Never. Two of my children's friends have died this way. Both boys in their early 20s. One just two months ago in San Diego. A few days shy of his 22nd. birthday. Had just received his medical school acceptance letters. The other one died last two years ago hiking while in Spain on a semester abroad. Both fell to their deaths.

Oh Zalco, how terrible, both for those families and for your children. I too would never hike alone.

And double that "do not go " if you are in or near bear country. Having

problems with them in certain areas. Kind of a "they were there first" thing, so

leave them to it.

Zalco, that is awful. The young woman who died this week was a medical student.

I belong to a hiking group, I go with them during the week if I want to go. Otherwise my husband and I hike together. Now jogging in the park....I prefer to go alone. It's VERY open. Everyone stays waaaaaaaaaaaay apart.

Here's a story for you: We booked a hike by a city reservoir. No one is allowed in this area unless you pay a fee/donation to the park service, on an accompanied hike with a park ranger. We each went around & introduced ourselves by name, said what we did for a living. Mary led the hike. She told this story:

She was hiking by herself, on her day off from work, she worked in an office. She somehow got off the trail and ended up on top of a mountain. It was near dusk, she got spooked and started running....fell off a cliff .....landed below....realized she'd broken her back. In order to bring help, she started a fire, which turned into a forest fire. Yeah, she'd set the woods around her ablaze. After a few hours the fire died out...no one came. She slept on the ground over night, in the morning she tried hiking out....slowly....in pain. She found her car, drove herself to a hospital. They admitted her. Operated. When she finally went back to work, her attitude had changed. She quit! Took her 401k, purchased three houses with 20% down and is now a landlord. She volunteers for the forest service as a park ranger. She met a cute guy on one of her hikes she leads....which is where I met her....married him, he's 10 years younger.....he quit his job and mostly fishes all day. ♥

I have but not since my husband became ill. If I did not go by myself it would mean I could not go at all. I accepted the risk pre-cellphone and expect if things go right I will go again. I like the quiet of walking by myself without having to keep up or walk slower or worse talk to the other walker.

Well, sort of. If I go, I go alone, but since moving here, I have wanted to go walk in the national forest that my property backs up to, but I am a little afraid of getting lost. When I lived on 50 acres on Chocolate Bayou, I would go out in the woods, and due to underbrush, you couldn't just walk in a straight line, and more than once I have gotten so turned around that when I finally came out, I was no where near where I thought I was.

Awhile back, I went in the forest here with a group of people who wanted to show me a petrified tree that was laying across a small creek. They said it would take about an hour to get to it. We walked and walked....crossed several little streams....and came to a road. We had walked in a gigantic circle. Tried again and found it. All that walking wore me out, but at least I was with others. I haven't got up my nerve to walk out there by myself....but I probably will do it one of these days.

I do not usually hike alone. Running, yes, but usually I am on our country roads or if I go into town to run I am on one of the greenways or in a neighborhood area. We hike together, but a few times DH didn’t want to go so I struck out on my own for a fairly short hike. I always showed him where I was going. One was Angels Landing in Zion. I ran about half of it up and then most of it down (I was younger then and it was not crowded like it is today.)

In my neck of the woods I would hike alone before I would run alone. But I don't do either. Our mountain trails are very narrow technical trails (renowned for mountain biking) and the danger is breaking an ankle or tearing ligaments if running by yourself. With so many people at home these days and so many new runners, hikers and bikers in the trails there have been some severe biking accidents in the forest.

No. If I were hiking in trickier territory, I would worry about falls. I live in flat country so not much worry of that. If I were, well, not hiking but walking, in our local forest preserves, I would worry about weirdos. Seriously, a group of women was running in one of our preserves, together, when a man assaulted the woman at the back of the pack. Broad daylight. It also happens with women alone, whether on foot or on bike, regardless of age. No, not weekly, but at least once a year.

Besides, I like to share the enjoyment of the hike with someone. I can feel a bit overwhelmed by the surroundings, and feel more grounded when I am with someone.

