Girl Shot in Yellowstone Died From Bullet Fired From Father's Gun

[Xithras]

14. Well, I can base it on a lifetime of backcountry hiking.

As long as there have been parks and people hiking in them, there have been people carrying firearms with them. How many and what kind really varies by park and location. Shenandoah? I'd be shocked if 1 in 100 backcountry hiking groups were armed. Muir? 1 in 10,000 tops. Yellowstone and Yosemite? The number is more like 1 in 5. Denali or Wrangell? It's probably safe to say that the majority of backcountry hiking groups have at least one armed person in their party.

Ask any park ranger. The presence of firearms has long been an open secret, and they existed under the assumption that an unseen, unheard, and secured firearm isn't going to harm anybody. If the rangers see it, or hear it, you're going to jail simply because you've either pulled it out or failed to properly secure it, and you've become a danger.

And yes, I've carried on more than one backcountry hike. I've never needed to use it, but I've been close enough to predators to realize that there's a real risk.