Safety

When people hear that I backpack solo, a lot of them ask me, somewhat skeptically, whether I feel safe out there on my own. Sometimes they mean because of bears. Sometimes because of the potential for injury. And sometimes they mean from other people. The short answer is that yes, I do feel safe out there alone. The long answer is:

Bears

Seriously, you don't need to worry about this. Incidents in the Sierras are rare, and the bears we have here aren't aggressive. That said, I was once startled by coming across a bear all of a sudden, when I was practically already on top of it. And it took a while for my heart to stop pounding -- it looked big and scary! But I've only seen three bears total, and none of them seemed the least bit interested in me. They didn't even looked up at me as I passed.

There are a couple of tips to keep your interactions with bears as innocuous as this:

• Follow all the rules on the storage of scented items (food, toiletries, whatever) for whichever wilderness area or park you're in. In the Sierras, that usually means a hard-sided bear canister like a Bearvault (in some places, an Ursack will do). Bear incidents have gone WAY down since these rules went into effect and bears stopped associating human camps with a free high-calorie meal. Let's keep it that way. (Plus you don't have to hike out hungry because a bear got all your food. Or a marmot or ground squirrel, who are much less scary but much more likely to make a run for your unprotected snacks.)

• Know when you're in bear country, and make a little extra noise as you come down the trail. If you see bear scat, claw marks on fallen trees (where they scrape the bark away to eat the grubs underneath), or lots of berry bushes, then just be aware there may be bears around you. That one that scared the bejesus out of me was quietly snacking on some berries about 15 feet off the trail. I did not scare the bejesus out if it, fortunately. I'd been stomping my way down the trail, singing bits of songs to myself, because I wanted any bears around to know I was coming. Especially if you're solo, don't practice your ninja skills out there. Feel free to make yourself heard.

• Communicate with other hikers. I once was warned by a handful of hikers that a mother and her cubs were near the trail ahead -- and that's a higher-risk scenario. I made some extra noise and kept my eyes peeled, but I never saw them. That's the best case scenario. Forewarned is forearmed!

Injury

This is the realest of the threats I'm discussing here, but even it can be mitigated.

Before you go:

Give your full itinerary to someone you trust. Make sure they know when you're supposed to hike out, and text them when you do. It wouldn't hurt to also send them a list of some of the gear you're taking (backpack and tent brand/model/color, and a pic of the clothes you'll be wearing) in case search and rescue needs to come looking for you.

Invest in a personal locator beacon:

This is a big investment, but it's worth every penny. I use a Garmin inReach Mini, and it's great. Small, weighs less than 4 ounces, and pairs with my phone. It has an SOS button in case you need search and rescue (I've never had to use this, fortunately), GPS, and also two-way messaging. You can send a message each afternoon when you reach camp with your location, if that would reassure folks at home. But the last time I used it was when I could see that a wildfire had broken out a few dozen miles away, and I wanted more info on where it was exactly, so I messaged a family member. With that information in hand, I could make informed choices about what to do next (in this instance, that it was going to be OK for me to keep hiking out on my existing schedule.)

Don't be an idiot, and know your limits:

The last thing you want to do is need a rescue because you did something stupid. The search and rescue teams are risking their safety in order to get you out. Also, depending on where you are, and what conditions are like, it may take them a while to get to you. The SOS button isn't a magic wand you can wave for an instant, easy rescue, and it's still better not to need it.

So be careful around early-season water crossings, which can be high and dangerous. Better to turn back than to cross a stream in bad conditions. A trip where you didn't complete your full itinerary is still better than a trip where you got hurt (or a day at the office).

Also watch out for thunderstorms, which happen often in the Sierras in summer afternoons -- you really don't want to be on top of a pass when the lightening starts. Plan to cross passes early in the day, whenever possible.

And don't hike so early in the season that you'll be dealing with a lot of snow, unless you have the appropriate equipment, training, and experience to deal with the myriad hazards it can present (snow bridges, cornices, steep snow fields, etc.). In a normal or low snow year, July is a good bet. In a big snow year, you might want to wait for August.

Basically, know your limits. It's not inherently dangerous to backpack, but it's not Disneyland, either. A little good judgement can be a lifesaver.

Other people

Women often feel vulnerable when they're alone, especially at night, especially in male-dominated spaces. But I've never had a single reason to fear for my safety from another person while I was backpacking.

The high Sierras are remote and tough to access, so you're not dealing with wandering criminals running from the law (as has happened, in a couple of rare but high-profile cases, on the Appalachian Trail). You'll just see other backpackers. And they can say dumb patronizing things, sure, but in my experience, they have been totally harmless.

The first few times a male backpacker asked me if I was alone and then immediately followed that up with, "So, where are you camping tonight?" that kind of creeped me out. But I could tell they didn't see how that would be unsettling. A woman backpacking alone is still a bit of a novelty to a certain generation of male hiker, and they often feel the need to comment on it. And "Where are you headed?" is the most common question that backpackers stopping to chat will ask each other. It may take a little getting used to to hear those in combination, when you wouldn't in a million years give a strange man your address within 30 seconds of meeting him, particularly if you didn't have a lock on your door. But in context, it was all non-threatening, and I've never had an actual red flag in any interactions with other backpackers.

The feeling of being alone can be scary but also liberating. For me, it's much more liberating than scary. If you have the urge to do some solo backpacking, I'd urge you not to let your fear of any of these three issues stand in your way. Just bring your bear can, know your limits, get out there, and enjoy.