[at-l] Young, female, and thru-hiking

[WannaRedLeaf at aol.com (WannaRedLeaf@xxxxxxx)]

In a message dated 9/7/03 10:12:20 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Snodrog5@aol.com 
writes:

> Come to the Gathering in Hanover, join the women's 
> hiking list, read some trailjournals from other young female sobos

In case you're unfamiliar with the above:
     The Gathering
            <A HREF="http://www.aldha.org/gathring.htm";>http://www.aldha.org/gathring.htm</A>

     A good source of online trail journals
            <A HREF="http://www.trailjournals.com/";>http://www.trailjournals.com/</A>

     I am a member of the women's list, and can let them know you're 
interested in joining (you have to be approved to become a member). It is a very 
active list and great source of information and support. The archives are current 
and searchable. As a matter of fact, there is a current thread re: hiking 
alone.
            <A HREF="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WomenHikers/";>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WomenHikers/</A>

Also, the book mentioned compiled by Beverly Hugo is a good place to start. 
She collected information from many women hikers. I have a copy I'd be willing 
to lend if your funds are tight. Contact me off list.

I did a solo section hike this summer (basically across MA). I was hiking at 
a time when I met a number of both NOBO's and SOBO's. Some nights I was alone, 
others there was a crowd. Not once did I feel in danger. The trail community 
is great, and the way information travels up and down the trail is evidence of 
the network. I met lots of interesting folks and I think that if I had been 
on a longer hike and decided I didn't want to be hiking solo it would have been 
easy enough to hook up with someone. As you get into your hike you can still 
be a solo hiker, but will begin to be known on the trail and others will watch 
out for you. 
     The best advice is to learn from others (hence the suggestions re: The 
Gathering, books/journals, WomenHikers list), and then use common sense.

WRL (AKA Tina in CT) 
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