I hike alone quite often, but always on well maintained and well traveled trails. No trails that I'm in any danger of falling from! I did see a bear last summer when I was hiking with a friend, but the bear seemed more afraid of us than we were of it.

Never. I read a lot of true crime books, and watch all the true crime shows. Its not safe so I never walk anywhere by myself. Sad world we live in when we have to fear for our safety by going for a walk.

That would depend on the area. I often walk alone in both town and country. Where I live maps are detailed and accurate and public footpaths are well marked and mostly well maintained. And we do not have bears. But I’d feel differently in a wilderness area.

Yes I've hiked alone and I love my alone time in the cathedral of the trees. But I do it only on well marked trails in areas that I know with no risk of getting lost. I haven't done it recently though. I've got a new hiking buddy and we go once a week on a new trail. It's fun to go with her, but it's not serene like a solo.

My story is I was doing a 5 mile trail, so I drove to the trail head and left my car and told my DH to pick me up at 4pm at the end of the trail, and then we'd drive together to get my car and go home. About half way through...mind you this was a brand new trail that had been open only a couple of days...the leaves had covered over a hole, my foot went in and I knew I broke my ankle. So I got up, called DH and told him I broke my ankle, I'm moving a little slower, so pick me up at 4:15 instead. It was a slow and painful walk out, but as long as I kept moving, I was ok. But every little twist and turn in the surface was excruciating. Once I met him...thank goodness it was the left ankle...I said let me drive and you drive the other car as once I stop using the ankle, I won't be able to move it again. I tried to get to an emergency place but they closed so the next day I went to see the Dr. He x-rayed and told me not to put any weight on it. I said, you do realize that I've walked over 2 miles on it this way!

I hike alone on the trails near my house but it’s more like a walk in the woods than a true hike. There’s no way you could get lost. I would not hike alone in other places. My friend and I went for a hike in the Adirondacks and got lost.Not sure how that happened. We finally spotted a house in the distance and then followed the road. It was scary and we were exhausted.

I'll walk by myself in town or a public garden, but otherwise I always take a buddy.

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/waiporous-village-man-killed-in-suspected-animal-attack

Just today, a University of Calgary professor was killed by a bear.

Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement confirmed a man, identified as David Lertzman, was killed in a bear attack off Moss Trail near Waiparous Creek Tuesday evening.

Lertzman was an assistant professor of environmental management and sustainable development at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business. He taught graduate and undergraduate courses on leadership and sustainable development with Indigenous peoples and ran wilderness retreat courses in Kananaskis.

I don't hike, so no. I used to enjoy doing my walk in a local park near my old house. But I stayed on the pavement. It was still nice scenery. I did not go alone though. I always always always had a dog with me. Either my pitty Sammy, or my German Shepard Sebastian. Both are gone now but we enjoyed our little walking ritual every morning. If for some reason I had a wild urge to hike, I would not go alone.

This is the time of year that the female bears are protecting their young. You may not see the cub, but if you get to close the female will attack you.

I used to go backpack segments of the Pacific Crest trail, and I would sometimes go alone. When I walked up Mt. Whitney I was alone (but not really , because there were many others on the trail.) That was close to 40 years ago, and I would not go alone now, both because of my age and also because there do seem to be more disturbed people out on the trails.

Back then it would have been nice to have had one of the the tracking apps that are available now - they are not reliant on cell service, show your location and progress (where you've been and if you are moving or not), and have a mechanism to call for help. One of my acquaintances uses one when he and his brother go on their annual backpack into the Sierras.

This is the time of year that the female bears are protecting their young. You may not see the cub, but if you get to close the female will attack you.

And moose! I go for a walk around a lake almost every day and usually see moose. This morning, I was startled by a cow moose. I couldn’t see if she had a young one with her but I changed direction and walked away from her. The last thing that I wanted was to be between her and her baby.

No. I don't hike alone. I was never really afraid of getting lost when I was younger. I knew that I would run into water or a road and how to navigate from there. My biggest problem would have been getting hurt. I took up jogging for a while. I jogged near home because the local jogging trail attracted some bad characters. I gave up jogging after I had some creepy guy pull up and offer me a ride home one day.

