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  1. #61
    Henry birdog's Avatar
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    Statistically you are safer on the AT than in your own neighborhood. However, one cannot ignore the recent news headlines from California involving a convicted child rapist that was paroled after serving only 5 years in prison and now is suspected in the death of a 18 year old high school senior out jogging in a park not far from her home. Also he is suspected in the death of another young woman. Voice your concerns to your Congress person and go have a good hike!
    Birdog

    Underestimation is the mother of all failure

  2. #62
    Registered User BIGCAT65's Avatar
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    I have only seen one creeper incident throughout all my life of hiking on the trail. You are deff safer out there then in towns or a city. But, the only creeper ive seen was this old dude was thru-hiking and also a couple that my dad and I meet on the trail. We later meet up with the couple in Pennmare, PA and there was an ambulance there, so we asked them what was up. Apparently, there had been an old thru-hiker so into creeping on the guys gf that he hiked all day and night to get to them until he had an actuall heart attack. Talk about dedication haha. But, yeah no worries though that story is crazy but would prob never happen again. You will meet people and you will be good.

  3. #63
    Registered User XCskiNYC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mweinstone View Post
    you are way to scared. fear attracts evil. be confident and loose the spray. each year i beat to death many hikers. but allways in fair bacon cookoffs and last mile runs to the shelter races. my favorite way to intimidate newbees is to cook steak at night and bacon and pancakes in the morning. this leaves them demoralized and happless. ill choke the occaisional hiker with bourbon of the highest potency but i dont belive in beering folks. beer has no kick. i like kick like a mule. most nights i tease my pray by being in my 20 below down bag as they shiver in georgia in feb. then finnish them off in the morning with real coffie. all in all. the appalachian trail is a place for me to freely stalk and menise under fed hikers with gourmet delicacys.
    Watch out for weinstone. He's a notorious cereal killer.

  4. #64
    Registered User Hawkwind61's Avatar
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    If I waited to hike until I always had a partner...I would not get out half as much as I do.

    I will tell you that my family tends to worry about me. I do have a hiking partner, but she cannot always go with me.

    I have fended off 3 home invasions over my 30 some-odd years since leaving my parents home, been accosted so many times on the street and in stores and even at gas stations by strange men that I have lost count. It stopped for the most part when I was out with my kids so I was stunned when they grew up and it started up again when I was traveling alone. (Which I do a lot.)

    I live in a very rural area where people think stuff like that cannot happen.

    I keep alert to what is going on around me at all times and I have never hesitated to use whatever is at hand to defend myself. Ironically I didn't even think to take self-defense classes until after I hit my 40's.

    When I'm on the trail and hear male voices coming at me I jump in the woods and hide myself behind brush, a log or tree, and sit very quietly until the group passes well beyond me. I haven't had to much trouble meeting up with lone male hikers/backpackers...but I am more leery of groups of young men in particular. Especially if I get into an area were there are signs of 'partying' recently.

    I tend to dress in low-key colors. My hiking partner lost track of me one time because I happened to be wearing camo pants. I do not wear bright colors than can be spotted when I'm alone. (But I do carry an emergency blanket that can be laid out on the ground if need be.)

    I hike with trekking poles and will use them if need be. They look innocuous enough and most people do not realize how much damage they can cause.

    Stay alert. Do not act 'mousy' or timid if you do run into others. Stand up straight and act confident even if you do not feel like it. Have a whistle and be ready to yell and make a helluva fuss if need be.

    I also never admit that I'm alone on the trail if someone asks. I tell them that my partner is behind me a bit or meeting up with me shortly.

  5. #65
    Registered User deity's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BIGCAT65 View Post
    I have only seen one creeper incident throughout all my life of hiking on the trail. You are deff safer out there then in towns or a city. But, the only creeper ive seen was this old dude was thru-hiking and also a couple that my dad and I meet on the trail. We later meet up with the couple in Pennmare, PA and there was an ambulance there, so we asked them what was up. Apparently, there had been an old thru-hiker so into creeping on the guys gf that he hiked all day and night to get to them until he had an actuall heart attack. Talk about dedication haha. But, yeah no worries though that story is crazy but would prob never happen again. You will meet people and you will be good.
    Hahahahahahahah......... This made me truly laugh out loud.

    A level head and good attention to your gut will help you be fine whenever you find yourself alone in the woods. One of the most reassuring threads on this forum is the one where thru-hikers talk about their scariest moments on the trail. Most of them are bad thunderstorms and lightning or personally induced fear aka scaring the **** out of yourself---not of crazy psychos chasing them up the mountain!

  6. #66
    Registered User Pink's Avatar
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    Default I was safe...

