# Women camping safely



## skwrly (Feb 9, 2011)

I started tent camping last fall--well, I went twice to our local state park. I found that I was nervous tent camping by myself. Now that the season is up and running again, I'm trying to make my tent camping as safe as possible. Do any of the women here camp alone? What precautions do you take?


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## SMOKEY2348 (Jan 4, 2011)

Carry bear spray or mase its the same thing but bear spray is WAY stronger and it shoots further. It will work on humans as well, no reason to be nervous but you can never be too safe. If you still feel uncomfortable you can get a CCW license or a FLCW and carry a handgun with you and take a few safety courses.


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## thekamperman (Feb 26, 2011)

Good advice. 
Also keep your eyes open; a lone lady may attract some bad or drunk guys. 
If you go backcountry is advisable to have companions. You may be out of reach of civilization and depend on yourself.


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## SMOKEY2348 (Jan 4, 2011)

^ thank you and likewise . 

Another thing, if you are going alone make sure you leave a note at home or tell someone where you'll be going, you never know what might happen. You could get your vehicle stuck or fall and break a leg and not the have fun kind of broken leg .


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## skwrly (Feb 9, 2011)

Thanks all! So far--and probably always--camp in State Parks. I guess I'm pretty safe b/c I always let the camp host and rangers know I'm alone and get on good terms with them. Most of the state parks I go to are ones that I've gone to with my husband and so everyone knows me. I would love to go a little off the beaten path, but I guess I'll have to take DH for that one. 

DH doesn't really like tenting anymore now that we have a 35' MH with all the accessories. However, I want to enjoy nature a little more than the MH allows. And there are just so many places that don't have the space for the MHs...

Will always try to watch my back and be ever aware of all my surroundings. Thanks again!!


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## SMOKEY2348 (Jan 4, 2011)

MH's are nice but I like tent camping as well. I prefer camping near streams or lakes to hear the water is very soothing to me.


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## Judy Ann (Mar 3, 2011)

*Women tent camping alone*

I taught myself how to tent camp last summer and am glad to be past the survival stage of setting up camp and learning to cook over an open fire! I take my small dog, e-mail family with campground address, phone number and site #, get to know the campground host and rangers, keep valuables locked up and out of sight, and leave weapons at home. By my side at night are a flashlight, whistle and the panic alarm button for my car. I was terrified at first, but camping in State Parks in NC, SC, VA and Kentucky has been a blast. 

I'm going camping in Maine this summer for a couple of weeks and will stay for a few days in a private campground with a walk-in area for tent campers by the beach. I feel that I know what to expect at a State Park, however private campgrounds could be unpredictable and I have been hesitant to stay at them. Does anyone know of a reliable site for tent camping campgrounds?


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## SMOKEY2348 (Jan 4, 2011)

^ I hear car alarms all the time in camp grounds from people forgetting they set them and then try and open up the car\truck door. A whistle is a good idea but most people don't look at car alarms nor whistles unless you are down at the beach and a life guard is there. 

At least that's been my experience.


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## l2l (Jan 27, 2008)

SMOKEY2348 said:


> ^ I hear car alarms all the time in camp grounds from people forgetting they set them and then try and open up the car\truck door. A whistle is a good idea but most people don't look at car alarms nor whistles unless you are down at the beach and a life guard is there.
> 
> At least that's been my experience.


To be honest I would treat a Car Alarm more as a nusance rather than an alarm and or a cry for help!

This is mainly due to kids and their Jap Scrap Cars with alarms that are worth more than the car itself going off in campgrounds at all hours.

Lets not forget the dum ass that hits his panic button rather than the unluck button on his key fob while trying to find that last beer at 2 am :bang:

The first thing I would do if I was you is talk to BOTH neighbours on either side of your camp site and just ask them to be aware that your alone and that if they were to hear a whistle and or your car alarm that they should come running and call 911.

Good luck and be safe! :10220:


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## Judy Ann (Mar 3, 2011)

Thank you 121 for the advice. I guess that I have been blessed with fairly quiet campgrounds at night. Alcohol isn't allowed in NC in the state parks and drinking is done out of sight so to speak. I'm never far from the camp host site and they know that I'm a newby to camping and will press my panic button if there is an emergency. I have been reluctant to talk with people unless they talk with me first, however I see the wisdom in letting everyone around me know about the whistle and alarm. Thank you for the sage advice.

I believe that people are essentially good and have been grateful for how many have kept an eye out for me. I was especially touched by a 13 year old girl from Virginia who kept me company one night by the campfire so that I wouldn't be scared. 

Have a safe and fun camping season!


