I have anxiety so I am afraid of everything. I was scared when Coke told me that Coke Zero was being deleted. So yes, hiking sometimes scares me too.
Hiking sometimes does scare me, yes.
I try to mitigate the risks by sticking to well known trails, hiking during daylight hours, take first aid and emergency survival equipment. I normally take a Personal Locator Beacon (unless I know I will have phone reception). I also research where I’m going every time I attempt a new trail. Taking screen shots or printed maps if necessary.
I have so many worries. But let’s chat hiking worries for now.
My main ones are:
1. Stepping on a danger noodle. Otherwise known as a snake. Green and black are okay-ish but anything brown will probably see me create a little brown of my own. I generally don’t hike in the middle of the day and in warmer weather try to choose trails with a higher proportion of fire trails which tend to be wider.
2. Falling over and hitting my head on a rock. Losing consciousness, unable to call for help or set off the PLB.
3. Running into someone who sees me as a ‘crime of opportunity’. There are plenty of loonies out there. There have only been two times when I have walked past men, alone who have looked ‘dodgy’. I just kept walking and tried to put as much distance in between me and them.
4. Finding a body or witnessing a crime (like a murder), again hopefully sticking to the main trail and commonly known bushwalking tracks (in daylight) should help. Think Ted Bundy and Ivan Milat. Neither are dudes you want to casually bump into out there. “Oh hello, lovely day for it”, probably won’t get me very far.
If I do happen to die in a horrible hiking accident, then at least when the lights go out – I was doing something I enjoyed.
Always end on a positive note. E7.
National Geographic April 1960
