Safety in Numbers?

I had an interesting experience the other day while shooting at a remote location. I had passed this location several times before finding the landmarks. After a bit of a hike from the highway down to the beach, not a single sole was in sight. Nice from a shooting point of view, but a bit disconcerting anyway. So I pick my location and start to set up my equipment and I hear a voice behind me and a gentleman in the buff is right there. I knew that there were some beaches in the area designated as nude beaches, but I was really caught off guard. Fortunatly he was a nice enough individual and declared he was looking for Shark's teeth. Fine with me as long as that was it. He was there for the approx. three hours I spent at this location. He stayed out of my frames and he would occasionally show me his finds. I stayed well after sundown to get those sought after sunset shots and colors. After all the golden hour is what we wait all day or night for!


The question that kept entering my mind was the saftey of shooting alone at remote locations. There was also no cell phone service in the area, so I was really alone. I'm thinking in the future a photo buddy is almost a must for safety reasons. 


I'm really curious what are your thoughts on this subject. Do you usually travel at least in pairs? How do you make shooting alone as safe as possible? Have you heard of any examples of Photographers getting attacked or their equipment stolen while out shooting alone? I really want to be smart about this and put safety first! Your thoughts are most welcome.

Best wishes and may the best of light follow you!