Why So Many Women Are Afraid to Hike Alone

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:01]When people ask why women are afraid to hike alone, they usually assume it's because of wildlife encounters, getting lost, getting injured, or creepy people out on trail.

[00:00:11]And yes, those things can absolutely feel scary when you're out on trail alone.

[00:00:16]But honestly, I think it goes much deeper than that. I think a lot of women, myself included, are really afraid of trusting themselves out here.

[00:00:24]Because most of our lives we've been told, "Don't go alone. Don't wander off too far. Don't trust strangers. Be careful." Stop telling me what to do. So when a woman decides to go hiking alone, she's not just learning outdoor skills, she's also trying to unlearn fear. And this is the part of hiking alone a lot of people don't really understand.

[00:00:44]Today I'm hiking up to Fountain Stone.

[00:00:47]The last time I was out here was I think in February. I came out here twice in February. First time I didn't make it all the way up to my destination. It's quite a bit of snow on the trail and I had reached my turn-around time. And then the second time I did make it up there, but there was still quite a bit of snow. There's also a down tree along the trail. So now it is middle of May and we'll see how far I get up there.

[00:01:10]I'm really curious to see if there's still a down tree and if there's still snow because we did have a bit of weather this weekend. So I'm curious to see what's happening up at the higher elevation. I don't think a lot of women are afraid of hiking. I think they're afraid of failing, looking like they don't know what they're doing, >> [music] >> making mistakes, being judged, not belonging, or feeling like they're too old to start now.

[00:01:35]When I first started hiking alone, I constantly worried about whether I was doing it right.

[00:01:40]I didn't want people to think I was a new hiker. I didn't want to look like I didn't know what I was doing. I was afraid of making mistakes.

[00:01:48]And looking back, this is kind of funny because I made so many mistakes.

[00:01:53]I'd packed the wrong things. I'd packed too many things. I wouldn't pack enough of something, I got nervous, and I'd second-guess myself all the time.

[00:02:03]When you're hiking alone as a woman, those mistakes can feel amplified.

[00:02:08]Even though you're learning something new, it can feel like you're already supposed to have it all figured out before you ever start.

[00:02:15]But you don't know what you don't know, and making mistakes is part of the learning.

[00:02:20]It's also part of becoming more confident. So, no, I don't think a lot of women are actually afraid of hiking alone. They're afraid of feeling incapable and being judged when they don't get everything right immediately.

[00:02:33]>> [music] [music] >> Fear in the outdoors isn't unique to women. Men experience fear in the outdoors, too. I believe, though, that women have to navigate an additional layer of fear because for most of our lives, we've been told not to go alone.

[00:03:03]Don't walk alone. Don't travel alone.

[00:03:06]Don't camp alone. Don't trust strangers, and be careful.

[00:03:10]So, when women start hiking alone, we're not just learning outdoor skills, we're also undoing decades of conditioning.

[00:03:17]Sometimes when I'm hiking alone, there's still a tiny part of me that feels like I'm doing something I'm not supposed to be doing. Not because hiking alone is wrong, but because I've spent so much of my life hearing people tell me I shouldn't do it. Whether it's friends and family, or strangers on the internet who think women shouldn't be out here alone.

[00:03:36]It's hard to not let that get into your head.

[00:03:39]I'm going to take the double track up, and then I think I'll take the single track back down. Hopefully there's no bugs cuz single track's pretty skinny with a hiker and a biker.

[00:03:50]I do want to say this, though. Most men I've met outdoors have been incredibly kind and respectful. I've even had men recognize me out on trail and thank me for the work I've been doing helping more women feel confident outdoors. So, this isn't me saying all men are dangerous and should be feared. Not at all. [music] But, if you're a man watching this and wondering how you can help women feel safer and more comfortable outdoors, it's honestly [music] just simple things like announcing yourself when approaching someone from behind, giving people space on trail, avoiding intrusive questions like, [music] "Are you alone? Where are you headed? Where are you camping tonight?" For a lot of women, these questions can feel uncomfortable when we're out here alone.

[00:04:31]Sometimes just saying hi and continuing on is more than enough.

[00:04:35]Most people you meet on trail really are wonderful.

[00:04:39]But, women are often calculating risks differently because we've been conditioned our entire lives to do so.

[00:04:45]I don't think women are looking for more hiking advice, either. I think what a lot of women are really looking for is freedom, confidence, [music] independence, and proof that it's not too late for them and that they can indeed hike alone if they want to.

[00:05:17]Well, at the beginning of the hike, I saw not a lot of people, but a handful of people. More people than I thought I would, cuz I'm hiking on a Monday, and it's Montana.

