August 27, 2020

"This was a big, important moment for me... With every step, I felt empowered. Like I was taking control of my life."

"Like I could and would be me again. I looked at my friend and said, 'I’m taking one of those topless pics and I’m never giving up the things I love again.'"

Said Kelli Schulte, 36, a grants specialist, about an experience on a 14,000-foot mountain, Torrey's Peak. She's quoted in "Women are going topless in nature as part of growing trend across Colorado/Many women say taking their shirt off on a hike feels empowering," in The Denver Post, which I was reading because I'd clicked on an Instapundit link on the headline "Some women are opting to carry guns on Colorado trails to stay safe."

Sample quote from that, from Sara C., a 35-year-old Denver business owner: "Most women I know have been touched or grabbed by men when in the woods. It’s too common.... A creepy guy sees a girl fishing or hiking alone, tries to grab her arm or her body … dogs and guns will scare people off."

I need to get back to Colorado.

137 comments:

tcrosse said...

I need to get back to Colorado.

Whoa, Althouse. Keep your shirt on....

Expat(ish) said...

I would encourage ANYONE hiking in Colorado to carry a weapon capable of, at least, taking out a cougar / mountain-lion.

If you can do that, taking out peeps is easy. Animals are much more shot resistant than humans.

-XC

PS - I was just up in Chautauqua and environs and did not see any gals hiking commando. I'd say I was a fan, but my experience with topless beaches in Europe has left me visually cautious.

Skeptical Voter said...

Well carry more mosquito repellent as well if you are going to bare all--or most all.

I happen to be particularly attractive to mosquitoes--just lucky I guess, and I like to stay covered up.

Sebastian said...

"I need to get back to Colorado"

With your gun? No need to tell us.

Anyway, it is surely a great victory for feminism that, in 2020 AD, women can finally feel empowered by going topless on trails.

Roughcoat said...

When I lived in Colorado in the 70s-80s I always carried a gun on the trails -- which is to say, anywhere in the wilderness. When I told my wife-to-be whom I met in Colorado that this was SOP for me she went, "ick, guns." Then, at night, on our first camping trip in the high country (western slope), there came vigorous rustling noises from the brush just a few yards from our tent. My dog, who was in the tent with us, growled and raised his hackles. Wife-to-be said: "Do you have your gun." I brandished it and grinned. Wife-to-be said: "Well, okay. Good." And that was that. That's the furthest she's ever gone to conceding a point. I'll take it.

P.S. The rustling was coyotes.

buwaya said...

Jeez.
Get a bunch of women together and the first silly idea turns into a fashion.
I dont have a problem with this particular one, but the problem remains.
ANY absurdity is likely to pop up, and turn into some fanatically supported cause.

buwaya said...

A much more useful fashion would be to go make babies.
Push that one.

Roughcoat said...

BTW: Creepy guys in the mountains don't just threaten/harass women. They're a danger to the menfolk too. They are the reason I carried. Beasts on two legs. But also to protect against mountain lions and the supposedly non-existent grizzly bears that supposedly don't exist in the mountains of southwest Colorado.

Meade said...

"I need to get back to Colorado."

Front Range?

buwaya said...

I think the "empowerment" comes from the group dynamics thing - the approval of other women.

Roughcoat said...

Women going topless is one of those things that sounds good in theory but is much lacking in practice. Maybe I'll change my mind when all women have bodies like Kate Upton.

Yeah, I know, same-same, basically, for men...

rehajm said...

Just remember ladies- frostbite above treeline can happen ay time of year...

rehajm said...

...also not good for anybody to hike alone...

Roughcoat said...

Meade:

Ha ha ha! I see what you did!

chickelit said...

I hiked Torrey’s back in the ‘80s. It was connected to Gray’s Peak by a shallow dipping ridge. If you climbed one 14er, you could get another in a single day. Good times.

Mr Wibble said...

These women have far too comfortable lives if that's what they need to feel "empowered".

MadisonMan said...

Whenever I read about people above the treeline shedding their clothes, I also think of melanoma. SPF people!

Limited blogger said...

Ann, you'd go to Colorado to bring law and order there?

tim maguire said...

Oh, it’s an “empowerment photo.” It’s a fad that probably very few women are actually participating in. And even those will stop soon enough, when reporters aren’t photographing them anymore.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Funny how every generation seems to think that they have invented everything new themselves. That no one before them ever went topless in the wilderness. Went skinny dipping in the creek next to the gravel plant at midnight and had to be chased off by security (maybe that was too specific).

No one before them ever did anything wild or crazy, had sex, did drugs. Old people have always been old. Kelli thinks she is the first to discover and break new ground.

That old saying.... there is nothing new under the sun....is still true.

Sorry kiddos. Not impressed with your bravura. Been there done that and forgot the T-shirt by the waterfall.

Temujin said...

I don't get it. Women are taking off their tops when hiking, but they find that when hiking, they are bothered by men wanting to grab them?

Anyway, I always hike without my pants on. I love the cool breeze wafting through my...uh, crotch. And, it's always good to carry a divining rod for your water needs.

pious agnostic said...

Sure, but when I drop trow in the McDonalds drive-through suddenly I'm a "danger" to "others.

MadTownGuy said...

