Personal safety when hiking alone
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Hannahwalksfar
Posts: 572 Member
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?
What do you find yourself doing? Am I overreacting?
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Replies
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Honestly? I carry a pistol. I took a concealed carry class and have a license. I would not feel safe in that situation without it.30
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Guns are almost impossible to get here unless you go through all kinds of courses and assessments. I sometimes take my dog but he’s so friendly and not intimidating lol2
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I strongly recommend carrying pepper spray. You can get it for less than 20 bucks and keep it with you on your key ring.
Self defense classes are good for everyone (I take them), but without years of experience I feel like pepper spray will be more effective in most defense situations.25 -
@Hannahwalksfar
I used to hike/walk for miles every day but I had a dog. Even then, there came a time when it just wasn't wise to go alone. There are millions and millions of tourists who wander through my neck of the woods and some of them are on the 'loose' if you know what I mean. They are literally on the run. There's those kind of predators along with the big wild kind and they're expanding their territory, moving right in amongst the people. I don't even empty my trash when it's dark outside like I used to because I might run into one of them.
As my father says, it's not a matter of if but a matter of when. So I stopped going alone. Your life is valuable and I know theres all kinds of sporty gurus who advocate for women to go hiking alone, it's all this and that. If you have that unction not go alone, then don't do it. Listen to yourself.10 -
That’s fabulous. Didn’t think of pepper spray thanks1
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Never mind. It’s illegal here.4
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Diatonic12 wrote: »@Hannahwalksfar
I used to hike/walk for miles every day but I had a dog. Even then, there came a time when it just wasn't wise to go alone. There are millions and millions of tourists who wander through my neck of the woods and some of them are on the 'loose' if you know what I mean. They are literally on the run. There's those kind of predators along with the big wild kind and they're expanding their territory, moving right in amongst the people. I don't even empty my trash when it's dark outside like I used to because I might run into one of them.
As my father says, it's not a matter of if but a matter of when. So I stopped going alone. Your life is valuable and I know theres all kinds of sporty gurus who advocate for women to go hiking alone, it's all this and that. If you have that unction not go alone, then don't do it. Listen to yourself.
Yes, a few times I’ve just gone home or changed my walk location due to shifty looking characters. I just have no one to walk with and love adventuring so much. It’s tough.1 -
Truthfully, I would choose to hike in less remote areas, or go with a friend.2
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Wasp spray is very effective. It's blinding and sprays several feet, plus you get a lot of it.19
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Hannahwalksfar wrote: »
That's crazy
. Even in my country, where guns are very restricted, carrying pepper spray is still legal.
I looked it up and it seems there's not much legal in Australia... Even any item that is legal in other circumstances could be considered illegal in Australia if carried for the purpose of being a weapon.
I think in this situation, self defense classes are looking like a better option. At the least, they improve fitness and self confidence. If they offer Krav Maga by you, I strongly recommend that.8 -
I’m currently studying Muay Thai.3
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Hannahwalksfar wrote: »I’m currently studying Muay Thai.
Muay Thai is good for striking. A lot of Krav Maga's striking is based off of Muay Thai. Just remember in a self defense situation, there are no rules. The best place to strike your opponent is always their groin.5 -
Definitely the truth. The run like hell4
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Be sceptical when assessing 'self defence' classes. From what I've seen the vast majority of them are useless garbage. If they start teaching you stuff like joint locks, pressure points and complicated 4 and 5 step 'manoeuvres' then ditch it and look for a different class. The effective self defence classes will be teaching you very simple and direct (aka vicious) things, like how to use your car keys to gouge an attackers eyes and get away.
Just learning to fight in general is probably the best thing to do. A practical 'combat' martial art (boxing, kick/thai boxing, krav maga, MMA, etc) will be better than a sports martial art (Karate, TKD, etc). There's no points and no trophies awarded in self defence. Grappling (Jujitsu, Judo, Wrestling) can be handy and teach you some valuable standing techniques, but in reality you want to avoid going to the ground. Self defence is about escaping not 'winning' and it's much harder to escape when you're laying down and have to maintain control of your opponent, not to mention what a terrible position this is to be in if there are more than one person to contend with.13 -
@Danp Correct. Here, everyone is packing heat. You don't need a conceal permit, it's legal. Sprays of any kind are no match for that and more than one person.2
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I'm so sorry to hear this. Everyone deserves to feel safe, and being in nature is the best medicine.
Are there places you can hike without a trail and get away from all people?5 -
Soon I’ll be back living on millions of acres and will have all the space in the world. Will just have to watch out for wild dogs and snakes but for now I’m limited with my options. I guess I’ve always lived very rurally and have always felt safe on my walks but the world is changing it seems.4
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My mom always made sure I had a water gun full of ammonia when I went hiking in my teens. She often carried a cattle prod on walks. Those precautions seemed silly to me at the time, but the older and more cynical me sees the wisdom in some preparation for danger. Enjoy your walks and stay safe.6
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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?
Statistics tell us that a female is actually safer in the streets than their own home. Ie the person harming a female is most likely to be someone they know and it is most likely to be in their own home. It is great to take extra measures as a safety precaution but the reality is that the media lead us to fear what is actually not a very common event in the scheme of things.15
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