The subject has come up in the past but in light of my recent ‘missing hiker’ thread I thought it might be good to revisit the subject of safety and share ideas.
Some comments in the aforementioned thread I wanted to address.
Fear to hike alone. If one is uncomfortable with hiking alone that’s okay. Many are. Many others are perfectly comfortable alone and will continue to hike solo. As mentioned in said thread, assaults take place everyday and more likely elsewhere than on the trail. Yet, obviously it occurs on the trail also, but pairs have been assaulted also so hiking with someone is not always a key to safety.
Protection. Often the suggestions are a dog, self-defense training, or a gun. Again, if that’s what makes you comfortable, that’s okay. A dog may be a deterrent to attack but as in this case and others the dog was not a deterrent. Self-defense training is a good idea but again it may not be enough. A gun (or knife) needs to be accessible (but not visible?) and you need to know how to use it in a stressful situation. Maybe you can but many cannot. (Annie Oakley I am not. Trying to shot straight with my camera is tough for me.)
Creepy looking people. A lot of hikers are creepy looking – browse through VFTT avatars . Not all attackers are creepy looking, or come across as creepy, but can be very ‘normal’ looking and smooth talking.
Popular trails. I’d venture to say that were someone looking to assault another they would more likely be on a popular trail where there is more possibility of finding that ‘right’ someone(s).
Often there is no right or wrong. But being aware of your surroundings and on alert at all times is a very important factor in safety. Sadly I see that is often not the case with hikers and not just solo hikers. Music plugged into one’s ears always saddens me as they are easy targets. And how often are we just chatting away with our partner completely unaware of others. I have been able to come right up behind many such ones and totally startle them.
Hike safe.
Some comments in the aforementioned thread I wanted to address.
Fear to hike alone. If one is uncomfortable with hiking alone that’s okay. Many are. Many others are perfectly comfortable alone and will continue to hike solo. As mentioned in said thread, assaults take place everyday and more likely elsewhere than on the trail. Yet, obviously it occurs on the trail also, but pairs have been assaulted also so hiking with someone is not always a key to safety.
Protection. Often the suggestions are a dog, self-defense training, or a gun. Again, if that’s what makes you comfortable, that’s okay. A dog may be a deterrent to attack but as in this case and others the dog was not a deterrent. Self-defense training is a good idea but again it may not be enough. A gun (or knife) needs to be accessible (but not visible?) and you need to know how to use it in a stressful situation. Maybe you can but many cannot. (Annie Oakley I am not. Trying to shot straight with my camera is tough for me.)
Creepy looking people. A lot of hikers are creepy looking – browse through VFTT avatars . Not all attackers are creepy looking, or come across as creepy, but can be very ‘normal’ looking and smooth talking.
Popular trails. I’d venture to say that were someone looking to assault another they would more likely be on a popular trail where there is more possibility of finding that ‘right’ someone(s).
Often there is no right or wrong. But being aware of your surroundings and on alert at all times is a very important factor in safety. Sadly I see that is often not the case with hikers and not just solo hikers. Music plugged into one’s ears always saddens me as they are easy targets. And how often are we just chatting away with our partner completely unaware of others. I have been able to come right up behind many such ones and totally startle them.
Hike safe.