Fears of Wildlife, think this through.

[Wise Old Owl]

Over the years of reading WB posts there is an underlying theme that I didn't see when I first started here. That many new folk come on board to talk about their fears about hiking the trail. Over and over, lions, bears, mice, spiders, ticks, fear of other people and getting lost is a constant theme for posting on WB. I suspect it's the very conditioning that the television news preys upon that you need to be scared and very aware and buy this product so we can bring you a new fear that you haven't thought of. Today we bring you a terrible story that happened to someone – 20 miles away.... over and over again.


Then I watch most of you answer that starting post with oh it's so rare, only happened to some 10 people, We placate others to calm each other in group fashion, or diffuse the fear with –it will never happen. Being informed in itself is the best enemy to fear. But we forget something....


We as a group forget that as children we explored our world without fear, there was little to get in trouble when we walked a trail – if we came home with Poison Ivy we suffered for a few days and moved on. If we saw a bear we were quiet and watched nature from a pleasant distance and were in awe of the moment. It was a memorable moment, something to take home as a pleasant memory of the trail. We have a healthy appreciation to seeing wildlife in the wild. We forget about the needs of a little solitude and appreciate the occasional camaraderie of walking with others. What is wrong with a little isolation in your life? Re learn the need to surround yourself in what the woods and other hikers you meet. Discover again what makes us young at heart, as we are only here for a brief time.


As a teenager, I was attacked by a trained police dog ( German Sheppard). I have been trampled by a Horse, and covered by poison ivy, sumac and have no fear of these things. My biggest fear was heights! So I forced myself to go off a high dive, climb a roof or two and then learned to rapel off a building. I have climbed and serviced Amatuer Radio towers up to 500 feet. Over time you gain a healthy understanding.


Discover the magic again. Grab some knowledge, get back on the trail for an adventure, and forget your fears. It's more about getting out there, then worrying about getting from A to B. Be a kid again and get back to the wonder of nature.



HYOH.

[Old Boots]

That's why you're the Wise Old Owl. At my age I no longer see life as a sprint or in win/lose perspective. Maybe as we grow older we can regain our childhood in a positive way and learn to enjoy the journey and let the destination take care of itself. Our fears keep us from finding the true wonder that life offers those who are willing just to step out the door and allow themselves to be amazed. That is what the AT offers me.
See you on the trail wherever that may be.

[Papa D]

That's why you're the Wise Old Owl. At my age I no longer see life as a sprint or in win/lose perspective. Maybe as we grow older we can regain our childhood in a positive way and learn to enjoy the journey and let the destination take care of itself. Our fears keep us from finding the true wonder that life offers those who are willing just to step out the door and allow themselves to be amazed. That is what the AT offers me.
See you on the trail wherever that may be.

Good post - not much to add except that when new folks ask these questions we continue to provide sane answers. It's funny though when you step outside the trail community how many people ask you the most absurd questions (i.e. "what if you get lost and die?", "what do you do about bear attacks?") like these incredibly far-fetched things are normal trail-life possibilities ..... it sort of lets you know what sort of intellect we as a community of folks that want to protect this trail, wilderness and natural areas, and our lifestyle are dealing with.

[RodentWhisperer]

Thanks for your post; I hope it's well received by the people who need it the most. Time and again, I've read posts that seem to have been written right after an author has pushed the panic button. Hikers need to remember that such risks are remote, are inevitable, and are what gives you a sense of adventure. If, for some reason, you only want to hike where everything is 100% safe, 100% in your control, you should probably buy a Winnebago and drive off to your local RV park; hike off to buy some ice for your cooler.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Well, their is fear, and then there is FEAR. As in healthy fear vs paralyzing fear. Things like falling, lyme disease, and even bears (there's actually a pretty big list) should spark just a little fear response - enough to make us cautious and be pro-active in preventing or reducing the likelihood of having a problem, like falling off a cliff. Reasonable fear, and a reasonable reaction to it, is a healthy thing - it keeps us alive. But as noted, more people die in RV crashes than from hiking.

[DaveSail]

Well , now that your fear of heights is gone , be sure to try SOARING and Sky - Diving !

This is from the Home Page of our local Soaring Club . The videos will give you an idea of what it is like !
Of course , you know what Sky Diving is like from all the TV Commercials and various Movies :

http://www.brandywinesoaring.org/gallery.php

David V. Webber

[Blue Jay]

Great thread thank you.

[Carbo]

Good post. Never stop chasing those dreams!

[Sarcasm the elf]

Awesome post W.O.O.! Thanks for sharing. For what it's worth I jumped in a frozen lake for the first time today up in the Berkshires, definitely something to try if one hasn't done so yet.

