By Cheri Sicard
If you’re a solo RVer who loves hiking, check out the below video from Justin Hikes. In it, he discusses the important topic of how to safely hike alone.
The video covers why you might want to hike alone, tips for how to hike alone safely, and lest you get too comfortable, Justin also shares a few scary experiences he has had over the years (thankfully these are rare). The breathtaking Rocky Mountains National Park provides the video’s scenic backdrop.
Justin began hiking alone back when he was in college. While he does also love hiking with others, he says there are indeed some benefits to hiking alone that make him still engage in the activity:
- You can hike whenever you want.
- You must be more present and focused when alone.
- Being alone in nature has positive mental and physical effects.
- You are more likely to see wildlife when alone (which may or may not be a positive thing).
Tips for how to safely hike alone
While we can never eliminate 100% of risk all the time, Justin says these tips will help to keep you safe when hiking alone.
- Do your homework before you leave on your hike, i.e., do some research and choose a hiking route of proper distance, difficulty, and duration for your abilities.
- Share your itinerary: Be sure to let a friend or family member know where you are going and when. In case something happens, they will have a place to start looking.
- Pack properly: At point 4:25 in the video, Justin shows everything he packs when going on a solo hike.
- How to feel at ease when hiking alone: Yes, there are steps you can take to feel more at ease when hiking alone. Justin shares his views on this starting at point 7:15 in the video. His “hybrid hiking method” of hiking on the same trail with a friend who keeps a different pace is the best of both worlds.
So, what about those scary solo hiking experiences? Both of Justin’s involved animals, not humans: one in Colorado, one in New Jersey. Those stories start at point 9:25 in the video.
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Thank you, Cheri! 🙂 We usually walk together. “Hiking” seems to imply much more than I think DW and I do. We have hiking poles, but usually leave them behind (hard to manage poles and a dog) and stick to trails on which the dog (most recently dog #2, but we now are on #3) is allowed. Otherwise we can’t be gone more than 2 1/2, 3 hours at most. Thanks for the video! 🙂 Have a great week, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