Girl Rant--Solo Female Hikers In Danger?

[C-Stepper]

Hmmm...I haven't EVER had anything to rant about on the internet before, but a topic in another forum brought this up AGAIN, so I thought I'd ask "the experts". Damn, I'm sucking up, aren't I?

FYI, I'm a 35 yo female hiker, so I feel qualified to bring this up.

I'm married to a great guy (we have 2 teenagers--previous marriage for me, if that makes any difference). I have been a day hiker and an athlete my entire life. I run for exercise, and I'll go any time, day or night, and always even run solo except once or twice a year, when I go to a nice destination race (not for competition).

Last year, I decided to go on my first long solo backpacking trip, in southern winter conditions. I believe that my kids are finally old enough to leave behind and not be too much trouble for my husband to handle alone. However, my husband ranted and raved, griped complained, discussed my will with me...finally, to shut him up, I carried a cell phone when I went on my 8-day excursion...which, funny thing, worked NOWHERE on the trail (really, it didn't, I'm not making that up).

But anyway, my point...

...why? I don't understand WHY a woman hiking solo is so different than a man hiking solo. Is it really, or is someone/something making us women feel this way?

I can take care of myself...I did it before my husband came along (single mom of two small kids with NO support for 6 years), I'll do it if he is ever gone. I'm a resourceful woman, smart, I can change my own oil and tires, fix the lawnmower and washing machine, tie knots, and repair gear. My husband's not around to do the chores I cannot do (because there aren't any) nor to protect me (I don't need protection).

Why is this question raised so often by women?

My main reason for hiking is solitude and reliance on myself. I've taken my daughter occasionally, and it was great, but I love my solo adventures more, for different reasons.

I don't think a woman is crazy for going alone...but, some would say my opinion doesn't count for much!

[neo]

there is nothing wrong with a woman hiking solo,i think its great,i have several friends that are women that hike solo,i hike solo most of the time,i hike alone and camp alone,i love the solitude,happy trails to ya always neo

[Panzer1]

I think from a medical point of view it is probably safer for a young woman to hike solo that an older man, say over 50 years old, to hike solo.

Panzer

[Blue Jay]

Fear and logic don't often go together. Most of the time the most dangerous thing we do is drive, yet very few seem to be afraid to do it all the time. There are very few snake bites or bear attacks on the trail yet to many these are the things they are most afraid of when they hike. This is not to make light of fear, it's not an easy thing to control for anyone. You always have a choice, let your fear stop you from living or moving on in the face of it. We're all going to die, fear can make you die while you're still alive.

[Kerosene]

People who don't hike can't fathom going alone, regardless of gender. However, you still see the "weak female" mentality out there with people thinking that testosterone really makes any difference out in the woods (actually, it might be a drawback when it comes to encouraging risk). Just ignore it, and don't depend on any cell phone to help you out!

[saimyoji]

Since its your first time off away from him on the trail, alone, he probably feels something like this: concerned for your safety, powerless to help you (even though he knows you can take care of yourself, he would hate for something to happen when he's not around to help, like for a snakebite, or twisted ankle, or sunspot) and he's just not comfortable with the situation. Give him some time, do a few more solo hikes so he gets used to it, eventually I think he'll come around.

My wife was against camping out for a number of reasons. So we started small: a one nighter in a busy place with family around. That went well, so we tried a few times in slightly more remote places for longer periods of time. Now she's asking when we can get out in the middle of nowhere for a week or two.

If he's a reasonable man, I'm sure he'll come around.

[Slaughter]

I've found that some people are just going to worry, no matter what you do, but in my case repeated action helped. When people notice that

A. Their concern, while appreciated, isn't going to change your mind or your actions, and
B. you keep coming back alive

...then they tend to stop trying to convince you. Instead they just shake their heads and sigh. But that's better than being nagged about my safety, I think. And sometimes they realize they were being overprotective
At the same time try to appreciate the source of that concern; it's nice to be cared about. And I have also carried a cell phone before to placate others, knowing full well that it wouldn't do me any good. But a few ounces to make someone you love happy with what you're doing can be worth it.

