I came across an interesting article from backpacker: Why Women Shouldn't Worry About Hiking Alone.
I haven't run trail in quite a long time, but I used to run trail a lot. Most of the time I would run with friends, but very often I would run alone. I frequented state parks (Paul would play disc golf while I ran) and the Appalachian Trail. I would go back and forth between whether I felt comfortable running alone or not, and my comfort level would just depend on the day.
Part of me understands that state parks and the Appalachian Trail are very safe and that runners and hikers should feel comfortable using the trails alone or with a group. The other part of me remembers every single Forensic File episode ever and is therefore scared of getting murdered on the trail!
And everyone would say, "Well, she shouldn't have been out there all alone."
But consider this:
That is comforting, right? But the way my brain works on this topic is the same way my brain works when it comes to flying. I know I am more likely to be in a car crash than a plane crash... but I also know I am more likely to survive a car crash! So then I think, okay, I'd rather be assaulted in my neighborhood because it is more likely that someone else will notice and intervene or call the police. If I am all alone in the woods, I am screwed! Are you following my line of logic or do you think I am crazy?
This particular statistic from the Backpacker article definitely makes sense to me:
Hiking alone is riskier—for both sexes. But being female actually seems to offer protection from wilderness disasters. Robert Koester, who maintains a database on search-and-rescue incidents, crunched the numbers: 80 percent of searches are initiated by males, and 12 percent of men who kick off a SAR case end up dead, while only 9 percent of women suffer the same fate. In other words, women who get lost or injured in the backcountry are more likely to make it out alive. “That’s very statistically significant,” Koester says. “Culturally, females tend not to do as many of the idiotic things that solo males do. Males are more likely to try to pick up a rattlesnake.” Source.
While at Grand Canyon this summer, I picked up this book:
One of the things I learned is that women have a smaller chance of dying in/at Grand Canyon because generally, women do less stupid things than men do!
Another book I read that I thought would be interesting to mention in this post is Eight Bullets. It was written by Claudia Brenner and describes what happened the day she and her girlfriend, Rebecca Wight, were shot on the Appalachian Trail. Miraculously, Claudia survived but Rebecca did not. It is a heart wrenching story, but an important one because this woman survived a hate crime back when a lot of people felt like homosexuals "brought it on themselves".
Even though trails are statistically very safe, allow me to frighten you buy telling you some of the scariest things I ever saw on the trail!
Another book I read that I thought would be interesting to mention in this post is Eight Bullets. It was written by Claudia Brenner and describes what happened the day she and her girlfriend, Rebecca Wight, were shot on the Appalachian Trail. Miraculously, Claudia survived but Rebecca did not. It is a heart wrenching story, but an important one because this woman survived a hate crime back when a lot of people felt like homosexuals "brought it on themselves".
The scariest things I ever saw on the trail:
1. Snakes. Not often, but every single time it is terrifying!
2. Hunters in tree stands. If you live in Pennsylvania and decide to run trail on a day that is not Sunday, you absolutely must wear bright colors and be aware of hunters!
3. Hunters ON THE TRAIL. One time I was running the Lakeside Trail at Pinchot Park and I encountered three hunters that were set up on the trail with their guns out and everything! I thought hunters weren't allowed to hunt on the trail or aim their guns toward a trail!?
4. A weird guy that jumped out and scared my friend and I. He literally jumped out of the woods and yelled "BOO!" We screamed and he laughed. I reported the incident.
5. A bunch of kids who were hiding in some bamboo. They jumped out and scared me and the two girls I was running with. Don't worry, I gave them hell!
What is the scariest thing you have seen on the trail?
I've never run on a trail but I think I would be too scared to run one alone even with the statistics. I only run in public areas where there will be people because I have an overactive imagination that constantly assumes someone is about to jump out and kill me if I am somewhere dark and alone.
ReplyDeleteI'm mostly afraid of the homeless people down here, which makes me feel like a really bad person. I know most of them are regular people with mental disabilities (or just really down on their luck for whatever reason) and not bad people. Unfortunately, I don't think we do enough to help people with mental disabilities in this country which means you never know when a homeless person with a disability is going to act out. Over the years on a run I've seen: fist fights between homeless people, a homeless man shitting on my the sidewalk at the beach while laughing, a homeless man who told me I had 'nice tits', etc. None of that is really THAT bad but all of it happened in a public area with lots of other runners and people around. You just never know what else could happen if you're running alone in the dark when there are groups of homeless people (mostly men) around. That's why I don't go running at 4am anymore. It's too early and there aren't enough other runners out!