Meade said...
"I need to get back to Colorado."

Front Range?
"

Les Grands Tetons.

TrespassersW said...

“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.”

― Robert A. Heinlein

Joe Smith said...

Nothing says feminism than "Show us your tits!"

Smacks of crypto-lesbianism to me.

Roughcoat said...

Yeah, Grays and Torreys are the starter fourteeners. An easy on-day hike especially if you start from the top of nearby Berthoud Pass. Very beautiful.

Joe Smith said...

"Whoa, Althouse. Keep your shirt on...."

: )

Or not...her choice...

whitney said...

Another Brave woman getting naked to show how Brave she is. repeal the 19th

Joe Smith said...

"I would encourage ANYONE hiking in Colorado to carry a weapon capable of, at least, taking out a cougar..."

A topless cougar?

Gospace said...

When I went camping in CO with my son who lives there he carried. Not so much for people predators, but there are critters in the wild there who don't behave like Disney animals do. Camped at about 9,000 ft high. Beautiful view.

Michael K said...

Women proving why the 19th amendment was a mistake.

I'm Full of Soup said...

MadMan:

I got that message.

I burn so easy I wear sunblock when I'm watching Hawaii 50 on TV.

Meade said...

Roughcoat said...
Meade:

"Ha ha ha! I see what you did!"

You do? Darn.

(Honey, better put your top back on. Roughcoat has his binoculars out again.)

Meade said...

"Smacks of crypto-lesbianism to me."

Mmm... lipstick crypto?

rehajm said...

For the full Melissa, Naked Hike Day is June 21, just FYI.

BarrySanders20 said...

Ah, the Grand Tetons.

Chicks in Boulder don't need no over the shoulder boulder holders.

Especially for small boulders the size of big boulders.

Wince said...

There you'll find your dream!

Climb Every Mountain

Search high and low
Follow every highway
Every path you know

Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every rainbow
'Till you find your dream

A dream that will need
All the love you can give
Every day of your life
For as long as you live

BUMBLE BEE said...

Tits and Hoppe's ambrosia!

Roughcoat said...

Roughcoat has his binoculars out again.

Semper Paratus, that's me.

Wince said...

Okay, so it took Julie Andrews almost 20 years to find her dream.

mockturtle said...

Can't imagine hiking topless with my boobs bouncing and sweat running down my stomach. A good sports bra is essential. This woman is obviously a dilettante or an idiot. Or both. And most women she knows have been grabbed in the woods--a fact I question--but she's going to give a free show to all and sundry on the trail? Is this from the NYT by any chance?

Fernandinande said...

"Most women I know have been touched or grabbed by men when in the woods."

No, that doesn't happen.

gilbar said...

Protip
When hiking, Especially high in the mountains,
Wear clothes! Sunburns HURT!!
This isn't a guy thing, or a gal thing...
It's a sunburn thing

Rabel said...

More and more, rh is looking like the weird guy who was right all along.

Rick.T. said...

The backpack straps must chafe something awful.

mezzrow said...

How about Wyoming?

"See The Grand Tetons"

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

My first 14er was circa 1998. Mt. Princeton. (mighta been 1999)

Did Torreys and Grays. If you get to the top of Grays you can connect over to Torreys via the saddle and it's well worth it. 2 14ers in one day.

Another set of popular 14ers is Democrat/Cameron/Lincoln/Bross. I did Democrat by itself, and Cameron and Lincoln together. Skipped Bross because the trip down looks awful.

Our 14ers have gained in popularity and I am glad I have about 9 in the bag. It's not the same anymore. The parking is a mess and the trails are crowded. It is exhilarating to make it to the top, esp. on a clear day where you can see all the other mountains in every direction. I am in love with the experience. Shirt or no shirt. btw- It's cold up there.

When I did Handies peak some years back the top was freaking miserable. As cold as any winter day. bring your warm bra. and hats and gloves.

Fire smoke from fires burning in CO and CA have ruined the air quality and the visibility right now. Glenwood canyon is on fire, to name one of the 4 major fires burning.
I do not recommend a hiking trip to CO right now. Also because our 14ers are so popular, even more so with covid - beware you will not be alone on these hikes.

Drove to the most popular 14er in the state a few weeks back. Quandary. REcon mission. 80 cars in the parking areas. Why? It's easy to get to from Breckenridge and you do not need a 4 wheel drive high clearance vehicle to get to the trail head. Quandary is not on my list because it's too crowded.

Like everything, popular and beautiful hikes are often ruined with too many people.
Try getting into Brainard on a weekend. Big long lines just to drive in.

My new mission is to hike the less traveled. Did Wheeler lake a few weeks back. hike was so-so but the pay-off was incredible. shhhh do not tell anyone.

Yancey Ward said...

Front Range?

Monte Vista.

Yancey Ward said...

Or maybe Two Buttes.

Yancey Ward said...

It is a pity there is no town in Colorado called Hubba Hubba.

Matt Harris said...

I never figured taking off ones clothes to be empowering. This just seems a bit silly (and chilly, considering the location).

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

"Most women I know have been touched or grabbed by men when in the woods. It’s too common.... A creepy guy sees a girl fishing or hiking alone, tries to grab her arm or her body …

Oh for feck's sake. No they freaking haven't. Stop making shit up for attention.