My kids are constantly on me about carrying my cell phone which I leave in the car at the trail. I promised them I'd carry it from now on but it would have done me no good yesterday. My Apple watch has a button to press to alert my family and another button for 911. It even asks if I fell and if I don't answer it calls 911. I always hike alone, even before my husband's heart problems. He'd walk the other dog and I'd wait at the turnaround point for him to show up. Now he only goes a mile till his valve is hopefully fixed. I could not get lost on the AT because it is clearly marked with a white paint strip every few hundred feet. I am horrible with directions so I'd never wander off the trail. I love the total solitude in the middle of the woods where there is not one sound except birds singing. On most days I pass two to three people and I have made some friends. I love it when I meet thru-hikers from all over the country and world hiking from Georgia to Maine. Last year it was forbidden because of Covid. In the last 14 months, I calculated I hiked 1450 miles but far from the 2,184 the thru hikers go. I knew the first man ever to hike the trail and he did it three times. The first was after world war two and the last was when he was 80 and he died shortly after. His name was Earl Shaeffer, a very nice man.

@User I was about to post the same article. It's also why we never walk the trails that so many do when we go to Banff and Lake Louise. Even when we are in town, we know bears walk into town and I don't think I can run fast enough.;)

ETA: where do you live that you see moose? I've seen one in Calgary (Ranchlands) once. We drive all over the place from Esther (north of Oyen) to Vancouver, down to Waterton and as far north as Edmonton and never see them. I wanna see another moose!

Debby, I live north of Edmonton. Moose make up about half the population here LOL

From my walk 2 weeks ago.

This one camped out in my driveway one year for a few days. I had to take the truck to get my mail!

A fellow I knew on a different forum posted pictures of his jeep after a bull moose mistook it for a rival and attacked it. They had to just get out and stand at a distance and watch his jeep get destroyed. Did a real number on it!

@User oh nice! A woman I know lives in Grand Prairie and and was driving home from Calgary many many years ago, and as she got close to GP she hit a moose crossing the highway at night. She was in a 1 ton pickup, which was destroyed. She was in the hospital for almost two months. People don't realize how HUGE those things are. You're lucky to see them. We lived in Prince George BC (2 acres of land, 10 miles outside of city limits) and all we got were bears. lol BAck then I hiked all the time and didn't think about it until I heard a rustle in the bush then I would high tail it outta there. LOL

Wow! It would be so exciting to encounter a moose...from a distance. I see deer every day and that's pretty much it except for small animals.

Edited to add, when I do walk the town when it's raining, I see a group of deer on the far end of town.

Debby, I quite often take the Skeena train to Prince Rupert. Prince George is one of the stops (overnight). I love going the first week of May before the leaves are on the low lying bush. The bears and their cubs are out in full force and one can get a good look at them. One year I counted 35 bears between PG and PR.

It’s a beautiful area.

My kids and I saw a mama moose and her baby by a river, across the road from us, as we were leaving Yellowstone many years ago. I stopped to get a picture and the whole time I was worried she would run towards us so we didn't get out of the car. I don't think I even rolled my window down. I have no proof of this and my kids don't remember it at all. I don't think I even took a picture because I decided not to roll my window down. As soon as we pulled over so did the car behind us. I guess they thought there was something to see lol. I'm such a chicken, but I thought if she ran towards us I would barely make it back on the road and away from her.

My wife is not A hiker. She can't walk more than the distance from her family room chair to the kitchen without looking for support. She has a collapsed ankle on one foot and the other ankle is not good. After I retired, I did take short hikes alone on segments of the Ice Age Trail. The nearest part of that trail is 5 miles from my house. Now that I'm 84 yr old, most of my hiking is behind a lawnmower. I still do hike short pieces of the Ice Age Tail, but I choose parts that are frequented by other folks. I get bored hiking the sidewalks by my house.

There are a few secluded places here in town within 1/2 mile of my house where I could lay down and die and not be found until the buzzards began to circle.

