Female walking alone

[joey]

Hi everyone,

I am just wondering if there are many walkers out there (female in particular) that regularly do 2-3 day hikes alone and how safe this is considered to be. Its always great to walk with other people (for lots of reasons) but I am looking at doing a few alone and wondering any thoughts on how safe this would be. Mainly in national parks in QLD and northern NSW.

Any thoughts appreciated

[north-north-west]

It varies according to the area. I pretty well always walk alone and have done so for decades, for anywhere up to 14 day trips. Only times I've ever felt uneasy was sharing campsites at or near trackheads with bogans.
The vast majority of walkers are decent people. You're highly unlikely to meet a psychopathic axe-murderer on the Border Track.

[ofuros]

This isn't a woman's point of view but it shouldn't be a problem, joey....as long as you leave a detailed trip plan with someone you trust to alert the authorities if need be.....maybe buy or hire a epirb & make sure you take some bandages for snakebite, just in case.


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[Tortoise]

I've only done a few months of solo walks (1-7 days), but have walked for decades with one or more others, usually women. Only did a few walks up in that area, where the hassles were limited to thousands of leeches, and bureaucracy in Lamington N Pk.

Like NNW, the only problems I've had are at/near track heads. I much prefer being a couple of kms in from a road at a minimum. The only time that didn't work was my first solo trip, when a bunch of yobbos on ATVs made themselves a way around a locked gate and made things uncomfortable enough for me to pack up quickly and skedaddle offtrack before they returned. So my preference is a couple of kms in on a walking track - or off-track - if I need to camp near the trackhead. I've met a few odd people over the years, but nobody scary.

You might have come across this thread, which has some useful thoughts on solo walking in general:
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21625&hilit=solo

[joey]

I agree completely and have purchased a PLB and have first aid kit etc. I appreciate everyone's positive thoughts on this... my thinking was that if something ever did happen, at least I was doing something I loved (rather than on the couch wrapped in cotton wool). Although maybe I wouldn't be thinking that sort of thing at the time...

[Tortoise]

It's the PLB that opened things right up for me. I bought it for taking other people's kids on walks, then realised it would free me for solo walks - without unduly worrying those at home. The GPS, even with my limited capacity to use it, is also a game-changer, especially in places where compass reliability is dodgy, and/or where low visibility increases risk too much for me otherwise. And mobile reception (Telstra, at least in Tassie) also decreases the worry factor for others. I tend to send an 'I'm on Mt so-and-so and all's well' text home each day or two from mountain peaks where possible, especially if I've strayed from my Plan A.

The advantage of a SPOT or similar is that it may avoid the risk of unnecessary rescue - being able to get a message out that I'll be x days late but am ok. But I gather PLBs have better reception in a real emergency.

As others have mentioned, I'm more cautious about where I go when solo, what difficulty in terms of rock scrambling I'm prepared to attempt, etc. I can't use the PLB if I'm unconscious! The other thing I make sure of is that I have it with me all the time - even for those little side trips. I used to think that I could crawl out for help if needed, with an immobilised broken leg. Then I discovered that I pass out a little too easily with strong pain...

But the most dangerous part of a solo trip is no doubt the drive there and back.

[davidf]

I (male) do a lot of solo trips. By far the biggest danger is human. I dont drive so public transport, cycling, walking and hitch hiking are the main hazards.

I like being alone and generally people you do bump into give you that space.

one tip is dont forget the little things. There is no one there with the toilet paper you left in the toilet, some batteries because you didnt change them in the headlamp, the compass on the kitchen bench at home with the batteries next to them, you forgot that when you went to the loo to get paper and decided it was a good time for a sit.

train friends or contacts that a day or so late isnt the end of the world. That give you scope not to panic if it going slowly etc.

[DanShell]

I know the question was directed to females but feeling vulnerable at times when alone in an isolated location is not exclusive to just females.
Although we don't have the amount of badies as nsw or qld does down here so it's not so bad
I walk alone and I admit on more than one occasion the wild life has been making potential axe murderer human noises and I've laid awake being hesitant to put my ear plugs in and go back to sleep.
Mind you if they were able to carry an axe to where I sleep at times then they are most likely lost

[joey]

I know the question was directed to females but feeling vulnerable at times when alone in an isolated location is not exclusive to just females.

Its actually a little comforting to know this about males as well (sorry!). I have a number of times convinced myself of noises in the night being serial killers, but they always end up being local wildlife just doing fairly normal stuff

I do agree with the comments of safety being up to you and nobody else, and taking appropriate precautions. And just not watching Wolf Creek before hiking...

[Eremophila]

Only times I've ever felt uneasy was sharing campsites at or near trackheads with bogans.

