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trailfinder
10-06-2004, 11:32
How safe is it to hike the AT alone?? Should anyone hike the AT alone?? Thanks!

orangebug
10-06-2004, 12:04
About as safe as driving I-95 alone.

smokymtnsteve
10-06-2004, 12:05
About as safe as driving I-95 alone.

maybe even safer :D

orangebug
10-06-2004, 12:13
A lot safer. But this is the stock answer I give folks who ask me if I'm scared hiking alone on the AT. They seem to expect me to be eaten by bears, envenomated by vicious rattlers, raped by Uni-brows from Deliverance and infested with ticks and insects.

chris
10-06-2004, 13:02
Very safe, particularly for solo hikers, although you are never really alone on the AT. Your biggest danger will be hypothermia if you choose a March or earlier start. Human danger, while higher than other trails, is still minimal.

JimSproul
10-06-2004, 13:18
I have hiked the AT "alone" without concern. As has been said you will find that you are not alone very much. In July I was able to have a shelter to myself but on the trail (in Georgia) I met somebody everyday, sometime every few hours. In New England, other than Maine, there are LOTS of people. Unlike other parts of the country, help or at least civilization is never very far away.
I day hike in areas that worry me more due to "party animals" mostly.

Big Guy
10-06-2004, 19:38
I often hike alone and enjoy the peace and quiet of thoughts to myself. I have never felt afraid. I have come acroos a few snakes but never was threaten by one. Just gave them a wide berth and kept on walking. I have been ask about injury. I have all the items I need to be secure until help could locate me. I always leave word where I am going and when I expect to be back. As others have said, I have always encountered other hikers so I felt help would arrive if something did occur.

Lilred
10-06-2004, 20:36
The first time I ever went backpacking, I did it alone, in Nov. for a week and had the time of my life. If I were to wait for someone to backpack with, I'd never be able to go. Do I fear something happening? No. I'm cautious, and I'm aware of my surroundings at all times. Living in fear of the 'what if's' is no way to live. Did I mention I'm female??

I've driven from Florida to Michigan by myself and have had people ask me, 'weren't you afraid?, I'd never drive that far by myself.' Good Grief. My grandmother, at the age of 16, left Belgium when the German's were attacking, found her way to a ship and got to America, by herself, and people are worried about travelling a footpath through a pseudo-wilderness? Americans have turned into a bunch of pansies.

I feel sorry for people who are 'afraid' to live life. I've heard it all from people when they find out I backpack alone. "What if a bear attacks you? What if a madman with an ax gets you? What if you break your leg? What if you're raped? What if, What if , What if. Do you take a gun? Do you take a big knife? Do you carry a phone, just in case??" LOLOL

Go ahead and hike by yourself and don't worry about the nay sayers.

smokymtnsteve
10-06-2004, 21:02
PLEASE STAND FOR THE GOSPEL OF ABBEY!

"Those who fear death most are those who enjoy life least."
~
"The great question of life is not the question of death but the question of life. Fear of death shames us all."
~
"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."
~
"It's a fool's life, a rogue's life, and a good life if you keep laughing all the way to the grave."

THANKS BE TO ABBEY!

"HA HA HA" :banana :D

Lilred
10-06-2004, 21:09
PLEASE STAND FOR THE GOSPEL OF ABBEY!

"Those who fear death most are those who enjoy life least."
~
"The great question of life is not the question of death but the question of life. Fear of death shames us all."
~
"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."
~
"It's a fool's life, a rogue's life, and a good life if you keep laughing all the way to the grave."

THANKS BE TO ABBEY!

"HA HA HA" :banana :D


I'm liking this Edward Abbey guy more and more....

Here's a little something my sister sent me. We share the same view of life's risks.

"Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, ".... holy ****.... what a ride!"

smokymtnsteve
10-06-2004, 21:14
from Jack London,

"I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time."


(well I do take my medicine regular ;)

Dances with Mice
10-06-2004, 21:20
"Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, ".... holy ****.... what a ride!"

And I'd like to die quietly in my sleep like my Grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like all those kids on his bus.

On topic: I have a Georgia bias, and I know it shows. But I think the original question might be "Is it POSSIBLE to hike the AT alone?" Starting from Springer in Spring it's not, or at least it would depend on what the definition of 'alone' is. Anyone can camp alone at anytime, but that's a choice, not a requirement. Southbounders may have more 'aloneness' than GA-ME'ers, but that is also a choice.

orangebug
10-06-2004, 22:05
Nah, the original question was "How safe is it to hike the AT alone?? Should anyone hike the AT alone??"

