don't bring them to a Chipotle so others can see them. They are tools. Could you imagine a plumber bringing a welding torch into a Chipotle? Or any public place, while they are eating?
My father-in-law was a police officer as well. He is obsessed with firearms now. He asked me what gun I will be taking on our thru-hike.
"I'm not."
"Why not?"
"It's not necessary."
"What if..."
And then the scenarios began. Twisted psychopaths with murder on their minds. Ravenous bears and rabid coyotes. All of them problems that could be solved with one piece of equipment. A firearm.
If I were hiking in Alaska I would probably take a Marlin lever gun, in a caliber sufficient to stop a large bear. It would be heavy, but a necessary piece of gear.
The Appalachian Trail is not Alaska. Bears are not huge, and they are, for the most part, very frightened of humans. As for rabid animals, they seem to populate the suburbs more than the wild. But what about people? What if somebody attempts to harm us?
If you look around the internet you can find forums regarding carrying a firearm while hiking the AT. Some are all about it, and they even go into great detail regarding the benefits of a certain make/model. Others are staunchly opposed to it, and they are firebrand liberals. Most of the forums/interwebs take a practical approach.
Me? No gun. Here is why:
1. I am just not willing to carry it. Too heavy.
2. Not practical. The only times I have run across some loon who wanted me dead is when I was in uniform. Homicidal maniacs and criminals don't thru-hike the AT, or any trail for that matter. They are in your cities and suburbs. Not the woods.
3. It makes people uncomfortable. I pride myself on being a gentleman, and guns make some people uneasy. Instead of them trying to guess what my intentions are it is easy enough for me to present myself in a manner that displays that.
4. I am not paranoid. I might have a touch of PTSD, but carrying a gun (even a small pistol) is admitting you are paranoid. It's true. If you believe people who have bad intentions are using the AT to fuel those evil intents you might want to stay off the trail. However, your fears are not warranted. I know people have been assaulted on the trail, and some have been murdered. From a practical standpoint those instances are so few and far between that carrying a gun for defensive purposes is negligible. Many of those murdered/assaulted were not killed with a firearm.
5. Logistics. How am I supposed to keep up with the gun laws of different jurisdictions? It's not worth the trouble.
6. What do I do with it? I can't leave it unattended or unsecured. Am I supposed to take it into a shower? Better get waterproof ammo and all stainless.
7. We are getting away from the trials and tribulations. So why bring something that is a memento of the chaos I see on the news every single day here in Atlanta? Every. Single. Day.
8. I'll say it again: Those people are not on the trail. They are in the cities and suburbs. It is too much trouble to hike 15 or 20 miles in order to murder/rape/rob. Why do that when you can pull up to a store/school/parking lot and find a victim? Your getaway is easier too.
Life is not predictable. Bad things happen, everyday. Sometimes to us. I was stabbed by a guy who was breaking into a car. I was going to a call and some nut jumped out into the street and started shooting at my patrol car. I walked into an armed robbery in progress. I was in a helicopter crash in the desert. All of those things have one thing in common. I was "at work". All of the times I went hunting, nobody shot at me. All of the times I have been in the woods I have never been assaulted. Well, maybe, if you consider ticks and snakes.
Most of the people who advocate carrying on a thru-hike are defeating the purpose of the endeavor, right from the start. They wish to leave behind the filth of modern society, but they need a little reminder of it, just in case.
To illustrate my point I will use some controversy: George Zimmerman.
Remember him? He had a gun. Did he need it? Absolutely not. He was in a car, driving. He decided to incite the incident which made him infamous by leaving the confines of that car. He put himself in a situation where the gun became his way out. All of his problems were nails.
My problems are much more complicated. I'm trying to finish a book. I worry about my son. I worry about my wife. I worry about my spiritual direction, and my son's. Will Bo Duke eat the bacon (he loves bacon)? All of my problems concern me, and what revolves around me (Zimmerman should have done the same, instead of cooking up a "what-if" that never existed).
What will we do if somebody on the trail does not have the same sensibilities as us? We have hammocks, so we won't stay in the shelter with them. No need to fight about it. What will we do if somebody attempts to assault us? It probably won't happen, but if it does I do know how to fight. Not high school boy fighting, but actually rip a throat out and eat a liver fight. But wouldn't it be best to just remove ourselves from the situation? Stand your ground only counts if it is the only ground available, and the trail is some 2,000 miles long. A gun is not on our list.
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