[00:05:28]There's usually not a lot of people out on trail, but as soon as I got away from the overlook and started heading up the road, I've seen no one. So, I could possibly have this trail to myself today. And I'm particularly excited because I haven't seen any bikes yet, cuz I'm taking the double track up and then we'll take the single track down.

[00:05:47]And it's the singletrack that I'm a little worried about encountering bikes because it's such a narrow trail, some blind corners, but I think I'm going to take the risk cuz there might not be anyone out here. But so far this has been lovely and another reminder of why I really love hiking alone. I don't have any distractions. I don't listen to podcasts or music. I just listen to the natural sounds that are happening around me. And just really enjoy my hike and my me time out here. It's a really good reset button, too. If you got a lot of stuff going on in your head, it's nice to leave those distractions at home, unplug, put it in airplane mode, and just be out here.

[00:06:33]And it doesn't hurt that the weather is pretty awesome.

[00:06:36]>> [gasps] >> Yeah. All right, let's keep hiking.

[00:06:40]When it comes to hiking alone, a lot of women are tired of being told that you shouldn't go alone. That's unsafe.

[00:06:46]That's reckless. Instead, they want support, encouragement, and to see other women like them doing these things. Not influencers who make everything look easy, but real women. Women who get scared, women who are still learning, women who are figuring it out as they go.

[00:07:03]This is a huge reason why I created the confident solo female backpacker system because so many women out there have dreams of hiking alone, but don't have the support from the people around them.

[00:07:14]Sometimes their friends don't understand it. Their family doesn't support it. Or they feel completely alone trying to figure this all out.

[00:07:22]Confidence is really hard to build when you feel like nobody believes you can do it. I don't think most women want to become fearless. I think they just want to stop letting fear make every decision for them.

[00:07:51]>> Here's where the down tree was.

[00:07:57]And the crews even chopped it up and cleared the trail. No down tree on trail because someone or someone's came and cleared the trail and cleaned that up. So, thank you, trail crews. Much appreciated. Now, let's see if there's snow at the top. So far, this trail has been very dry. I'm very surprised, especially after the storms we had this weekend. I thought the trail would at least be muddy, but the climate here is so dry. Everything just dries really quickly. So far, the trail has been pretty cruisey, smooth sailing.

[00:08:41]>> [music] >> This is so exciting. Last time I was here in February, I had my microspikes [music] on at this point. This was all a sheet of very thick, compact snow and ice. Now it's your road. Yay, spring.

[00:09:19]Okay, apparently this road is used. I'm taking my sweet time. Tripod, camera's in the middle of the road, and I hear this noise. I'm like, "What the heck?"

[00:09:29]And it's a truck coming up the road. So, I ran down, grabbed my tripod, waved to the guy. Was not expecting that.

[00:09:37]>> [laughter] [gasps] >> At least it wasn't a grouse.

[00:09:50]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Made it to the top. Well, not to the top top. You actually can't go up to the top top. [music] It is a private road closed to the public. It's probably like University Mountain just went to towers up there anyways. This trail you can go around Mount Deanstown. I don't have the time to do that today. I actually have to turn around, but I wanted to stop, grab a snack before I head back down. But no snow. No snow. A lot of bikes though. A lot of bikes. So because there's been so many bikes on the trail, I think I am going to play it safe and I'm going to take the double track back. Just cuz there's more room. I don't want to risk a bike running me over or not having a place to hop off the trail to let bikes go by. So I guess that's one advantage of hiking this one in the winter when there's snow is there's no bikes.

[00:11:00]I guess I didn't need these today.

[00:11:05]One of the biggest misconceptions about confidence is that it just magically shows up one day. You don't get confident by waiting to go do the scary thing. You get confident after you do the scary thing.

[00:11:17]Confidence comes from proving to yourself that you can handle hard things, that you can figure things out, that you can make mistakes and recover from them, and that you can be uncomfortable and still keep going.

[00:11:32]If you've been wanting to go hiking or backpacking alone, but you keep feeling stuck, like you're waiting until you feel ready enough or confident enough first, I created a free guide, the Solo Backpacking Readiness Check. This free guide is designed to help you figure out why you feel stuck, what's really holding you back, and what to do next so you can start building confidence now instead of waiting for it to magically show up one day. Click the link down in the description below to download your free guide.

[00:11:58]Even after hiking thousands of miles alone over the last 9 years, I still get scared out here by myself sometimes.

[00:12:06]The difference now is that I trust myself more and I don't let my fears make my decisions for me.

[00:12:11]And maybe that's what hiking alone really teaches you, not how to become fearless, but how to believe in yourself enough to keep [music] going even when you're scared.

[00:12:21]Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next one. Happy trails and [music] keep on trucking.