How to get started hiking by yourself

memo link. Please leave us a voice memo with your question, and we will answer it in a future episode. Hi, everyone, Jennie here, today is a solo episode. And that's appropriate, because I'm going to talk about solo hiking. And my co host, Craig also does a lot of solo hiking and trail running. But I wanted to share this episode, especially since I'm a woman, and I'm a plus size, middle aged woman. And I do a lot of hiking

alone. And I think that is a slightly unique situation, and maybe Leon's a little bit differently for women. And so I'm really excited to talk about this important topic with you today. So the first thing I want to say about hiking alone is that if you don't want to hook hike alone, then don't do it, it's totally fine. I certainly don't want to make anyone feel like they should be doing that

or pressured to do that. Rather, this episode is for you, if you think that you might want to hike alone, but you're not sure how to get started or how to manage that. So that's what this episode will be about. Before we get into some of my tips for hiking by herself. I wanted to talk a little bit about why I choose to do that. Because like I said, many people have no interest in hiking alone. And that's absolutely fine. And I should also say that I do hike with other people, I don't

always hike alone. But I probably hike alone more often than I hike with other people. So there's really two reasons for that. One is, it's easier. So when I hike by myself, I don't have to coordinate with anyone else. I don't have to find other people who are interested and figure out if they're interested in the same trail as I am. And I just don't, I can just sort of do it on a whim without having to coordinate with anybody else. And for B, that often is really

helpful. The other reason is that I'm a pretty slow hiker. And so because of that I'm kind of picky about who I hike with. And I do hike with a couple of people regularly, who are way faster than me. And that's totally fine. Because we either we hike up my pace, and they're cool with it. Or they go ahead of me, and then we meet up later. And I'm fine with both of those arrangements. What I don't like is when people get frustrated because I'm slow, or they run ahead and they wait for

me. And then as soon as I get to them, they want to jet off again. So those those types of hiking companions are not the best hiking companions for me, even though they're awesome. And I'm glad they're out there having a great time. Okay, so those are kind of the two main reasons why you do it. I also, even though I am extroverted, I do like to spend time alone. I kind of liked that time where I'm just walking, and I am kind of letting my letting my

thoughts complete themselves. I also do really appreciate that. Well, I also have to say that I do enjoy hiking with other people who are hiking at my pace also. Okay, so now that we've talked about why let's talk about some tips. So I think there are when I talk to people about this, there are generally two concerns that they have. So this is if it's someone who wants to hike alone, not someone who doesn't okay, but for someone who does. First one will be concerns or fears of family

and friends or themselves. You know, like is it safe for me to do this? And the other one kind of has to Do with I'm not sure where to go, or I'm not sure I'll be motivated to go by myself. And I would say that if it's a struggle for you to be motivated to go by yourself, then maybe it's, it's not for you, you should just go with other people. And if you don't have anyone to hike with, you can definitely find meetup

groups and things like that. So, um, I think if you're just like, I never feel like doing it by myself, then don't, you know, go with other people. But if you want to, or you're worried about safety, or just kind of intimidated, that's what we're

going to talk about today. So the first thing I would say about getting started with hiking solo, is that just like starting hiking at all, I really recommend starting with a pretty mellow hike that is close to home, that has good self service, where there's other people around that can help you sort of get used to it, and work up to either harder hikes or more remote hikes or less populated hikes. So I think that is a really good way to sort of test what you're comfortable

with. And that's going to be different for everyone. So for example, for me, I am okay, hiking by myself in more remote areas, but I do bring bear spray with me when I do that, not necessarily just for bears, me bear spray is is pepper spray, so you could use that on any animal, any person if you needed to, um, it's a big deal to use it. So like don't do that,

unless you need to. Um, but I will tell you that probably most of you know by now that I also spend a lot of time in Alaska and I do not hike solo in Alaska, because bear encounters are a bigger deal. And you have to be much more careful about bears. Not that you don't need to be careful and mindful about bears and cougars in Washington, because you do. But in Alaska, it's a much bigger deal. So I I do hike solo there, if it's a busy populated trail, where there are lots of other

hikers around. So that's an Alaska in Washington, I'm more comfortable on a remote trail by myself, but I would bring bear spray. Okay, um, in addition to kind of working up to stuff, I'm talking with family members and friends. So in my family, this is really a source of conflict. But I know for many people it is. So what I would recommend there is sitting down and you know, talking with the people who have concerns and explaining why this is important to you, and the safety protocols that

you want to put in place. And Jay, my husband and I have that he He does not love me hiking alone. He's cool with that, but it's not his favorite. But he's comfortable with the plan that we have in place. And he has done a lot of search and rescue volunteer work in both Washington and Alaska. And we're going to do an episode about that later on in a few months. But for now, I think what I'll say is having that conversation

is important. And the other thing that's really important, this is probably the most important thing about hiking alone, if you're going to hike alone, you need to have a person at home. Who knows what your plan is, knows where you're gonna go, knows when you expect to be back and will take action. If you have not returned when you said you would or you haven't checked in. And that last part is really important.

