[pct-l] small, blonde, young and hitching

[edmond at mydogmeg.net (Edmond Meinfelder)]

At 02:20 PM 10/25/2003 -0400, Rebecca Emily Selling wrote:
>safety.  I am small, blonde and young and hitch hiking is my biggest
>concern for my PCT hike this coming summer.

The year I through hiked there were a number of young women (21 and under) 
who completed their through hikes. The youngest women were 18. As Yogi 
suggested, they typically stuck with friends when hitching. No problems 
were reported.

An interesting piece of advice for males is to befriend young attractive 
women as they are lightening rods for trail magic. From what I saw and 
experienced, there is some truth to this.

>Any advice for someone in my position?

My advice is: be cautious but don't worry too much. The most likely cause 
of death for your age group is accidental death (first from traffic 
accidents and then from falling. See: 
http://webapp.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10.html). If you are more 
worried about assault than being in  or around traffic, you may want to 
re-examine your fears and why you have them. Mass media has a way of 
warping your perceptions in sensationalistic ways to sell stories. Most 
people are kinder than you'd expect; a fact you'll discover on your hike.

I think the real danger of hitch hiking is terminal boredom (happens to me 
every time).

>     Also, I have never hitch hiked before in my life.  Do people have
>general tips (the ones in e-mails so far have been helpful) on
>hitching?  Thanks so much for any and all advice!

Generally it boils down to: Do not appear to be a threat. In this case 
prejudice works in your favor. In the U.S. most people -- both male and 
female -- assume women are never a threat.

Also be patient. Sometimes it takes a few hours, but that's still faster 
than walking 15 miles.

Good luck on your hike.

Tangent