How do you handle being outdoors on your own?

moose10101 wrote in post #18846233
You join a militia?

Nope, but I do make sure that I can protect my family, myself, and my property from criminals who would do harm.

And that will be the end of that segue into what appears to be the tip of a political debate. We do not debate politics on POTN.

Thanks for understanding.

Apologies. Didn't intend to head in that direction. Just how I handle being outdoors alone.

moose10101 wrote in post #18846233
You join a militia?

I had a reply all set and so want to post it. But...

I in my head it will stay.

Much appreciated!

I get it about locations with lack of cell service. There *is* the Iridium satellite service. I've never used it (and I have no financial interest in it), so I don't know how well it works, and it isn't cheap. As an emergency communication service however, if you were to spend considerable and/or regular time away from reliable cell/wifi service, Iridium might be an option to consider. One website showed a 60min/month plan for US$70 with extra minutes being US$1.40 each. While that might seem like a lot, it's not much more than a basic professional photographer annual insurance policy. It's also less than the cost of most pro-quality lenses. If you're concerned about being off network, this is one option to stay connected.

I recently got a Garmin etrex 30x handheld GPS receiver. It looks like a pre-smartphone cell device, but it's a real GPS receiver. You know when you can look to see which satellites are currently in the sky. An iPhone or Droid is of limited navigational use away from "civilization". While most of my photography is in urban areas, I've been doing some geocaching, and not everything is located in areas with cell coverage. Besides, that gave me a reason to get a new toy. (My wife grokked. We'd used GPS for house hunting in the days of GPS Selective Availability. Asking for and getting a hand-held GPS was easy.)

KT29 wrote in post #18807234
Going out by myself to hike, hunt, or photograph is something I’ve done my whole long life. I never give it a second thought. The last few years though, my wife has. Her last words, as I walk out of the house, usually are, you better turn on that cell phone. At the least it would be nice to find your body. Sometimes I do turn it on to see what time it is.ߘ

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18807238
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Yeah, me too. . I was really surprised when I first saw this thread several months ago. . Never realized that anyone would actually fear for their safety when they're just doing the things we've done our whole lives; hiking and exploring and whatnot.


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Like both of you, I have never been concerned about harm befalling me when I'm out making pretty (hopefully) pictures. I've been doing it, mostly alone, since 1974, and never been accosted by man nor beast. I've startled bears in the wild, taken 100's of photos of moose (which are considered grumpier and more unpredictable than bears), tracked a mountain lion in fresh snow (never found it), and since getting married in 1993, traveled to a lot of iffy places around the world (like Honduras, Belize, Philippines, Africa) with my wife just as a tourist.

The only issue ever encountered was having my camera, laptop, and a couple of other things stolen from our house during the 2 years that we lived in the Bahamas. The camera was recovered 6 months later, and after sending it in to Canon for repair and cleaning, I still use it to this day (Canon repaired it under warranty even though it was 6 months expired, which is one reason I will stay with Canon til I die).

A cell phone and this...

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/q2w3​d6