First time solo

imported
#1

I’ve never hiked a significant distance (more than a week) and never solo. Is it safe for a (relatively small) woman to hike solo on the ATC?

baabwa

#2

I did my first solo overnight hike 2 weeks ago. It was perfectly safe, but I did get the jitters pretty bad. I’ve since been told this is normal, and subsides with experience. Time will tell.
Melissa

Justhikes

#3

I used to hike solo, than I saw the Blair Witch Project. I hiked solo once after that. I heard more suspicous noises, sounds etc… One night as I was writing in my journal I kept hearing sounds off in the underbrush, I was all alone at Rattlesnake Campsite, CT it was getting just about dark after the forth or fifth time hearing said noises I shinned my flashlight beam towards the noise, there appeared three sets of eyes looking back at me. It was scarry as shit. I believe it was only a family of Raccoons but it had my hear pumping.

mice

#4

Yes; just take some precautions, such as not loitering at road crossings; not telling strangers where you plan to camp; trust your instincts, get away from people you feel suspicious about; not camping near a road and not staying at shelters too near a road. I have always hiked solo. I do get scared but I still like hiking solo.

Mini-Mosey

#5

I section hiked solo on the AT in June of 2001.Only saw the backs of some young hikers hikers as they passed by me.After the 3rd night,I was wishing that I had brought my “Wilson” volleyball to converse with.Hiking solo isn’t bad,but remember the young hiker last year about this time last year hiking solo,that had to cut his arm off?His arm became wedged in between some boulders.No one hates C Phones worse than I do,but it might not be a bad idea to carry one while hiking solo.Just leave it off and,keep it where you can get to it easily.Just a suggestion.Have a great hike and enjoy yourself.:boy

Bill Harris

#6

Depending on the trail, solo hiking can be fun. If you start real early on the At or are an exceptional speedhiker, you may go several days w/o encountering someone. On the PCT, you could go along time w/o meeting or seeing anyone trailside. Solitude could slip into loneliness or isolation. I have hiked quite abit solo, in 1985, I hiked in N.Ca. for 40 days w/o seeing another hiker on the trail(it pushed my limits) though another hiker was just ahead of me for days. A climber did have to perform a self-amputation but was in an area that is comparable to Moosaic Notch in Maine. I solo hiked when I was younger because I was a very strong/fast hiker and most folks did not want a fast pace. Road crossings and camping/staying at shelters with accessibility are really only the areas of concern . Often, women who solo will meet a male friend or just a kind other hiker to hike into or out of town. Regardless of gender, follow your intuition and guard your disclosure as to your plans until you feel comfortable with who you meet. I spend alot of time on the PCT, and over the years people will hike in groups which helps to deal with issues surrounding solitude/loneliness, you can hook up with others more readily. Nat.Scenic Hiking Trails are safer than most towns. Random acts of violence rarely occur. When violence does happen, the perpetuator usually has knowledge of where the hiker is camping and less guarded. It is highly unlikely that you will encounter anything highly illegal(drug lab, still, pot growing operation) along the trail. If you do, ignore it and keep on going. It is fun soloing, you have alot of freedom to make your own decisions and makes town visits even more fun! Safety and security is for everyone-no one should ever feel threatened along the AT or any other trail. I think in the future, a ridgerunner program will be established for most of the trail to help protect,perserve the resources of the AT. Happy Soloing

2 spirits

#7

Hiking solo is a wonderful experience. There seems to be less distractions. You are in your own thoghts. The views somehow more intense and the experience somehow more meaningful (for me, anyway).

On the AT, the problem is not if you will be alone or not…but how to get solitude if you really want it!

Hike solo on the AT. You will meet many people you can form loose partnerships with. As a woman, you may want to hitch into town with someone and not camp solo near road crossings, but other than that you should be fine. A friend of mine hiked the AT in 2000, SoBo and solo. As with you, she is a small woman.

Read various trail journals in the archive of women who have hiked solo. If they have e-mail addies, sure they would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

My most extreme solo experience was on the PCT in Oregon. I went 3 1/2 days without seeing ANYONE (except one car that briefly went by). When I finally saw people, it was Crater Lake NP on a Sunday. Talk about culture shock!

Mags

#8

It should not concern you much on the AT except at the road crossings, particularly those that have the “parking vandalism” issues, and even then, its simply a matter of being “aware of a remote potential for issues” more than a reality. I can speak from experience that there are plenty of decent, normal, 30-50ish guys hiking who would be more than happy to “accompany” you during town stops or whatever to aleviate security fears (just ask!). Almost any of the long distance hikers you come along will either creep you out(rare) in about 30 seconds or be easy to blend in with. Very few wackos are willing to hike long distance in the woods. You will sort them out quickly. Most reasonable male hikers are sensitive to your fears and will not be asking details you should not be telling anyway. If they are, then they are one of the ones to avoid. In summary : nothing to fear but be smart out there!

Cutman11

#9

“Very few wackos are willing to hike long distance in the woods” --Cutman11

HaHa, but as Krispy Kritters’ wife has suggested, the AT should be renamed The Psycho Path because we’re ALL wackos for wanting to do it!

I think finding another solo hiker and pseudo-hiking with that person is an alternatve. End the nights together (maybe one tents–the other shelters), but hike alone.

Kyle

Kyle & Lisa

#10

I hike solo all the time and I am a small women. What I usually do is not stay at leantos, especially ones that tend to attract kids looking for a place to party, like ones an easy hike in from a road with a keg. Leantos also attract animals that are a pain- like mice, pine martins, and bears.Not to mention the other smelly, snoring backpackers- including noisey scouts. I have become an expert at “sleath” camping. If people ask me on the trail where I am camping I am evasive. Though, while section hiking on the AT when there are alot of other thru or section hikers out there I may seek out their company and stay at a leanto. But I do like the quiet and I do like my privacey.

Happy Trails
8) :happy

woodstrider

#11

Hey Baabwa,
I started taking solo hikes about a year ago. I was kinda scared at first…especially on the first couple nights out alone. Since then, I have been on several solo weekend trips on the AT as well as a week-long trip on the LT and in two weeks I will be starting a solo SOBO thru hike.

You get over the jitters when you start to get comfortable with yourself on the trail. There have been very few times that I have ever felt uncomfortable around the people I met. You just have to use common sense…if something doesn’t feel right then do what it takes to get out of the situation. The feeling that you get from being out by yourself in nature far outweighs any jitters you may have.

If you just take it one step at a time, it really isn’t a big deal. If you are really bothered by being out alone at first, then have someone go out with you but hike at a distance that is out of you range of site…then meet up at the end of the day. Build up from there…you’ll be glad you did.

tangent

#12

When I thru hiked there were a good number of women that had come out by themselves. I didnt see them have any problems and most of them werent scared. But I will say there were a few times thumbing that I think they were glad to be with some guys. But thats on the street,not in the woods.Just use your head.

Virginian

#13

I’m hiked solo last year on the AT from GA to the Maine Boarder. It was nerve racking to get my first steps on the trail but exciting as well. I even ended up hitching into towns by myself, I never felt unsafe. Mags did make some good points, and you will find that hikers tend to watch each other closely. So get out and have some fun!
:girl buttercup 2003

buttercup