JPS said...

Roughcoat,

"the supposedly non-existent grizzly bears that supposedly don't exist in the mountains of southwest Colorado."

This is interesting. If you told me way-northern Utah or way-northwestern CO I wouldn't be surprised, but southwest?

DBQ:

"Not impressed with your bravura. Been there done that and forgot the T-shirt by the waterfall."

Well said!

Rory said...

Can't imagine going very far with straps direct on skin.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

come on back and leave your bra behind!

wait - men are grabbing women in the woods? I gotta get up there.

gilbar said...

Okay, I actually finished the reading
They're NOT hiking topless,
They're hiking to the summit, in a group, then, in a group, taking their shirts off and posing.
Showing off their BACKS
'Cause they're too bashful to show off their sag bags
Color me unimpressed

For her 21st birthday, my twin sister Jen skinny dipped...
In the Iowa State Memorial Union fountain

THAT'S THE WAY YOU DO IT

n.n said...

It's a coming of age moment, sometime between childhood and adulthood, when boys and girls rebel, diverge with a cause, any cause.

Jim at said...

Most women I know have been touched or grabbed by men when in the woods.

As an avid hiker, hunter and fisherman ... I have never, ever heard of such a thing. Not even once.

Granted, it may be happening somewhere but 'most' women? Bullshit.

Unknown said...

"I need to get back to Colorado."

Keep your shirt on. (Colloquialism which Google shows not to have been relegated to the mists of time.)

Fernandinande said...

Can't imagine hiking topless with my boobs bouncing and sweat running down my stomach

Now that you mention it, I can imagine it.

Darrell said...

Most women I know have been touched or grabbed by men when in the woods.

That's why I stay away from Democrat areas.

RMc said...

I need to get back to Colorado.

Whoa, Althouse. Keep your shirt on....


Thread done, in one.

Executive Producer, Roone Arledge.

RMc said...

I need to get back to Colorado.

Whoa, Althouse. Keep your shirt on....


Thread done, in one.

stonethrower said...

Be breast.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

14ers are all challenging and can prove heart-pumpingly difficult if you are not used to the altitude, if you are not conditioned, if you are not prepared with the proper gear and enough water. Even some of the "easier" 14ers can kick your butt. I ran out of water (and I bring plenty) on the way down one and it is not pleasant. Also - don't bring booze up there. yeah -sure celebration - but it can really screw up your head and thrust you into dehydration or worse. Save the celebration for after you return to earth.

as for exposed boobies? freee the boobies. cold boobies. chilly boobies.

Lord Huron peak kicked my butt some years back, and it's one of the "easy" 14ers.

I know of some spectacular hikes around Crested Butte. no 14ers but equally lovely. Wild flower season is best. The flowers were stressed this year. Not enough rain.

LilyBart said...

I'm in Colorado and hike a lot. I've never seen any woman take off their top. Come to think of it, the men wear their tops too. (the Sun is intense here - and about half the time hiking a 14'er, its cold and you'd want to cover up).

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Dust Bunny Queen said...
Funny how every generation seems to think that they have invented everything new themselves. That no one before them ever went topless in the wilderness. Went skinny dipping in the creek next to the gravel plant at midnight and had to be chased off by security (maybe that was too specific)."

I went skinny dipping without incident in a state park many years ago and the only bad thing that happened was I got mosquito bites in highly inconvenient places - a reminder that clothes do serve a purpose besides modesty.

But it was a lark, a fun thing that I never associated with feminism or "empowerment" or anything like that. That's the annoying thing about these young women - not only do they think they're the first generation to do something "edgy" but they believe it somehow is political and important. No, dear, taking off your top is not some significant, meaningful event that the world should know about. It's just you taking off your top.

LilyBart said...

OK - so I looked at the pics - they're just taking off the shirt for the pics. They're not hiking it without their shirts. Which seems silly, but people are often quite silly.

Paul said...

So to keep male hikers from fondling.. they go topless? Or what? And it's 'empowering'?? Just how?

Now I can understand being armed while hiking. I do that quite a bit. Up to now with a Ruger Security Six .357 (but now I've fallen in love with a S&W 686-3 'Distinguished Combat Magnum' 2 1/2 barrel .357. Yea I like vintage revolvers.) With my revolver and my hiking vest containing a first aid kid, compass, knife, fire starter, and a snack, well I am 'empowered'. But then I live in Texas.. and that 'empowers' me a lot all by itself.

For I am known here in Texas as Deaf Smith.

Joe Smith said...

@Meade

"Mmm... lipstick crypto?

The imagination is a wonderful thing...or, there are websites for that (so my friends tell me).

Paul said...

Oh, and BTW folks, in New Mexico we went to a hot springs.. we were warned by people coming down the trail there were nekked people up there. Sure enough, there were! Now me and my missus are kind of bashful, hence we sat down on the rocks at the hot spring and rolled our pants up a bit and soaked our feet but.. there were neeekkkeeedd people, in their birthday suits, up there for sure. And some of they were 17... if you know what I mean.

So I guess I have seen nekked people in the woods!

tommyesq said...

Most women I know have been touched or grabbed by men when in the woods.

