Hiking alone as a woman

[HeidiHiker]

I'm hiking more than 15 years, both alone, with friends, with Ramblers club. I enjoy all equally. I've done a few navigation courses, can use a map and compass.

There's a couple of routes I like to do alone, approx a four-hour hike - sometimes I meet others and sometimes not. I would only ever do solo hikes in good weather and I know these routes so well at this stage, I've never needed to use my map and compass.

However, a few people have expressed to me how dangerous this is. I do my solo hikes on trails/ tracks and do the more difficult ones when I'm with others. I enjoy these, the peace and quiet.

My question is:
AIBU - stop hiking alone
AINBU - continue these hikes I'm familiar with, alone, continue doing more remote ones with others

I live fairly rurally in the highlands with limited mobile signal and love solo multi day hikes and bikepacking. I’ve stayed solo in Bothies and in my tent. I’ve never felt threatened by anyone out in the hills. I do, however, worry about taking a tumble or something like that.

I’ve got a Spot tracker (satellite gps thing) it’s got 2 preprogrammed texts, so I can let my husband know when ive finished for the day and an sos button that alerts police/mountain rescue. I went out before having this but it definitely gives me and my family peace of mind when I’m out alone. It’s a £15 a month subscription, but that’s a small price to pay if there was an emergency.

Enjoy your hikes!

Thanks for all the advice and positive stories.

So, no different than being anywhere else and needing help then? I'm much better at remembering to charge my phone, switch off unused battery draining features, bring a power bank etc when I'm out walking than I am when I'm pottering back and forth from work, and my work takes me all over the place including potentially a dark commute along a towpath. Way more dodgy people around than I've ever encountered out walking. I use the OS app for routeplanning, always have some food and water with me plus a very basic first aid kit, and WhWhat3Words. Someone always knows more or less which route I'm planning to take and roughly how long it should take. As long as you're not one of those twits who goes up Scafell Pike in plimsolls because you were bored and fancied a walk then walking alone need be no more dangerous than going to the shops.

The only people who tell me not to do things on my own are

1. shit men looking to date me.
2. clingy women who are never single for long/are scared of being single.

I am neither of those, so I do what I like, when I like, where I like. That includes holidays abroad with hikes as you've described.

OS locate gives a grid reference even when I am in airplane mode - you don't need a signal

Obviously you need sone network somewhere to pick up your ur 999 call

But really I wonder how the probability of having and accident and being out of signal compares to the probability of being in a car crash on the way to the hills

OP, take a look at hiking channels on YouTube and dedicated Facebook groups. Many many women hike and camp alone. I do. For lots of folk, it does sound scary and risky but look at the above resources for how popular it is and for tips and information on how to keep yourself safe.

It depends on your attitude to risk I think. If you are the kind of person who never goes anywhere alone then you probably wouldn't walk alone either. But that kind of person probably has other risks that are far more life threatening such as poor mental health, poor self esteem and lack of exercise.

Hill walking alone in good weather has to be one of the safest activities you can do. Driving to the place is probably riskier. Certainly walking round suburbia at night or getting a train in the evening must be statistically more dangerous

This - 100 per cent.

Actually, this has reminded me. I had reason to call for help after I came across a pretty bad accident in the hills - mountain rescue recommended both What Three Words AND an OS grid reference so that they can double check. The OS Locate grid reference app is really good.

This

Safety procedures suggest the same precautions are required whether solo or in a group. A reliable way to know where you are and summon help which does not rely on mobile phone signal. Multiple precautions to cover single points of failure.

Enjoy.

Living an unadventurous, jeopardy free life is not really living imo. Enjoy your hiking OP. I run, walk, night-hike, wild camp entirely alone. Love it.

I used to do a lot of solo walking and knew a couple of people who didn't think it was safe, but both were generally very anxious people. I rarely came across anyone and never felt threatened or intimidated when I did. The chances of being attacked by somebody on a remote walk are tiny compared to walking around in an urban area, and minuscule compared to going out drinking on a Friday night.

Having an accident somewhere without signal is more concerning, but you can get personal satellite trackers for not a lot of money which will put you in touch with emergency services and provide them with your location.

