Women on trail - Pacific Crest Trail

imported
#1

As a woman I have concerns about hiking a thru hike. 1) what will my nutritional needs be? 2) what about safety?

lets discuse this so I can see what you all think about these issues :slight_smile:

Spirit Coyote

#2

Suggestion would be as you get closer to your hike, try to start some correspondence with some others that will be starting around the same time. This year there was a large group that got to know each other via email and online that started the week of March 13th, both males and females. This would allow you to know some people before you start. Barring that I think you should be fairly safe, I am a man but my suggestion is just read some journals by some females out there. Tinkerbell from 2004 or any of Yogi’s journals. Both of these women started out by themselves on the AT. I even talked with Tink’s mom and she felt so much better after Tink met some people on the trail. As for food, figure after you are on the trail for a few weeks you will be burning 5000+ calories a day. Carbs and more carbs are what you will need to eat, and when you hit town, pig out!!! Good luck with everything, trail folk are the best, you’ll be safe, because you’ll be with family!!!

Almost There

#3

Hey Spirit,

I will be doing a thru hike next year and am looking for a partner to hike with me. So give me a holler if you want or think you might want to hike with me.

treehugger

#4

I would LOVE to do the trail next year, however, I can’t :mad I plan in 3 years, 4 tops I will make it but I will be doing some shorter hikes between now and then like the Long Trail next year…

Spirit Coyote

#5

I think people are concerned that the trail is not safe simply because the trail is unknown to them. We fear the unknown. It’s human nature. Once you get out there, you will understand that the trail is much safer than the “other” world.

The trail community is absolutely unexplainable to those who have not been emersed into it. Almost There stated that you’ll be safe because you’ll be with family, and that’s true! Having never met you before, your fellow hikers will instantly welcome you into their world. I can’t explain how or why we feel a bond to each other, but I can promise you that it definitely is there.

Prior to one of my PCT hikes, a good friend at work said this to me: “okay, let me see if I’ve got this right. You can’t wait to leave everything and everybody here at home to go hiking with people who you don’t even know yet.” She didn’t understand the concept, and I couldn’t find the words to explain it to her.

Nutrition — everyone’s got an opinion about what is or is not good food for hiking. My suggestion is to supplement your daily trail food with calcium, a monster multi vitamin, and Omega 3.

yogi

www.pcthandbook.com

yogi

#6

Hey Spirit, keep me in mind for the Long Trail next year, I am looking at doing that sometime before thru-hiking the AT in 2008. Give me shout!

Jewels

Jewels

#7

I hiked from Springer to Newfound Gap earlier this year. All of the women I met/hiked with were still on the trail, except for one.

This girl did not eat anything but vegtebles. As a result, she would get into her sleeping bag at the end of the night and, even with extra clothes on, would shiver, because her body was not producing any warmth. We would frequently heat up water for her, to help stave off hypothermia (we spent one night atop Blood, in cold temps). To her credit, she made it 100+ miles, but . . . she struggled much of the way, because of her diet. No carbs, no bread, no pasta products, no meat at all, no cheese, not even peanut butter, I think.

I made the suggestion that she maybe stop the diet for awhile, and pick it back up during warmer summer months. She could not do this. Last I saw of her was at Fontana Village (though trail-wise she was actually a bit south of there), and Bassline, Rawhide, Gypsy Lulu, Took, Serenity and I all gave her a big hug goodbye.

I never in all my reading of AT literature heard of someone quitting because of something like this. Its not as though she had to have this diet - not is it akin to diabeties.

I wish her well . . .

“… but you cannot take . . . our FREEDOM!!!”

Kineo Kid

#8

“not is it akin to diabeties”

It is not akin to diabeties.

For Yoda, too ready I think am I . . .

Kineo Kid

#9

I will certianly keep you in mind!

Raw Food diet? seems a bit too extream:nerd Seems she was irrisponsible by eatting that way on the trail, she was putting herself into danger and putting an extra hardship on you…imho

Spirit Coyote

#10

Hi! I hiked 1170 miles of the AT last year. Many family and friends were worried about my safety hiking as a 50 year old woman, especially since I sustained a serious hiking accident while hiking solo the previous November. But I think the worry about “safety” is safety from “weird” people. Unfortunately there have been a handful of incidents of violence against women that have gotten big press, as if those acts are somehow different because they happened in the woods than in a city. If you look at the records of assaults and murders, what you find is that they all happen close to a road. Weirdos are too lazy to hike miles to harm anybody. So the lesson is how to be safe when you’re approaching a road crossing. Hike with a buddy if you can. Don’t hitch by yourself if you can avoid it. Don’t tell anybody your itinerary or that you’re hiking solo. If necessary, make up a fictitious hiking partner (“Oh, my 6’3” brother should be here any minute!"). But I agree with the previous post that people are simply afraid of the unknown. If you said you were going to live by yourself in New York City for six months, most people would wish you well. But I would guess that the chances of “something” happening in NYC is greater than on the trail. The hiking family definitely takes care of its own which you will quickly discover. You might consider doing some trial solo hikes to acclimate yourself and increase your confidence and experience. I hiked the 100 mile wilderness, hiked 4 days in Baxter, and hiked 5 days in the Whites by myself to get ready, which definitely helped and which I think also helped my family and friends get acclimated to the idea of my hiking solo and knowing I was safe. In the whole 1170 miles that I hiked I never once had a time when I was afraid of another human being. I did end up hiking with a wonderful group of people although often spent many hours enjoying the peacefulness of solo hiking during the day.