We see moose in Estes Park Colorado. They eat willow bushes. If I spot a shaking willow bush, I know a moose is behind it, eating. Those moose see people all the time and are pretty tame. We just stood on the paved road, making eye contact and a mama moose brought her twins right up to see everyone....showing them off. Cars lined up on the paved road, we had a "Moose Jam".

Three park rangers came out to direct traffic. They have since cut back the willow bushes next to the road. ♥

I don't "hike" per se. I do walk in the several hundred acres of woods behind my house. I have been doing it for close to 60 years and I normally go alone. I always carry my cell phone and make sure to tell my family where I am going.

I will admit I have curtailed my roamings as of late. We have very large bobcat that has been visiting our yard recently. That coupled with the fact I had knee surgery a few weeks ago has slowed me down.

If I were to "hike" or walk an unfamiliar or challenging area, I would not go alone.

Many years ago I hiked alone , but as others have said now there are to many others to worry about meeting on a trail

For some reason, I'm not afraid of hiking alone although I guess I should be. I mostly see single hikers or runners and haven't been skeeved out by anyone. But, years ago there was a murder on the AT in our area. This was decades ago and the guy killed a lesbian couple he encountered by a campfire.

My problem is, I'm so worried about breaking ankles or spraining them that I look down as I walk to make sure each step is safe...so I'd probably walk straight into a bear in front of me because I so seldom look up while I walk.

I have never hiked. Never wanted to, never would have had time.

Sue

I love hiking and prefer to go with a group but I will happily go hiking on my own. Everywhere that I've hiked (usually state parks) is safe enough for solo hiking. I always take my phone with me, might see wildlife of flowers I want to photograph.

Annie, me too. once you have a serious injury, it is so etching to really think about.

I am grateful that I didn’t need surgery for my torn tendon. But..... it still hurts and the mobility is nit and will never be the same.

No rugged hiking fir me.

As stubborn as I am, I will not give up the trail. My leg hurts like mad but it was my stupid fault. I try to be so careful and 14 months of daily hikes with not a scratch proves it. It was a mistake in judgment. For decades I walked my town every day but the experience does not compare even though I get the miles in. Pristine sidewalks with one house after another and cars vs a completely silent Thoreau woods beats it every time.

@roxsol, I live straight east of your sister, but in "the hood" lol. The only cats we see here are the alley cats that roam our back alleys when we're sleeping to see what they can steal from us. Alley cats as in homeless drug addicts. hahahaha Not really funny though......... There's been a lot of coyote sightings as I don't live too far from Deerfoot Trail (about a mile east). As for deer, a friend used to live a couple blocks away and took pictures of one in a field close to his house once a few years ago. Glendale is pretty inside the city so I'm surprised to see one that far in town. My husbands cousin lives in the far southeast not far from the new hospital, and he gets cougars in his yard a lot. It would freak me out.

I was not alone on this hike, but having been once, I would go again by myself. Up to the fire tower....

....and down to a grotto used by colonialists for religious gatherings and still used today as a meditation spot....

My husband has a house with 30 acres of woods that he bought a dozen years before we met. I didn't especially like going there but went along for an occasional weekend because he liked it. Then we spent a year out there because of Covid. I'm used to walking four or five miles a day in the city, but out there not only are there no sidewalks, there is nowhere to go even if there were any. My body felt sluggish from lack of walking, so I tried hiking in the woods. Two ticks later, I decided it wasn't worth it. I once saw a bear when heading down our driveway to get the mail. That's about a quarter of a mile "hike" through the woods. But at least there was an incentive -- getting the mail. I wish I felt what people like about walking around in the woods, but it just does nothing for me. Also, I feel comfortable going all over the city by myself. But in the woods, there is no cellphone service and no one to hear me if I needed help. Forget that!

As I was returning from my disastrous hike on Tuesday I had two ticks on my neck. As I said my kids were always on me to take my phone and I do have cell service. So today as I was shaking vigorously some rootbound impatiens from the pack, I got buzzing on my watch which said it appears you have fallen. Are you injured? Answer immediately or we will dial 911.