Personal safety when hiking alone
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Hannahwalksfar wrote: »slimgirljo15 wrote: »
Yeah, yeah I know.. no knives, no guns, no sprays, no taser... but its ok we are taught to wrestle crocs and subdue a water buffalo with a look from birth. True story
I legit know how to wrestle a croc 😂
Well since it's already been covered that you can't take a croc with you on a hike, all I can do is hope to thread quits drifting so far away from the original topic.
I personally thought the idea of the walking stick and the air horn were very good ideas. Anything potentially a weapon would deter a lot of creepy people, and a good loud air horn will alert other people in the area as well as deter the creepy people.
Regardless of what you choose to use just stay safe out there and have fun.5 -
Hannahwalksfar wrote: »So I’m a female who loves hiking alone. I tend to hike in pretty remote areas where there’s either no one or one or two cars in the lot. After a creepy incident I have started photographing the cars and plates then sending them to a designated ‘safety friend’ before going any further. I also no longer hike where I cannot get service and have recently taken up self-defence classes.
What do you find yourself doing? Am I overreacting?
You're not overreacting. You're really smart to photograph cars and send the info to a friend.
I'm a female who walks/jogs alone early in the morning in a nearby national park. This park is tame compared to other parks, but nevertheless, I cover miles of a rural landscape where I might see 5 cars or less in two hours.
I've never heard of an attack happening here, but you never know. I don't carry any weapons or pepper spray. I used to have a dog, but lost her a few years ago and am away too much to adopt another one right now.
You sound like you're doing all the right things.1 -
I’m not sure this specifically helps the OP, but I’d recommend the book “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin de Becker to any woman. I found it eye-opening.4
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I did have one safety thought. I haven't read all the comments, so I don't know if somebody else mentioned it. I was robbed many years ago in a city, going to work, broad daylight, walking to a bus stop during rush hour traffic.
If possible, vary your route. Don't always travel the same route at the exact same time.
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I’m not sure this specifically helps the OP, but I’d recommend the book “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin de Becker to any woman. I found it eye-opening.
I didn't read “The Gift of Fear”, but did read discussions of it on another forum back when I was online dating.
Thanks to the ease of access to Florida criminal records, I was able to get a reality check when I was feeling red flags about guys I was considering meeting. They may have never have hurt me, but they had hurt other women with whom they had been in relationships. That was the end of my contact with them, and fortunately before I had given them any identifying information about me.
After that, I just trusted my gut.
I went on to meet a great man on OkCupid - we've been dating since 2013 and living together since 2016.3 -
I’m not sure this specifically helps the OP, but I’d recommend the book “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin de Becker to any woman. I found it eye-opening.
It's a good book for most anyone. And useful, actionable insight, not depressing or disempowering, as some might assume from the title. It's been a while, may need to re-read . . . .0 -
I'm very much in favor of carrying some kind of weapon, but I don't want to leave unmentioned that the most important thing you can do is to be aware of your surroundings. Attackers are looking for an easy target that they can take by surprise. Be alert, always looking around. Phone in hand is fine, but don't be buried in it. If you need headphones, only wear one. Simply looking and being alert will go a long ways towards keeping you safe.1
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I'm in a country where pepper spray is also illegal and I carried a small keychain size sprayer anyway. I wasn't hiking in the wild but had to walk in a very sketchy part of town after dark. I'd rather be charged with carrying an illegal weapon than dead.2
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OP, I've read through all the posts and my sense is that you are as well prepared as any person can possibly be. You're confident and look people directly in the eyes, have trusted your instincts in a creepy situation and made smart choices, you've taken classes, you tell people where you're going and have photographic records of people's cars in the lot. I always tell someone where I'm going or leave a note with the time I'm leaving, my estimated time of return and my intended route. If I change my route, I text that info to the person I told about my hike. Once I'm back at my car, I call or text and say I'm on my way home. When I'm on the trails, I stand tall and look strong even when I'm tired to project confidence. I look people in the eye. I have a light backpack on and my hands are free, unless I'm using my walking sticks. I love hiking alone. The only time I've been truly menaced was in a busy parking lot at a shopping mall in town, not out in nature. Most people out in the wilderness are like you and me, out for a pleasurable hike in nature. Really, I think most violent folks are too lazy to do a six mile out-and-back.9
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Hannahwalksfar wrote: »So I’m a female who loves hiking alone. I tend to hike in pretty remote areas where there’s either no one or one or two cars in the lot. After a creepy incident I have started photographing the cars and plates then sending them to a designated ‘safety friend’ before going any further. I also no longer hike where I cannot get service and have recently taken up self-defence classes.
What do you find yourself doing? Am I overreacting?
Nope, definitely not overreacting! Always trust your instincts to help you avoid being the opening scene for a CSI or Criminal Minds episode. Sorry you ran across a jerk (or a couple of jerks).
I live in Southern California. I love hiking and there are great places to go here, many of which are remote (Angeles National Forest). I joined a couple Meet Up hiking groups—do you have something similar where you are?
I also post on Facebook where I’m going and link to the page on Meet Up where th hike is posted. So folks can see the rest of the group, who was signed up to go, etc. the hike organizers always post the exact GPS coordinates of where we’re meeting.
