How safe do you feel?

[Samop]

From my garden I have no view south due to my house inconsiderately being in the wrong place and south east is tricky due to a streetlight. In all other directions I can't see anywhere near the horizon because of houses, fences  and trees.

I can walk maybe 10 minutes and be in the middle of a wheat field with an uninterrupted view of the whole sky, but I'm nervous about being in the middle of nowhere, very exposed and with a bit of expensive kit ... too heavy and bulky (.. and I'm too old) to enable me to beat a hasty retreat.

So how safe do you feel when you find a nice dark spot to observer from, and what, if anything, do you do to feel secure?

[Mandy D]

@Samop I used to use a spot on a green lane in the Peak District a few years ago, but one night after I'd been there for about an hour, a couple of guys turned up and parked on the tarmac road about 200 metres from me. It all seemed pretty innocent, until they got their huge drone out and started flying it very low over me. This thing was huge, more than a metre long and covered in lights. It came within about 10 metres of where I was, so I hastily started packing up just before they crashed it in a field next to my parking spot. I beat a hasty retreat.

It has really put me off using remote spots for observing, so I cannot honestly recommend it, any more. Yes, it might have been an isolated event, but once is enough. I know I have been filmed and observed by drones in other popular parts of the Peak District in daylight on several occasions and it makes me really uncomfortable.

I'm always very near to my vehicle when I set up remote, but it honestly no longer makes me feel safe or secure. I think being in a group, rather than on your own is only a partial solution, but it's better than nothing. The thugs will stop at nothing if they want to relieve you of your kit or cause harm to you and even being in a small group won't put them off.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

It is a really sad refection on todays society, and in most places and instances you would be fine but I would recommend to try and find one , or two others with similar interests that would be interested in going with you. That is no guarantee but would be much safer. I have not been anywhere remote with my astro gear but have been fishing overnight and sometimes been the only one on the lake in some very remote areas and whilst never come to any harm at all if you feel nervous then it is hard to enjoy your hobby, I always feel a lot better in a small group.

Steve

[Franklin]

Sad times we live in, but very real.

If I'm planning on going out somewhere I tend to go very early in the morning rather than late at night, a few hours before dawn the whole world seems to be asleep, including all the mindless boneheads

[Franklin]

Campsites are good option and if the weather doesn't play ball for stargazing you can always go for a ramble.

[Mandy D]

@Franklin That is so true. I've done a few early morning (3 a.m. onwards) sessions and never seen a soul. However, I am now getting rather older and much slower, so I would still be nervous.

[Jasonb]

I'm having this same conversation with myself, as I'm currently looking for a good dark site, but by its very nature its going to be remote, and I'll be on my own. I guess I'll just have to see how I feel about it the first time I try it!

[ONIKKINEN]

Never felt unsafe at dark sites so far. Mildly annoyed maybe if some youths on a mid 2000s BMW with a DIY bodykit start drifting and making donuts nearby and generally causing a scene (you know exactly the kind of guy im talking here im sure...) but never felt actually in danger.

Most people dont approach even though they look curiously what im doing (Finnish thing) and those that do are always nice encounters. Your mileage may wary of course but personally am not worried.

[Macavity]

Isolated Cemeteries are pretty good? Otherwise, places which involve a MUDDY walk...
I suspect (bad) "Joe Public" is pretty scared of Ghosts - or "Getting their shoes dirty"? 😛

Actually, I found I became far too "twitchy" in the company of the (harmless!) Dead? 😅
Ultimately having a CAR close at hand - to retreat to... is the deciding factor? I didn't.
 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Macavity

[Sunshine]

When I drive away from town for a session I usually end up in the middle of a field or dead end farm road, provincial park etc. Never have I felt unsafe in any way because I don't go where others are, If anything it is wildlife I'm looking out for, bears have been occasionally spotted in my region and huge packs of coyotes can be heard from my home crying out and yelping, sounds like 50 of them at a time. For about 25 years now I have been driving out to remote areas I would search out on google earth before hand, If you use google earth to locate an isolated spot then the likelihood of running into someone is slim to none.

Edited February 28, 2023 by Sunshine

[ONIKKINEN]

3 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

When I drive away from town for a session I usually end up in the middle of a field or dead end farm road, provincial park etc. Never have I felt unsafe in any way because I don't go where others are, people looking for trouble are not driving out of town looking for empty places, they stick to the cities and towns where populations are. If anything it is wildlife I'm looking out for, bears have been occasionally spotted in my region and huge packs of coyotes can be heard from my home crying out and yelping, sounds like 50 of them at a time.

Actually since you mentioned wildlife i remembered the most dangerous part of darksite visits here: the drive. Have seen deer on the road countless times and have had to brake suddenly a few times.

[Sunshine]

1 minute ago, ONIKKINEN said:

Actually since you mentioned wildlife i remembered the most dangerous part of darksite visits here: the drive. Have seen deer on the road countless times and have had to brake suddenly a few times.

