05/13/2026
If youâre going to be packing at the very least practice firearm safety. Iâve been out to the Canadian River in the Texas Panhandle on numerous occasions already, on foot. Iâve made every effort to not take the main roads and stay out of the way. This past Saturday I went to the Canadian River, being careful but never in a million years imagining that I would have shots fired in my direction. Every time Iâve been out there I hear folks firing their weapons, I understand they like to go wild but again practice firearm safety. I hiked about three miles east from Highway 87, staying south of the river on the road closest to the river. I climbed up the bluff and stayed on the edge to see which vantage point I liked more. I hiked out to the end of the cliff and turned around and stopped on the road overlooking the Canadian River. There were several can-amâs that passed by and I made sure to stand up so they could see me, I laid down on the floor again after they all passed by and then I heard two more can-amâs, I honestly didnât think much about it and figured they would keep going. To be honest I donât know if they saw me. The two can-amâs park on a hill about 20 yards from me, there was a bush blocking their view of me but again I didnât know if they had seen me already. Shortly after I heard shots fired as I have on numerous occasions, this time though they were literally about 10 feet away. Three shots fired and I scrambled down the side of the cliff to take cover just in case. As a veteran thatâs all I could think about, get low and take cover. I got up and howled like a coyote to make my presence known, then I chunked two rocks in their direction again to make my presence know, finally I got up bare foot and walked to the other side of the road to make my presence visible again, I know someone saw me so I walked back to the spot I was at and laid down again. About two minutes later three more shots in the same direction as before, onto the road. I always seem to think about the worst case scenario and thinking how easily a bullet could have ricocheted off a rock and hit me. After scrambling again onto the side of the hill, I get back to my spot and get my shoes on. At that point I hear laughter and I gather my things and walk towards the two can-amâs and go right past them, they were a group of about eight people. As much as I wanted to cause a scene, I didnât. As I walked by I continued to hear laughter, no remorse, no apology, no freaking integrity. I also heard someone comment, âhe got to the ground.â Drinking and smoking impair your mind, then add narco corridors to the mix and you start acting like idiots. Two of the individuals look like they belong to a can-am club with their matching pink and black shirts. My biggest concern is whether they intentionally shot at my direction knowing I was there simply to get some laughs or if they were obstructed from seeing me, either way I had made my presence known way before they shot the second time. If so, that was a coward move on your part and I wholeheartedly believe karma will play itself out. If they do belong to a can-am club, represent better than that.
Si vas a ir armado, practica al menos la seguridad con armas de fuego. Ya he ido al rĂo Canadian en el Panhandle de Texas en numerosas ocasiones, siempre a pie. Me he esforzado al mĂĄximo por no tomar los caminos principales y por mantenerme fuera del paso de los demĂĄs. El sĂĄbado pasado fui al rĂo Canadian; iba con precauciĂłn, pero ni en un millĂłn de años me hubiera imaginado que dispararĂan en mi direcciĂłn. Cada vez que he estado por allĂ oigo a gente disparar sus armas; entiendo que les guste desahogarse y hacer bulla, pero, insisto: practiquen la seguridad con armas de fuego. CaminĂ© unas tres millas hacia el este desde la autopista 87, manteniĂ©ndome al sur del rĂo, por el camino mĂĄs cercano a la orilla. SubĂ al acantilado y me quedĂ© en el borde para ver quĂ© punto de observaciĂłn me gustaba mĂĄs. CaminĂ© hasta el final del precipicio, di media vuelta y me detuve en el camino que domina el rĂo Canadian. Pasaron varios vehĂculos Can-Am y me asegurĂ© de ponerme de pie para que pudieran verme; volvĂ a dormirme en el suelo una vez que todos hubieron pasado, y entonces oĂ venir otros dos Can-Am. Sinceramente, no le di mucha importancia, suponiendo que seguirĂan su camino. Para ser honesto, no sĂ© si llegaron a verme. Los dos Can-Am se estacionaron en una colina a unas 20 yardas de donde yo estaba; habĂa un arbusto que les bloqueaba la vista hacia mĂ, aunque, repito, no sabĂa si ya me habĂan visto o no. Poco despuĂ©s oĂ disparos, tal como me ha sucedido en numerosas ocasiones; sin embargo, esta vez los disparos provenĂan literalmente de unos 10 pies de distancia. Se efectuaron tres disparos y bajĂ© apresuradamente por la ladera del acantilado para ponerme a cubierto, por si acaso. Como veterano, en ese momento solo podĂa pensar en una cosa: agacharme y buscar refugio. Me levantĂ© y lancĂ© un aullido, como si fuera un coyote, para dar a conocer mi presencia; luego lancĂ© dos piedras en su direcciĂłn, nuevamente para advertirles que estaba allĂ. Finalmente, me puse de pie descalzo y caminĂ© hacia el otro lado del camino para hacerme visible de nuevo; sabĂa que alguien me habĂa visto, asĂ que regresĂ© al punto donde estaba antes y volvĂ a dormir. Unos dos minutos despuĂ©s, se oyeron otros tres disparos en la misma direcciĂłn que antes: hacia el camino. Siempre termino pensando en el peor de los escenarios, imaginando con quĂ© facilidad una bala podrĂa haber rebotado en una roca y haberme impactado. Tras trepar de nuevo por la ladera del cerro, regreso a mi sitio y me pongo los zapatos. En ese momento escucho risas; recojo mis cosas, camino hacia los dos vehĂculos Can-Am y paso justo por su lado; se trataba de un grupo de unas ocho personas. Por mĂĄs que deseaba armar un escĂĄndalo, no lo hice. Al pasar junto a ellos, seguĂ escuchando risas: ni remordimiento, ni disculpas, ÂĄni la mĂĄs mĂnima integridad! TambiĂ©n oĂ que alguien comentaba: «Se tirĂł al suelo». El alcohol y el tabaco/marijuana nublan la mente; si a eso le sumas los narcocorridos, terminas actuando como un id**ta. Dos de los individuos parecĂan pertenecer a un club de Can-Am, con sus camisetas a juego en rosa y negro. Mi mayor inquietud es saber si dispararon intencionadamente en mi direcciĂłn âsabiendo que yo estaba allĂâ simplemente para echarse unas risas, o si algĂșn obstĂĄculo les impedĂa verme; de cualquier manera, yo ya habĂa hecho notar mi presencia mucho antes de que dispararan por segunda vez. Si ese fue el caso, fue un acto cobarde por su parte, y creo firmemente que el karma se encargarĂĄ de poner las cosas en su sitio. Si realmente pertenecen a un club de Can-Am, deberĂan representarlo con mucha mĂĄs dignidad.