    Obviously, I survived my hike all by myself! I am excited to get out there and complete my next section hike. I felt completely safe the entire time I was on the trail! Even though I went by myself, I made so many friends that I rarely found myself alone. I am glad I didn't listen to all those people who said I was crazy for hiking solo.

  7. #67

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    So how did it go?? I have some land in the catskills which is so rural that bears are a serious issue, I am an older lady woman and men have always been a serious threat and issue, being realistic. I dont think any woman is safe anywhere and that recently was proved to me , again, at the senior center when an old perve came on to me, ugh. but i wondered how the trail went??

  8. #68

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    No, i didnt think you were crazy, i have gone lots of places, twice to alaska , when young before the crazies came out and realized they werent going to be punished, i hitched all over ny state and then california and then miami with no serious problems. but i let the spirit guide me and was careful also and alert. Now, i wouldnt recommend it tho. WIll you go again. ?? thank you [email protected] I find this website somewhat confusing and am trying to figure it all out tho. It is very nice to have. I am trying to put a posting for a trip i wish to make from nw fla to catskills ny this summer and then all summer camping and then drive back in the fall, with driving and expenses etc shared. I did this maybe 8 times back int he day and see myself in a nomadic lifestyle now that i am old. and slow walkin anyway, I am trying to figue out how to post that idea on this website.

    I would also like to volunteer to help anyone as they come off the trail if they are in that area and dont exactly know where to post that. I am a member of warmshowers.org many years and like to have occasional visitors without a lot of hassle. I tend to be quiet usually anymore. thank you

  9. #69
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    I don't usually hike along anymore cuz my hubbie and I now have the same schedule...but I used to hike alone a lot. I have a story on my blog of one trip that was one of my favorite trips! I would go for it!

  10. #70
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    Oops, sorry forgot to mention the title of the solo hike was "last of his kind" and sorry for above typo...

  11. #71
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by quasarr View Post
    I haven't read the thread so maybe someone has pointed this out but...

    There have been 9 murders on the AT since 1974. Charleston County, SC (where I live!) had 21 murders last year.
    Horrific as that number is - its so incredibly low when its 2179 miles spread over 14 States and 36 years - you failed to make a point. There is risk in life, stay home - quiver in front of your computer.

    Quote Originally Posted by gumball View Post
    I feel you have to use common sense and that common sense is going to be based on your own experiences up to the time you have set foot on the trail. If you've never had a bad experience, you are more likely to be trusting than perhaps a woman who already has faced some bad things happening to her.

    I'm a woman hiker. I am not a solo hiker most of the time but, like any two people who hike together, my husband and I don't hike at the exact same pace. So we do get separated, even if we are trying not to. It just happens.

    Because I know that we can't always hike together, I insist that we do not share equipment. Each of us has our own food, our own tent, our own means of starting fire. I feel I am responsible for maintaining my own safety. In that same vein, I take precautions for my own safety.

    Yes, the AT is statistically much safer than walking a city street, I am sure of this. That does not mean evil doesn't exist and it doesn't mean the nice person walking behind you isn't the evil. I do not have to be paranoid, but I personally cannot hike without assuring that I've done what I need to do to be as safe as I can. There are people who do want to hurt you and, as safe as the AT is, it is not a predator-free zone.

    Use your head and take it upon yourself not to be a victim, whatever that means for you as a woman and a human being. At the very least, think through scenarios that might occur and practice in your head how you might deal with them.

    Enough from me!
    Well Said...

    Over the years of reading WB posts there is an underlying theme that I didn't see when I first started here. That many new folk come on board to talk about their fears about hiking the trail. Over and over, lions, bears, mice, spiders, ticks, fear of other people and getting lost is a constant theme for posting on WB. I suspect it's the very conditioning that the television news preys upon that you need to be scared and very aware and buy this product so we can bring you a new fear that you haven't thought of. Today we bring you a terrible story that happened to someone – 20 miles away.... over and over again.


    Then I watch most of you answer that starting post with oh it's so rare, only happened to some 10 people, We placate others to calm each other in group fashion, or diffuse the fear with –it will never happen. Being informed in itself is the best enemy to fear. But we forget something....


    We as a group forget that as children we explored our world without fear, there was little to get in trouble when we walked a trail – if we came home with Poison Ivy we suffered for a few days and moved on. If we saw a bear we were quiet and watched nature from a pleasant distance and were in awe of the moment. It was a memorable moment, something to take home as a pleasant memory of the trail. We have a healthy appreciation to seeing wildlife in the wild. We forget about the needs of a little solitude and appreciate the occasional camaraderie of walking with others. What is wrong with a little isolation in your life? Re learn the need to surround yourself in what the woods and other hikers you meet. Discover again what makes us young at heart, as we are only here for a brief time.