Yes! I accidentally hit a beaver once while going out to a dark site near Huntsville Ontario, it was there on the road as I rounded the corner and I tried to swerve but it was futile. Poor think got clobbered, I felt terrible, I'll never look at a nickel the same way again.

[Elp]

I kind of agree with the above, usually if there's no normal road nearby it's likely you won't get any neerdowells in the vicinity, because they're neerdowelling they like to make hasty retreats. Where I normally go to it takes 10-20 minutes of extremely slow driving to get to a good spot, any yobbo driving will end up with them either veering off a cliff side, or damaging their car in the middle of nowhere usually in the freezing cold.

[stafford_stargazer]

Don't watch Eden Lake then 😉. That's kind a put me off going alone or with another to a remote place .

[Sunshine]

26 minutes ago, stafford_stargazer said:

Don't watch Eden Lake then 😉. That's kind a put me off going alone or with another to a remote place .

Deliverance, if I hear banjos I run.

[Franklin]

3 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Deliverance, if I hear banjos I run.

Or the squealing of piggies!

[Ouroboros]

The problem really is that you need somewhere remote that you can set up next to your car.  But if you can get your car there so can others including disreputables who might pose a threat.  Ideally you’d have access to a remote spot on private land not visible from a road. In the latter circumstances I would feel pretty safe.  But not easy unless you happen to know a land owner.  

[Franklin]

Get one of these.

 

[jetstream]

2 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Get one of these.

 

Great dog!!

[Dave scutt]

Get a guard dog

[scarp15]

Perfectly safe, yet gaining knowledge of a good, safe, dependable dark sky spot, that you can conveniently set up next to your vehicle takes some reconnaissance. Also is there adequate shelter from any prevailing winds. When you find such a spot, it is very worthwhile for occasional outings. 

Places to avoid include country parks. 

[jjohnson3803]

3 hours ago, Franklin said:

Sad times we live in, but very real.

If I'm planning on going out somewhere I tend to go very early in the morning rather than late at night, a few hours before dawn the whole world seems to be asleep, including all the mindless boneheads

I normally observe pre-dawn because fewer house lights are on.  And there's nobody around except the ducks, geese, and coyotes.  One morning not long ago though, my neighbor's dogsitter decided to walk the dog around 0330, right past me.  Scared the woobaba out of me.  I scared him as well because I was motionless and quiet as he came up on me.

I have a couple of club sites that are remote and presumably secure, but I admit it takes a little time to damp down the primal fear factor if I'm there alone - could be a Sasquatch lurking in those corn fields!  😄  Campgrounds don't bother me at all, but I prefer not to turn my observing into an outreach session, so I stay stealthy.

Being in a cemetery or forest preserve after dark here usually invites the attention of local law enforcement, so I don't go to either of those.

[ollypenrice]

All sorts of dangers threaten our security. Telescope thieves in the middle of wheat fields rank, in my view, somewhere beneath velociraptors accidentally revived from the fossil state by a bolt of lightning. Fear of the dark is essentially irrational, though not entirely. Our eyes are our primary source of information and we are genetically programmed to be nervous when they don't work - such as in the dark. We don't have to let ourselves be dominated by this programming because we are rational beings. As such, we can reflect on such dangers as...

- road traffic accidents

- accidents in the home (very common. Bathrooms are particularly dangerous and don't mention staircases or roofs.)

- muggings. (For some reason, muggers prefer city streets to isolated wheat fields.)

- falls.

- DIY. (Chopsaws, angle grinders and chainsaws are a particularly good bet, but don't underestimate nail guns, drills, hammers, screwdrivers...)

- walking while carrying glass.

Moving a few thousand bullet points down this list, you are in your field. You see someone coming towards you. You take out your mobile phone (though a half-chewed bacon sandwich would do in the dark) and, in the unlikely event of it not being an irate farmer, you say, 'Your photo is already on the cloud.'

Think it through. Your wheat field may be the least dangerous place you ever visit.

Olly

 

[Franklin]

Been an outdoors kind of person all my life and done a fair bit of solo backpacking with and without a tent and as long as you're off the beaten track there's nothing to fear in the dark, in UK at least, I don't know about bears and coyotes! Gear wise I've been limited to what I can carry out with me, binoculars and a tiny frac on a tiny photo tripod is about it but the dark skies are worth it. Bivvy on Dartmoor was easily the best, so many stars I couldn't recognize constellations.

[SuburbanMak]

I go out to a couple of different dark(er) sites, one in the local park and a couple up on the South Downs.  At first I found this outside my comfort zone but quickly got to enjoy & crave the solitude after a busy week.   The occasional slighly odd encounter (weed smokers, Hampshire's finest constabulary, radio amateurs etc) have been more than made up for by the improved views, fascinating wildlife sightings/hearings (no bears in Hampshire) and sense of peace at being out at night. 

Also, I figure that most folk running across me are more likely to be wary of me than the other way round - a fourteen stone bloke in a giant parka waving the business end of a Manfrotto 55 can be quite disconcerting!   I also keep a big Maglite handy to function as a truncheon/sensory weapon in extremis, to date its always stayed in the bag however.