Or on stage, standing in front of the Democratic nominee?

Roughcoat said...

JPS said...

Concerning Griz in Colorado: actually, not in SW, but South Park. I'll give you the full story when I'm feeling better. Just now I'm going through my late afternoon "Covid slows." Just writing this was fatiguing. But I'm not making it up.

Roughcoat said...

Can't imagine hiking topless with my boobs bouncing and sweat running down my stomach.

Tease!

J. Farmer said...

"Empowerment" is just another commodity that social media influencers push. Some do makeup, some do clothes, some do "empowerment." And always remember my rule of nudism: the people most likely to get nude are the ones you least likely want to see nude.

On guns, my mother used to say they were a feminist issue because they eliminated the physical advantage men had over women.

Iman said...

He climbed teh Rocky Mountains, he saw silver clouds below
He’d seen everything as far as he could see
They say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch this gal
And he lost a hand but kept the memory

Now he hikes in quiet solitude thru forests and the streams
Sneaking peeks at all that doesn’t sag
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
Their strange need to sun their funnest bags

And the Colorado rocky mountain high
It’s enough to make a grown man cry
Just sneak a peek, don’t try to touch, you’ll lose a hand if you try
Rocky mountain high

PMH62 said...

I don't care much about what hikers may or not be wearing. But talk about disappointing pics in the linked article. Bare backs? Come on!

Bruce Hayden said...

“ Yeah, Grays and Torreys are the starter fourteeners. An easy on-day hike especially if you start from the top of nearby Berthoud Pass. Very beautiful.”

Long frigging hike from Berthod Pass (US 40). Much closer to Loveland Pass (US 6). If I remember correctly though, the usual approach is up the Stevens Gulch road, going south off I-70 at the Bakerville exit. We first tried those parks in HS maybe, in the 1960s. Our father took three of us boys up, but the next two got altitude sickness. Which is funny because my next brother is an avid hiker/climber, with a majority of the state’s 14ers under his belt. At this time of the year, every Saturday and some Sundays, we will get FindMeSpot emails from him showing where he left his truck, and when he got back safe. The next younger brother and I have both had episodes HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema) that could have killed us. The one between us, who was so sick on Grays and Torreys 55 years ago, never has.

We ski raced for A Basn on the other side of Loveland Pass in HS, so we were in, about, and around there a lot. From the mid 1960s through the mid 1970s, one of the ski treks that we would take every year a couple times was from Loveland Pass south along the ridge (Continental Divide), around Grays and Torreys, then out at Bakerville. Pretty good vertical, but really thick trees at the bottom. One of the last times I took that trip, the binding came off of one of my skis, which made the rest of the trip a problem, since whenever I put my foot down, I would sink to my crotch. Seemed to take forever, but probably not more than an hour, a trip that usually took half that.

Roughcoat said...

BleachBit-and-Hammers @ 4:02:

I was lucky to have lived in Colorado at the end of its Golden Age, tail-end of 60s through late 80s.

It was still very much, mostly throughout, "high wide and lonesome." Real Jeremiah Johnson-type country. The more so, the further you got from Boulder (or Denver, as the case may be). E.g., the expanse along Hwy 36 connecting Denver and Boulder was completely undeveloped. Nothing there. South from Denver along I-25 and front range -- undeveloped. Castle Rock was a small town Colo Springs was a small town. My go-to day trip was Brainard Lakes. I'd go weekends and the trail head parking lot was empty. Would see anyone on the trails. I built wood fires because they were allowed then. It was my high holy place. I climbed all the peaks in the area. Many many others around the length of breadth of the state. I also worked up the Red Feather Lakes region, for the Forest Service, making road improvements on on dirt roads. Maybe two or three cars per day would come through. I eventually focused on climbing 13ners, found them more interesting, and challenging.

Iman said...

Twin Peaks

mikee said...

Glad to see the Coloradans, topless on hiking trails, are catching up to where us kids were in 1977, at a small, Baptist affiliated college in South Carolina, as we hiked the Appalachians. And we were a decade late for Woodstock, and at the tail end of the streaking fad.

Maybe, just maybe, exposing skin in nature is something that people have been doing for a long, long time. Kids always think they invent the world, when really they just take the places of people who are aging into different activities.

Same for carrying defensive weapons on the trail, from "walking sticks" to "camping knives" to "snake guns" to my personal favorite, a heavyweight wrestler named Fred. Been going on forever. See Otzi and his Alpine supplies.

Roughcoat said...

Here's another great thing about living in Colorado when I did. A day pass for Keystone Dylan or Breckenridge (or Winter Park, or Copper Mt. whatever) ran $10. On weekends. On weekdays on in off-season they could and did drop to $5. I would get up in the morning, see what the weather was like, and if it was favorable (i.e. drive-able) I zip up to one the ski area and ski for half day, be home by five for pizza and girls in Boulder.

h said...

Where I live there are a few men who feel empowered by walking around on the hiker/biker trails with their penises exposed. They feel especially empowered if young women observe them. As far as I can tell, these men are not celebrated, they are arrested.

chuck said...

An acquaintance was murdered in Yellow Stone while painting alone. I favor women being armed, bears aren't the only wild life.

