Anyone battle fear on the trail?

If you've been searching for the best source of information and stimulating discussion related to Spring/Summer/Fall backpacking, hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada...look no further!
Post Reply
User avatar
East Side Hiker
Topix Regular
Posts: 391
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 8:10 am
Experience: N/A

Re: Anyone battle fear on the trail?

Post by East Side Hiker »

Yes, Glacier/Waterton and the Northern Cascades - I would have fear. And I would not take my children there on backpacking trips (though I don't have children any more - they're wilderness-addicted adults). But not the Sierra.

Years ago (1975?), some friends of mine and I walked the trail from Banff (spell?) to Jasper (I forget what they call it - the North Border Route or something like that - it's the "John Muir Trail" of the Banff/Jasper area). We saw steaming grizzly dung and heard wolves howling about every night. We were scared all of the time.

They had these cabins though that you could stay in at night along the route. But during the day, we were very much on the alert and very worried. You just have to be in touch with the area you are travelling and be aware of the potential dangers. But on a well traveled trail in the Sierra, I have little to fear but twisting my ankle and falling down (I might not be able to get up!).
User avatar
Poopah
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 80
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:58 pm
Experience: N/A

Re: Anyone battle fear on the trail?

Post by Poopah »

I have a very strong fear of heights. If I know that I'll be on an exposed trail later in the day I'll spend the whole day worrying about it. On our overnight of Whitney I enjoyed the first day and was miserable the second. I try to be rational about it, but my body has other ideas. So I just live with it.

When I'm backpacking with my brother(s) I don't have any fear other than the heights issue. I don't worry about critters, or illness, or people. Even last month in Yellowstone I was alert when we were on a trail that had a resident griz, but I wasn't afraid.
However, when I'm with my wife and kids I'm constantly worried. I don't sleep well, and I don't relax nearly as much. It's clearly about responsibility. That also shows in that I've become more risk adverse. I'm a fly-fisherman and in my younger days I caught more than others because I was willing to fish in places in the river others shied from. Now when I wade I stick to the safer spots. I'd feel like an idiot if I left young kids behind just so I could catch another fish.
User avatar
Shhsgirl
Topix Regular
Posts: 109
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:44 am
Experience: N/A

Re: Anyone battle fear on the trail?

Post by Shhsgirl »

About 35 years ago, I sat on the exposed southern slope of North Palisade at 6:00 p.m., waiting for my husband to come down from the top, in the worst thunder and lightening storm I have ever experienced. From that date forward, I have had a higher than normal, I've been told, fear and anticipation of thunderstorms at high altitudes.
User avatar
coneill
Topix Novice
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:03 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Oregon
Contact:

Re: Anyone battle fear on the trail?

Post by coneill »

This is "Hiking family" = I am posting with my husband's account...

Anyway, it's been so great reading all of your responses.

Truth is, I feel such peace, joy, and contentment on the trail in the Sierras. 16 years ago though, my body suddenly went into a grand mal seizure cycle when out in the EAGle cap wilderness...I was strong, healthy, athletic, and my body just suddenly collapsed. I continued to have a grand mal seizure every 45 min, becoming completely unconscious. Thankfully, a band of Forestry service men happened by with a Hamm radio and could call in a life flight helicopter or I would have died.

So....when I am out in the deep of a wilderness, it's at times unnerving to be out of cell phone reach...I am not epileptic...in fact, I am a competitive distance runner that still wins most 5Ks and 10Ks I sign up for...but the fact remains, I collapsed without warning.

Anyway, this last summer, I had a breakthrough. I experienced what Muir described: the beauty was so amazing, so complete, and I just became thankful to be there and so consumed with the beauty that there was no longer any room for fear.

For the first time, I enjoyed the moment without sharing it with fear. Yay!

This fall, I did some research - there is a lot more info online then there was in 1996! I found out new information. As it turns out, the birth control pills that I was on (I stopped those immediately after the seizures and never took anything like that again) have been known to cause seizures. I actually never have known what triggered those crazy things and thought it was the altitude...but just a few months ago, I discovered that many girls have had this reaction.

So, I can't wait to hit the trail next summer. I need not fear my own body anymore!

Besides, none of us know how many days we have. Let's just savor the time we do have!

Hiking Family
"You have the ability to move mountains. You can bend rivers. But when I get home, the only thing I have power over, is the garbage." - Bob Ross

Fine art wilderness images and workshops:
http://www.coryjoneillphotography.com
Cross Country
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1328
Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:16 am
Experience: Level 4 Explorer

Re: Anyone battle fear on the trail?