And Blue Jay: "We're all going to die, fear can make you die while you're still alive."
Well said!

[Smile]

Hiking alone isn't such a big deal, but society stats in general show that a woman is more vulnerable in violent situations (anyplace) than with another individual. Just common sense for any violent crime, although things do happen with groups of two - or 100 in some public setting as we've seen in the news the past few years.

Sounds to me like you have a husband who cares. He will be the one responsible for your kids if something happens to you.

You only have a few years left with your teenagers, every moment counts. Maybe you can wait to do a long hike, since you have Mom responsibilities at home - ever think that they may be worried too? Bet they are and don't say much, they are still your kids ;-)

Better yet, wait till school's out and take them with you!

[food]

Both my parents are gone now, but they worried about me all the time. I came to accept the worry as an act of love.

With teenagers I like to have the odds in my favor - 2 adults, 2 tenagers equals even odds. He will be outnumbered 2 to 1 when you are gone.

Fear of solo hiking is a logical expression of an irrational fear.

Did he know you hiked when you married? Maybe he fears that you are evolving without him. He feels abandoned.

It bothers my wife that I choose to sleep in the cold and wet rather than being by her side.

Fear for your safety is only the tip of the iceberg.

[Smile]

I'll have to disagree.
Concern is different from fear.

If anybody left me with two teenagers to go anywhere by themselves for say.....more than two weeks(regardless of gender) I'd be concerned too.

To assume that this is a problem with her husband is not founded.

If he is controlling, passive agressive and paranoid...them maybe - but not our business.

I'd guess that if she has made these arrangements, and is actually going hiking, she wears the pants in the family to begin with (?)

Hope it's a fun hike, will you be worrying or concerned about your teenage kids while you're gone?

[Chip]

The #IS10, you have started a "good" thread ! You have actually brought up two issues in your question for an answer to one ! First, being a female solo hiker and secondly a solo hiker. Let me say up front that I am 50, male and in my younger day loved to hike alone. Several years ago on one of my solo hikes I found myself looking back and thinking about my scuba training. Odd in a way that I should be thinking about scuba while on a hike but I had a reason.

I was running low on drinking water and had several miles to go and no water source was to be found. The trail had not been maintained for some time and had alot of vegatation that had grown over the trail which made the going hard and at times I found myself off the trail. With map and compass handy I never got lost but still this extra effort made me start thinking !

When someone scuba dives you should have a dive buddy. There are many reasons for the sake of safety. A couple of those are: you are not alone should you run out of air, somehow get hurt or trapped under water. Someone knows where you are at what point or place of the the dive you are in at that time.

Now, relate that to hiking from a safety stand point. Basically the same applies. If you are hiking with someone you know, there is always some help next to you (hopefully they don't panic if needed). If you need some water, first aid, help with gear, etc... .

Granted, I got lucky and married 4 years ago to a woman who was in the Marine Corps for 7 years and is an avid hiker. So I don't solo hike much anymore. We also take our dogs with us sometimes on our section hikes or weekend outings.

I understand also where you are coming from in regards to being a solo female hiker. Over the years I have known several female hikers that could out hike, and had better outdoor knowledge than some of the male hikers on the trail !

It boils down to "your comfort zone" ! If you are ok with hiking solo and have
a good "back up" plan and someone knows what trail you are on = then OK !!
Only you know and feel what is right for you !

There are advantages to both solo and hiking with someone. Depends on what you want. I THINK GENDER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. Anyone at anytime can run into misfortune. The question is "if it does happen do you want to be alone at the time it does or would a "Buddy" be of help ? It all depends on how prepared you are to handle any given situtation, your survival skills. Are you trail smart ? do you have any first aid training ? can you use map and compass ? can you survive if you somehow lose you gear ?

Sorry for the long response, that's my 2 cents worth.
Happy Trails,
Chip

[TakeABreak]

I hiked with a few women on my hike, and from I saw the biggest fear they had nad other women I have talked too, was the fear that a rapist would be hiding out waiting for them. After a while they realized, that, that fear (while it is a concern and ones guard should never be completely lowered) was mostly unfounded.

