I have enough. I was an avid backpacker and had bears on the trail and in camp a number of times. Meeting them on the trail was a bit more nerve racking than having them come into camp. In camp they were coming into our territory usually scrounging for food which if you were smart was bear bagged and hung. I did have a bear climb a tree and knock down one of the bags. We lost a days worth of food.
The ones on the trail you weren’t sure about (and they aren’t necessarily sure about you). No I’ve never had an issue but know of people who had.
I’ve passed many people on the trail usually just with a passing “Hi” but occasionally stopping to chat. Men in general are very very very unlikely to attack people too.
These types of questions are just to get people all riled up. The big answer is obviously “it depends.” So many factors… My first thought – was what kind of man? What are they doing? Are they wearing their latest 100 miler t-shirt and trotting along the trail checking their watch? Or skulking about? Are they 75 with hiking poles, or 35 partially hiding behind a tree? And where are you? A governmental park? Private land?
I’ve run over 50,000 miles (probably closer to 70,000) miles by myself in the dark in an area not known for exercising. The few people I do see usually are NOT out for exercising. So I’ve got plenty of experience sizing up people and wildlife for that matter. I am pretty I have seen a small bear cross my path, though it was dark. Coyote don’t bother me, except when you run loops around it’s den where they must have a cub, because boy can they sound like a rabid dog.
Anyhow back to assessing threats personally… lately, I have been having some issues with one of more possibly homeless/probably mentally ill people. They are probably harmless, but I’ve love to tell them do not try to talk to a woman running by herself in the dark. It’s not going to be met with enthusiasm! Now, if I see him coming, I turn and go the other way. And I haven’t been on our trail now in a few weeks because the other day I thought I saw someone by a footbridge, so I slowed to a walk as I approached… But then I saw nothing, nothing… maybe it was just an animal… But then I hear “Peek a Boo! I see you!” Oh my, I turned and bolted. And then he shouted out “I wasn’t trying to scare you.” As I said, I’m pretty sure it’s the same homeless guy, who might be harmless, but I’m not taking any chances. There are plenty of other places to run – just not as flat! But also honestly, I’m more afraid of copperheads. Those are pretty common on the trail in our area, and in the dark – every twig looks like one! I’ve known one person to be bitten in the early hours and I’ve almost stepped on one myself.
And I think I’d just drop dead from fright if I saw a grizzly or a brown bear or something of that nature!
As noted in other posts, the TikTok question probably did not specify hiking. I say “probably” because there have been dozens of variations of this question over the past few weeks imitating one another, and I don’t know which one you are referring to. Most are in a form similar to “Would you rather encounter a man or bear in the woods?”
That said, I go on long hikes on a regular basis, some of which include wooded areas. I do run in to women hiking alone from time to time. If they were terrified, it certainly was not clear from body language. Most of the time, they stopped to chat and/or play with my dog.
I think it depends on what you are expecting and what is the norm for the particular circumstances. For example, if you are hiking on public trail, it should not be a big surprise to see a man also hiking on the public trail. However, if you are wandering through private woods neighboring your property, it likely would be far more concerning to encounter an unknown man also wandering through the woods.
Chelsea King was raped and murdered in 2010 while out for a run in San Diego. Her family had moved there from the western suburbs of Chicago. I know someone who knew the family.
In 2010 my kids were teenagers and the story got a lot of attention in the Chicago area. It took 5 days to find her body and there was a lot of talk about running safety. Prayer vigils at churches and the family’s old neighborhood were held.
Something like this incident has a ripple effect and just sticks with you. The family pushed for a law and it’s called Chelsea’s Law.
How close are we to others who can hear anything (i.e. screams)?
How large is the group of men?
How is the group of men behaving? Are they drunk, boisterous, and loud? Are they a group of Boy Scout leaders preparing for a nature hike? I’d be much warier of the former than the latter.
Generally, the more distant from civilization, the increased potential for fright. Generally, the larger the group the scarier. But far more important than the size of the group is the behavior of the group.
I’ve had similar encounters in the past year in daylight near my house on a busy street and greenway with other people within shouting distance. Guy just started yelling at me. It’s still unnerving in the daylight with other people around. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with that.
I’d rather see the black bear or the copperhead (I see plenty of those regularly).
We women are good at assessing situations on the fly. You probably give off good guy vibes.
One thing men do not seem to be as aware of is that women are always assessing the situation.
My husband is a great guy but he would sometimes suggest that it’s okay for our daughter to be walking around after dark by herself. I’m like no, that’s fine if you’re a guy, but it’s not so fine if you’re a young woman. He was just thinking like a guy and not like a woman. And I think that is the point of the question – to get men to realize that women do not have the same privilege of being carefree when going on a walk by themselves in the woods or in town or anywhere. Most women are always checking things out and making judgements about whether it’s safe. You passed the test.
You have to be on your toes and aware of everything around you, and frankly at that time I was not sure our daughter was. We live in a very safe college town, but still multiple women have been raped and murdered over the years by random men they did not know. Give me the black bear!
shouting from a distance wouldn’t bother me. This guy sees me coming and makes a beeline to intercept me in my path and ask me about the weather, etc. And he wants to be within arms reach.
Usually when I overtake people (again, people NOT out exercising), I make it VERY clear that I am coming. By bigger fear is that they would shoot me because they were startled and thought I was the threat, not that they were out to get me first.
I had a career where I was required to work out in the woods alone. When I heard a vehicle coming down the primitive roads that I was working near, I would hide to make sure I wasn’t seen. Being out in the woods alone far from any other people, I was VERY aware of being vulnerable.
One time, I was sitting in my truck, getting my paperwork in order that I needed to bring with me that day in the field. I see something in the corner of my eye and turn around to see two men about five feet away approaching my vehicle. They were carrying rifles. They asked if I was lost and I explained that I was working in the area. Fortunately, they went on their way, but I can’t say that I wasn’t unnerved by the encounter.
I wonder even more why women continue to struggle as much as they do. We still don’t get equal pay for the same work, men try to dictate our health care needs, we are still being abused/attacked by men. Ever since my daughter reached adolescence, I’ve tried to guide her without instilling fear that she should be looking out for herself when she is with males. I’ve never told my son to consider that his drink might be spiked when he is out at a bar. I’m not that worried about men, tbh.
I do appreciate though that many men might be surprised by the majority of responses to the man v.s. bear question. I am also guessing that 99% of women barely had to consider their answer.
While this is a terrible tragedy, I am quite familiar with the area where this occurred, and it is not what I’d call “the woods.” Terrible tragedies can and do happen in many types of locations – assaults on college campuses, fatal car accidents while driving, etc. Stating that a single incident occurred 15 years ago gives little information about whether risk is higher or lower than other areas and/or other alternative courses of action.
In this recent encounter I had fortunately there was a creek between us. He was on one side of the creek on the paved greenway and I was on the other side of the creek on the sidewalk. I altered my usual circuit so I did not go back down that section of the greenway.
Back to the bear situation – my very petite 5’1" sister-in-law encountered a black bear while camping and scared it away from their campsite by shouting and waving a big stick (not sure where her companions were, but she was alone).
If shouting and waving a big stick scared off creepy guys that would be great.
I kind of like to think that most men are relatively decent. There are a few bad apples that give us a bad name sometimes, but seriously, we have lives.