“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” by Frank Herbert, “Dune”
I am not sure why but this quote from “Dune” has always struck a chord with me. I have mouthed these words silently to myself many times since I read the book back in the 1980’s.
According to the dictionary, fear is “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.”
There is good fear and bad fear.
The good fear keeps us safe. Don’t wear cotton. Un-clip your backpack when crossing a stream. Leave your hiking itinerary with a friend. Descend slowly to avoid falling.
But the bad fear can be paralyzing. I believe that bad fear is usually caused by irrational thoughts. So I decided to put together a mitigation plan to identify actions that can be taken to reduce the fear. No point in wasting all that process improvement training I got at work.
So, what do I fear on the Appalachian Trail?
Mice
Obviously the mice were having open auditions for “Hantavirus: The Musical” while we were backpacking from Clingmans Dome to Fontana Dam! It was way too hot in July to bury my entire body inside of my sleeping bag – I was freaked out all night long about mice getting near my face.
Mitigation Plan: Never backpack the Smokies in the summer time. Avoid staying in shelters if possible.
Black Bears
I love to see black bears in the wild except when I am warm and cozy inside my sleeping bag. Sometimes I think I hear bears outside my tent. I hung my food, toothpaste, lip balm, etc. so the bears shouldn’t be interested in my tent, right? But, what if my pants pockets still have the scent of food on them? I know my backpack probably still have food scents on it.
Mitigation Plan: Hang anything with a food scent
My knee will give out
I had knee reconstructive surgery in the 1980s because I completely tore my ACL and MCL in my left knee. Since then I only have 90 degrees range of motion in my left leg and have developed osteoarthritis. Descending rocky terrain can be very slow and painful for me.
During our descent from Mount Katahdin, my left knee did not want to bend any more. In order to continue, I had to perform controlled crashes while catching myself with my hiking poles. Not fun! I wanted to have a global thermonuclear meltdown but didn’t have enough energy. Click here to read about this hike.
Mitigation Plan: Strength training with an emphasis on knees, glutes, hip flexors, and single-leg exercises. Use Vitamin I to keep inflammation at bay during hikes. Ditched the high top boots because it restricts my ankle’s range of motion. Hike within my limits. Lost weight to take pressure off my knees.
Getting hurt
I think the most likely scenario for getting hurt on the trail is an injury or a bad person.
I have been fortunate to avoid an injury on the trail up to this point so this is not something I dwell on.
Bad people, on the other hand, do tend to enter my thoughts even though I don’t want them to. If someone gives me the creeps, then I get the heck away from them. I always trust that little voice inside of myself that screams DANGER.
I still wonder if Geraldine Largay fell victim to a bad person? How could she disappear without a trace? She was an experienced hiker. Her family is offering a reward $15,000 reward for her discovery.
FACT: Hiking the Appalachian Trail is safer than driving in rush hour traffic on I-81!
Mitigation Plan: Put space between you and the bad person. Hike with group.