Why do you go to the mountains?

[lI1|1!]

 

to cuddle with a

[Hugh Conway]

The author actually does some research and, sadly, her attack--while sensational--is not that unusual for women in parks and secluded areas.

 

Being male I'd always thought it overblown until recently when someone I'd met "disappeared" and is presumed dead in an "avalanche" in a region with 1,000s of soldiers. In this case it may well have been an avalanche, but knowing a bit about the region and politics I wouldn't be surprised that a number of the others who "disappeared" were victims of foul play.

 

 

That said, I'm curious the overall rate of such incidences.

[JayB]

They feel safer with the constant traffic that reminds them of walking around Greenlake.

 

That sounds pretty snarky, Matt. Since you mention Pilchuck, wasn't it two women who were murdered there last year? I'd venture to guess that women are assauted 100% more than men outdoors, particularly women alone. I'm just reading a book, Strange Piece of Paradise, about two girls cycling across the US in '77 who were attacked by an axe-weilding maniac in their tent as they slept (miraculously, they survived) in a state park near Bend, OR. The author actually does some research and, sadly, her attack--while sensational--is not that unusual for women in parks and secluded areas.

 

I've always kind of worried about some women that I've met who seem to have confused "not living in fear" with not taking (what seem to me)like sensible precautions whether in the city or in the woods. I find that I'm less concerned about the ones I meet that seem to have what seems like reasonable estimation of the risks in their heads before they head out and make a conscious choice to accept them, and more concerned about the ones that seem to be either in denial or oblivious.

 

 

 

 

[snugtop]

It's a fine balnce. I grew up in NYC in the late 70s and 80s when crime was at a high point and when I moved to the NW after college I couldn't get over how nonchalant women were about safety --walking around Beltown at night alone, no deadbolts on their apartment doors, etc. (I still had the paranoid-over the-shoulder check going on for years) Back then I would have gotten a creepy feeling running alone through a park -- or parking my car in an empty lot -- things I do almost without thinking now. What are the sensible precautious to take when hiking or running alone? Nowadays running in trails outside of th city I worry about a cougar encouter more than a mugger/rapist encounter, though the latter is statistically far more likey (even here). I'm not really prepared to run with mace and I think a knife would do me very little good given that I'm a pretty small person with no knifing skills!