As for topless, that was a thing back in the sixties. Heck, it was a thing in Crete 4000 years ago.

nbks said...

Weird how so many feminist assertions of power fulfill the sweaty fantasies of 12 year old boys.

dgstock said...

Old news. My wife did a topless shot with female companions on a Pyrenees hike ten years ago. But then, they were a bunch of Frogs who go everywhere half naked anyway.

Browndog said...

This one has rape fantasy written all over it.

Ice Nine said...

When are women going to stop babbling like insecure twits about "empowering women?" When are they going to stop nattering like parrots the phrase, "strong woman" - usually framing some color or another? What is it with women, already empowered and strong as they want to be and massively favored in American society over men, constantly having to jack themselves up by mewling these vapid phrases? It makes them sound, on the contrary, ineffectual and fragile. Don't they know that?

>"Most women I know have been touched or grabbed by men when in the woods. It’s too common."<

So you're going to bare your tits on the hiking trail? Words fail.

Carry a gun on a hiking trail? Duh.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Just then a woman walked in with two 45's.....she also had a gun.

(Old Dragnet parody I remember from when I was a kid.)

Mark said...

Wow. A woman obsessed with her body parts. Stop the presses. Get the news out as an EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT.

Meanwhile, the sun rose in the east and set in the west today.

Wonders all around.

dustbunny said...

Sometimes Althouse just posts dumb shit. I don’t pretend to know why. She just likes to stir stuff up.

Nichevo said...


Blogger Roughcoat said...
Women going topless is one of those things that sounds good in theory but is much lacking in practice. Maybe I'll change my mind when all women have bodies like Kate Upton.


To be fair, if you are able and willing to scale a 14000 foot Mountain, you're probably have a body worth looking at, but none of the ladies seem to have quite the nerve to show off the good stuff. For all we know, they have those Howard Hughes bras on.

Tits or GTFO, I say! Show 'em if you got 'em!

walter said...

As long as they are wearing masks and socially distancing.

Rick said...

Most women I know have been touched or grabbed by men when in the woods.

Sure, that's why they're all taking their clothes off. It's a natural reaction.

n.n said...

Most women I know have been touched or grabbed by men when in the woods.

By the same guy, the mythical "Big Phallus". Next time, be sure to take a selfie-ish for posterity.

n.n said...

touched or grabbed... the Democratic nominee

Or a Hollywood hero and his feminist pimps. A director who did not rape-rape. Perhaps it was a liberated man, or feminine male, who indulged in hiking with "benefits".

Bob Boyd said...

Women are going topless in nature...

Open carry.

Josephbleau said...

"I need to get back to Colorado."

"Front Range?"

No, Leadville.

Bob Boyd said...

I need to get back to Colorado.

Go west young lady and trade in your your shirt for a shootin' iron.

"Hold my bra and watch this!"

Josephbleau said...

I had a perfect summer day one in '75 when in Copper Mountain working for Climax in the summer. Our group went up to Wheeler Lake on red microdot.

The best outdoor nude scene I have seen is on the terrace tee leaf pools of Molokai.

madAsHell said...

Sometimes Althouse just posts dumb shit. I don’t pretend to know why. She just likes to stir stuff up.

Are the Stones a cover band?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I can't make heads or tail out of this post.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Here's another great thing about living in Colorado when I did. A day pass for Keystone Dylan or Breckenridge (or Winter Park, or Copper Mt. whatever) ran $10.”

1967/68 season - $35 season pass at A Basin where we were racing. That worked out to maybe $.50 a day. (We skied a lot that season). Three years later, first year Keystone was open (I had been on the crew that cut the original trails), the season pass was $100 or so. Two years later, I worked at the ski area, skied free, and got over 100 days on skis - though there were weekend days when I would make just one run, top to bottom, in order to not lose my edge over the weekend.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

do we need to guess the political leanings of these...er, boobs?

(please: liberal/conservative, not "Right/Left", ok?
geez-- if I had a nipple for every time I heard that!) Nickel. Sorry

Remember when Lefties defended burkas as liberating?

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

go topless in the Mahalangur Himal mountain range

...FREE THE NEPAL!!

Big Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Big Mike said...

I don't understand why more people -- of both genders -- don't carry firearms on hikes. Yes, there is a need to travel light, but some guns are very light (a Smith & Wesson Ladysmith weighs less than a pound) and if you need it, you need it pretty bad. There's a guy named David Paulides who has posted a video about what he recommends deep woods hikers carry with them.

Paulides is a former police detective who has made a second career studying, and writing about, the thousands of people who have gone hiking in national forests and never been seen again, and he is, hmmm, how shall I put it? He is open-minded about the possibility that at least some of the mysterious disappearances may be due to Bigfoot or alien abduction. So you might want to stop watching at the 12 minute mark. I assure you that his advice about GPS locators, fire starters, first aid kits, and firearms is very good.