Safety is a common concern for hikers and those who love them. Explaining that we really aren't alone is only one step toward helping the potential hiker get their feet on the trail. Then we have to convince them that the other hikers are just as dangerous as they are.

The AT is as dangerous as your home town. If you don't have the street sense to handle your home town, don't buy a backpack.

bearbait2k4
10-06-2004, 22:25
I personally wouldn't consider the AT to be even marginally as dangerous as my own home town, and there is not likely to be even a quarter of the danger on the AT as there would be in any given town in the country.

The great thing about hiking the AT (particularly northbound), is that if you are a novice of hiking, you will gain a huge amount of knowledge and experience within your first couple of weeks out on the trail. You will also be (depending on your departure date) surrounded by dozens of other people who you can camp with or near, if you have any anxieties or uncertainties about your adventure. You can also easily (in my opinion) find solitude as well, since you can pitch your tent virtually anywhere along the trail.

So, I guess the safety of the AT really depends on how safe you want to be. If you don't know a lot about backpacking, then it may be a good idea to stick to shelters and groups for a while. Keep in mind, however, that the safety issues on the trail are not really the criminal-safety type issues you'd have to deal with at home.

highway
10-07-2004, 08:25
I almost always hike alone.

But I never felt alone on the AT.

I was amazed at the interesting people I met there.

And, answering your question, you''ll be much safer there than getting to it!

Jersey Bob
10-07-2004, 09:53
at least 10 characters

LIhikers
10-08-2004, 16:15
To paraphrase someone more famous than me ..." with so many people in the world, are any of us ever really alone?"....:bse

Hammock Hanger
10-08-2004, 17:23
[QUOTE=Lilredmg]I've heard it all from people when they find out I backpack alone. "What if a bear attacks you? What if a madman with an ax gets you? What if you break your leg? What if you're raped? What if, What if , What if. Do you take a gun? Do you take a big knife? Do you carry a phone, just in case??" LOLOL[QUOTE]



If I could have a buck for every time I have heard the above I could be rich! You go girl... :banana Sue/Hammock Hanger

CeeJay
10-13-2004, 16:40
The only safety concerns I had were lightning and trees falling on me. When hiking in VA on a ridge, lightning came up from the ground into my husband's hiking poles. He was lucky that it only gave him a pretty good shock and a really big scare. At three tent sites by shelters we pushed over dead trees that could have potentially fallen on our tent during the night. They were right by the tent platform or pad and very easily fell over when we gave them a shove. Hiking with someone or alone, these are two dangers you should watch out for. Saying that, I have to admit that I don't know of anyone who was injured or killed on the AT by a falling tree, but my son-in-law's aunt was killed when a tree fell on her car while she was driving down the street and a woman in the Cleveland area was killed when a tree fell on her in her backyard.

SalParadise
10-13-2004, 18:11
If I were female, probably the only concern I'd have about my safety would be hitchhiking, and then it's pretty easy to find a male hiker to hitch with you. And as a guy, I'll say it's definitely nicer to hitchhike with a woman, because then I actually get picked up.

Colter
10-13-2004, 23:25
Do I fear something happening? No. I'm cautious, and I'm aware of my surroundings at all times. Living in fear of the 'what if's' is no way to live...My grandmother, at the age of 16, left Belgium when the German's were attacking, found her way to a ship and got to America, by herself, and people are worried about travelling a footpath through a pseudo-wilderness? Americans have turned into a bunch of pansies.

I feel sorry for people who are 'afraid' to live life. I've heard it all from people when they find out I backpack alone. "What if a bear attacks you? What if a madman with an ax gets you? What if you break your leg? What if you're raped? What if, What if , What if. Do you take a gun? Do you take a big knife? Do you carry a phone, just in case??" LOLOL

Go ahead and hike by yourself and don't worry about the nay sayers.

Man, do I ever agree with you. People are so afraid many of them never really live. What's going to kill you is that car ride or that cheeseburger or that cigarette, not backpacking the AT.

I'd spend a day or two hiking with you Lilredmg!

steve hiker
10-13-2004, 23:52
Most people live for the grave.

Someone once earnestly beseeched me to pursue a certain career -- and thus spend my entire productive life -- with the goal of having a pension when I retire ... ! (And I assume, a warm casket soon after.)

BlackCloud
11-04-2004, 17:22
I almost always hike alone.