I’ve also been hiking with the same groups for a couple of years, so now there’s some familiarity.
None of my friends wanted to be active. So I had to go it alone. I carry a pocket knife and pepper spray (pepper spray also works on coyotes). I’ve taken self-defense as well. Dogs aren’t allowed on most trails here, and gun laws are strict (which I’m OK with).
Good to take precautions, and I’m not gonna hide because of the creepers. ‘Cause then the creepers win. And the creepers don’t get to win.
Hike on!3 -
Re: trusting your gut.
It’s always good to heed your instincts when they say to be wary, but the reverse isn’t true - don’t trust that your gut will automatically point out every bad guy. I once danced with a guy at a party who later that evening violently raped and seriously injured another woman from the same party, and was later found to have committed multiple sexual assaults across several states. I would have said that I have good instincts about people, but my instincts didn’t tell me a thing wrong about this guy. I had a vague idea that he might be gay or something since I got the feeling he wasn’t interested in me, which as it turns out was true - he was looking for victims of a very specific type which I didn’t match. But I didn’t sense he was a bad guy, just not interested in me.9 -
The truth of the matter is, if you're a woman alone, you're vulnerable. You can be attacked and overwhelmed. Only you can decide if your hikes alone are worth the risk. I've been attacked, and although I love hiking on my own with my dog, the memory of my former assault lingers, and ruins my peace. It's a gamble for women.8
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Just a thought on the pepper spray issue... I live in Canada and it's illegal here too but bear spray isn't. If you can buy bear spray it's the same thing. Check that out.0
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Australia doesn’t have bear spray as we don’t have bears.5
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Oh my goodness. I have fallen prey to the "everything is the same worldwide" thinking of North Americans. I had no idea there were no bears in Australia. My mistake.3
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cheryldumais wrote: »Oh my goodness. I have fallen prey to the "everything is the same worldwide" thinking of North Americans. I had no idea there were no bears in Australia. My mistake.
No worries. There are plenty of other animals in Australia that can be dangerous or deadly.
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Like dropbears and yowies3
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cheryldumais wrote: »Oh my goodness. I have fallen prey to the "everything is the same worldwide" thinking of North Americans. I had no idea there were no bears in Australia. My mistake.
There are drop bears!!
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cmriverside wrote: »cheryldumais wrote: »Oh my goodness. I have fallen prey to the "everything is the same worldwide" thinking of North Americans. I had no idea there were no bears in Australia. My mistake.
There are drop bears!!
Is that what a koala looks like after you've been bitten by one of the giant Aussie spiders I keep seeing on FB? 2 -
Hannahwalksfar wrote: »Like dropbears and yowies
At least there isn't a bigfoot.2 -
So I had to google Yowie!
Funny how so many cultures have their own version of such things. Which all appear to reach back before any form of world wide communication networks.
The only thing I can think of for the UK though is the Loch Ness Monster! Which isn’t quite in the same category as a Yowie or the more well known Big Foot or Yeti legends.2 -
Binaca?
(obscure Seinfeld reference)2 -
I bring a few of my dogs, I run alone in my local forest about once or twice a week. JRT, whippet, St. Bernard, German Shepherd and an Irish Wolfhound. Last night I went with a friend got caught up chatting and lost our way. It was dark and 9pm by the time we found the cars. I was terrified. Had the whippet and St. Bernard with me. I'll never do it alone again now
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Hannahwalksfar wrote: »Australia doesn’t have bear spray as we don’t have bears.
Is there croc spray or dingo spray?1 -
BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »So I had to google Yowie!
Funny how so many cultures have their own version of such things. Which all appear to reach back before any form of world wide communication networks.
The only thing I can think of for the UK though is the Loch Ness Monster! Which isn’t quite in the same category as a Yowie or the more well known Big Foot or Yeti legends.
Bandersnatch? Boojum? Or do you feel those don't count as the invention of a specific person, rather than a cultural meme of unknown origin?
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No, I wouldn’t count either as they’re both constructs of Lewis Carroll’s mind, rather than of folk legend origin.
I know there are probably countless examples throughout cultural history around the world though, it just strikes me as strange that so many of them are of a similar appearance stemming from a time before people travelled or communicated with people outside their geographical neighbourhood.1 -
sugaraddict4321 wrote: »cheryldumais wrote: »Oh my goodness. I have fallen prey to the "everything is the same worldwide" thinking of North Americans. I had no idea there were no bears in Australia. My mistake.
No worries. There are plenty of other animals in Australia that can be dangerous or deadly.
You're right.. Aussie sheilas are very dangerous 😁2 -
We don’t have sprays for animals. We just avoid them or punch them then run8
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BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »So I had to google Yowie!
Funny how so many cultures have their own version of such things. Which all appear to reach back before any form of world wide communication networks.
The only thing I can think of for the UK though is the Loch Ness Monster! Which isn’t quite in the same category as a Yowie or the more well known Big Foot or Yeti legends.
Could be worse, you could be hiking northern Wisconsin and run into a hodag.0 -
Seriously contemplating compiling some personal research on this now! I love learning about these weird things!
Hodag - totally new one, just remembered the Wendigo though as well!0
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