Something Weird in the Forest

[Tommys]

I would say you did what was best for your family, paying attention to your surroundings and the little details like that vehicle did not belong there etc, and especially how your dog reacts are the best tools to make a quick decision that may prevent you from being robbed, or worse. While I have been a first responder for much of my life, when travelling these days a few occurrences like this that have happened to us have made us weary of stopping to help, often notifying the local authority of the situation is the most help someone like that will get from us. Seems like the first 10 or so miles from the pavement on forest service roads these days are ripe with people and vehicles that do not 'belong', we will not camp unless we have gone far beyond these areas. In your situation weather and the inability to progress much farther down the trail put you at a disadvantage since you were forced to pass back by the vehicle to make egress. Researching the maps and area before travel to get a lay of the land and potential alternate routes out of an area can be a huge advantage in case of something like this or even a situation caused by nature. During the early days of Covid we had been out in a nearby forest area testing some modifications to our Jeep and ran into a 'local' blocking a the forest service road with his truck. He was very intoxicated and yelling at us from the cab of his truck, I noticed he had a shotgun laying on his lap pointed at us through the door, knowing the only way out was forward, I made the decision to floor it and plow through the brush on the side of the road to get around his truck leaving the area as fast as we could.

Good point, thanks for sharing.

 

[Tommys]

When in those situations out subconscious picks up on a lot of things that we consiousy do not. One of the big things is the baseline for the area and what is normal/not normal for the situation. Already going in the car on the side deviates from the baseline which consiously is easy to pick up on. Other things that sway our senses is the way people are dressed, act, body language, and communicate. Even if you didnt pick up on some of these, some or all of these where being picked up on by your unconscious brain that is in charge of your freeze, flight, or fight response. The concerns where also confirmed by your wife and dog. Dogs are usually mucb better at commilunicating they are uncomfortable because they inherintly act on it and want to protect their pack.

All of this is a long answer to say, your brain picked up on everything out of place and gave you a nasty feeling in your gut to protect yourself. This is a feeling that should be heeded in 99% of situations to protect yourself and those around you. It is also something that you should pay attention to when out and about and anyone comes across your camp, or just someone/something that doesnt fit in daily life as you move around your hometown.

Yes, all signals were trumpeting

 

[Tommys]

If you were so scared, why did you drive past him? Why not just turn around?

Did you say he was in the trunk???? Yes I would quickly leave that scenario.

Forest RD was narrow even for my Colorado. 4-point turn minimally. In that, he would have had 3 minutes to charge if he decided to.

 

[DintDobbs]

@Tommys On that note, I have found that fine-tuning your backing skills can be extremely useful for those times you need to make a quick exit, and/or find traffic moving in the opposite direction. If I'm ripping through the narrows and find somebody sketchy or a place I don't think I can get through, I have cultivated the skill to drive backwards through any thing I can drive forward through. I don't know if it has ever saved my neck, but I do know that it has saved me from having to find out.

 

[Tommys]

@Tommys Seems many have declined the opportunity to discuss this religiously.

I have three points to make, primarily concerning Jesus' story about the "good Samaritan" and the way we apply it to modern life.

1. In Jesus' lifetime down amongst us cruel sons of bastards we call humans, the guy he used in his story was literally dying. Obviously the guy you found was not in need of immediate medical attention.

2. In Jesus' lifetime, and particularly in his story, there were not regulating authorities and Emergency Medical Services available remotely by cellular telephone nearly everywhere in his area, or cars to travel quickly. Physically traveling to the next town on a donkey to report finding the dying dude in the story would have been as good as killing him. Now, we have other, and better, options to take care of these people's needs.

3. At the point at which the dummy starts attacking your vehicle, that's the point at which he forfeits any prior requests for help (using the term "requests" loosely). Jesus said to turn the other cheek, not invite your attacker over for dinner.

So, I'm gonna say you scored 4 out of a possible 3, Jesus-approved. The regulating authorities will take care of him, AND you returned good for evil (he struck your vehicle and you still called the rangers to help him). Win.

Thank you for the in-faith response. The situation is much like the Good Samaritan. But "Who is my neighbor?"

 

[DintDobbs]

@Tommys (Matthew 5:38-48; Luke 10:25-37) Let's break it down. Who exactly is my neighbor?

It's important to note firstly that in every instance, the Bible makes a clear distinction between your "neighbors" and your "enemies". Jesus denoted this difference at the end of his "good Samaritan" story in Luke. He asked the lawyer, "Which... was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?"

The Samaritan who helped was neighbor. The men who attacked were enemies. The priest and the Levite who passed by were neither neighbors nor enemies.

We are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves, and we are commanded to love our enemies. Are we commanded to love our enemies as ourselves, or love our enemies as our neighbors? I think not.

Perhaps the bit from Matthew better applies to your situation than does the bit from Luke.