    As a teenager, I was attacked by a trained police dog ( German Sheppard). I have been trampled by a Horse, and covered by poison ivy, sumac and have no fear of these things. My biggest fear was heights! So I forced myself to go off a high dive, climb a roof or two and then learned to rapel off a building. I have climbed and serviced Amateur Radio towers up to 500 feet. Over time you gain a healthy understanding.


    Discover the magic again. Grab some knowledge, get back on the trail for an adventure, and forget your fears. It's more about getting out there, then worrying about getting from A to B. Be a kid again and get back to the wonder of nature.



    HYOH.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  12. #72
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    Quote Originally Posted by quasarr View Post
    I haven't read the thread so maybe someone has pointed this out but...

    There have been 9 murders on the AT since 1974. Charleston County, SC (where I live!) had 21 murders last year.
    Although you made that post just over two years ago, your point that it is more dangerous in Charleston than on the AT was well made, and one often pointed out on this forum.
    The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
    You never know which one is talking.

  13. #73
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    I agree that the AT is safe for those who have common sense. The comparisons with the real world of crime in the cities etc are just not real comparisons. Hiking and camping on the AT is certainly safer than dealing drugs in NY or getting stabbed outside a bar at two AM in Boston or beaten to death by a jealous husband in South Carolina. We would have to compare the AT to being stabbed while sitting in my back yard in Vermont.
    Everything is in Walking Distance

  14. #74

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    The reason hikers are statistically safer on the AT than in your average mid-sized town or small city is that criminals are notoriously lazy. Unfortunately, it seems that sexual deviants have more drive and focus than the average robber or thief, so it is not foolish to be concerned, especially when near road crossings or towns, and I've always recommended female hikers to buddy up with someone that they have a history of trust with.

    Arm yourself if you must, but keep in mind that accidents can happen between armed folks and their friends, and that is truly tragic.

    A gun does you little good if attacked while sleeping if the attacker knows where you keep your gun (or even if they know that you are armed - they probably will be).

    If you are a person who loves to hike, you will hike, and be prepared as best you can be in all ways to ensure that you have a good time.

    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  15. #75
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    hey when are going and are you starting at springer mtn?

  16. #76
    pistol-packin' hammock hanger with a dog rockerZ71's Avatar
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    this thread is over 2 years old.

  17. #77
    Registered User no-name's Avatar
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    safe, pretty safe

  18. #78
    Registered User Hawkwind61's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rockerZ71 View Post
    this thread is over 2 years old.
    Yes, but still valid for someone that might be having second thoughts about hiking alone. I still have family members that worry about when I hike alone. My mother recently said: "There is nothing you can tell me that will make me feel better about your hike (If all goes well I'm hitting the Long trail later this year.) My answer after pointing out time and again how I haven't had trouble hiking alone in all these years (Note my age...) was: "And there is nothing you can say that will stop me from going."

    A lot of women are going to catch grief from family and friends for their desire to go it alone...reading about other's experiences...even if via an 'aged' thread helps calm those nervous butterflies that their concerned loved ones have planted.

  19. #79
    pistol-packin' hammock hanger with a dog rockerZ71's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hawkwind61 View Post
    Yes, but still valid for someone that might be having second thoughts about hiking alone. I still have family members that worry about when I hike alone. My mother recently said: "There is nothing you can tell me that will make me feel better about your hike (If all goes well I'm hitting the Long trail later this year.) My answer after pointing out time and again how I haven't had trouble hiking alone in all these years (Note my age...) was: "And there is nothing you can say that will stop me from going."

    A lot of women are going to catch grief from family and friends for their desire to go it alone...reading about other's experiences...even if via an 'aged' thread helps calm those nervous butterflies that their concerned loved ones have planted.
    Yeah, I understand and agree. But the post above mine was asking if she was starting at springer and when, so I assume the poster didn't realize that this chick has probably been done with this hike for almost 2 years now.

  20. #80
    Registered User Moose2001's Avatar
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    I think it's smart for any person who is going to the trail, man or woman, to think of these issues. Gather information, think about how to handle situations and make your own decisions. In my mind, it really comes down to how you are going to live your life. You can give into the fear and stay home or you can seize life and live it on your terms. Yes, you could be killed on the AT. You could also be killed in the mall parking lot. Be smart, listen to your inner voice and take charge of your life.
    GA - NJ 2001; GA - ME 2003; GA - ME 2005; GA - ME 2007; PCT 2006

    A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.
    —SPANISH PROVERB

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