In addition to bears and mountain lions and wolf packs, the back country swarms with bipedal predators -- and I don't mean Bigfoot. Thirty-five years ago a world class female athlete named Kari Swenson was kidnapped while on a training run by a self-proclaimed mountain man to be a "wife" for his teenaged son. Kari only escaped because she was accidentally shot while her kidnappers were killing someone who was looking for her and trying to rescue her, and the kidnappers left her for dead. I have read another account by a solo female runner who was attacked on a trail in a national park. Her attacker thought he had cut off her escape route and was menacing her with a large knife while explaining how he was going to rape her until he was tired of her and then cut her up and feed her to his hogs. (Yes, hogs will eat human flesh.) She managed to escape temporarily and get enough of a signal on her cell phone to call 911 and tell which trail she was on. Her attacker caught up with her, but she fought him off until police and rangers arrived. Lucky for her. But hundreds of women have gone hiking or running or mountain climbing solo, and never been found despite extensive searches by trained rescue teams supported by dogs and helicopters, and we can suspect that some were abducted by human predators.

I have also read about hunters who found themselves near marijuana farms in the back woods. One hunter never knew what he had done to set off a tense situation, but he found himself threatened by a man with a Glock (no, you don't hunt with Glocks). However his adult son was with with him and the son chambered a round in his hunting rifle, causing the man to back off. If there hadn't been two of them, both armed, would the confrontation have ended peaceably?

Be safe out there.

bagoh20 said...

I've done a lot of hiking and have known a lot of hikers, and I have never heard of a woman being the victim of unwelcome touching while hiking. I have no doubt it happens. I don't know women who hike alone though, and I'm the only one I know who backpacks alone. If I was a woman, I'd definitely be armed out there. When I backpacked in CA, I would carry a gun, even if it was not legal. Now I just don't do anything in CA that needs a gun. I avoid the place, even though it's only 30 minutes away. I don't cross that border unless I need to.

bagoh20 said...

Couldn't care less about loose boobs in the woods. Find them kind of boring. A woman alone and armed in the woods is absolutely sexy. I imagine she might force me to satisfy her at gunpoint, which is why you need to stay well-practiced in the art, men. It's self-defense training.

Jupiter said...

"Most women I know have been touched or grabbed by men when in the woods."

Well, Hon, keep hiking. I'm sure your prince is out there somewhere.

JPS said...

Roughcoat, 5:15:

I’ll keep an eye out for that. Hope you feel better!

Bob Boyd said...

"Okay this song here is for every Colorado girl I ever met who looked like she just got off 3 weeks of KP...with hikin' boots on."

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Roughcoat-
I hear you. I have lived in CO since the early 1970's - tho I was really young then. Grew up on the western suburbs of Denver and the space between the western suburbs and Boulder was nothing. It's still a lot of nothing thanks to Rocky Flats, but amazingly now even the edges of old Rocky Flats are housing developments. yes - the 36 boulder turnpike corridor used to be a lot of nothing. Now it's jam-packed with everything. I do recall driving in snowstorms at night back to Denver -- white knuckled on that stretch of highway because there weren't even any highway lights!

Great memories you have there. Cherish them because those days are long gone. It's all sprawl sprawl now.
Brainard is a zoo now. So cherish that memory for sure. Last year the hike up to Isabelle lake was amazing. snow all summer and gushing water. parked below and hitch-hiked to the upper lot. lol.

I too have the same memories.

Tom said...

I’m glad more women are understanding the need for firearms. As more women recognize this need, it served to not only protect the individual women, it also serves to protect all women by altering the criminal’s risk equation. Call it “herd immunity” through superior firepower.

Don’t wait for the Calvary - be un-oppress-able.

Quaestor said...

A woman who thinks loose tits equals "taking control of her life" can only be a gene-damaged mutant. God pity her offspring.

historyDoc said...

Professor Althouse taking her gun(s) to Colorado?

Josephbleau said...

Lese le bon ton rule

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paul said...

Big Mike said...
"no, you don't hunt with Glocks".

Mike, you do if it's a 10mm!

James Pawlak said...

She should look up "Cooper's Droop" and keep it in mind.

Bob Smith said...

Kinda like those young ladies flashing their boobs in the infield at the Indy 500. You don’t even have to say “Show us your Tits” any more.

Rt41Rebel said...

@Tom. Yeah, a firearm is the greatest equalizer ever invented. It can make an 80 year old 98 lb grandmother equal to a 22 year old 250 lb linebacker.

Bruce Hayden said...

“(no, you don't hunt with Glocks)”

Actually people do hunt with 10 mm G40s. They were maybe Glock’s first MOS handguns, with a plate on the slide that can be easily replaced by one that fits different optics. It has a 6” slide (Versus 4.6” for my G20), and has been used to hunt deer, hogs, and even bear. For defense, the G20, with a normal length is probably better. It is 1/3 of a lb lighter, easier to draw, and is more maneuverable. I carry a G20, typically with a full magazine of solid cast rounds, in the backcountry here in NW MT, because we have black bears all over the place, and brown bears on the mountain ridge north of us (brown bears purportedly use the ridge as a highway between Glacier National Park (and the wilderness area south of there) and the wilderness area west of us, on the ID border.

Bruce Hayden said...

“I hear you. I have lived in CO since the early 1970's - tho I was really young then. Grew up on the western suburbs of Denver and the space between the western suburbs and Boulder was nothing. It's still a lot of nothing thanks to Rocky Flats, but amazingly now even the edges of old Rocky Flats are housing developments. yes - the 36 boulder turnpike corridor used to be a lot of nothing.”