They told they found most of the guys on the trail to me gentlemen, and even sort of protective. The ladies I wwas hiking with, I let them sleep next to the wall in shelters and if the were people we did not know, my bed roll would be next so that a person would have to cross over to get to her. And they actually told they slept better that way.

I started my hike with several people and met others, the one lady I was with most of the way into virginia, her i met a few people and another who we became good friends with and together for several weeks. the shelter in the smokies were more crowded, so there, we let chose her sleeping space first and then we just put our bed rolls down on either side of her. She would even chose a spot that largest enough for three bed rolls and put hers down in the middle.

I guess what I am trying say concern and caution should always be there, but for either sex, but for women a little more so. Just do your hike and let your extinct be your guide. Remember, MOST men were brought up and taught to protect women, so 99.9% of the guys out there will be on your side.

[Chip]

Statistics have shown that you are probably going to run into the "criminal type" element at a trailhead or campsite / shelter within the first mile. This type of person wants to be able to "hit and run" regardless of the crime. This is where being "trail wise" comes in handy (just like being "street smart" in the city). You gotta use common sense. A good book to read is "Trail Safe" by Michael Bane.

[Smile]

EXCELLENT book!

You can always meet good folks to hook up with while hiking as well, always strength in numbers. Go girl!

[Tha Wookie]

Chip and Smile,

You both mentioned some stats that I'd like to see.

I do scientific writing, and if i use stats, i have to explain where they come from, and report the actual stat.

It's not that I doubt the conventional knowledlge behind your statements, but since you backed it up with the word "stat" I was just wondering where you got those from.

They would be interesting if they were real.

[Bad Ass Turtle]

The # is 10 --

Lots of us women are out there hiking "alone" on the AT. I use quotes there because, if you're hiking northbound and you're within the window of the seasons, there are few opportunities to truly be alone -- other than during the day when you are hiking. In 2001, when I did my thru hike, my husband (then my fiancee) was concerned as well and asked me to carry a cell phone, which I did. Like you, I had trouble with getting service, but was sometimes able to reach him. In 2003, when he did his thru-hike, we decided that he would not need to carry a cell phone. This year, I'm doing a section (Mass-VT), and I will not be carrying a cell phone.

Is there a chance your husband could come and hike a short section of the trail with you? Even just a couple of days would help him to see that there is a serious community out there, lots of people looking out for you.

And as women, I believe that we develop a very good sense of what is safe and what is not. Lots of women on the trail in 2001 told me stories about coming into shelters, only one person there (and he was a male) and how they read the situation to see if they should hike on, or if it was safe to stay. I hope that your husband will trust your "safety sense" -- but even better would be if he got to see how safe our second home (the AT) truly is.

BA Turtle

[Chip]

EXCELLENT book!

You can always meet good folks to hook up with while hiking as well, always strength in numbers. Go girl!

Yes, in my opinion this is a good book to read. The author also a diver talks about the "buddy" system while cave diving and how it relates to hiking. When I read this I was impressed to see that I was not alone in this thought.

[Nightwalker]

Fear and logic don't often go together. Most of the time the most dangerous thing we do is drive, yet very few seem to be afraid to do it all the time. There are very few snake bites or bear attacks on the trail yet to many these are the things they are most afraid of when they hike. This is not to make light of fear, it's not an easy thing to control for anyone. You always have a choice, let your fear stop you from living or moving on in the face of it. We're all going to die, fear can make you die while you're still alive.

My dad tried to guilt me out of going on this year's AT hike with: "I'll lay awake at night worried about you out there alone having one of your migraine headaches. You'll be miles away from anywhere and anybody to get help." It went on downhill from there, and I'm a 45-year-old guy with many years of hiking and packing experience. As Blue Jay said, logic and fear don't go together.

I've met lots of strong, wonderful women out there. They're safe and having a great time. I really like how the guys in the same pack as an unavailable female turn into big/little brothers. No outsider would even think of being stupid enough to hassle the woman, unless they're pretty stupid in the first place.