Make sure you choose somebody who's not going to sort of waffle about like, Oh, should I call 911 You know, should I call the authorities or not make sure that you're like if I have not returned by this time, I want you to call 911 Tell them you are reporting an overdue hiker. And this is where the person was, and this is what they were wearing. And this is what their car looks like. Um, those things are super important in the

search and rescue world. It's very well known that knowing where the person was supposed to be is huge in finding them. So another thing that I use a tool that I use is a Garmin satellite communicator. The one I have is the Garmin mini net or the Garmin inReach Mini and now there is a newer model of it and I will put a link to it in the show notes for both Amazon and Rei. Because if you're interested in that, that way, you'll know exactly what I have, the newer model is the one you'd

want to get. Now, it's got better battery life. And so other things that are better than the one I have that's like five or six years old now. But it's an expensive item. So I think when I bought my new during one of REI sales, it was $350. And then there's also a monthly charge, which you can start and stop anytime you want. I always have it because I use it all year round, it costs about $20 a month. So it's not

nothing. And I also want to tell you that this is not necessary to hike alone, I hiked alone for at least 10 years without having this device. But now that I have it, I consider it to be pretty important. There is a steep learning curve when you first get it. And that was frustrating for a few months. But now that I have it and have a good routine with it, I consider it to be a super important safety tool. And essentially, what it allows you to do is a call for emergency

help. It also allows you to text you can't call and you can't do any data, you can't send a photo, but you can send a text to people in your contacts through your phone. So that is really awesome. And then you can also send preset texts, where you don't type anything, you've already decided what it's going to be. And I have three of those that I use on every hike with my husband. The first one is I'm starting here. The second one is I'm turning around here. And the third one is I'm back at the

car. And I do that every single time so that it's part of my routine. So that I don't forget. And both Jay and I have found that to be a really powerful tool and very much worth it given that I hike every week. And sometimes more than that. We also take it on road trips when we're not going to have cell phone service. So it's a great tool. But like I said, not necessary, you can definitely hike alone without one. I did it for a long time. But at this point, I consider it to be

pretty important. Okay, so we've covered what I think are the most important basics of safety. Um, I try to pay just a little extra attention when I'm by myself to my surroundings. And also, I'm not a risk taker really when I hike, but I'm even more cautious. When I'm by myself. For example, if I see a spot that's like, Oh, that would be a cool place to go get a picture, but it looks a little sketchy. I'm less likely to do it. If I'm by myself. That's

another thing. I am extra careful about bringing enough snacks and water and an extra layer and a rain jacket. Those are things that are really important, along with telling someone where you're going, even if you are hiking with another person. But extra important when you're by yourself. I mentioned that I bring bear spray. I don't necessarily bring that on sort of busy, popular trails, but I do in more remote areas. Again, it it's not required. You know, it's not absolutely critical.

Not everyone does that. But I do. I also use hiking poles when I hike. And I think that's sort of an extra way to have some extra stability and an additional tool. I always use them. But again, when I'm by myself, I feel like they're extra important. The final thing that I wanted to mention is that I really like to listen to music and sometimes podcasts when I'm hiking alone. And I bring headphones for that. And this is something that's controversial. There are people who will tell

you, you should not do that. But I do. I do not wear them the entire time. Sometimes if I'm not quite sure about the people around me or I feel like there's not very good visibility often I'll take them out. And I keep the volume pretty low so that I can still hear things going on around me and I just use wired earbuds. I have a set of noise cancelling headphones for travel and sometimes work but I don't take those on the trail. I keep the small earbuds that I can still hear what's going on and

keep the volume low. So that's that's it how Hopefully I've answered some of the most common questions that I get about solo hiking. And I really hope that this will help you be empowered to hike by yourself as well, if you want to. Also just want to remind you about the tip jar so you can help keep this podcast going and ad free through our tip jar, which is the first link

in the show notes. And also, I want to just remind you that you can always ask Craig and I questions so we have a voicemail box, and you can click the link in the show notes and record a message for us. We would love to hear from you. Bye for now.