And, answering your question, you''ll be much safer there than getting to it!
That's basically the most of it. A thruhiker I spent a few nites w/ once while sectioning the smokies told me that he had yet to spend a nite alone. I thought it amazing.

You can feel alone however if you go to remote sections of the trail out of season. Try out sections away from cities and w/ few road crossings & it's you and the mice...............

SGT Rock
11-04-2004, 18:03
I think the truth is that safety, or at least your feeling of safety, is a product of experience and confidence. Some folks don't feel safe in their own homes and go to ridiculous measures to "protect" themselves from things.

Get out and do some backpacking until you feel safe.

Chip
11-04-2004, 18:55
I find the AT a refuge. Whether hiking on the peaceful trail to talking with others at a shelter is great ! I can relax, no stress. Use common sense out there and don't worry. Get away from the "rat race" and enjoy! ;)

Lilred
11-04-2004, 20:02
Man, do I ever agree with you. People are so afraid many of them never really live. What's going to kill you is that car ride or that cheeseburger or that cigarette, not backpacking the AT.

I'd spend a day or two hiking with you Lilredmg!

I'd love to hike with you too, but in YOUR backyard.

Ridge
11-23-2004, 00:04
Here's how I list the dangers (No order)
1. Traveling to trailheads by whatever means.
2. Hiking busy roadways/bridges.
3. Hurting feet or stumping toes with campshoes(or no shoes) on.
4. Dogs attacking, especially around towns and houses.
5. Bees, hornets stinging you.
6. Sheets of ice falling from warming trees, cutting you, your tent or both.
7. High winds or rains...Limbs or rocks falling on you, your tent or both.
8. Forest Fires
9. Flooding or swollen streams
10. Dehydration
11. Hyperthermia
12. Chafing and other misc medical things.
13. Falling (always use one or two walking poles/sticks)

Rare or really rare: Snake bites, Bear attacks, Lightning strikes, Bull or misc
farm animal attacks, lyme or rockymtnspotted fever,
Martian/Alien abductions.


Now for the Hiker/Non-Hiker problems:

The only problems I have witnessed, or heard of, with male or female hikers and non-hikers (and with the law) have been near road intersections, fishing spots etc. and towns (motels, bars, stores, restaurants). When you are away from these areas the safer you will be and the less likely you will get into trouble. So remember, the deeper in the woods you stay, the better.

saimyoji
12-05-2004, 22:27
Can we igore the obvious threat/presence of ghosts/spirits on the trail?

weary
12-05-2004, 22:56
I find the AT a refuge. Whether hiking on the peaceful trail to talking with others at a shelter is great ! I can relax, no stress. Use common sense out there and don't worry. Get away from the "rat race" and enjoy! ;)
Or as Henry said, "I went to the woods to front the essentials of life, so that when it came time to die, I would not discover that I had never really lived."

Yeah, I know, he didn't say precisely that. But that is the message I somehow took from him and "that has made all the difference."

Weary, with apologies for being too lazy on a Sunday night to look up the precise quotes from two of my several heroes.

grrickar
12-06-2004, 10:43
A funny thing happened when I started telling people about my section hike; they each asked me if I was carrying a gun. Being from the South I think that when most people go into the woods they are hunting and therefore carry a gun. Many of them seemed incredulous that I was going in unarmed. I was in the GSMNP for the most part, jeez.

I would not hike alone simply for the fact that if I was hurt I don't care to lay there all day until someone happens to stop by. A side benefit of hiking with a partner is that you don't have to outrun the bear/wolf/chainsaw-wielding madman; you just have to outrun your hiking partner :jump

Keep in mind that you can have solitude and still hike with a partner. You don't have to stay side-by-side the whole time; just have stated goals as to how far to hike and plan on meeting up there at a certain time. Make arrangements that if one of you does not show, the other backtracks to see what the issue is.

Shrike
12-06-2004, 19:27
More people get attacked at home or at work than on the trail. The trail is one of the safer places you can spend your time.

zephyr1034
12-07-2004, 00:51
[QUOTE=Colter]Man, do I ever agree with you. People are so afraid many of them never really live. What's going to kill you is that car ride or that cheeseburger or that cigarette, not backpacking the AT.

================================================== ===========

I remember discussing my day hiking (not even backpacking!) with a co-worker at this part time job I had. He thought I was taking such terrible risks by walking in Shenandoah National Park by myself for a few hours.

I pointed out that this activity was probably no more dangerous than one's daily drive to work.

His reply was about the lamest thing I've ever heard in my life: "Yeah, but you HAVE to go to work.