Being afraid of activities in nature is a common thing, there is a lot of people who are scared of traveling in the forest alone or even with a group of friends. Those people are most often younger people who lived almost of their life in a city, and they weren’t often outside of this city. If you ask yourself “Why is hiking scary?”, and “Am I the only one who is afraid of hiking?”, or “How to be more confident in hiking?” Then stay with us because we will give you the answers.
Let’s focus on the main issue and give you the short answer for “Why is hiking scary?”. According to our research people are simply afraid of nature and things that it can do to them like for example losing their way in a forest, wild animal encounters, and many more which we will show you later in this article because some of them will require a more detailed explanation.
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What can happen to me in a forest?
Unfortunately, forests can be very dangerous if we are doing things that we should not do. Let’s point out the most common mistakes that people are doing in the forests:
- Walking off the trail – The trail in the forest almost all of the time will lead you to a special point of your journey, but when you will walk off it, then you may lose your way back. It’s hard to navigate in a forest without a compass and map, especially if that forest has repeating patterns like similar trees or similar terrain. Also that way you can do some damage to the forest like broken bushes or trampled moss. So try to stick to the marked trail.
- Eating things found in the woods – Most people are quickly noticing in the woods something similar to what they have previously have seen in their local market as food, but they are not aware of how hard it is to find something that’s eatable. They start to eat some random berries or mushrooms, which can lead them to many health issues. That’s why it is important to not eat anything if you are not sure if that thing is eatable.
- Wild animal encounters – It depends on the state or the country where are you hiking, but if very rare to encounter something that can be dangerous to you, especially if you are sticking to the marked trail. Animals tend to avoid humans and stay away from trails or roads, and they are often seeing us before we even spot them.
- Sudden injury – Often on a trail you can twist your ankle or broke your leg, especially if the surface is not even. Then you can have a big problem if you are hiking alone to get back to your car or call for help.
Am I the only one who is afraid of hiking?
Hiking is not something that people are scared of, because they rather think about nature and the things that it can do to them. Hiking itself won’t harm anyone, but the lack of preparation, stupid ideas while hiking, or lack of experience are the things that people have in mind while saying that they are afraid of hiking.
Those things can scare even the bravest people, so you shouldn’t be ashamed of them. Some people are afraid of spiders and that is called arachnophobia, on the other hand, some people are scared of nature, and this one is called biophobia. People who have a general aversion and things that it creates like certain species (spiders, snakes, boars).
Biophobia is a product of modern living that distances people from the natural world to such a degree that they become indifferent to other organisms and antagonistic toward the environment. There is a lot of people who have symptoms of biophobia, so you are not alone.
How to be more confident in hiking?
Getting confidence in anything takes time, but there are some quick ways to get confidence in hiking. One of those ways is to invite your partner to hike with you, or any other person who you trust. Hiking together or in a small group will split the responsibilities between the participants.
The next tip from us is to get as much information about hiking before your first hike, but where you can find the necessary knowledge? Immodestly we have to say that our blog is full of the necessary information that will let hike safely with a smile on your face, for example, you should check out this article about “Is It Ok To Walk Ahead Of Someone On A Hike? – (Am I Rude?)“.
In conclusion – Why hiking is scary?
Hiking itself is not scary, people often say that because they are afraid of nature, which is called biophobia. Use our tips to make your hiking trips less scary, and ask your friend to hike with you! Unfortunately, there are a lot of dangers in the woods, that’s is why to be prepared for everything, and if you will split the responsibilities like carrying the first aid kit or carrying water then you will be less scared of those dangers.
If you want to prepare yourself for your next hike then check out this article because it can be very helpful “Is Hiking Good For A Skinny Person? – (Can It Be Dangerous?)“.