All of that being said, I get really upset when Fort Lauderdale tries to pass laws specifically targeting homeless people to push them out of the city. Where are they supposed to go? They're homeless! If I was homeless I would hang out all day and sleep at the beach too!
DeleteI definitely understand wanting to be cautious around the homeless people in your city. I am sure many, many are harmless, but we have no way of knowing which ones may act out! I do feel empathy for those people and it would be nice if the city spent more time trying to help them than pushing them away.
DeleteOne interesting thing I want to mention about running on trails vs. public place. When I would run on the AT, we would pass shelters that overnight hikers could stay in. These shelters were always several miles into the woods and away form roads. I would tell my friend I was running with that I would not feel safe in one of those shelters being that is was so far into the woods and away from people.(Not that I would ever camp anyway, this is just a hypothetical!) My friend said they put the shelters away from the roads because for hikers, the roads are DANGEROUS. Being close to people is apparently more dangerous than being deep in the woods with all the other hikers who only reason for being deep in the woods is to hike. Very interesting.
But still, my brain works that if I am attacked I would rather be attacked where there is potential for there to be other people around!
Oh that is very interesting, but I am the same as you, I'd rather be attacked where there is the potential for other people to be around. Especially other people who kind of "know me." I mean maybe we just nod at each other a couple of evenings a week when we're both out running, but I feel like those people would be more likely to help in a dangerous situation.
DeleteI actually just recently saw a short film about Claudia Brenner and Rebecca. So sad.
ReplyDeleteThe topic of running safety for women comes up in articles and in our local running group's discussions often. I think it's important to remember that anything can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time of day. There is no 100% safe place to run or hike. These activities come with some risk and it's something we all just have to accept. There are a lot of things we can do to minimize our risk, and I think focusing on those things is more productive than trying to use stats to convince ourselves it can't or won't happen to us. It's a tricky balance - we can't let fear cripple our lives, but at the same time, living in the world we live in means we have to do certain things to be smart and safe - even if it's not fair.
I'm not much of a trail runner - actually I'm not a trail runner at all - but I'm kinda freaked out by the same things you list, even if it's statistically unlikely. I don't think I would feel safe or comfortable hiking alone unless I'm super familiar with the area. I think a lot of it has to do with our sense of familiarity and comfort with an area or activity - the more "unknown" there is, the more our senses of danger and fear are heightened.
Your last sentence really spoke to me because one time I told someone I felt really comfortable running alone at Pinchot park because I knew where every road and trail was like the back of my hand. The persona I said this to said, "Yeah, but that doesn't mean other people don't know the area like the back of their hand too." As in... yeah, someone could come and "get" me no matter if I knew the roads/trails or not. But I felt very comfortable in my familiarity!
DeleteI definitely agree we shouldn't let fear cripple our lives and use the best judgement we have on what we choose to do. I enjoy hearing statistics sometimes because it helps me figure out if I am being irrational about my worry of the risk or not.
There was a really good Freakanomics podcast I listened to and it was all about how humans are TERRIBLE at assessing risk! We fear things we should NOT statistically fear, and we don't fear things we SHOULD fear. It was fascinating- just like every Freakanomics episode!
Oh and I would like to see that film- do you remember the name or know how I could find it?
DeleteFound it - the film was called "In the Hollow". I actually say it as part of a collection of shorts during the MKE Film Festival. If you can find it somewhere I highly recommend - Claudia is in the movie and she goes back to "where it happened" for the first time. It's mixed with scenes from that day played out by actors.
DeleteThe Freakanomics podcast thing reminds me of something a guy in our neighborhood watch group (which I follow on FB purely for the drama. These people hate each other!) who is a psychologist said: people have a tendency to intuitively estimate the frequency of events based on how easily they can recall examples - i.e. if you know a couple people who got robbed on your street, you might believe that robbery in your neighborhood is common even if overall crime statistics say otherwise. The irony is that media reporting works the opposite way: the more rare an event is, the more the media wants to cover it, so we're all left with the conflicting sense that odd and unusual events are happening on a normal basis.