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## thekamperman (Feb 26, 2011)

A whistle is really a good idea also for the trails. It allows you to reach farther away. I always carry one.


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## Judy Ann (Mar 3, 2011)

Good safety idea Kamperman! I always encourage kids to keep whistles around their necks when out in the woods hiking just in case they are separated from their daypacks and I have always done the same.


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## skwrly (Feb 9, 2011)

Judy Ann, it's good to know that I'm not the only crazy woman learning tent camping  Besides the safety issues, it is kind of lonely camping alone...I call it my "stillness" training. What VA State Parks have you camped at? I absolutely love my VA state parks!! My DH gave me a lesson in putting up his larger dome tent by myself--another alternative to the little one I used last year.


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## Judy Ann (Mar 3, 2011)

Hi Skwrly, I have had great times at both Douthat State Park and Grayson Highlands. Met another lone female in Douthat with her dogs and we are going to try to meet up in Nags Head at a State Park early April. She is from Virginia Beach and can't wait to get back up into the mountains of VA. Beautiful country. What are you favorite parks?


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## Judy Ann (Mar 3, 2011)

Skwrly, I don't think that we are crazy at all. How many people have the luxury of waking up in the morning by a fog shrouded lake, watching some deer feed and enjoy the "stillness?" That sense of accomplishment putting up a tent for the first time by yourself and making it through a tropical storm without getting killed or wet can be priceless. Enjoy the new toy and pitch a tent for watching the shooting stars, you'll have the best of both worlds! Be safe ;-)


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## thekamperman (Feb 26, 2011)

"Through return to simple living comes control of desires. In control of desires Stillness is attained. In stillness the world is restored."
Lao Tzu


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## GlitterHiker (Mar 5, 2011)

Hi! Another solo female self-taught camper here! I'm enjoying this discussion.


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## ctfortner (Nov 16, 2007)

Welcome glitter, post up an introduction when you get a chance, tell us a little about you and your camping style


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## skwrly (Feb 9, 2011)

I love them all! It all depends on what I want to do--I also live in SE VA on the peninsula and I grew up going to the beach so I LOVE heading to the mountains! I go to James River state park for paddling on the James; Chippokes is closeby; I really enjoyed Douthat but DH doesn't like to go that far; Westmoreland & Belle Isle on the Northern Neck are very nice; Bear Creek Lake SP is next on my list. Man, I guess you can tell that I really love my VA SPs! Sorry for the long list!


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## Cathi Koenig (Jul 20, 2011)

Hi, I usually camp with friends but would love to camp alone. Not actually alone but with my collie. Will let you know how this works. I feel it will be safer in state parks where no alcohol is allowed. Good to know there are other ladies out there who love camping

I found a "personal alarm" at the dollar store. When you pull the pin, it makes a really loud sound. In fact one day it was in my pocket and I took it out thinking it was my keys and just about broke my ear drum! It's instant, so I feel a little more secure having it.

Cathi from MN


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## Judy Ann (Mar 3, 2011)

Cathi Koenig said:


> Hi, I usually camp with friends but would love to camp alone. Not actually alone but with my collie. Will let you know how this works. I feel it will be safer in state parks where no alcohol is allowed. Good to know there are other ladies out there who love camping
> 
> I found a "personal alarm" at the dollar store. When you pull the pin, it makes a really loud sound. In fact one day it was in my pocket and I took it out thinking it was my keys and just about broke my ear drum! It's instant, so I feel a little more secure having it.
> 
> Cathi from MN


Hi Cathi from MN! I think that any noise that would draw attention would be a good deterrent, however I am partial to my whistle. I carry it everywhere when out by myself (and dog). I purchased a SPOT recently because I started hiking out in the wilderness areas and it allows me to send out an "I'm OK", "Please send the ranger I'm in trouble", or to press an SOS button. My dad gets a kick out of following my journeys and it gives us all peace of mind when my cell phone won't work (which is most of the time). Have fun camping!:10220:


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## sgfulton83 (Jul 20, 2011)

There is a fairly easy thing you could try that wouldn't be a real "safety" thing but might deter a person from messing around your campsite is put a pair of muddy or old men's boots outside the tent like a man is in there. I mean if someone is wandering through the campground looking for trouble and sees those they may think twice. It couldn't hurt anything but you definitely want a whistle and some mace of some sort.


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## Judy Ann (Mar 3, 2011)

sgfulton83 said:


> There is a fairly easy thing you could try that wouldn't be a real "safety" thing but might deter a person from messing around your campsite is put a pair of muddy or old men's boots outside the tent like a man is in there. I mean if someone is wandering through the campground looking for trouble and sees those they may think twice. It couldn't hurt anything but you definitely want a whistle and some mace of some sort.


