Hiking advice cliché nr 1 - Never hike alone
A number of the same 'rules' appear in every hiking advice and guideline. They certainly make sense and are a great starting point for beginning hikers, but by virtue of being short and simple they tend to cut out a lot of nuance. In this series, I'd like to provide a more nuanced view - because from the experience and knowledge I gained over the years, I learnt that the issue of outdoor safety is just not that simple. Today, hiking advice chliché nr 1: never hike alone.
It's certainly a good baseline rule. If you're new to hiking, don't know how to navigate, haven't yet tested your gear in the field - yes, it's probably better to hook up with more experienced hiking partners or an organised group before heading out on a two week trek into a remote area. There are also areas and conditions where solo hiking is off-limits even for experienced hikers, for a variety of reasons. In some places local wildlife poses a threat to humans, for example the roaming polar bears in Svalbard and the north/east of Greenland. When traveling in avalanche terrain, you certainly need companions to have any chance of surviving one. But outside of these areas and conditions, and assuming you've got the necessary skills and experience, is hiking alone still dangerous?
I'm one of the people who often hike solo. After asked yet another, "You're hiking all alone? Isn't that dangerous?!?" last June on the Faroe Islands, the question lingered around in my head and I gathered a lot of thoughts about it. I might as well share them.
The thing is, everyone who is on their way solo has already heard the warnings to never go hiking alone. All of these hikers have their reasons for chosing to so anyway. Some of mine are:
- I only need to consider my own agenda when chosing a time and destination. By going solo, I've got the freedom to plan my own trip, chose my own route and tempo, when to take a break, when to stop for the night, etc. That is precious to me.
- When I'm out alone, I can take my time for photography without keeping others waiting. When I'm taking my camera out while having company, I often feel rushed.
- I like the challenge. Instead of relying on others, I need to do my own navigation, risk assessment, weather prediction, camp site selection... it's a rewarding challenge and I advanced my outdoor skills by hiking solo.
- You are more approachable by both local people and other travelers. I always meet a lot of nice people on my travels who might not have approached me if I had been in a group.
- Finally, I simply enjoy the solitude.
Yes, no one will be there to help you if you fall and injure yourself when you're alone. But I think it's important to realize that trekking with other people isn't a failproof insurance against trouble. It has its own risks. Who else has ever hiked with someone else only to discover that you've been heading the wrong way for a long time, and then wondered why you weren't paying more attention? If you're with others, there is a tendacy to just go along and rely on them for things like wayfinding. Most of the time, that's innocent enough, but it can soon turn bad when you lose each other and are unable to navigate by yourself. While trekking the Toubkal circuit in Marocco back in 2012, for example, I wouldn't have had a clou about where exactly I was and how to continue to the next campground had I somewhere lost the group. The 'safety in numbers' thinking can make you lazy.
Another thing about traveling with others is that you don't want to be 'difficult' or slow the group down, maybe pushing yourself to go faster than your own natural tempo, or doing things you aren't comfortable with (yet). I remember a moment like that from my holiday to Iceland back in 2014. While trekking near Landmannalaugar one afternoon we stumbled upon a tall, steep snow field between us and the planned camping spot. We didn't have ice axes with us, so nothing to stop a fall with had I slipped. I crossed it, but I never would have done that if I had been alone. Much too risky.
My guess is that a lot of people who ask me this question don't even really think about threats of the natural world. They think about threats from other humans. More specifically, about creepy men who lurk in the woods, targeting young women like me. And don't get me wrong, I don't blame women who don't feel safe being out alone. Harrassment happens too often and is terrifying. I've had a couple of bad experiences myself. But time has also taught me that the people who harrass women are very, very seldom out on the trails. Harrassers target easy victims - and these are easier found in cities than in the wilderness. Finally, the truth remains that vast majority of sexual violence is commited by people who know the victim - a friend, a neighbor, a partner, etc. The irony is that statistically, we're more likely to be harrased or attacked by one of our own hiking group than by a random stranger we meet on the trail.
I feel safe hiking the trails alone. Telling women they should feel scared to do so seems rather backwards.
But even while hiking solo, how alone are you really? Unless off-season or off-trail in a very remote wilderness area, you likely aren't the only out on the trails. It is fun to meet someone and chat for a while, or together take hours to row a little boat over a Swedish lake against a fierce wind (real story), or to play games and exchange stories and cook meals with other hikers in a hostel. Some of my most beloved memories come from these trail meetings. But others come from the sheer joy of being out in nature utterly alone. A short selection of my most fond memories: waking up because an arctic fox tripped over one of my guylines in Greenland. Looking up at the night sky and spotting the northern lights while winter camping in Norway. A morning of sunshine and showers leading to a glorious rainbow in the Lake District. Witnessing Ama Damblam glow orange with the last light from my bivak at 5000m in Nepal. A dramatic sunset setting the sky behind snowcapped mountains ablaze with pink in Sweden.
In conclusion, go trekking with friends or family or a tour company if you want to. But please, let us solo travellers walk alone in peace. We're not especially brave, nor foolish. We're just out there in nature doing what we love, in our own way.
