In which we discuss whether it’s safe to hike alone as a woman and things you can do to help keep yourself safer, because there’s too much out there you don’t want to miss!
*(language can be confining, but please know that when I use the word “woman” or “female,” I mean it in the most inclusive way possible, including transwomen, femmes, and those who may be perceived as women.)
So last time, I posted about how, in another blog debate about the lack of women landscape photographers, many women mentioned the lack of time as a big hurdle. Today we’ll get into the most common obstacle stated: fear of attack. Not by bears or mountain lions or snakes or any other wild animal, but by men. In online hiking groups I’m a part of, there are often numerous threads by women asking if it’s safe or ok for them to hike alone.
As a woman who often hikes solo, I’m very familiar with that fear. Not because it’s something that regularly worries me, but because it’s something that often worries others when they find out I go on my own. As anyone who has spent any time living as a girl or woman knows, we’re steeped in the idea that the world is simply too dangerous for us to do anything alone and if we find ourselves in such a position, we must be on constant alert and assume we are in mortal danger. All those rules can become second nature – check your car and the area around it before approaching; have your keys out; don’t leave your drink unattended; don’t go out after dark by yourself; lock your doors as soon as you get in your car and once you get home; don’t have headphones on while running or walking alone; make sure you walk confidently; don’t look like a victim; carry pepper spray or a knife or a gun; if a man won’t leave you alone, claim you “belong” to another man, as they’ll likely respect another man’s authority than your own autonomy; etc. etc. etc. Walking alone in nature seems to violate so many of those rules: you’re alone and isolated, it could be dark, there are plenty of bushes a bad guy could be hiding behind.
But statistically speaking, women are at much greater risk from the men they know – partners, family members, coworkers, religious leaders – and a lot less likely to be attacked by a stranger (though of course, that unfortunately happens as well). This also extends to the park system. The National Parks’ Investigative Services Branch produces an annual report regarding crimes and investigations in the various parks. Looking through them briefly, one of the main things I noticed was how often the suspect was someone the victim knew. The bigger risk when hiking alone is getting injured or lost and not having anyone around to help. None of this is to say that you’ll be perfectly safe while hiking. Sadly, nothing is guaranteed and we still need to be vigilant. We sadly know that there’s no guarantee that even our offices, schools, movie theaters, salons, malls, music festivals, concerts, etc. will be safe from a gun-wielding person with a chip on their shoulder. But at the same time, there are amazing experiences out there that I for one won’t let my fear keep me from.
So here are a few common sense tips to keep in mind when hiking alone (for all, however you identify!):
*Always let someone know where you’re going, when, and roughly how long you plan to be gone. And once you’ve told them your plans, don’t change them. This way, if something does go wrong, someone will know to alert authorities and give them an idea of where to start looking.
*Do not, however, share where you’re going on social media, especially if you don’t have a private account that only includes people you know and trust in real life. No need to give anyone a heads up if they might have bad intentions.
*Keep your phone charged and have a backup charger. Having a back up is also really important when hiking in cold weather. I was shocked at how my battery went from 98% to 3% within a mile or two of a winter hike. It did better when I kept it in an interior pocket close to my body, but if I took it out to look at the map, it quickly drained.
*Don’t, however, rely on your phone exclusively. Study maps before you go out. Check and see if there are blazes or other markers that will be on trees or along the trail. If you can, bring a paper map or pick up a map at the trailhead, if available. This is especially true when hiking in places with poor cell reception. Both a pro and con of hiking in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is that it’s right in the middle of two cities and surrounded by towns. The downside is you can often still see or hear traffic as you hike, but on the flip side, that means you often aren’t far from help and generally the cell service is pretty reliable. But even with that, you still don’t want it to be all you have. If you’re hiking in the back-country or the mountains or any place where help will take a while to reach you, make doubly sure you have an analog map and know how to use it and be aware of the weather as well.
*Stay on the path. This is a mantra that was hammered into me by the nightmare animatronic people in the Mount St. Helen’s Visitor’s Center when I visited with my family as a young child. The main point was how everything was still pretty fragile following the eruption and it would not be good to have people tromping all over the plants growing back. But it’s good advice anywhere. Staying on the path helps protect the environment and ecosystem and it also helps reduce your chances of getting lost or hurt. And if you do get hurt, it’s easier for someone to find you on the path than if you wandered off into the woods. This also goes back to the point of having maps – there are often little deer paths or false trails that you might start following, only to have them suddenly disappear on you.