I generally dislike walking with other people because I like to go at my own pace and stop to look at things, and most of all because I enjoy the feeling of being the only person on the planet. Being deep into a walk surrounded by nothing but nature is a magical feeling.

I would never go hiking alone. It’s silly to take an unnecessary risk like this. Not because I think there’s a stranger in the bush waiting to violate me, but because phone reception can be poor or even where not, it can be difficult to get hold of help if you injure yourself. It’s too easy to twist an ankle
or similar preventing you to push on and then you got no one there being able to look for help. It’s always fine until it isn’t - don’t do it.

Scaredycatsbreakfast. Even in the middle of nowhere, people come by every now and then so its fine. Lots of hiking got done pre mobile phones and lot's of fun, mountainous areas have shitty reception anyway. You should try it. It feels great to be reliant on yourself only.

I’m quite happy to run this risk as it is so minimal!

In all my adult life out in the mountains I have never ever had an bad experience involving a man

I scramble and wild camp in the mountains alone and never feel nervous about attackers.

I’m completing them too!! I often have to do them alone as my dh’s work patterns are different to mine. I’ve never even considered it an issue!

I’n a professional mountain leader and when I was training I would often go night naving on my own —as noone else was sad enough to come with me!—

Sorry but this is irresponsible bollocks. I’ve been hiking in the Andes, in the tropics and elsewhere. Im not scared by any means. I’m just not an idiot who thinks accidents won’t happen.

Of course accidents can happen when you’re alone. Bit then you deal with them, alone. Yes help may take a little longer, but as long as you’ve put things in place such as leaving a note, carrying suitable kit. Then it’s fine

If you break your leg in the hills alone or break it whilst with a friend, what differences in care are you expecting?

Your friend leaves you to go find help due to no signal? I wonder how long they’ll be?… Or you can call police (mrt). Use a whistle, wait until someone realises you’re not back. Either way you’re not moving for a while. So make sure you have appropriate kit with you. Sooooo many people don’t!!

The actually chance of having no signal on a hill is quite low. It’s the valleys that are usually without.

Catsbreakfast- just want to reiterate what others have said about the joy of doing things solo. I would find it very constraining to not be able to. I’m single and prefer my own company. I would miss out on a lot of experiences otherwise, there are lots of ways to minimise risks and get help if needed as outlined on this thread.

That’s what trackers are for.

For the vast majority of hikes you wouldn’t need it.

But to give the example of Esther Dingley - she had a phone, did a WhatsApp & video call and then nothing. It’s unknown why she didn’t call for help - she may have fallen and died or been too badly injured to call or been separated from her phone.

It’s possible that a tracker might have saved her life as she would have been locatable even if she couldn’t press the SOS button. At the very least they would have been able to find her body much quicker saving her family distress.

I subscribe to hiker channels on YT and a common thread in cases of lone hikers going missing it’s because they’ve injured themselves alone and they weren’t able to use their phone - rarely do they not have a phone. Ok it’s not very likely - and much rarer in this country than in the US and Canada where there are huge wildernesses - but you never know when it’s your day to fall and not be able to get back up again.

I love hiking by myself. Day hikes, multi-day hikes and wild camping, winter hiking, hiking solo overseas, I love all of it.

I always tell my husband my itinerary and when I'm expected to be back, and carry extra layers and an emergency bivvy bag in case help is hours away.

In the last few years I have started to carry an emergency beacon on trips that I deem more risky (mostly multi-day hikes without phone signal), but I also carry it when DH comes, after an instance where he had bad accident and even though we were together, it was a loooong way to get help.

Great stuff @CouchSpud ! I started them on my own, then acquired a boyfriend who came with me for some for a few years, got dumped last summer, now dealing with “women’s problems” but itching to get back out there to finish them (and it will be solo)! Mainly got the northern and western fells to do now which aren’t as easy a trip from Mcr in a day. Good luck!!

YANBU. I'd stick to good weather days, reasonably well known trails and make sure your location is switched on on your phone. Overall risks are low!