Lessons learned - Divine intervention

[mtruman]

sorry - sorry - sorry!

It's the mother in me!!! I'm only speaking from my own inexperience. I'm a 50ish novice hiker and my comments were based on the tearful manner in which I was greeted. If I came upon a "lovely young man" showing a lack of confidence, I would also have said "YIKES" - and he shouldn't be hiking alone. And so, YES, I can honestly say I would have had the same reaction if the solo hiker I met was a ?lovely young man? instead of a "young lady" providing all other factors remain the same.

Not knowing whether my hiker friend was a forum reader or not - I was trying hard not to offend. I do strongly believe that hiking with a buddy is the safer way to go. Maybe I worry about my creaking knees giving out and misery loves company - a friend would be nice to talk to while waiting for my daughter to rescue me (PVSART).

Krummholt . . .
and by tossing your two cents out there for all to read . . . it made me revisit/rethink my words in a whole new light.

Thanks.
>^..^< Shelley

I have to say that in general I agree with you Shelley. There are many people who hike solo and are just fine doing so. In this case it sounds like the person you met was not really prepared for this (sounds like she was doing this for the first time and didn't know the trail). That's not the time to be alone. Too many things can go wrong. For the experienced hikers (men or women - doesn't matter) that are prepared and like to hike solo, they are making a choice. Hiking in the mountains always has an element of risk and going solo increases that risk. I worry too (often way too much) and for me personally that extra risk is not worth it - largely because it can make the time on the trail for me less of a good experience.

[krummholz]

Shelley,

Your response was very generous--no need to apologize! Just one of those moments when I thought, "I bet she didn't look at it from this other point of view." I've had many wonderful adventures with friends and also many solo adventures. They have a very different flavor, and I wouldn't want to give up either kind. Solo adventuring is a lifelong habit, starting with when I travelled around youth hostels in Europe by myself at the age of 18. I did solo bushwhacking for years, much of it before cell phones were invented. It's what I would consider a calculated risk, one that I prepare for and carry out in certain specific ways. You'll notice anyway that quite a few search and rescue operations are for pairs or groups of people, not just for solo hikers. I do truly think that many people feel it's normal for a guy to do solo hiking but not for a woman. I don't go around getting angry about that, but I notice it sometimes. Thanks for your very understanding response --Jenny

[snihoosy73]

First let me make this clear, THIS IS NOT ME WHO WROTE THIS.

I found this on another site, it is a battlefield medics lessons learned while in Iraq. There are a few things that bushcrafters can learn from what he learned so I decided to share what he said.