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waymore
02-28-2005, 20:46
I am starting a thru-hike at Springer in late March; I am going to go to do it "alone". It was my understanding that there will be many people in the area because of the timing, so I won't be alone. I just won't have a partner "on paper", as I like to call it.

Am I being naive doing this alone? I feel comfortable, confident, and maybe a bit relieved that I will without a partner. Unfortunately, I have been unable to ease my mother's worried mind. Does anyone have any suggestions for ways to quiet my mother's emotions. The big-boy argument fell on deaf ears. Lost cause?

Being a farm girl and outdoorswoman, of sorts, she is supportive otherwise.

Hikerhead
02-28-2005, 21:13
Most of the folks starting off do it alone. If you'll starting off on the weekend you'll be among a lot of hikers.

orangebug
02-28-2005, 21:46
I tell folks that hiking alone on the AT is like driving alone on I-95. In March, your driving in rush hour.

They get the point.

Lilred
02-28-2005, 22:22
I tell folks that hiking alone on the AT is like driving alone on I-95. In March, your driving in rush hour.

They get the point.

That's a good analagy. I'll have to remember that one for future use. Thanks.

SalParadise
02-28-2005, 22:48
sounds like she's worried like any good mother would be, and she just happens to have picked your lack of a hiking partner as her excuse. if you had one, then she'd pick some other reason to worry. It's nice that Walasi-Yi is so close--my folks calmed way down once they found out I didn't die on the first day like they'd wondered, and after I told them about all the other people that were around.

Newb
03-01-2005, 00:08
Tell her not to worry. The only axe murderers out there in March want your food, not your head. :)

plodder
03-01-2005, 07:37
Go to a motorcycle dealership and get some lit on bikes. Highlight some 0-60 times and leave them where she'll trip over them. Promise to call home.

Mags
03-01-2005, 12:55
Am I being naive doing this alone? I feel comfortable, confident, and maybe a bit relieved that I will without a partner. Unfortunately, I have been unable to ease my mother's worried mind. Does anyone have any suggestions for ways to quiet my mother's emotions. The big-boy argument fell on deaf ears. Lost cause?


I like OB's I-95 analogy!

Also be sure to tell mom that you will probably form loose partnerships with people that can last anywhere from one hour to the whole hike. You will find people who you get along well wtih, meet your hiking style and pace.

Another great way to get worried moms more comfortable is to show a big, coffee table book with lots of great photos. The one by Bart Smith (with text by Earl Shaffer) is very good. Between your excitment and the beauty of the trail, Mom should feel a sense of why you want to do this hike.

Wether you are 3, 15, 30, 50 or 80 Mom's will ALWAYS worry. The key is to try to lessen the worry a bit. :)

Footslogger
03-01-2005, 13:01
Wether you are 3, 15, 30, 50 or 80 Mom's will ALWAYS worry. The key is to try to lessen the worry a bit. :)============================================
Amen brother !! I was 53 when I set out from Springer in 2003 and my mother was concerned that I would stumble and fall off a mountain somewhere. I spoke with her by phone a few times during my hike to reassure her that I was OK ...but I know she still had her doubts. Like Mags said ...mom's ALWAYS worry.

And yeah ...I did not have a hiking partner per se in 2003 either, but I was never totally alone for more than 2 - 3 days at a time. I like being around other people but those periods were equally enjoyable and allowed me to be quiet with myself and reflect on how fortunate I was to be hiking the AT.

'Slogger
AT 2003

Spirit Walker
03-01-2005, 13:23
I started the AT alone twice. As a female I was worried, a bit, but since I had backpacked alone several times before in much more remote areas, I didn't let it stop me. I'm glad I didn't. I never was scared on the AT. When I was with other people, there was a strong sense of community, and when I was alone I reveled in the solitude. On the AT you usually end up leapfrogging the same group of people, so you get to know each other fairly well. A few may end up as partners, trail family or very close friends. On my first hike I traveled with one person for about 400 miles - I had met him originally 1200 miles before, then didn't see him again for months. On my second hike, I hiked for a while with a small group and then partnered up with one of that group. We hiked together on the AT for about 1500 miles. (About 10,000 miles at this point.)

You can't stop your family/friends from worrying - but share some of the movies, websites, etc. with them and they may worry less. Have you read the Thruhiker Papers yet? There was a segment on safety on the trail that they may want to read.

Lone Wolf
03-01-2005, 13:27
Just don't let mom read the book, "Murder on the Appalachian Trail".

Bjorkin
03-01-2005, 13:53
Just turn on any local evening news and tell her to keep a tally of violent crimes or accidents which happen in the city versus the woods. While this is keeping her busy, lace up your boots, open the back door, and start hiking.

Moms will always worry so you can either try to appease her or yourself. Hike your hike and she'll be fine.

The Weasel
03-01-2005, 14:59
I'm going to differ somewhat. I've walked from Springer to Damascus, which is the most crowded part during the Spring, so I've got some experience. This was in 2000, and wasn't far away in time from the non-AT murder of 2 women in Shenadoah, near the AT. I also come from the experience of a very, very close friend who was murdered on a fairly populated long trail here in California 20 years ago. Her body has still not been found, and the suspected murderer never charged.

Almost no one with a hiking partner "hikes with" that partner on a step-by-step basis; due to different speeds, tiring, and so on, one agrees to meet every so often (by time or location) with one's partner. That means someone is keeping tabs on you. That's very comforting, and for women alone on a trail otherwise, I think it prudent.

That doesn't mean you must have a formal "partner". But it does mean you should make a couple of friends (it will happen inevitably) the first day and every several days and ask when they will stop for breaks and for the day, and let them know the same about you. Some will hike close with you, others not, but there is a high level of safety in that. If you're going to be totally alone for a day, you shouldn't freak out, but it still would be prudent to avoid.

The Weasel

waymore
03-01-2005, 15:42
Thanks y'all! There are a great number of prudent suggestions here. I think I will send her a link to this forum and she will feel fine. I just keep getting the feeling that she thinks that I am taking my bookbag and some grits and heading out on some last minute trip. The truth is, I have been daydreaming about this since I read The Last American Man...over two years ago, maybe longer! Now, I am in a position that will afford me the opportunity to act on a dream, which is sort of a dream in itself!

The I-95 analogy is so succinct and exactly what I envisioned. Thanks again.

I hope I get a chance to meet some of you good people in person someday.

Bad Ass Turtle
03-01-2005, 17:51
One more thing, Waymore -- you can tell your mom that hikers very quickly form a community on the trail, and look out for each other. I experienced the best of that when I was injured in '01; and Footslogger can tell you his story about how his hiking pals saved him from hypothermia in '03 (though they couldn't help with the kidney stones!).

rickb
03-01-2005, 20:43
You read the last American Man?

I don't know him, but Eustis Conway was a trip when he was interviewed on NPR. Now he was a guy who knew how to HYOH.

In reference to Wolf's book sugestion. In point of fact my mom and dad dropped me off at Baxter. When they returned to thier hotel in Millinocket, one of the helpfull folks they met share all the details with Mom. :datz

Intellectually, she knew that I was in a very safe spot, but Moms are always going to be Moms. Make sure you send her some letters to go with the phone calls! Me, I probably didn't do that enough.

Rick B