Golden-ish here. Actually, between Golden, WR, and Lakewood. Had the choice between WR and Golden for HS, and we all picked WR. Family lived on the N side of S Table Top (Mesa) from 1960-1985 (I left for college in 1968). Parents then moved to Genesee up I-70, across from Lookout Mtn. Brother still has that house. Another brother lives behind El Rancho. Grandparents had a girls’ camp SW of Denver, and we had some of the horses over the winter. Would ride on the S Mesa after school many nights. Wide open on top, room to run. No one there. Mostly Open Space. Rode down to what became Golden West and NCAR on the other side of the Mesa at times. My kid was in Golden, but is now in NW Arvada, and often drives to work up Indiana on the E side of Rocky Flats. I nearly died on that road, next to Rocky Flats in maybe 1974-5, when I was ejected from my car, on the way to work in E Boulder one morning. Funny thing there is that they brought me by ambulance into Lutheran Hospital (WR), and couldn’t find my mother, my next of kin. Turns out that was the day she did volunteer work, in the Recovery Room for after surgery at that hospital. We had three generations work as volunteers there, starting with my grandmother. Still have a lot of friends and memories in that part of town. Almost no houses whatsoever between about 64th Ave and CO 128, and the jog to McCaslin, and up to 36. Used to laugh about the people buying houses SE of Rocky Flats - of course the land was cheap there - just don’t be surprised at having two headed kids, from the plutonium plumes from RF.

Looking back, most of our friends in HS skied, and ultimately raced. My theory is that that was because there was some self selecting for living in the western suburbs. A lot of our parents skied before and right after WW II. I think that they all picked that part of town because it was closer to the mountains. My father had to give it up, after he broke his skis, and my mother was pregnant with me. He didn’t ski again, until 1960 when he took my next brother and me up to Loveland Basin to learn. He quit around 80. That brother is still racing - training back at the area he first skied at 60 years earlier. Except that with a Dem, Polis, as governor, the racing season was essentially shot last year thanks to Polis’ overreaction to COVID-19. It was so bad that he had CDOT plow in all of the wide spots on Loveland Pass, so no one could backcountry ski off the pass there. Back to that area. We were at a wake 3-4 years ago for a neighbor. Oldest kid, a girl, had all of her old horse riding buddies show up. The next two, we raced with in HS, and most of their friends at the wake were skiers. Horses were the other allure for that neighborhood. Many did both - with our next door neighbors, he taught skiing (and flew commercially to pay for it), while she rode. My mother had us plant a huge hedge to keep from seeing and smelling their horse. And 4 gorgeous Appaloosas lived across the street.

Agree about the 36 Turnpike Corridor. Probably before your time, but I remember when they tore down the toll booths - which is why they called it the Turnpike. Went up to Louisville for Little League (probably about 1960) and remember eating there at an Italian restaurant after the game. Then did my corporate internship in LS there at Storage Tech in the late 1980s, and it was still there. Kid got their PhD in Boulder a couple years ago, and works along the Corridor. We stayed in the Lafayette/Louisville area for graduation. Big changes there from 1960 to 1988 to 2018. Definitely remember when there was nothing along there.

Bruce Hayden said...

“ Professor Althouse taking her gun(s) to Colorado?”

CO has changed in terms of gun laws. I can remember the 1950s, when you would see well dressed men downtown wearing suits, Stetsons, boots, and six guns. By the time I bought my Glock 17 there, 6-8 years ago, they were restricting magazines to 15 rounds. G17s came with 17 round magazines, which meant that many of the chain stores carried most of the rest of Glock’s lineup, couldn’t carry their original, very popular, G17. Found a small gun store in W Lakewood that sold me the gun, with its three magazines disassembled. Took minutes to reassemble, but that was on me, and not them. Still a problem with After market magazines too - most of my 9mm mags are 17 round MagPul (which left the state for WY over the mag limits) magazines. And I have a gazillion of their (illegal in CO) 30 round 5.56/.223 magazines. Even some .300 Blackout mags. Got a CO CCL after the state had gone from May Issue to Shall Issue. That may have been partially because the sheriff in Denver (appointed by the mayor) only issued them to friends of the mayor and city counsel, while the El Paso (C Springs) Sheriff was issuing them to anyone with a pulse, and without a criminal record. As the Dems solidify their control over that once great state (they elected brain dead Polis as governor), I expect that they will soon enact a lot of the stupid gun laws that the transplants from CA, NY, NJ, MA, etc so loved in their native states.

buwaya said...

"A woman who thinks loose tits equals "taking control of her life" can only be a gene-damaged mutant. God pity her offspring. "

They are quite normal. This is an aspect of ordinary female behavior. Women in groups do "the madness of crowds" thing really well. Or at least there is always some substantial % in any population that will convince themselves of whatever their aquaintance-group is on about. Partly this is because of the risk of losing their standing in that group. Women do not often argue about this stuff because opposition is (almost always) taken personally. There is no break between the personal and the impersonal. There is no female "fight club". And they value their social connections intensely.