Post by Cross Country »

Fear on the trail and fear in the backcountry are not quite the same. I don't ever remember being afraid on the trail (or at a campsite by a trail). I have been afraid cross country, but as most know that's where I spent most of my time. If I didn't feel any fear cc I probably wasn't paying enough attention. The only time I felt any significant fear is when I was cc with my son(s) who might very well have not have been able to hike out alone if something happened to me. My fear was almost always for his (their) safety. I took my 2 sons to Dumbbell Lakes and went for a walk alone and noticed significant fear (for them). I took 12yo Mike to Tunamah and felt very uncomfortable (again fear for him). Dumbbell was a loop trip and retracing their steps would have been dangerous because of the snow conditions that year. Our route to Tunamah would have been impossible for Mike to retrace. Hiking cc by myself always made me a bit fearful.

Mike at Tunemah.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
SSSdave
Topix Addict
Posts: 3523
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2005 11:18 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Silicon Valley
Contact:

Re: Anyone battle fear on the trail?

Post by SSSdave »

There are certainly many potentially dangerous situations backpacking into the Sierra Nevada though one can easily avoid almost all of them by planning an easy and gentle trip. For new backpackers there are certainly many unknowns likely lurking in their minds that no amount of studying how to books or talking to other experienced people is going to calm until they actually get out in the backcountry and work through some experiences. And I would guess the fear is greatest solo and less so as a group size increases. For those who already spend time hiking in our mountains, the transition from hiking to backpacking may be trivial. For the urban person that is just experiencing the mountains it may be significant.

The greatest fear for most people rises during nights when people for the first time have to face the primal human fear of wild animals, particularly bears. :eek: At lower elevations the same situation occurs with mountain lions. I don't thnk most people really expect beforehand to be so afraid :paranoid: until they are actually out there on that first night at a remote place and suddenly they notice how creepy it all is unlike anything they have felt. :confused: My suspicion is there are numbers of new backpackers that never backpack again if they have a night time bear experience. Such is far more scary for the solo person camped remotely. Especially in a dark tall mid elevation forest where every night time critter walking about causes crunching twig sounds. All sorts of spooky noises. Worse for those sleeping outside without a tent where one feels...EXPOSED. :paranoid: And even if a person has heard that their particular area has not seen any bears for years, it won't make much difference as their heart goes LUB-DUB LUB-DUB LUB-DUB LUB-DUB.

About then the new backpacker is fumbling about in inky blackness inside their tent for the one flashlight they brought along. Dang? Where is it? They furiously feel all over, in their pockets, beside their sleeping bag, but it isn't anywhere so they start over and it still taint. Is it in my pack outside by that tree? They grope for their tent zipper but the notion of opening the door is daunting. By then their fear is compounded by a loss of control. Finally the person gropes about into the back end of their tent where they find the little tube rolling loose. And on goes the light Whew! But then crunch cruch...what's that noise...LUB-DUB LUB-DUB LUB-DUB LUB-DUB. :eek:
Cross Country
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1328
Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:16 am
Experience: Level 4 Explorer

Re: Anyone battle fear on the trail?

Post by Cross Country »

I have to admit, it was the primal fear that I always noticed at night when I was alone. However I could always rationalize that one, and overcome it. I never slept well in the high country but that was physiological and maybe no more than that.
User avatar
cmon4day
Topix Regular
Posts: 233
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:08 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Dublin, CA

Re: Anyone battle fear on the trail?

Post by cmon4day »

I tend to become more "anxious" when I take my kids out on a BP trip or when I'm out on a trip that I had planned. There seems to be something always inside that makes me feel anxious. It goes away on towards the end of the trip. I think Poopah hit the nail on the head when he states
Poopah wrote:I It's clearly about responsibility.
There is something about it. Go figure.
User avatar
papasequoia
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 11:10 pm
Experience: Level 3 Backpacker
Location: The East Side

Re: Anyone battle fear on the trail?

Post by papasequoia »

SSSdave wrote:My suspicion is there are numbers of new backpackers that never backpack again if they have a night time bear experience.
Funny stuff, Dave. I'll never forget the time I was camped on top of Cloud's Rest with a couple of friends. There was also a guy camped by himself at the other end. Around 3 AM we heard the most god awful screams coming from his direction. As we turned on our lights a bear was running right at us. It stopped almost on a dime when it saw the lights, pivoted, ran back and then down the backside. We called out and the guy said he was ok, but we saw his light bobbing around. Soon after he came down with his gear and told us that he had woken up from a sound sleep and the bear was licking his neck, which is when he started screaming, :eek: He asked if he could spend the night sitting by us and we said sure. At first light he said thanks and headed down to the valley. His last words were, "I'll never backpack again." I don't know if he was a new backpacker, but yeah, I guess there are some incidents that will scare some people away from the sport. [-o< LUB-DUB LUB-DUB
Nature always wins
> miles = < people
Cross Country
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1328
Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:16 am
Experience: Level 4 Explorer

Re: Anyone battle fear on the trail?

Post by Cross Country »

Is backpacking a sport or an avocation?
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google Adsense [Bot], mkbgdns, mort and 122 guests