I live really close to the place where they were camping and have run past it once or twice while on the AT. It is reeeeeally creepy to think what happened there!
DeleteYou are the second person I know who follows their neighborhood watch group for the DRAMA! It must be a thing with neighborhood watch groups!
Thanks for sharing the film info, I am going to try to watch the film somehow if I can!
I definitely enjoy trail running alone. That said, I'm usually careful about the times I do it. On a weekend morning there are all kinds of training groups on the trails here so I hardly feel alone. Sometimes during the week though, I feel quite secluded and wonder why I put myself in that situation.
ReplyDeleteI always find comfort when I see other runners and hikers at there. :)
DeleteI always run alone. In the forest preserve where I run, I have to always channel my inner Gladys--there are so many creepers there. But lucky for me they are mostly looking for another man.
ReplyDeleteYou go, Gladys!
DeleteHoly crap this is SO INTERESTING! I do know that trail running alone isn't the worst thing in the world, and I usually have to talk my anxiety down off the edge of the cliff. Because really? There's a higher chance of me getting hit by a dump truck while running on the side of the road. However, I had an incident about 3 years ago where a guy on a bike cornered me on a trail and told me he wants to punish me. I had my phone in my pocket so I whipped it out and phoned 911. He took off, and the police came and I helped them draw up his profile. He was known and wanted around there for repeated sexual assault.
ReplyDeleteThat is so freaking scary Suzy! Experiencing something like that would make me think twice about being alone on trails.
DeleteI hike, run, etc/do everything alone! I have no choice. I'm a single female and don't often have people around who enjoy running/hiking. I never feel unsafe. Sometimes when I'm out in the woods I think 'well someone could prob kill me out here and no one would ever find me'! But I'm not really paranoid about that kind of stuff. I figure I could just as easily be attacked in broad daylight in the city. When it's my time, it's my time!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are able to enjoy the outdoors alone and not worry! I am sure you take precautions to make yourself safe without having it hinder doing what you love.
DeleteThose are some scary stats! I do run on a trail where I am often alone, but I feel safe on it. However, one day a German Sheppard (unleashed) came running towards me and I thought that was the end of me for sure. Luckily he was on a mission and just ran past me. (WHEW!!) I think it's quite interesting finding snakes on the trail though!!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh that is scary!!! I was sort of focusing on the scary people that are out there but I guess there are a lot of scary animals as well. I know you looooove taking pics of snakes. ;)
DeleteI have no trails to run alone...but I run alone at night all the time. I try to remind myself that the largest percentage of attacks (sexual or otherwise) are committed by acquaintances or family of the victim. I figure I can't let my fear of the possible stand in my way of living my life!
ReplyDeleteVery good perspective! And the statistic is very true. I always tell Paul if I die... you're the FIRST person they're looking at!!! haha
DeleteThis is really interesting, Megan. I actually worry more about the cougars than I do people. There have been multiple cougar sightings in our area and a few have been seen around the trails. Sometimes when I am running by myself I will catch myself looking around for cougars... most of the time I don't even think about it, but every once in a while a vision of a cougar pouncing on me from behind sneaks into my head. I have never come across anything scary while running. There are always other runners out on the trails, so I feel pretty safe. I do take my phone when trail running, just in case.
ReplyDeleteHow do you deal with the fear of cougars? When we went to Denver this past summer, there was a park I REALLY wanted to run in, but here was a sign that mountain lions had been seen in the area and that you shouldn't run or hike alone. Apparently they STALK you and ATTACK you! I think cougar and mtn lion are the same, right? Well of course I was terrified and went to another place to run because I had googled alllll about mtn lions before I left on my trip!
DeleteI don't blame you for being more worried about cougars AT ALL.
In Pa, the wildlife we have to watch out for are snakes (only rattlesnakes are poisonous... there are copperheads but I have never ever heard of anyone who has seen one!) and of course Bears. I have never seen bears, just lots of deer. The good thing about bears is that if you don't surprise them with their cubs, they don't really want anything to do with you. So they say...