*Don’t take unnecessary risks. One of the stats I did read is that while women are a lot more likely to worry about hiking alone, men are more likely to get injured while hiking and that up to 80% of search and rescue incidents are for men. Don’t go right to the edge of a ridge and then turn around to try to get a great selfie. Don’t try to cross a river that’s swift and deep. Move slowly around ice and mud (especially mud – I’ve had a couple of bad falls and all of them have been on super muddy trails, which are common in Ohio). Be aware of your own limits – it’s good to push them a bit, but don’t blow past them, especially if you’re still fairly new to the trail.
*Make sure you have plenty of water and pack some snacks too, even for a relatively short hike. Be aware of The Ten Essentials and pack them if you can. You never know what you might need. (It’s probably optional when you’re just going around one of the metro parks. Not optional for some of the more wild/secluded/difficult trails or national parks, like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon.)
*And finally, listen to your gut. This is true both for whether you think a path is physically safe/within your ability and also regarding anyone you might meet on the trail. I’ve hiked over 500 miles this past year or so (at least what I have recorded). I’ve crossed paths with lots of people over that time. Almost everyone has either been friendly or too wrapped up in their own thing to notice me. There was only one time, at one of the local parks, where I came across a couple of men who set off alarms for me. I had planned to keep following the path, but instead, I listened to my gut and took the next turn back to a parking lot. I called my husband and let him know what was going on and kept the call open, though we didn’t really talk so I could keep focused on everything. I got back to the parking lot and then walked down the side walk back to my car. I wasn’t followed, I wasn’t harassed, nothing happened. But I also knew better than to ignore what my body was telling me. That’s been my only bad experience on the trails at this point.
But here are some examples of the good experiences I’ve had with people on the trail:
– The elderly couple out bird watching who stopped me to point out a rare bird they saw.
– The man who saw me trying to get a picture of a muskrat when I was first starting out with my camera, and moved his set up so I could get a clear shot before the creature dove back into the water.
– The little girl whose parents were able to catch up and catch their breaths while she stopped and gave me a very detailed list of every bird, bug, flower, frog, and twig she had seen thus far.
-The young boy who was hiking with his dad by Lake Erie, who solemnly told me that I should look through the trees to see the lake and whom I just as solemnly thanked.
– The group of joggers I was walking towards – the one jokingly groaned about how photographers on the trail are the worst and I joked back about joggers and then one of his co-runners made sure that I wasn’t offended or hurt and assured me they knew he wasn’t nearly as funny as he thought he was.
– The elderly man with whom I shared a rueful smile after he ably made it up a steep and muddy hill while I had slipped and face planted, getting covered in mud.
– The woman who was just getting into exercising/hiking and gave me a breathless but triumphant “I did it!” when she got to the top of a hill.
– The large family trying to get a group photo of themselves on a cold, snowy day, right by the parking lot. I offered to take a picture of all of them and as the dad handed me the phone, the mom began excitedly waving at the car, where a couple teenagers had been trying to warm up – I was able to fit them all in and everyone was happy (or at least, the parents were – not so sure about the teens!).
– The many other women I’ve seen hiking or jogging on their own, with whom I’ve shared a nod and smile, like how motorcyclists signal one another as they pass on their bikes.
Hiking with friends is wonderful and something I miss because of this pandemic. But hiking solo is also an incredibly important part of my life too. It gives me a chance to be alone with my thoughts, to linger wherever something catches my eye or to speed through if I feel like it. If no one else wants to stand out in the middle of a dark sky park in the dead of winter, I can layer up and freeze to my heart’s content.
All of these pictures are things I wouldn’t have seen if I hadn’t been willing and able to hike by myself. If you’re not ready to hike on your own, that’s totally ok too! Find your hiking buddy, and enjoy exploring together. Like I said above, listen to your gut.
But if you’re at all interested in going out on your own, do your research, be prepared, and don’t let fear stand in your way.
