[pct-l] solo female thru-hiker

[Jim & Jane Moody]

Malloree, 

As a first step, look over the journals of recent female solo hikers (trailjournals.com and postholer.com are two of the more popular sites).  Read their gear lists and accounts of the trip.  Contact them via their guestbooks with specific questions. 



If you start in mid- to late-April, you will be hiking with dozens of other thru-hikers, so being solo might be a cha llenge, especially at campsites and water sources.  I hiked a lot with Golden Child this year - her blog is at 

http://aslowbeginning.blogspot.com/  , which you might find helpful.  There are many more out there. 



Good luck. 

Mango 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Malloree Weinheimer" <malloreew at gmail.com> 
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Monday, September 27, 2010 5:30:25 AM 
Subject: [pct-l] solo female thru-hiker 

hi, i'm planning to hike the pct this 2011 season and i'm slowly realizing that i'm probably going to be doing a good chunk of it solo. i'm a single female in my mid twenties and my mom almost had a heart attack when she learned that i might be doing this alone. i am okay with this, and actually would really like to tackle much of it solo. can anyone tell me what to expect? any advice? i've been thinking about this a lot, especially as far as safety goes and i'd like to get as much input and advice to prepare as i can. 

aside from general information and advice, i had a few specific questions as well; 
-as far as safety goes, what to bring for defense, if anything? i'm more concerned about safety from humans than wildlife. 
-aaand, are there any other solo hikers out there for the season that might be interested in something like a buddy/support system? 
-as the trail gets more popular and since there is a window of opportunity to hike it in, how many people do you run into on the trail per day, or are aware of in your area (in case of emergency, or whatever)? less than five? more than five? 

thanks for the help, malloree 
_______________________________________________ 
Pct-L mailing list 
Pct-L at backcountry.net 
To unsubcribe, or change options visit: 
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l 

List Archives: 
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/