Now, about nutrition. I remember a post two years ago that noticed that by Harper’s Ferry all the men looked like they were from a concentration camp and all the women looked really buff. I found that to be pretty true. I think women’s bodies are actually better adapted to handling long term stress and deprivation, which would make sense in terms of pregnancy, nursing babies, and the survivability of the species. I took a multivitamin, extra calcium, and glucosamine for my joints. I focused on sources of light weight protein: homemade granola with lots of nuts and seeds for breakfast; at least one protein bar a day; TVP mixed into my Lipton Side for supper; and cocoa protein drink either hot or cold for dessert. I weighed exactly the same when I started and ended my hike. I agree with the above post that recommends pigging out at every town. You just can’t carry enough calories while hiking so it’s great to supplement as much as possible in town. I could eat a big lunch and finish with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s for dessert easily.

Have a great hike!:girl

Rainbow

#11

check out rawhike.com to see raw food on the trail.

To say that eating raw food is less nutritious than cooked food has it all backwards.

Raw is raw. Simple enough. Don’t confuse it with vegan.

Tha Wookie

#12

Spirit Coyote, get in touch with me privately if you want to join the Women’s Hiker List. No trolls there.

Bluebearee

#13

Or maybe the Professor was trying to make a lame joke?

Anyway, it would be an interesting project to draw several random lines on a map of the United States of 2000-2500 miles in length and determine how many homicide and violent crime scenes the line passes through. I suspect that, unless you randomly select a line that passes through completely roadless, trailless, uninhabited country (btw, if you find such a line, can we build a trail along it?) I suspect you will find that, at least as far as crime is concerned, the major long-distance hiking trails are the markedly safer than any other “lines” in the country. If you want to worry about a female traveling alone, I suggest you focus your attention on females traveling on our interstate freeways and frequenting government funded rape, I mean rest, stops along the way.

HuffnPuff

#14

I’m sure this Rawfoodist got plenty of nutrition.

But every night, she had no energy. I saw this repeatedly as did many others, some of whom are on trailjournals. No doubt about it.

Kineo Kid

#15

you’re saying that she didn’t have energy because she didn’t cook her veggies?

I’m not doubting you, it would he a great challenge to hike raw and maintain a balanced nutritional and engergy level.

I just meant that it’s because the food is raw, it’s because raw food is hard to get on the trail (unless you have competent earth skills).

Tha Wookie

#16

I just meant that it’s because the food is raw, it’s because >>raw food is hard to get on the trail (unless you have >>competent earth skills).

I think that is what Kineo is trying to say. Easy to obtain the calories you need from raw food when you have a Whole Foods type store nearby. Harder to maintain a rawfood diet when re-supply is an issue and you are burning 5-6k calories a day.

Even with foraging skills there is a tradeoff. I imagine that it takes time to gather the apporpriate food you need for a day of hiking. That time will come out of your hiking time for the day. That would be difficult I imagine on a thru-hike.

So a raw food diet is possible on a thru-hike. You just have to plan very, very, very well. I suspect the rawfood person did not plan well and was not taking in the required calories she needed. Just a guess, though.

FWIW Coup from Go-lite did a raw food diet on the LT, JMT and CT in 2004. He did quite the pace (and carried all his food from start to finish on each trail). Based on his journals, it looked like he was living on some calories he already had stored on him (i.e. he had some weight to lose). Guess that is another strategy if you want to do the raw food thing on a long hike. He lost 13.5 lbs on the JMT alone, for example. I would suggest re-supply however. No need to do the LT,CT or JMT w/o a re-supply.
http://www.golite.com/team/athletes/coup/alpine.asp

(Not endorsing Go-Lite, and no comments on the claims made, just find it an interesting tangent to this discussion)

Mags -who likes his Snickers, burgers, steak, cooked veggies, pasta and some raw watermelon on a hot summer day. :slight_smile:

Mags

#17

I wonder if some folks are missing the point here re the safety issue. While I’ve never packed solo, I’ve done it often with just my Girl Scouts…no men! Most male hikers we met were horrified that we were “out there” without our menfolk. The concern I’d have, other than maybe hitching rides solo, wouldn’t be attackers, sex deprived maniacs, etc., it would be, especially this year, high, fast-water stream crossings…see page one re the 1989? heavy snow entries…ice fields, deep snow, where another set of hands, male or female, would be very comforting to this old lady.

Georgi Heitman