Sleeping alone in the wilderness--Article

[Every Road Leads Home]

Here's an article about a woman who has hiked/camped/backpacked alone for years.  Thought it might be interesting to some of the people who are new/newer to the lifestyle and have concerns about doing so.  

https://www.outsideonline.com/2141556/sleeping-alone-woods-while-female

 

[Gunny]

Thanks ERLH, I'll give it to my fearless daughter. She carries a silly looking pink pistol and I don't think there is much that scares her. Except thunder. She has run into many women travelers who have shared their adventures with her, most are quite a bit older, and not one has been bothered afield.. One hassled at a Walmart late night when she went to buy something.

Rob

 

[DuneElliot]

That article could have been written about me...lol...backpacking solo, in the wilderness does take some getting used to, but as the article states, the solitude is worth it. Of course I have a dog with me which helps, but there's nothing like getting out there alone

 

[TrainChaser]

It would be interesting to know how those National Park figures were divided between the actual campground areas w/lots of people, and the remote campers.  I would bet money that there are more issues within the high-population campgrounds.  It's just not that difficult to attack a woman in a populated area, as most are easily intimidated and don't have any training/knowledge/thoughts on basic self-defense.

In all my years of camping, I've never had a problem.  There were two times when the only other people nearby were groups of guys drinking, so I just moved on.

But there was one funny part of that article:  "Shey uses her headlamp to keep her mind focused on the scene in front of her, attempting to switch off her imagination."

Unless you've got a dedicated stalker, the likelihood of a human troublemaker is remote, but not impossible.  Somewhat more likely would be a carnivorous stalker of the bear or cat kind.  One of the ways to avoid trouble is with awareness, and tunnel vision wouldn't seem to me the best idea available.  And leave the headset home --  you might as well be wearing earplugs.

Maintain vigilance, but don't let fear control you because, mostly, it's a waste of time and energy.

 

[DuneElliot]

It would be interesting to know how those National Park figures were divided between the actual campground areas w/lots of people, and the remote campers.  I would bet money that there are more issues within the high-population campgrounds.  It's just not that difficult to attack a woman in a populated area, as most are easily intimidated and don't have any training/knowledge/thoughts on basic self-defense.

In all my years of camping, I've never had a problem.  There were two times when the only other people nearby were groups of guys drinking, so I just moved on.

But there was one funny part of that article:  "Shey uses her headlamp to keep her mind focused on the scene in front of her, attempting to switch off her imagination."

Unless you've got a dedicated stalker, the likelihood of a human troublemaker is remote, but not impossible.  Somewhat more likely would be a carnivorous stalker of the bear or cat kind.  One of the ways to avoid trouble is with awareness, and tunnel vision wouldn't seem to me the best idea available.  And leave the headset home --  you might as well be wearing earplugs.

Maintain vigilance, but don't let fear control you because, mostly, it's a waste of time and energy.

I never wear earplugs at night, or ear buds for music in the backcountry. I want to hear everything and know what's happening around me. In many areas where there are few folks I'll put music on to alert bears to my presence but I usually keep it to Irish or New Age music in keeping with the surroundings, and I'll turn it off when other people appear on the trail.

 

[lenny flank]

Whenever people learn that I live in a van, their second question is always "do you feel safe at night?" (Their first question is always "where do you poop?")

Despite the rather exaggerated fear that many may have, the reality is that the vast majority of people will never be the target of any sort of violent crime, and will never have any need to defend themselves from attack. Even if your campervan happens to get broken into while you are in it (and the odds of that are also very low), the thief will be more interested in your items than in you; he is not expecting anyone to be inside the van and is not looking for a confrontation. So other than my plain ole ordinary kitchen knife, I have no guns, pepper sprays, or any other weapon in the van. There’s simply no need for it.

I have actually only had one incident in two years of van-dwelling, and it happened in Pittsburgh. I was parked for the night at Walmart when I heard a distinct “ping” against the side of the van. Turns out there was a group of young teens who had apparently just purchased a BB gun in the Walmart, and decided to try it out in the parking lot. And as a target, they had placed a water bottle on top of my van. Sadly, they were not very good shots, hence the “pinging” that I heard. Having no idea I was inside the van, they were flabbergasted when I opened the side door, poked my head out, and calmly asked if there was anything I could do for them? Sheepishly, they filed into their car and drove off.

I think the fear of "something happening" is far far more than the actual reality of it. I have better odds of winning the lottery than I do of being robbed or killed or whatever in my van by a stranger.

 

[Gigi]

THANK YOU for this article ERLH! I am sending a link to my son. Women grow up with these fears but many of the men who loves us do as well. My son is 100% behind me doing this (I launch in less than 2 weeks!) And even when I had doubts over the last couple of years he would say,"Mom, you will regret this the rest of your life if you don't at least try it!" Great kid huh?

Last month he asked me for one favor. "Would you let me buy you a gun?" I won't reveal my answer. But that is his biggest concern--My safety against human predators. He has now made me promise that if I blog (or scarier to him...vlog) that I not use my "real" name but my Grandma nickname of Gigi. That part I get. The internet is full of some wackos...but the wilderness...not so much.

 

[hepcat]

a) Most persons crimes are committed by someone known to the victim; stranger crimes are relatively rare.
b) In order to be a victim, first the suspect has to find you. Don't be found.
c) The wilderness is a BIG place and it's hard to be found if you don't want to be.
d) That you're traveling alone says you have moxie. People who don't act like victims tend not to become victims.

and last... I subscribe to this variation of the 23rd Psalm (and a corollary to item "d)" above.): "Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I shall fear no evil, for I AM the meanest SOB in the Valley."