Hiking advice chilé nr 2: Take a map and compass
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| Crossing Kongma La, a 5500m high mountain pass in Nepal, alone. November 2018 |
It's certainly a good baseline rule. If you're new to hiking, don't know how to navigate, haven't yet tested your gear in the field - yes, it's probably better to hook up with more experienced hiking partners or an organised group before heading out on a two week trek into a remote area. There are also areas and conditions where solo hiking is off-limits even for experienced hikers, for a variety of reasons. In some places local wildlife poses a threat to humans, for example the roaming polar bears in Svalbard and the north/east of Greenland. When traveling in avalanche terrain, you certainly need companions to have any chance of surviving one. But outside of these areas and conditions, and assuming you've got the necessary skills and experience, is hiking alone still dangerous?
I'm one of the people who often hike solo. After asked yet another, "You're hiking all alone? Isn't that dangerous?!?" last June on the Faroe Islands, the question lingered around in my head and I gathered a lot of thoughts about it. I might as well share them.
The thing is, everyone who is on their way solo has already heard the warnings to never go hiking alone. All of these hikers have their reasons for chosing to so anyway. Some of mine are:
- I only need to consider my own agenda when chosing a time and destination. By going solo, I've got the freedom to plan my own trip, chose my own route and tempo, when to take a break, when to stop for the night, etc. That is precious to me.
- When I'm out alone, I can take my time for photography without keeping others waiting. When I'm taking my camera out while having company, I often feel rushed.
- I like the challenge. Instead of relying on others, I need to do my own navigation, risk assessment, weather prediction, camp site selection... it's a rewarding challenge and I advanced my outdoor skills by hiking solo.
- You are more approachable by both local people and other travelers. I always meet a lot of nice people on my travels who might not have approached me if I had been in a group.
- Finally, I simply enjoy the solitude.
 |
| Enjoying the solitude and excellent views on the top of Klakkur, the Faroe Islands, June 2019. |
But... what about the danger?
Yes, no one will be there to help you if you fall and injure yourself when you're alone. But I think it's important to realize that trekking with other people isn't a failproof insurance against trouble. It has its own risks. Who else has ever hiked with someone else only to discover that you've been heading the wrong way for a long time, and then wondered why you weren't paying more attention? If you're with others, there is a tendacy to just go along and rely on them for things like wayfinding. Most of the time, that's innocent enough, but it can soon turn bad when you lose each other and are unable to navigate by yourself. While trekking the Toubkal circuit in Marocco back in 2012, for example, I wouldn't have had a clou about where exactly I was and how to continue to the next campground had I somewhere lost the group. The 'safety in numbers' thinking can make you lazy.Another thing about traveling with others is that you don't want to be 'difficult' or slow the group down, maybe pushing yourself to go faster than your own natural tempo, or doing things you aren't comfortable with (yet). I remember a moment like that from my holiday to Iceland back in 2014. While trekking near Landmannalaugar one afternoon we stumbled upon a tall, steep snow field between us and the planned camping spot. We didn't have ice axes with us, so nothing to stop a fall with had I slipped. I crossed it, but I never would have done that if I had been alone. Much too risky.
My guess is that a lot of people who ask me this question don't even really think about threats of the natural world. They think about threats from other humans. More specifically, about creepy men who lurk in the woods, targeting young women like me. And don't get me wrong, I don't blame women who don't feel safe being out alone. Harrassment happens too often and is terrifying. I've had a couple of bad experiences myself. But time has also taught me that the people who harrass women are very, very seldom out on the trails. Harrassers target easy victims - and these are easier found in cities than in the wilderness. Finally, the truth remains that vast majority of sexual violence is commited by people who know the victim - a friend, a neighbor, a partner, etc. The irony is that statistically, we're more likely to be harrased or attacked by one of our own hiking group than by a random stranger we meet on the trail.
I feel safe hiking the trails alone. Telling women they should feel scared to do so seems rather backwards.
Don't you get lonely?
Generally I'm really ok by myself. Some people aren't so happy alone, and that's also perfectly fine.But even while hiking solo, how alone are you really? Unless off-season or off-trail in a very remote wilderness area, you likely aren't the only out on the trails. It is fun to meet someone and chat for a while, or together take hours to row a little boat over a Swedish lake against a fierce wind (real story), or to play games and exchange stories and cook meals with other hikers in a hostel. Some of my most beloved memories come from these trail meetings. But others come from the sheer joy of being out in nature utterly alone. A short selection of my most fond memories: waking up because an arctic fox tripped over one of my guylines in Greenland. Looking up at the night sky and spotting the northern lights while winter camping in Norway. A morning of sunshine and showers leading to a glorious rainbow in the Lake District. Witnessing Ama Damblam glow orange with the last light from my bivak at 5000m in Nepal. A dramatic sunset setting the sky behind snowcapped mountains ablaze with pink in Sweden.
In conclusion, go trekking with friends or family or a tour company if you want to. But please, let us solo travellers walk alone in peace. We're not especially brave, nor foolish. We're just out there in nature doing what we love, in our own way.
Hiking advice chilé nr 2: Take a map and compass
 |
| Just you and your tent out in nature. An incredible feeling. Kungsleden, Sweden, August 2016 |
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