What is Self-Defense for Solo Hikers?
- Nicole Snell
- Jan 7
- 3 min read
What is empowerment focused self-defense for hikers?
Fears about personal safety are often a barrier for solo hikers and outdoor adventurers. I hear these concerns regularly from both hikers and non-hikers. These fears can prevent folks from enjoying all the benefits of nature by restricting their access and their activities.
Relieve fear and replace it with confidence and preparedness by learning verbal and physical self-defense skills tailored for the outdoor experience. Learn to trust your intuition, mitigate risk without restricting your activities, respond to potentially dangerous or harmful situations, and build confidence that can help you explore without limits! Enjoy the outdoors with the peace of mind that you are capable of protecting yourself both on and off the trails.
I've been solo hiking since I was a kid. And I have been told all my life that hiking solo, or doing pretty much anything solo as a woman, was dangerous and that I should avoid it. The implication being that if I do said activity and something bad happens, it's "my own fault" and I should have "known better" for doing a "dangerous activity" because women "are weak and can't protect themselves". I whole-heartedly reject all of these outrageous myths and unsubstantiated lies. Women are told these things to keep us scared, controllable, and small. I don't want you to be controllable...I want you to be fierce and feral and taking up space, and living your own path with agency and confidence! Knowledge and empowerment through skill building helps us do that!
It is possible to learn the skills you need to safely pursue any activity. And in addition to the technical skills of hiking that you need e.g: what to pack, what to wear, how to navigate, how to filter water, etc, I teach the practical self-defense skills for alleviating the fears of running into a dangerous person on the trail. The answer to being safe isn't to avoid solo hiking. It's to learn what your options are for recognizing and responding to a threat in real time so y9u can make decisions that work for you.
The reality is that most violence that women face is at the hands of men she knows...not strangers in the forest. And according to research as well as first hand experience of retired National Park Ranger, Tara Ross, most women enter the wilderness with their assailant. These facts are not meant to scare, but to put things into perspective that strangers are not the biggest threat outdoors. Which is why the empowerment-focused self-defense skills I teach are vital because they can be applied to many different types of situations and relationships.
The fears around solo hiking is why I started my YouTube series, Outdoor Defense. That evolved into my live workshop, Yes I'm Hiking Solo and that branched off into an online course so that anyone, anywhere in the world could take my training! This idea of how self-defense can open up our access to the outdoors and the world became the basis for my TEDxJacksonville Talk, What Would You Do If You Felt Safe? I've solo hiked around the world in 18 of the 35 countries I've visited. I've visited all 50 states and hiked in the vast majority of them. I will not stop and you don't have to either!
I have dedicated my life to helping women and people of all genders to feel confident getting outside solo by teaching them practical, evidence-based, transformative self-defense skills. Yes, you are capable of going by yourself. Yes, you have everything you need on your body to protect yourself. Yes, you are worth fighting for!
Check out all of my available programs HERE!
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