Would you go hiking in the woods with someone you didn't know very well?

[Alpacalia]

Someone you knew through other activities or organizations, but not someone you were close friends with.

[Weezy1973]

Would depend on the hiking trail - if it’s a popular hike and lots of people around then sure. If it’s remote and not many people around, it wouldn’t be my first choice. Also would depend on the length of time. Not over a couple hours max.

[Wiseman2]

22 minutes ago, Alpacalia said:

Someone you knew through other activities or organizations, but not someone you were close friends with.

Take your BF along if you don't feel comfortable. 

[Alpacalia]

51 minutes ago, Weezy1973 said:

Would depend on the hiking trail - if it’s a popular hike and lots of people around then sure. If it’s remote and not many people around, it wouldn’t be my first choice. Also would depend on the length of time. Not over a couple hours max.

I definitely wouldn't go if not many people around. It's through a hiking group so 10+ people might join. The hike itself it's 3.5 hours and we're all bringing food for afterwards. We were going to hang out there and rest for a bit. Just I was invited by one person and have anxiety about heights and I don't know anyone else.

32 minutes ago, Wiseman2 said:

Take your BF along if you don't feel comfortable. 

I asked. He's busy. 

[d0nnivain]

No but I wouldn't go hiking with somebody I loved & trusted either.  I hate hiking. 

If you generally know them, I'm sure it's fine.  Go enjoy the nature.  Get to know them better.  If it sucks, fake being tired & leave 

[Alpacalia]

12 hours ago, d0nnivain said:

No but I wouldn't go hiking with somebody I loved & trusted either.  I hate hiking. 

If you generally know them, I'm sure it's fine.  Go enjoy the nature.  Get to know them better.  If it sucks, fake being tired & leave 

That's understandable, I mean, afterwards my shints feel like they're about to explode

There could be bears hiding in the brush. The bugs thing is annoying too. And potential for getting lost.

He organized a hiking event and there are 10 other people invited but no one has RSVP'd yet. Last time I went hiking, I went with my brother, it was a beginners trail but we came upon a hill and I had a little freak out so my brother had to help me crawl down it. I said this will be my little Mount Everest and next time I am bringing a flag.  😳 Honestly, the hill was a size of an ant hill to most people.

I do love nature though.

[d0nnivain]

Ask about the trail in advance  & see if you can find it online.  Many trails are mapped. 

I went on a "real" hike as opposed to a leisurely walk in the woods, several years ago in Joshua Tree.  My husband a Marine veteran came along.  It was a closed loop 5 mile trail & my BFF from college designed it for me; she's practically a sherpa.   Invest in good socks, bug spray, & an airhorn for the bears.  It was a LOT for me; I bought my 1st pair of hiking boots for the occasion but I was happy I did it.  It's kind of hard to get lost on these things.  Don't stray from the trail & have a fully charged cell phone with a back up power supply.  

[Alpacalia]

Thanks! I think I'm going to brave it and go even if no one RSVPs but i'll cut the hike short and make sure to bring necessary equipment.

Your hike sounds incredible, way to advanced for me, I'm still a newbie 😄 

[d0nnivain]

Good.  Let us know how it went. 

 

[translucentsoul]

On 11/23/2023 at 8:10 AM, d0nnivain said:

Ask about the trail in advance  & see if you can find it online.  Many trails are mapped. 

I went on a "real" hike as opposed to a leisurely walk in the woods, several years ago in Joshua Tree.  My husband a Marine veteran came along.  It was a closed loop 5 mile trail & my BFF from college designed it for me; she's practically a sherpa.   Invest in good socks, bug spray, & an airhorn for the bears.  It was a LOT for me; I bought my 1st pair of hiking boots for the occasion but I was happy I did it.  It's kind of hard to get lost on these things.  Don't stray from the trail & have a fully charged cell phone with a back up power supply.  

This! Check out the route on All Trails. (App) 

[Els]

Honestly, I like hiking and I wouldn't go with a bunch of people I didn't know for a 3.5 hour hike. If I was interested in hiking with that group, I would first join them for a much shorter hike and see how it goes. If they are an official hiking club, there should be multiple different options available for newbies.

IMO it's one thing going to a bar for 3.5 hours with a bunch of strangers, and a different thing entirely going into the remote wilderness for 3.5 hours with a bunch of strangers, especially if you're not an experienced hiker who hikes regularly. If you find you're not comfortable with them, you don't have many exit options - you'd either need to stay with them or hike back alone. While people can and do hike alone, I would never recommend an inexperienced person to do that. So basically you're stuck with them.

I don't know about the hikes where you are, but I wouldn't assume that you'll necessarily have cell phone connectivity. Most hikes that I've been on have limited or no cell phone signal on most of the trail, so only locator beacons and satellite phones work. But most of my hiking was done in a pretty remote country, so maybe US trails are different? I dunno.

Edited November 26, 2023 by Els

[Els]

Whoops, just saw the date of your post. I guess this is coming a bit late, so hopefully everything turned out okay and you have new hiking buddies now.

[Alpacalia]

2 hours ago, translucentsoul said:

This! Check out the route on All Trails. (App) 

Thanks! Someone posted this in the group that I belong to, it's cool site!

1 hour ago, Els said:

Whoops, just saw the date of your post. I guess this is coming a bit late, so hopefully everything turned out okay and you have new hiking buddies now.

You're fired, Els. 😉

I am supposed to RSVP by tomorrow. Only one other person RSVP'd so that would be three of us, which I guess is better than one-on-one with a semi-stranger, most of these groups are people you're just meeting for the first time anyway buuuuuut, less is more uncomfortable. So if I meet two at least that's two acquaintances and I'll have hopefully made a new friend. I think I might steal my brother along if he's free.

Me and mountains have come to a roughed-out kinda rocky understanding. They're beautiful, we're so very very small and I have no choice but to respect their sheer size and form. But on this trail in particular it doesn't look like we'll be doing anything too advanced. I have hockey performance tights - leggings maybe closer description but they're weirdly comfortable and easy to wear and will keep me both warm and cool at the same time.

3.5 hours is a long time for a hike, don't know if I'll make it that far but the trails usually have paths where you can cut off so and get back to the starting area in half the time if needed.

There's other people out walking in these parks so if people walk into trouble I'm of the opinion that others would notice if someone wasn't doing okay. It's not Huayna Picchu 🤣

[Alpacalia]

So I went, it was just me and one other person. I was 10 minutes late but I texted and he was very nice about it. Conversation was slightly more awkward than it usually is with people I've just met but overall it was good. I'm glad I went, it was a beautiful hike and being out in nature is always refreshing. I definitely pushed myself further than I thought I could and I felt proud of myself for completing the 3.5 hour hike.

There was a pile of s+h+I+t in the way and I bypassed it but I still stepped in some.

Half way through, I started getting pretty tired and I was ready for it to be done, but I told myself to scrape most of it off with a stick but it smelled like dirty feet. A dog chewing on my hiking boot might appreciate that later, never know when you'll need unlodged feces on your shoe.

[d0nnivain]

Proud of you!  

Let the poop dry & buy a scrub daddy & some rubber gloves.  You should be able to dislodge the dried poop like dried mud.  Then you can wash the effected area; hopefully you have slop sink.