 

[WalkaboutTed]

My best friend and I went camping in Stone Mountain in November while we were in nursing school (1990). I She was looking for a job at Emory and we were broke (that's why we were camping in Georgia in November). It was cold and the sky let loose. To add to the fun, we had my five year old with us. We ended up spending the day sneaking from theater to theater to stay warm and dry.

When we finally got back to the campground, it was empty but for one occupied pickup truck pointed directly at our lone tent. He just sat there looking at us. It was creepy and scary. My girlfriend and I looked at each other, left the tent and and called her parents begging for them to pay for a hotel room.

We returned the next morning to pick up our gear. The campground was still empty, but the creep was gone. That's the only time in years and years of camping that I've ever felt threatened.

Now, I've been in more dangerous situations elsewhere. But this instance sticks out in its contrast to the overwhelming safety of all my experiences while camping in multiple modes. Otherwise, I've only felt threatened by severe storms. And skunks. But they don't count in this story.

 

[Gigi]

"Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I shall fear no evil, for I AM the meanest SOB in the Valley."

LOL and AMEN!! :heart:

 

[GrayWhale]

Most people who carries their gun concealed, everyday for tens of years, never had a need for them neither. They never shot nor even wielded it at anyone.

Just like seat belts. I never needed them neither, but even if it wasn't the law, I'd still feel weird not wearing my seat belt.

 

[USExplorer]

Most criminals are lazy as hell and enjoy a target-rich environment; there is nothing for them in the wilderness. Too many people populate nature with a plethora of fears real or wholly imaginary.

And its only city slickers who get all nervous about night sounds in the woods. Anyone who's spent a lot of time in the woods knows that all the little noises of nature going about its business mean everything's all clear.

 

[Thirsty Boots Nomad]

And its only city slickers who get all nervous about night sounds in the woods. Anyone who's spent a lot of time in the woods knows that all the little noises of nature going about its business mean everything's all clear.

True, I remember more times waking up in the woods from sudden silence than from some "noise" heard

 

[slynne]

I used to backpack by myself all of the time and never was afraid. I don't know why not as most of my friends who grew up in the city as I did are terrified of the woods. Ironic considering how much safer people are in rural areas than they are in urban ones but my family did a lot of camping when I was young and I spent partial or whole summers at summer camp beginning when I was 6. *shrug*

I only found myself really scared out in the woods once. I went out for a weekend trip on November 14th. I expected to see no one because November is pretty cold for camping in Michigan. I had an uneventful night until the dawn. Then it sounded like a war zone! There were guns being fired all around me. It was nuts. I had NO IDEA what was happening. Was an army coming to get me?!? I got out of the tent and went and hid in the woods which in retrospect was the exact wrong thing to do. Eventually I started seeing guys walking around with rifles and I finally got the courage up to ask one of them what was going on. Duh. Opening day. The dumb thing is that I had lived in the UP so I should have known. I have hardly ever been so scared in my life though! Luckily I had no reason to be scared except that my clothing was in neutral colors. I just kept to the trail that day and hoped for the best.

And fwiw, "the best" happened. I was on public land near Ann Arbor that is very popular with trail bicyclists. They are supposed to yield to hikers but they never do which results in the hikers often having to literally jump off the trail as a bicyclist comes around a curve really fast or is coming down a hill. Anyways, as I was walking that day, one of the hunters had gutted his deer right in the trail at the bottom of a hill that had a big curve in it. I was walking up the hill and encountered some guys coming the other way and going down the hill. I yelled that they were supposed to stop for hikers and a dude turned around to say something not-very-nice to me which caused him to not see the pile of deer guts in his path. SPLAT! After making sure he was ok, I just said, "I tried to warn you!" and carried on. He was covered in deer guts.

 

[Thirsty Boots Nomad]

^^^
Love instant karma!!!!!

 

[GrayWhale]

And fwiw, "the best" happened. I was on public land near Ann Arbor that is very popular with trail bicyclists. They are supposed to yield to hikers but they never do which results in the hikers often having to literally jump off the trail as a bicyclist comes around a curve really fast or is coming down a hill. 

This is a conundrum because I also ride my bike in a mixed trail around the suburbs, and it's not really possible to get a decent workout in without going pretty fast. So at 15-20 MPH, that's dangerously fast around hikers. I try to slow down when coming up on hikers, but it's not that easy (and def. not fun)....and but they sometimes are also oblivious to the rules & etiquette, like taking up the entire path. One lady was doing her power walking in a zig-zagging pattern, taking up the entire width, with headphones on. I rang my bell profusely from behind her but she didn't hear. So I passed her using the grass at around 10mph. It just rained and I ended up splashing muddy water all over her and myself (only my lower leg).  She got the worse of it. I didn't mean to though, as I didn't  see that much standing water. I got the hell out of there.

 

[DrJean]

I went out to the RTR and back without a scare! Wonderful!
Now whenever I hear of scary events I consider all the backpacking, tent camping, canoe/camping I did in earlier years and was only once a bit concerned (came upon a shack that was obviously used nefariously and I could not go any further down the river to camp...) It's an attitude I suppose. I'm never safer than being right where God wants me to be.