Why Women Shouldn't Hike Alone

45% of men and 54% of women agree it’s riskier for women to hike and backpack alone than for men.

Here are the reasons why I think women shouldn't hike alone:

NONE.

There are none.

This might be controversial, but I don’t feel unsafe going on outdoor adventures by myself, even though I am a woman. I have said this for years, and I continue to stand by this: I feel much safer being in the mountains versus walking around in a large downtown city (especially at night).

There are obviously precautions that people (including men) should take, but sometimes I feel like the "women's solo safety posts" can contribute to fear mongering. I've never seen a "men's solo safety post" in the last few years that I've been active in the outdoor community, have you?

When I first started hiking, and camping, I was scared, yes. BUT, I wasn’t inherently scared because I'm a woman, I was scared because I didn’t have experience. I think that when we adequately prepare, and are equipped, that makes ALL of us feel more confident.

Reflecting on WHY you are scared is so important. There is a difference between being scared, because you are doing something new (outside your comfort zone), and having a gut feeling that something is wrong, and you need to turn around. There is absolutely no shame in not continuing a hike, not camping in a certain location, or not doing something because you have a gut feeling that you cannot shake. Please turn around if you ever have one even if there isn't a "good reason" for it. I've done this multiple times.

I want to change the narrative, empower people (especially women), and show you that there are smart and safe ways to do things by yourself. If I waited to have someone to go with me, I would've been sitting at home, a lot. I take precautions, have multiple methods to keep myself safe, and I stay alert. I've met some really amazing folks out on trails and some of them have become real life friends!

Since I’ve moved to Colorado, a lot of the missing hiker reports (which are tragic and I always study because I want to see what I can learn and avoid) are actually of men.

Robert Koester (from Lost Person's Behavior book) said that 80% of searches are initiated by males, and 12% of men who kick off a SAR case end up passing, while only 9% 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.” Koester said.

I personally also think that men have a higher risk tolerance and may not be as (overly) prepared as a lot of women are, but that's just my personal speculation.

Missing Hiker Data

Demographics of missing hikers:

48% of lost hikers are males hiking alone

31% are females hiking alone

15% of lost hikers are in groups of 2

7% of lost hikers are in groups of 3+

Ages:

4% of lost hikers were under the age of 18

27% of lost hikers were between 18–30

67% of lost hikers were older than 30

The average age is 42

Crimes

Unfortunately, data on crime against female solo hikers doesn’t exist. There’s no database for crimes committed in the wilderness, SA is notoriously underreported, and the stats available don’t break out urban vs. wilderness settings, or even the gender of victims. But we do know this, public lands are overwhelmingly safer places than the rest of the country - for men and women. Your risk of being a victim of a violent crime (murder, rape, or aggravated assault) is thousands of times lower in a national park than in the country as a whole.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported the murder rate for the United States as a whole in 2016 was 5.35 per 100,000 population per year. In comparison, the murder rate for the Appalachian Trail was .0072 murders per 100,000 population per year.

What to do if you're feeling scared

Ask yourself these questions:

What is the worst case scenario?
Do I really think that that is going to happen?

Trust your first thought to that question - yes or no. If the answer is no, then likely, that's fear talking and not your intuition. If there is a feeling you can't shake - turn around. Nature will always be there and it's better to be safe than sorry.