From the article:
"Brian King, a spokesman for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy,... “We give a lot of safety advice, which people tend to follow, but with someone with an intent to do evil, how do you guard against that?” King said."
Easy. Shoot him in the face. Repeatedly.
But, guns are bad... and too heavy for hikers, right?
Seems a gun is easier to carry than your hiking buddy's casket, but what do I know...
Yeah, thanks for that Brian. I'll deal with the extra weight, and just go ahead and roll the dice on having anything turned against me. Go ahead and finish your all-natural yogurt now.........