LOL! I liked the muddy mens boots suggestion! I always set up a couple of chairs. No need for anyone else to know that one is for the dog. :10309:


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## JoeS (Jun 1, 2011)

I suggest a few Bear Traps:smack-head:


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## Judy Ann (Mar 3, 2011)

JoeS said:


> I suggest a few Bear Traps:smack-head:


hmmmmmmmmmm...what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Did you move south for the summer Joe?


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## JoeS (Jun 1, 2011)

Nope this is my home base


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## peanut (Aug 24, 2011)

Two words--Air.Horn. I guarantee, you set an air horn off in the middle of the night, you're gonna get some attention--fast! And get yourself a good, big dog. We had a standard poodle, which might not seem too butch. But he was really big, solid black, and extremely loyal. He was sweet as pie, but in the dark all you could see was his teeth. He wasn't much of a barker either, unless someone crossed into my site. Then all hell would break loose. I never had to worry about someone coming up on me when my doggy was with me.:thumbup1:


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## hideout (Feb 12, 2011)

my wife would say,no one ever raped a 357 mag,with a 2 inch barrel,nothing like six big 158 grain jacketed hollow points to make a point in a hurry.


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## Shadow (Oct 24, 2011)

Best thing we can do is get educated. I read all kinds of articles on various aspects of any hobby that I am interested in. 
As far as camping skills, and dealing with wildlife, there is plenty of info on numerous sites about it so I'm not going to try to condense all of that in there. I will strictly speak as a female security officer about personal security. 

Items: As someone suggested, grab some bear spray. Even if it says "not legal to use on humans" or something on the package, get it anyway. If you are dealing with some rapist out in the woods, zig zag the spray across his forehead a couple times. Don't continually spray it on them because the water in it can actually wash the stuff back off. A face full of bear spray should incapacitate the average person long enough for you to run off. Unless they are trained and conditioned to operate through that, they are pretty much going to be stumbling around yelling because of their face feeling like it's on fire. That hopefully will attract more attention. 
Second thing is rudeness. If someone is hanging around you and they aren't getting the hint to leave you alone, do not be afraid to be bluntly rude to them. Tell them you really don't like their company and they need to F___ OFF! That works much better than you would imagine. Don't worry about hurting their feelings. Worst thing is, you insult some annoying stranger and he avoids you because he think's you are a bitch. At best, you could discourage him from thinking you are victim material. 
Third, take a few martial arts classes. if you are into hiking, rock climbing, and other things the extra exercise and flexibility will do nothing but help you, plus you will gain extra confidence when dealing with strangers, and you will add a few tools for self defense to your bag of tricks. 

Situation: Drunk guy wanders into your camp and starts laying his lame mack on you, and you tell him sorry you arent interested and he should go. He ignores this and comes back with the old "you know you want it" line. At this point is where you tell him to go jump in a lake in the bluntest way possible. While you are doing this, reach in your fannypack and put your hands on your bear spray. If he makes any move at you, spray him inthe face with the bear spray, if for some reason he shrugs this off, or lunges out and grabs you, then use whatever nasty tricks you picked up in martial arts. A couple elbows to the eyesockets, throat, nose, etc should make him drop you like a hot potato. 

Now this is a extreme example. 99.999% of the guys you run into will usually be pleasant guys who enjoy the outdoors as much as you, but there is an old saying, "to ensure peace, prepare for war".


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## hideout (Feb 12, 2011)

one loud boom,and most bad guys leave in a hurry,if not make one more loud boom,and bad is no more.:thumbup1:


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## Shadow (Oct 24, 2011)

A note about firearms: These are not always accessable or legal to carry in many places. Here in Texas, I have concealed handgun license, and I am a commissioned security officer. I can wear a gun openly at work when in uniform, and i can carry one concealed when I am off work with some exceptions. Any business can post a sign barring you from bringing in weapons, and any restaurant or bar that makes more than 51% of its income from alchohol is an instant no-carry zone, as well as schools, hospitals, and some other government buildings. Another case is state parks. On some rare occasions they might have some kind of hunting event there, but in that case they usually close the park to non-hunters. 

Bear spray on the other hand is usually 100% legal to bring about anywhere. It's possibly illegal to use it on people, but in a self defense situation, I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six. 

Another psychological drawback to having a gun, even trained soldiers sometimes can't make themselves pull the trigger on an armed enemy. How hard do you think it is for a civilian to plug an unarmed assailant, even if there is the danger of rape or murder? 
Remember, this isn't the movies. Most people you see shooting it up in the movies, with the cool theme music and special effects, would probably be classed as psychopath's in the real world? Police officers are given time off and usually required to visit a therapist after an officer involved shooting. 

