Slab City Dangers

[tripper]

Hello all,
I have traveled on and off since the late 80's, Slab City is the ONLY boon docking area I will not go to without a lot of friends, and really prefer to never go there.  The Slabs has a lot of really cool people looking for that old school hippie commune type feeling, but it also has a lot of straight up meth and heroine addicts and just bad, mentally unstable people too.

I know there is a lot of people that day nothing happened to them, good for them, the place is still bad news.

Go with friends if you must, guard your camp at all times, travel in groups and carry something defensive like pepper or wasp spray (for people and dogs).

If you want a nice hippie commune type atmosphere without the bad people there is Saline Valley Warm Springs in Death Valley, it is a long tedious travel on dirt roads however, very hard to get to.

 

[cyndi]

Can you tell those of us what happened?

 

[tripper]

This one in particular was about a hitchhiker couple that showed up to the slabs, they were hanging out with some of the slabbers (full time residents) and were offered some shots. Apparently the drinks were roofied, the girl was raped and the guy beat up.

 

[GotSmart]

So what happened is something that you might have happen anywhere. I have heard of stories about bad things happening there for years. I have also talked to people that spend time there every year. They say differently than your report.

Hitchhiking and taking unsealed drinks from strangers. Things my mom warned me about 50 years ago.

 

[becida]

You can find bad people anywhere.

It's like when someone gets ripped off & they had an ad on craigslist, all you hear about is the dangers of craigslist, like that wouldn't have happened if the ad was in the classifieds in the paper?

You have to be careful!

 

[MrNoodly]

Apparently the drinks were roofied, the girl was raped and the guy beat up.

You mean, like at a frat party?

 

[Weight]

The last time i visited "the slabs" it was populated by all types. Some friendly, some careful and some scary. I also recommend being in a group for protection. I did not stick around after one night and a day.

 

[MrNoodly]

I spent a month at the Slabs a couple of years ago. It's not hard to tell which people to avoid.

 

[velojym]

...or that the press will blow up over an incident in a Lyft or Uber car, while some stuff that happens in traditional taxis might curl the hair on your toes... yet goes mostly unreported.

 

[TMG51]

I have taken mixed drinks from strangers in Slab City, more than once. Did not get raped. Some of those people turned into long term friends.

 

[RVTravel]

TMG51 is a male. Maybe that is why.

 

[GotSmart]

I have taken mixed drinks from strangers in Slab City, more than once. Did not get raped. Some of those people turned into long term friends.

Once you become old and ugly, I think that rule relaxes.

 

[TMG51]

TMG51 is a male. Maybe that is why.

That's sexist!

Nah but actually, I was just chiming in with my positive story to offset the negative. And, you know, guys can get raped too. And all sorts of other things. Robbed. Murdered. Identity stolen. Vehicle stolen. (Vehicle house, at that - quite the incentive amongst nomads and squatters.)

Really what it boils down to is common sense. I took drinks from those people because I felt like I read them well and they had no motive to harm me. Had they known where my van was parked and what was inside, I might not have decided to trust them when they offered me unsealed drinks.

If you're a female in a group of strangers you also need to use common sense. In today's political climate it's not acceptable to imply any fault on the part of the female in this scenario. "Victim blaming," and "still not asking for it," and other such buzz phrases. Yeah, that's all true. Rape is wrong. Of course the rapists are the ones at fault. But thievery is wrong too. And you wouldn't leave your cell phone and laptop in plain sight in your car in a bad part of town. If you did, and your car got broken into, someone might say maybe you shouldn't'a done that. Sometimes common sense is needed for a woman in a group of strangers.

I recall one time meeting a girl on the street around 1 AM when the bars were closing. I offered her my thermous, an unsealed drink. She said, "you drink it first." I did. Then she did. And we had a good time. She was using common sense.

All this is not intended to drone on about gender differences or whatever, but ultimately to say that Slab City is a mixed place with lots going on. It's not a bad place. It will be what you make of it. But as with anywhere, you should bring your common sense.

Once you become old and ugly, I think that rule relaxes.

I was always ugly, but am I old yet?

 

[user 13531]

Niland currently has 800+ residents and an abundance of crime for such a small community....