As women (and men) are natural products there are of course variations and exceptions.

stlcdr said...

buwaya said...
Jeez.
Get a bunch of women together and the first silly idea turns into a fashion.
I dont have a problem with this particular one, but the problem remains.
ANY absurdity is likely to pop up, and turn into some fanatically supported cause.

8/27/20, 2:42 PM


This is one of the major flaws of the internet: an twerp can have a stupid idea, and always find someone else who thinks the same, and all of a sudden ‘it’s a real thing’. And today, we aren’t allowed to disparage - or else.

Quaestor said...

Don’t wait for the Calvary - be un-oppress-able.

Huh?

Calvary - Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified.

cavalry - a mounted military force, either on horseback or in self-propelled vehicles.

n.n said...

They are quite normal. This is an aspect of ordinary female behavior. Women in groups do "the madness of crowds"

The matriarchy is given to social justice movements.

Big Mike said...

@Paul, you forced me to do some research this morning. Bottom line is that people can and do hunt with 10mm, all the way up to feral hogs and deer, but not with a Glock because the barrel is too short. You need at least a six inch barrel for acceptable levels of accuracy and to assure maximum muzzle velocity.

People in grizzly country prefer to carry a 10mm over a .44 mag because 15 rounds in a double stack magazine vs 6 in a revolver.

Big Mike said...

Oops. I overlooked the Glock model 40, which does have a 6” barrel.

Thuglawlibrarian said...

Oh great, another white upper-class women shedding those "chains of oppression" stories.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Bruce H.

Very cool. Back when the open spaces were special and created separation between. Now, sprawl and suburbia. Boulder bought up all the open space which is nice, but it only makes for ultra expensive real estate. Lucky us who live here from before.

My folks moved us out from Wisconsin 1970? ish. and we lived in Applewood, which is technically a Golden address. Later moved to unincorporated western Arvada. Grew up near a lake and farms. It's all housing developments now. Totally depressing. Very familiar with the table mesas! Rolling Hills Country Club - lol. Didn't belong but that was the fancy place. Do you remember Mountain Shadows pool?

PM said...

Hiking topless, okay.
Skiing off-piste topless, ballsy.

Bruce Hayden said...

Where in Applewood? We were towards the west end of Crabapple Road.

Bruce Hayden said...

@BleachBit-and-Hammers

As I said, we lived in Applewood Mesa (1960-1985). We had a social membership at Rolling Hills, which meant no golf, which was fine. Much cheaper. Several of us swam for Rolling Hills, but were never that good. The way to get to the top of the Mesa on horseback was up behind the RH clubhouse, and we rode a lot over the fields that became the golf course. Eventually though the country club effectively required a certain amount of use of the restaurant every month, the quality of the food there was intermittent, and so with half the boys gone away to college, my parents gave up their membership there, and got one at Mount Vernon on Lookout Mountain instead. It didn’t have a golf course, but did have a much better restaurant (with a gorgeous view of Denver at night). My father kept that until he died a couple years ago.

We belonged to RH when it moved from 32nd and Youngsfield (which became the Applewood Golf Course) to its current location around McIntyre S of 32nd. What happened was that the old golf course was sitting on a lot of gravel (along Clear Creek). Coors wanted it. They built the new country club, which was nicer than the old one, and then traded. Win/Win. Then they sat on the gravel the next half century, with the Applewood Golf course run on top of it. No one was complaining though. We spent a lot of summer days at the pools of the two locations, in and out of the pool, starting at 7 am for swim team. One summer, at the old tennis courts, I traded shagging balls for tennis lessons. Never got much good at that either.

Growing up in Applewood Mesa, all three attorneys in my father’s law firm lived there. The Jr partner was Dem county chairman in 1960, and had a picture of him and JFK on rockers on the front porch of his house there. He later built a house on the new RH golf course. Sr partner was president of an S&L. His son took it over, built a house in Genesee up in the mountains. Later, after we were all gone from the house, my parents bought it from him, and he moved back to Applewood Mesa where he had grown up, for what they thought were better schools. Interestingly, both subdivisions are in the 80401 (Golden) zip code, despite being a 20 minute drive apart. He grow up living by Maple Grove Elementary and Manning Jr High, which all 5 of us boys also attended (though I started there in 6th grade). We then went to Wheatridge for HS, my mother having determined that it was better academically than Golden, our other choice. One of the five of us might have done better at Golden, because it gave more personal attention to it’s students, being, at the time, smaller. It was hard on him, with the other four of us having the reputation of being good at math (and going into engineering later). His degree was in History, while ours were all in math and engineering.

Finally, my kid lives now in western Arvada, west of McIntyre (and commutes to work, when they need to, in the COVID-19 era, up to the US 36 Corridor). Don’t know if that part of Arvada is incorporated or not. HS at Arvada West? Not being incorporated was one of the advantages of Applewood Mesa over the other parts of Applewood. It was also unique in having its own water supply, so was not dependent upon the Denver Water Board, as is most of the rest of the metro area.

Looking back, I think that growing up in the far west suburbs of Denver was almost idyllic.

Unknown said...

It took a while, but I've learned not to scroll past Bruce Hayden's page-long expositions. I've noticed that he does paragraphs now. Bruce..thank you. I enjoy your posts. Thank you for the occasional paragraph.

Althouse stirs stuff up. Heh. Yes she does.