[Slo-go'en]

everything is 100% safe, 100% in your control, you should probably buy a Winnebago and drive off to your local RV park; hike off to buy some ice for your cooler.

Driving an RV is much more dangerous then hiking.

[jerseydave]

Driving an RV is much more dangerous then hiking.

I agree, last time I took the winnebego out for a cruise on the AT I nearly ran it off a cliff and fitting between those trees wasn't easy..... the shattered glass from the broken mirrors nearly put an eye out.

Sorry, couldn't help it.

Thanks for some Wise Old Insight WOO

[rocketsocks]

Woo,When I head out for parts unknown,In my mind I am alone and Isolated.But truly what I crave is not Isolation but rather Integration into nature.Like many I have had fears and dealt with them.Part of that process is gaining knowledge of, and then looking at it from a different angle, quite effectively known as desensitization.It is through this journey of gaining knowledge that the whole world and beyond reveals itself.Great post very thought provoking.

[Wise Old Owl]

Great thoughts thanks all for the replies.

[Pedaling Fool]

I generally agree that the media is into creating fear, not trying to demonize them, but it's all about ratings. However, it does seem to me, when it comes to lyme disease (ticks) that at least a small amount of fear is warranted; there's a difference between reasonable fear and phobia. As for all the other wildlife concerns, I think about it, but nothing comes close to my concern over ticks; as for bears, I'll keep my food in my tent.

Maybe I fear ticks more than others because I've had lyme disease and I think I'm still dealing with it, but the doctors tell me I'm not, but I really think I'm still suffering from the effects. But maybe I'm being irrational, I don't know.

Last night I watched a show on posinous spiders, the first one being the Black Widow. The people that were bitten showed an irrational fear of them, from my perspective, but really maybe it's not so irrational when you factor in what they went through. One guy actually goes out every night in his yard to kill them another lady, who was bitten on the toe from one in her shoe, freaks out just by seeing one, then she kills it

It really makes me question what is rational vs. irrational. Like I said I believe it's irrational behavior, but then again I've never been bitten by one, supposedly it's a very bad experience and what makes it worse is that they're hard to see. After watching the show I went outside and slipped my shoes on, which I keep outside, I was a little hesitant after watching the show, but still blindly slipped my foot in there; I guess I need to be bitten to be more careful. So the question is, is it irrational for me to check my shoes everytime or blindly put my foot in the shoe or walk around barefoot, which I also do a lot, except when it's wet -- I'm more afraid to get my feet wet than getting bitten by something

An interesting side note. They claim that you're more likely to come across many of these insects, including black widow, at a home setting (in general) then out in the wilds, away from society. Because there's ample water that we supply to them, as opposed to out in the wild it's just a tougher environment, so more die, both from lack of water and lack of prey which also is dependant on the water. That makes sense, since everything needs water.

[Tinker]

Shades of Teddy Roosevelt.

Thanks.

A healthy respect is far removed from irrational fears. Education and preparation put such fears into proper perspective.

[Wise Old Owl]

John Gault, You can appreciate this, Back in the seventies a woman walked into a major chain supermarket and picked up some fruit not seeing the larger female Black Widow Spider that bit her, she sure saw it after, and she made the press as they went on a witch hunt of ratings to get to the bottom....Now Black Widows are all over the place locally - but because the fresh fruit came off a ship from South America It had to be from South America... It spawned a multi million dollar industry of pest control after putting thousands of fruit farmers out of a job for a year. Remember the first cow in America with Eosinophilic meningitis? Lets trace it back to Canada! SO after what I observed what happened to the late Joe Paterno - GO AHEAD AND DEMONIZE the press.

Remember they are the purveyors of fear - never about the truth.

[SloHiker]

When it comes to fears (realistic or phobic) the only thing worse than overstating something is understating it. Ignorance, willful or otherwise, tends to rule the day in both camps. As it is with most things, the truth is somewhere between fearing everything and fearing nothing.

The key is education and preparation. There are legitimate things to worry about in the real world, but there are also things you can do to mitigate them. Being overly fearful robs you of experiencing new things. Being fearless out of ignorance can make you a victim.

[runt13]

nice post.

[hikerboy57]

great post woo.
I think a lot of our fears are associated with watching too much tv. theres risk in everything we do, and about a year ago, a man was killed on his sofa watching TV after a car went out of control and flew through his living room window, crushing the man. from this, it would be unwise to assume watching tv on your sofa could be fatal.its about educating yourself to the extent of reducing the risk to a manageable entity. fear is good, irrational fear, not so good.