Now this is now meant to discourage anyone from owning or bringing a gun, I just want you to be aware of all the ramifications of it. If you DO own a gun, go take some shooting classes and practice often. If you DO pull a gun on someone, be prepared to use it. I have never had to pull my weapon at any time except for practice or cleaning because I had other options. 

There is a "force continuum" that we have to follow in security. Here are how they apply to camping situations. 
1. Physical Presence - This includes verbal commands "Get the hell out of here"
2. Soft Hands - Pushing away, and other things not mean to injure. 
3. Mace or Pepper Spray (or sic'ing your dog on them)
4. Hard Hands - Punches, kicks, other attacks meant to injure. 
5. Police Baton, Taser, etc. - or tent pole, hiking stick, or other blunt object 
6. Threat of Deadly Force - pulling the gun, saying "go away, if you keep attacking ill be forced to defend myself"
7. Deadly Force - Shoot until they no longer seem like a threat. If that takes one shot, or 15. 

The thing about the force continuum is that you don't have to escalate step by step. For instance, if someone walks into your camp and whips out a machete and says "I'm going to cut your head off" That is a credible threat of deadly force, and you can go directly to either threatening deadly force of your own, or shooting the person. You don't have to talk to them, then try to push them, then find your pepper spray, etc. 

Now for all the rest of the mentions of guns for protection in this thread, I suggest going to a concealed hangun forum that is focused on the state you live in. That will have much more information about laws, proceedures, tacticsm and legal pitfalls that the Camper Community forum just isn't geared to deal with. I am not a lawyer, and nothing I say should be interpreted as legal advice.


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## artmart (Sep 21, 2010)

Great advice, unfortunately I think that you and I know that for most people all bets are off when surprised by the unexpected and too casual in our lives to produce the physical and mental onrush for what's needed to remain safe. This is why there will still be more victims than heroes. That's why heroes make the news, it's unusual, rare, but fortunate.

While not a in law enforcement and security where this can be practiced as a drill or day to day, I won't be able to remember what to do if I had to think about it. I think what we all forget to mention is that this has to become instinctive second nature action in order to be the most effective. So far so good for me, since most emergencies I've run into I was able to be calm and effective whether an accident, mishap or bear encounter. I worry as I get older and more sedate (calm) that even if the adrenaline starts kicking in, will I be able to perform physically? Be safe everyone.


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## Shadow (Oct 24, 2011)

That's why i recommend the pepper spray over using a gun. There isn't that "OMG I MIGHT KILL SOMEONE" feeling with pepper spray, so you are more likely to use it to defend yourself. 

We are talking about extreme "what if" situations here anyway. 99.99% of the time people you meet while camping are there for the same reasons you are: To relax, and enjoy nature. The most you have to worry about is obnoxious neighbors who make noise or come into your camp uninvited.


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## hideout (Feb 12, 2011)

Shadow said:


> That's why i recommend the pepper spray over using a gun. There isn't that "OMG I MIGHT KILL SOMEONE" feeling with pepper spray, so you are more likely to use it to defend yourself.
> 
> We are talking about extreme "what if" situations here anyway. 99.99% of the time people you meet while camping are there for the same reasons you are: To relax, and enjoy nature. The most you have to worry about is obnoxious neighbors who make noise or come into your camp uninvited.


 that is something i can not argue with shadow,most people go to state campgrounds,or maybe federal campground,me and my wife on the other back country camp 50 to 100 miles from no wear,and finding meth labs,and grow fiels are in some places a part of every day camping,especially in the mount hood national forrest,so i allways carry a fire arm,because the drug dealers certainly do.:thumbup1:


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## SmokyJane (Oct 11, 2016)

Hi Everyone. I'm new here. I've been camping all my life. I still tent camp in my mid-60s. I often go camping alone because people my age go in their dreaded motor homes. That's not camping! I hate campgrounds that cater to the noisy big rigs. I like grass under my feet, not gravel. I don't need or want electricity. I want to sit around a campfire, not around a computer or TV screen. I'll tent camp until I'm too old and decrepit to pitch my own tent.

So, yes, I tent camp alone if I can't find another tent camper to join me. I stick to state campground parks. I feel perfectly safe. I don't carry a gun or bear spray. Good Lord, it never really occurred to me to be fearful. I've never been bothered by anything more than mosquitoes. 

I love this discussion.


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## katemark (May 9, 2018)

Travel Safety Tips for Women should apply to women camping too.


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