Have to agree with NNW on that one. Any vehicle-accessible campsite will attract its share of troublemakers, and while they may not mean you harm, it can be very uncomfortable. You can also be an object of curiosity or fascination for them.

Most of my walks other than day walks are done solo. As mentioned by others above - plan well, leave a trip plan with someone, and know your limitations. And enjoy!

[Gadgetgeek]

I think everyone has pretty well nailed down the main points. Solo walking is a bit more dangerous, and so you have to think of that. Trust your gut, and don't die of embarrassment. Something like a SPOT which allows you a non-emergency "Help" option can be good too, especially if weather necessitates a major plan change. The hardest part is having a realistic view of your skill-set, as self evaluation is tricky. Navigation, weather, and the like are easy to feel confident in when you have an easy way to double check yourself, but once you are on your own, doubt can lead to fear, and overconfidence to disaster. I think the danger is greater just on the being solo part, rather than the male/female part.

[north-north-west]

I think everyone has pretty well nailed down the main points. Solo walking is a bit more dangerous, and so you have to think of that. Trust your gut, and don't die of embarrassment. Something like a SPOT which allows you a non-emergency "Help" option can be good too, especially if weather necessitates a major plan change. The hardest part is having a realistic view of your skill-set, as self evaluation is tricky. Navigation, weather, and the like are easy to feel confident in when you have an easy way to double check yourself, but once you are on your own, doubt can lead to fear, and overconfidence to disaster. I think the danger is greater just on the being solo part, rather than the male/female part.

Going to do a bit of nit-picking.
Being solo does not increase the potential for things to go wrong (apart from buggering up the navigation - two or more heads can often be better than one), but it does add to the potential consequences of things going wrong. This means that one has to be more aware of what one is doing, more switched on at all times.

Walking down the street with a mate in a quiet country town, one's attention is generally at level B.
Do it a city, and you're at level F.
Do it in the city on a Friday night, you're at level K.
Do it in the bush, you're at least on a par with the city on the Friday night.
Go walking in the bush solo, you need to be at least at level P. And that increases as the difficulty and unfamiliarity of the terrain increase.

Good points on being realistic. That's harder when you're making a major change to how you do things (like going solo for the first time). As with everything - start in the shallow water and slowly expand your comfort zone.

[Bogong Moth]

I've done <7 days more or less solo. I do note that I tend to take far less risks when I am solo than I would when walking with a companion.

And I agree that most/all of the concerns can apply to guys as well as gals!

There's been a few times where I've felt quite uneasy about camp- these have been at trailhead campsites usually, or extremely popular campsites (Razorback ridge at Eastertime, anyone?). Just guys that give off the wrong vibe. Particularly if drinking. I have done things like wait till after dinner to set up camp, and then decide to walk on a little more and camp off the track somewhere where I'm not going to be obvious. Means I sleep a heck of a lot better. And although I have a love affair with bright colours and reflective guylines (yes, I'm one of 'those' hikers) if I'm walking alone I do make sure I have the minimum number of non-reflective guylines and a netural-coloured tent or fly so I have an option of hiding a little more if I feel I need to...

[Gadgetgeek]

North-north-west, You are correct. I should have been specific in regards to consequences rather than actual risk factors. You are right, there are few things ( like animal attack, which is very unlikely in australia) Which are actually changed in regards to group size. Rather your outcomes that can be changed, which goes for group size, overall skill-set, kit, all that.

[Lophophaps]

The above posts have good advice. The only time I've felt at risk was camping at unofficial campsites near the road. The neighbours were male, drunk, and celebrating a bloke who was getting married. Scary stuff, and I'm male. The other time was a manic camper who said that we had no right to camp next to his tent. We were sufficiently apprehensive to take the tent down and move well away. Crazy man he was!

By contrast, in the bush away from roads I've always felt safe from humans. The only animal attack was a possum going troppo in my tent at the Prom - could not find the damn torch. It was uncertain who was making the most noise - the possum or me.

I do a lot of solo walking and am very careful, more so than when in a group. It's like being on the road. In a car one usually feels reasonably immune from an accident or collision. On a bicycle I'm acutely aware of being vulnerable, and am nearly paranoid about safety. This paranoia is less when solo walking, but it's there.

[Snowzone]

I've walked alone on and off for years and only ever had an issue once and that was near the road up at Dinner Plains. Lots of good points raised in the above posts and I agree this is not a gender issue, the *&%$#! can hit the fan for a guy as well. Common sense is the best defense, if there are obnoxious people around, don't set up near them, move on and find somewhere a lot more peaceful, after all isn't that what your possibly looking for if your walking alone...

[ErichFromm]

Also try this:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=17849