Trail life is cool. I can't wait to get this stupid tooth out and get back out there where I belong..

[Smile]

I dive caverns, but cave's are a little hairy.

The cave diving perspective/analagies were wonderful....but if I were a non-diver, I would definately be heading away from this sport quickly once I read the book....hmmm, maybe he planned it that way! No need for people who might panic underwater in a dark cave with little air and the possibilities of stirring up the silt for everyone else to get caught up in!

BATurtle, good thoughts, and great advice. I do think women have the intiution thing down for the most part.

Stats?
http://www.rainn.org/statistics.html
http://www.brave.org/rape.htm
if you want more, you can do a search.....

[Tha Wookie]

Based on the info given to me from Smiles in her weblink (http://www.brave.org/rape.htm), it could be argued that the woman's chance of getting raped is LOWER on the AT than at home in a town. Observe:



"One in every four females will be sexually assaulted before age 18. In 76% of those cases, the assailant is someone known to the victim."

This case invloves a woman loder than 18. She is not likely to know other hikers before the trail.

"More than 50% of acquaintance rapes occurred on the man’s turf: home, car, or other. – Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault."

The trail is neutral turf.

"In attempted sexual assaults, approximately 50% of the women escape if they yell, and up to 85% escape if they physically resist quickly and vigorously."

Female thru-hikers can really knee somone with authority.

"84% of women who were raped knew the perpetrator. A woman’s risk of being raped by someone she knows is four times greater than being raped by a stranger."

This would not apply to strangers lurking in shelters and near trailheads.

"In 1994 females represented 23% of all known homicide victims in the United States."

So in that year, men were more than 300% to be murdered than women. No recent data was available.

"Women who fought back forcefully were more likely to avoid rape than women who did not fight back, regardless of whether a weapon was present. Forceful fighting resistance was related to increased physical injury when a weapon was present, but most physical injury was caused by non-lethal weapons. Women who screamed or fled when confronted with weapons experienced less severe sexual abuse. Increased physical injury was associated with pleading, crying, or reasoning indoors. Women who used drugs or alcohol experienced more severe sexual abuse and physical injury"

Not sure really what to make of this, but that fighting back and being outside seems to decrease the chances of a successful rape.

Unfortunately, like many stat pages found on the net, no information was given about the years of most of this stuff, where/how it was gathered, what the source is, who published/peer-reviewed it, and the web page is not a reputable source as far as I know (or they would give more info on their stats).

But they did gove some good advice to women, including:

"Deciding to walk alone at night is not an invitation to be assaulted."

No night hiking?

"Look assertive, confident, and aware of your surroundings."

I especially like the last part.

"Trust your intuition. If a particular situation makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, choose an alternative. Ask for help."

"Know vulnerable targets of the assailant: eyes, nose, throat, stomach, and kneecaps."

Don't forget blistered feet and shinsplints.

"More than half of all female sexual assault victims and nearly 75 percent of their male attackers were under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident."

That's a real good one, IMO for the trail.

"If a police officer shows up at your door, ask to see identification and a shield number; then call the precinct to verify the officer’s identity before opening the door."

Door?

"Never disclose information about travel plans."

Don't tell em where you're stealth camping all alone unless you trust them.

"don’t go on less traveled roads, driving or walking"

No road walking. This seriousy might mean other trails could be considered more dangerous, since the AT is the only big one with hardly any raodwalking.

"don’t hitchhike"

Not a bad one. Have a male companion if you do.

"walk on the curbside away from alleyways, or buildings"

Not a problem!

"vary walking routes"

Blue-blaze?

"If you see a TV program or movie that reinforces sexual stereotypes and sends the message that women really like to be raped, protest. Write to the station, the studio, or the sponsors. On the other side, publicly commend the media when they do a great job in depicting the realities of rape."

Great idea!

There is a lot of other stuff thereI recommend checking out. I would also look for a site from a more reputable source and cross-reference those stats.<!--mstheme--><!--msthemelist-->
















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