Solo Hiking

It's a thing you'll hear a fair amount from women, especially those of us who became hikers later in life, and didn't grow up with outdoor adventures: we are afraid to hike alone. 

Some of it is practical-sense based: if I am solo hiking and I injure myself, well, that's going to suck, especially if the injury impacts my mobility. Probably not too big of a deal in my local state parks; might be a bigger deal if I am solo hiking in a mountain somewhere. There are ways to plan and prepare for this, though, and mitigate the risk in a way that should make us feel more comfortable. 

The other part, and honestly, the larger part for me, is fear based. Like many women, I've some had rather unfortunate experiences and close calls being a runner on a college campus, walking between college classes at night, heading into a parking garage, etc. Some of them were annoying and unpleasant and uncomfortable; others were downright scary. Between that, and a lifetime of having society drill into my brain that its my responsibility to not become a victim of something, rather than for someone else not to be a shithead of a human being, fear worked its way into my brain about being alone on a hiking trail. 

Well, that, and my fear of aggressive wild animals, but that's for another day.

The statistics don't really bear out that fear, though. Statistics are almost always more nuanced than "yes" or "no", so if you'd like deeper dive than just me talking about what I read, take yourself to google for some of the actual researched based articles that come up. Basically, it boils down to this: (1) you are safer in the great outdoors than, say, in a crowded city; (2) women are typically more at risk from people or partners they know or are in a relationship with than from strangers; and (3) women seem to have a different risk assessment strategy than men, and tend to be the subject of less search and rescues than men are. 

For a super interesting podcast on this, go check out National Park After Dark, the People of the Parks: Andrea Lankford episode. 

The first time I solo hiked, I think I hiked the fastest I've ever hiked in my life, because I was trying to do it and get it over with as quickly as possible. As I've gotten more comfortable, I find I still like bringing a dog along. If nothing else, having Finn by my side makes me rethink my decision to cross the creek via an icy log or jump from boulder to boulder after a rain. Not that I've ever engaged in such foolish decisions. Ahem. 

Anyway, I am now comfortable with 5 mile solo hikes, and am looking to go longer. That's part of my hope for my as-of-yet unplanned solo trip--some longer hikes in a location that I am not as familiar with. For example, I obviously feel pretty comfortable in my knowledge of parts of Rocky Mountain National Park, so I would try some longer solo hikes in those areas. I'd also do some shorter solo hikes in areas I am less familiar with. I'm also super interested in doing some big, day long guided hikes or shorter backpacking trips.

On the backpacking note, I've started taking classes here and there, learning more about tents, packs, what's needed and what isn't, food storage containers, and how to book and maintain campsites. I've been gearing up to try this little adventure since last year, so I am hopeful I can put it into action this summer.