One of the first questions I get when folks realize I am camping and hiking by myself is, “Aren’t you scared/worried”? Concerns for my safety may include threats posed by bears, getting lost, and technical issues. But I know that for most people the real threat lurking off every trail is sex traffickers and serial killers.

I see this on Facebook groups where women ask on a literal daily basis what precautions others are taking to keep themselves safe. Meanwhile some dude has to comment on every picture of a solo female hiker that they would never let their daughter/girlfriend/wife/sister do that because men (tell on yourself much?) are just too dangerous.

I now have more than 500 nights of solo camping under my belt so I thought I might share some of the precautions I do and don’t take to be able to enjoy my time.

A few facts for consideration

Crime rates against women are not a joke. I fully understand the vulnerability women experience in attempting to navigate the world. However, it must be acknowledged that a disproportionate amount of violence experienced by women is at the hands of men who should be safe spaces: husbands, boyfriends, family members, friends, co-workers, and other acquaintances. According to US Department of Justice, only an estimated 10% of female murder victims were killed by a stranger, while 64% were killed by an intimate partner or family member and an additional 24% were victims of acquaintances. It could be easily argued that women are infinitely safer alone in the woods than surrounded by people who are supposed to protect them.

Surprising to most is that men are much more likely to be the victims of violence from strangers. This fact makes more sense in the context of how men and women behave in society. I was recently discussing this statistic with a group of solo campers. All were disbelieving until I referred back to a situation discussed only moments before: an intoxicated driver was weaving through campsites, damaging property. The man in the group was adamant he would have stopped the driver to confront them while the women in the group expressed they would have packed up and left at the earliest opportunity. There are many ways that men make themselves more vulnerable to violence.

It could be easily argued that women are infinitely safer alone in the woods than surrounded by people who are supposed to protect them.

A word about sex trafficking – according to expert groups such as the Polaris Project, there have been zero recorded cases of people being kidnapped after having cars marked with zipties, being lured via crying babies, or any of the other means detailed in viral Facebook posts. In fact, victims of trafficking are almost always manipulated into sex work or forced labor, often by people they know and trust. Continuing to spread these misperceptions can detract from the realities of human trafficking and the work necessary to protect people vulnerable to being trafficked.

None of this denies the real experiences that many women have had. It just underscores that the narrative of violence and the reality of violence may differ – we are not always afraid of the right things.

Common Suggestions I Don’t Do:

These are some of the things I read in response to social media anxieties about traveling alone.

• Put out extra boots, chairs, etc. – I don’t think there is any such thing as bad dudes creeping campgrounds for single women and steering clear when they see a second pair of boots. That is feeding into a very specific narrative.
• Keeping my key fob by the bed – I can’t begin to count how many times I have heard a car alarm go off in the middle of the night. How many times did I get up prepared to go save someone being attacked? Exactly zero. I might be more aware now that I know that is a tool some women might use it as a call for help, but my instinct has been to be angry and annoyed.

Things That Make Me Feel Safer:

• Stay connected to friends and family – I give my family a copy of my travel itinerary and try to check in once a day. I share my iPhone location so they can keep track. Sometimes this backfires when my mom checks up on me in the middle of the night and a glitchy system shows my location to be the middle of a swamp a couple hundred yards from the Cabela’s parking lot I am actually sound asleep in. But mostly it is reassuring to have someone following me. I also love my Garmin inReach Mini. I keep it clipped to my backpack for emergencies, but use it to send a daily text in areas without cell service.
• Travel with a big dog – I am not sure if Blue is really keeping me safe. I realize there is a good chance she may greet a burglar by asking for belly rubs. On the other hand, she doesn’t hesitate to go after someone encroaching on our campsite. It is a bit of a crap shoot on the people she chooses to be upset about, but I am choosing to believe she will go after the people who are bad news. I also choose to believe that any bad people would prefer to target someone who isn’t traveling with 60 pounds of canine when given other options.
• I stopped watching and listening to true crime – I can feel so many women bristling at this suggestion. I get how addictive Dateline and My Favorite Murder can be. I used to be a fan, but found myself obsessing over episodes when I was out by myself. Now that I have gone a couple years without engaging in the genre, I believe that it is a toxic medium that feeds into the fears of women and is rooted in victim blaming. I wish I had a dollar every time a true crime episode was cited for a reason I am not safe in solo camping. I could probably write an entire blog post about just this topic, but for the purposes of this discussion, I would suggest listening to the Ologies podcast on Victimology and the You’re Wrong About podcast on True Crime. Both of these really made me rethink how I was consuming true crime media. For a similar crime feel with less murder, can I suggest media about scams and cults? Just as interesting, but less haunting when you are trying to fall asleep in the middle of the desert.

Things That Actually Make Me Safer:

I think it is a very important distinction that there are things that actually keep me safer and things that make me feel safer.

• Wearing a seatbelt – Traffic accidents will probably be the greatest risk I face.
• Keeping my truck and trailer in good working condition
• Preparing thoroughly for my hikes – I make sure I carry the ten essentials and have researched my route.
• Being a cis-gendered, femme-presenting, white woman – I seriously hate to have to type this, but I know that I am safe in situations where others may not be. I have encountered more than a handful of people in my travels who I realize may be much more friendly to me, than they would have been to someone else. I say this to point out that while I don’t believe stranger danger is as big of a problem for white women as the world wants us to think, it is a much bigger problem for folks who are black or brown or part of the LGBTQ+ community. I want to acknowledge that I have the privilege of getting help from someone with a Trump flag on their truck where others may not.

Something That May or May Not Make Me Safer:

• Listening to my gut: As an empirical thinker, it is very hard to prove whether we have instincts that make us safer. I am old enough to have watched the Oprah episode on The Gift of Fear and I have lived much of my life surrounded by the folk wisdom that our feelings may be highly attuned to danger we may not be consciously aware of. But there is a high degree of confirmation bias in not doing something because of fear, and then nothing happens. It is easy to say, “See, I didn’t go there because I had a bad feeling and I ended up being totally safe!” when the reality is you would have been safe either way. It can be really difficult to tease apart genuine bad feelings from an overactive imagination. And it is hard to be attuned to real danger when we as women are bombarded with the idea that sex traffickers are lurking in every Target parking lot. There is a very fine line between listening to your gut and pushing yourself to do things that scare you. However I recently pulled into a Cracker Barrel parking lot to overnight. I immediately had a bad feeling. I attributed it to being tired and gloomy weather. I admonished myself for my paranoia, took the extra step of hiding valuables in my truck, double checked my locks and went to bed. The next morning as I walked the dog, I noticed there was an area on the access road were it looked like people had been camping in the woods. A couple signs were strategically advertising suboxone treatment in that area. I now realize my bad feelings may very well have been because I subconsciously clocked that a group of people suffering from addiction may have been staying in the area. Even though nothing bad happened, I probably should have driven another 20 minutes to the next Cracker Barrel. (Sorry Mom!)

Things I Won’t Comment On:

• Carrying: I am not going to wade into this mess. All I will say is that if one decides it is right for them, they MUST be well-trained and acknowledge the risk of self-injury is about as high as the benefit of self-protection.

In my opinion, the benefits of solo travel far outweigh the risks. I wish that everyone who wants to can find a way to push their limits just a little and get to experience the amazing freedom of hitting the road alone!