That guy you found was not trying to take away your coat, he wasn't asking you to help him get somewhere, he wasn't asking to borrow some thing. He was attacking your car. He's not your neighbor. Your neighbor is the one who would help you if you were in that scenario - Jesus said the helpful Samaritan was the neighbor. So YOU were HIS neighbor, and HE was YOUR enemy. Get it?

So you're fulfilling your neighborly responsibility to him, and he's despitefully using you in return. Not cool. Turn the other cheek all the way around and hit the trail.

But you showed love for your enemy by calling the ranger station and having them go help him out. So, you did right on all accounts, according to my understanding.

 

[DintDobbs]

I'll also have you remember the detail that the good Samaritan was helping a guy who was in no condition to survive, and was in bad enough shape that he couldn't ask for help. He certainly wasn't throwing rocks at the Samaritan's donkey when he came by to see what was wrong.

If the guy had wanted your help, he could have requested it may be without pounding on your truck. Even God doesn't help people who don't want to be helped. "Ask, and ye shall receive" also infers, "Don't ask, and ye shall not receive."

I'm sure the forest rangers helped him find his keys, or at least got him out of there some way or another.

 

[rgallant]

@Tommys That is a tough one but you have to go with what you feel, you did not feel right so you left that is all you can do.

The more significant issue is the one several people have touched on, we no longer trust anyone we do not know. Although that statement is an exaggeration and generalization, it is still valid we lack essential and basic trust of strangers.

The cause at least in my mind falls largely on the media and politicians. If it bleeds it leads, overly sensationalized journalism, soft-on-crime politicians (everyone deserves infinite chances crowd), and then a complete lack of basic social skills among a lot of people.

So instead of being neutral or assuming the is best in people, our default is to assume the worse, pretty sad state of affairs.

 

[DintDobbs]

@rgallant Sad state of affairs that we don't trust strangers? Perhaps. Much better to distrust some one you don't know than to risk, or more than risk, the safety of the ones you are responsible to take care of.

You can't know the intentions of a disgruntled, erratically-behaving stranger. You can know that you will live to provide for your wife and kids or your elderly parents or whatever (not that I have any of these) by not taking an unnecessary risk.

I offered to help a group of ladies in a clearly broken-down truck at a pizzeria a week or so ago and they refused. On my return trip I saw them all piling into somebody else's truck. Whatever. They chose to trust somebody they knew to give them a ride, rather than have a total stranger (me) actually get their truck back on the road. I understand where they were coming from - it's not a nicey nicey neighborhood world any more.

Overlanders should know more than any one else that people traveling from far places don't share the same culture with locals. Our parents taught us all from an early age to not trust strangers. This is a learned behavior and it is for our safety.

Now if you disagree, that's perfectly fine - but exploiting people's need for help, and exploiting would-be good Samaritans who want to help, are parts of life to day that we would be fools to ignore.

I once saw a car hydroplane, spin around and slide sideways into a deep ditch beside a bridge. I pulled off to help them and they accepted, but when the cops drove by and saw my truck stopped, they wouldn't believe that there was a car down there.

'Tis a harsh world in which we live, friend. Help others, but be aware of the potential consequences.

 

[rgallant]

@DintDobbs maybe it is age or upbringing, but my instinct is always to stop and help, but I did grow up before not trusting strangers was the thing it is now. Maybe rose colored glasses, overconfidence in my ability to get out of trouble or both.

I will never however fault someone for making the choice not to stop, you have to choose for yourself and your family - no one else should ever second guess or fault your decision.

 

[Tommys]

@rgallant Sad state of affairs that we don't trust strangers? Perhaps. Much better to distrust some one you don't know than to risk, or more than risk, the safety of the ones you are responsible to take care of.

You can't know the intentions of a disgruntled, erratically-behaving stranger. You can know that you will live to provide for your wife and kids or your elderly parents or whatever (not that I have any of these) by not taking an unnecessary risk.

I offered to help a group of ladies in a clearly broken-down truck at a pizzeria a week or so ago and they refused. On my return trip I saw them all piling into somebody else's truck. Whatever. They chose to trust somebody they knew to give them a ride, rather than have a total stranger (me) actually get their truck back on the road. I understand where they were coming from - it's not a nicey nicey neighborhood world any more.

Overlanders should know more than any one else that people traveling from far places don't share the same culture with locals. Our parents taught us all from an early age to not trust strangers. This is a learned behavior and it is for our safety.

Now if you disagree, that's perfectly fine - but exploiting people's need for help, and exploiting would-be good Samaritans who want to help, are parts of life to day that we would be fools to ignore.

I once saw a car hydroplane, spin around and slide sideways into a deep ditch beside a bridge. I pulled off to help them and they accepted, but when the cops drove by and saw my truck stopped, they wouldn't believe that there was a car down there.

'Tis a harsh world in which we live, friend. Help others, but be aware of the potential consequences.

This is the point, "Overlanders should know more than any one else that people traveling from far places don't share the same culture with locals" I like this sentence as it was this point that I had a problem knowing if I did the right thing.