Back to blog When I tell people that I often go hiking alone abroad, the question that is inevitably asked first is: ‘But as a woman alone? Isn’t that dangerous? Do you feel safe?’ While countless articles will continue to appear about safety on the trails, today it’s time for a classic storytime. Feel free to take a seat on the couch (or even on the toilet – this article has a reading time of about seven minutes, which is ideal for a quick read, if you ask me), and let me take you to my first evening on the Tour du Mont Blanc.
Severely underestimated
It’s seven o’clock in the evening, and I’ve been hiking for about thirteen hours. Slowly, the realization is sinking in that I have severely underestimated the Tour du Mont Blanc. This is only my third long-distance hike and the first in truly mountainous terrain – I have grossly underestimated these elevation gains. In the latter half of the day, I haven’t come across any water sources, so my water supply is currently at about a quarter of a liter. To top it off, I realize that I took a wrong turn three kilometers ago and am now three kilometers off the trail. But I’m utterly exhausted. Going back to find the trail is out of the question. I decide to find a flat piece of ground, eat a chocolate bar for dinner, and spend the night here. On the map, I see that I’ll encounter a water source after three kilometers the next day. So the plan is to wake up early, find the trail again, and refill my water.
Calm night
One advantage of the Tour du Mont Blanc is the good weather. My tent has four ‘flaps’ that you can open for good ventilation, but so far, I’ve always slept with a completely closed tent because I’ve always slept in rainy areas. So, this night is different: for the first time, I sleep with one side of my tent open. After eating my chocolate bar, peace finally descends. It gets dark, I become tired, take out my contact lenses, and fall asleep around nine o’clock. End of story, you might think – well, it takes a bit of a turn here.
“The person behind it, I can’t see, but judging by the height of the flashlight, it seems to be a tall person, most likely a man.”
Surrounded
A few hours later. My first sleep cycle is over, and I enter my REM sleep. I wake up slightly, until suddenly I jolt awake: a flashlight shines a few meters away from my tent, straight into it. I’m terrified. I can’t see the person behind it, but judging by the height of the flashlight, it seems to be a tall person, most likely a man. Scenarios race through my mind, my body is on high alert, and then I do what I always do in stressful situations: my emotions go into a cage deep inside, and I act extremely calm and rational on the outside. With my best French (I didn’t live in Brussels at that time, so my French left much to be desired), I ask who’s there.
No answer.
“Can I help you with something?”
No answer. I decide to play the card of ‘annoyed but not scared’.
“Helloooo, who’s there, are you looking for something?”
No answer.
And then I hear what I was even more afraid of: footsteps around my tent.
Defense
So there are more of them. While the person with the flashlight stands guard, others surround my tent. I brace myself for the worst and resign to the thought that this is the moment in my life when I have to fight for my life. So I start preparing. While still asking in a feigned annoyed tone who’s there and why they’re shining a light into my tent, I mentally go over the list of items I have with me and filter out the ones I can use for defense. This leads me to: an extra tent peg and my nail scissors. Not much, but better than nothing. I maintain ‘eye contact’ with the flashlight and gather these items.
“I prepare for the worst and resign myself to the thought that this is the moment in my life when I have to fight for my life.”
Contact lenses
When I have my tent peg and nail scissors ready, they still haven’t taken any action themselves. I continue to ponder how I can increase my chances of survival and realize that I can defend myself better if I have sharp vision. That means I need to put in my contact lenses. With my defensive weapons in my right hand, I use my left hand to search for my contact lens case. “Sir, are you finally going to answer? Who are you? What do you need? I’m going back to sleep, you know. Can you please stop shining that light?” Meanwhile, I put in my contact lenses. And when I wear one lens, I see the last thing I expected to see…
How imaginative the mind can be…
Because what do I see… The moon. THE. MOON. A full moon shining into my tent. No sir, no frightening figure, just… the moon. And those footsteps around my tent? Mountain goats. With so many legs it seemed like five men were creeping around my tent. HAHA!! With one lens in my eye, a tent peg and nail scissors in my sweaty hands, and a heart pounding in my throat, I suddenly feel a hundred kilos lift off my shoulders. I burst into a huge fit of laughter and tears. The moon! It was just… the moon :).
Familiar phenomenon?
Before I wrap up, one more thing: afterwards, I heard stories from several fellow hikers about mistaking the moon for a flashlight. So apparently, it’s a familiar phenomenon… So if you ever think someone is following or threatening you with a flashlight: double-check a second time, because chances are you’re just face to face with Ms. Moon.
In any case: all’s well that ends well. Happy hiking, and a big kiss to you too!
