<DIV>Well said L-Rod!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"I will not live an unlived life.</DIV> <DIV>I will not live in fear</DIV> <DIV>of falling or catching fire......."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV>Wise words I endeavor to live by every day.....</DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>(From the memoir "I Will Not Live an Unlived Life" by Dawna Markova.)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Maria, back in lurking mode....<BR><BR><B><I>Donna Saufley <dsaufley@sprynet.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">I am both a woman who likes to hike alone and a mother of a 20-something<BR>son. I hate to tell you this, but there is probably nothing you can say to<BR>your mother that will make her feel that it is safe out on the trail. This<BR>is especially true in light of the recent and horrific news regarding a<BR>female hiker's death at the hands of someone who looked like another
hiker.<BR>The usual reassurances of how wonderful and supportive other hikers and<BR>hosts are probably won't appease her fears right now. <BR><BR>Most of us fear that which we don't know. I'm going to guess from your<BR>question that your mother does not have much, if any, backcountry hiking<BR>experience, so her fear of all the things that might happen are playing bit<BR>in her mind. It doesn't matter that tens of thousands of women hike every<BR>year with great success and enjoyment; if you've never done it, you fear<BR>every remote and infinitesimally small possibility ranging from bear and<BR>snake attacks to falling off cliffs, to criminals hiding behind every tree. <BR><BR>The truth is more women are abducted, raped, and murdered from grocery store<BR>and mall parking lots than killed on hiking trails. Driving our cars is<BR>probably the most dangerous thing we do, yet most of us drive every day.<BR>Absolutely no where is safe from peril -- not schools, our
workplaces, or<BR>the public places and businesses we frequent. The very food we eat is<BR>suspect and kills people every day (some slowly, some quickly). Our lives<BR>are full of risk; you can either wall yourself in and live in fear, or take<BR>the risks head on and live a personally fulfilling life.<BR><BR>A true story that illustrates this well is that my mother's best childhood<BR>friend was killed while she and her baby son were napping at home one<BR>afternoon. A small passenger plane crashed into her house, killing her and<BR>the pilot. It is a story that has stayed with me and shaped my life, and I<BR>think of it every time I confront something I fear and put an end to the<BR>fearfulness. There is nothing more empowering than conquering the demon of<BR>fear.<BR><BR>In this country we only believe that we're safe, but our sense of safety is<BR>false. In many other countries they live with the knowledge that they are<BR>not safe. We usually feel the things we know
best are the safest -- like<BR>going to school or church. But you only have to read the news to know that<BR>the possibility of someone going berserk on a murderous rampage is possible<BR>anywhere, in the places we feel safest. <BR><BR>Not one of us gets out of here alive, and none of us know with certainty<BR>where we will be or when the hour will come. So, if your mom let you drive<BR>a car, fly in a plane, or go off to college, she has already accepted many<BR>possible risks with regard to your perceived safety. Hiking on the PCT or<BR>any trail is no different than any of those events. Maybe you can invite her<BR>along with you, so that she herself can see that in many ways we are safer<BR>on the trail than anywhere in civilization.<BR><BR>I wish you luck in convincing her.<BR><BR>L-Rod <BR><BR><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: pct-l-bounces@backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces@backcountry.net]<BR>On Behalf Of Jana Bregman<BR>Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 2:38
PM<BR>To: pct-l@backcountry.net<BR>Subject: [pct-l] safety on the pct<BR><BR>i am a college freshman and my friend (who is also college age) and I <BR>want to hike a section of the PCT this summer for about 2 or 3 weeks. <BR>We are having trouble convincing our mom's that 2 girls will be safe <BR>alone out on the trail.....what should we tell them?<BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Pct-l mailing list<BR>Pct-l@backcountry.net<BR>To unsubscribe or change list options (digest, etc):<BR>http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l<BR><BR>No virus found in this incoming message.<BR>Checked by AVG Free Edition. <BR>Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.1/1219 - Release Date: 1/11/2008<BR>10:19 AM<BR><BR><BR>No virus found in this outgoing message.<BR>Checked by AVG Free Edition. <BR>Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.1/1219 - Release Date: 1/11/2008<BR>10:19 AM<BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Pct-l mailing
list<BR>Pct-l@backcountry.net<BR>To unsubscribe or change list options (digest, etc):<BR>http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><BR><div align=left><FONT face=verdana color=#0000bf>"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world </FONT></div> <div align=left><FONT face=verdana color=#0000bf>and a desire to enjoy the world. </FONT><FONT face=verdana color=#0000bf>This makes it hard to plan the day." </FONT></div> <div align=left><FONT face=verdana color=#0000bf>~ EB White</FONT></div> <DIV align=left><FONT face=verdana color=#0000bf></FONT> </DIV> <DIV align=left><FONT face=system color=#0000bf size=4> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#6000bf
size=3> </FONT></DIV><p> 
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