Listen. Listen. Listen. Trust. Travelling alone (as a girl) with a van

One night in particular I was in an abandoned campground all by myself  (strange, because it was middle of the summer). An older gentleman came around selling wood.  He said “I see you got all the campground to yourself tonight.”  I thought yeah right, a lot of people will might come in later.  It was a short interaction and I honestly didn’t think anything of it after he left.  I went to bed early that night, before midnight I awoke suddenly.  Nothing special woke me, but something just felt off.  I felt scared and unsure of my campsite, looked around and was still the only one.  I realized that my campsite was shaped like a funnel and someone could easily park in front of the entrance and block off my escape.  I wasn’t sure if I was being rational or had just woken up and was unsure of my surroundings – anyway I moved on. Found a nice campground next to the trailhead 15 minutes away, which felt way safer.

My advice to women and actually any solo traveler or not,  is this: listen, listen, listen, and then trust.  If something is off it’s probably that way for a reason.  Listen to your gut. Listen to your surroundings. Listen to your heart. And then trust your instincts. Just always be aware of where you are camping, what is the surrounding about.  Is it an urban area? Can you easily get your van away from danger.  What mechanisms do you have to protect yourself?  That’s the thing, if you feel like something is off, move on – as easy as that. Not moving because you think that`s silly or irrational, or people might think poorly at you. Don`t care – those are the dumbest reasons not to take your safety seriously. 

I’ve been very blessed in all of  my trips so far.  I haven’t had encounters that left me very afraid or jaded.  But I do have met some fellow travelers who have shared some serious moments along the road.  When it comes to safety you can’t ever be to safe, or to aware.  

Listen. Listen. Listen. Trust.