10 things I’ve learned about self-defense from my own scary encounters outdoors
I’ve had a handful of genuinely scary encounters with people while hiking, camping, and spending time outdoors. So, naturally, I want to share some of the things I've learned with you all. But please know: This isn’t a definitive guide to self-defense. And there is no one “right” way to react when you’re in danger. Instead, I’m sharing 10 things my own experiences have taught me about situational awareness, de-escalation, defensive tools, trusting your gut, and doing whatever you need to do to get yourself home safely
Let’s start with some ground rules before continuing. Because I think these are really, really important for us to level-set on before diving into the strategies themselves. Please read all of these.
Self-defense strategies will never be a one-size-fits-all solution to every encounter. What I’m sharing here helped me in my own unique experiences, which will probably be completely different from anything you encounter. What worked for me might not work for you, and vice versa.
What I recommend here may not work. In fact, in certain situations, some of these things could cause more harm. Do not take these strategies as hard-and-fast truths or a step-by-step guide for how you’re “supposed” to react. You need to make your own informed decisions based on what is happening in front of you. What might have de-escalated my situation could potentially escalate your situation, etc.
Whatever someone does to keep themselves safe and alive will always be enough. Run? Fight back? Freeze? Fawn? Yell? Cooperate? Whatever it was, it was enough. They are alive to tell the tale. There is no “correct” trauma response.
It is never the victim’s fault. It doesn’t matter how “prepared” or knowledgeable someone is. It doesn’t matter if they made all the “right” choices or all the “wrong” ones. Nobody should have to fear for their life in the outdoors. The only person responsible for threatening or hurting someone is the aggressor. Full stop. Period.
This is not an exhaustive list of outdoor safety strategies. There are endless things you can and should do to prepare yourself for spending time outside. This list is specifically intended to highlight some of the lesser-known things I’ve learned from my own scary experiences.
We do not live in an action movie or an adventure novel. This is real life. What you THINK you would do or THINK someone else should do in a hypothetical situation can be vastly, VASTLY different from what actually happens when you are scared, your adrenaline is pumping, and you have seconds to make decisions. Real life is not like the movies or even the true crime podcasts.
I am not an expert. I’m sharing my lived experiences and the things I’ve learned from them. If you want professional self-defense training or expert guidance, please seek that out. I’ve included additional resources in this post that can help.
These are strategies for dealing with scary people, specifically. All the other outdoor safety stuff still applies. Carry the 10 Essentials. Know where you are. Tell someone where you’re going. Check the weather. Carry appropriate navigation and emergency communication tools. This post is about what happens when the potential threat is another person.
Before we go any further, I want to ease your fears and give some perspective
Conversations about outdoor safety (especially for women or people in marginalized bodies) can get really sensationalized really quickly. The reality is that the scary stranger lurking in the woods is not the most likely source of violence most of us face. Violent crime is far more complicated than that, and people are frequently harmed by someone they already know. And I know that's a very bleak reminder, but it's an important one.
That doesn’t mean scary encounters with strangers outdoors don't happen. They absolutely do. Unfortunately, I know that personally. It also doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare for them.
But I don't want conversations about outdoor safety to convince people (especially women and other marginalized people) that simply going into the woods is inherently reckless or dangerous.
More than half of violent victimizations involve someone the victim knows, not a stranger. National Crime Victimization Survey data consistently show that violence is frequently committed by intimate partners, relatives, acquaintances, and other people known to the victim. (Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics / National Crime Victimization Survey)
Violent crime is not uniquely an outdoors problem. In fact, the data doesn't support the idea that simply being in a rural or wilderness environment automatically puts you at greater risk of violence from another person. Crime rates vary significantly between individual urban, suburban, and rural communities. (Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics)
In 2019, the violent-victimization rate was 21.1 per 1,000 people in urban areas, compared with 16.3 per 1,000 in rural areas. That doesn't mean every city is more dangerous than every rural area (it absolutely isn't), but it does push back against the idea that leaving the city and heading into the woods automatically puts you in some uniquely dangerous environment. (Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Criminal Victimization, 2019)
Pepper spray has been found to be a reasonably safe and effective less-lethal tool in research reviewed by the National Institute of Justice. Studies of law-enforcement use found reductions in injuries after pepper spray was introduced, although as with any defensive tool, it isn't guaranteed to work in every situation. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice)
The outdoors is not some uniquely terrifying place filled with people waiting behind trees to attack you.
The overwhelming majority of my time outdoors has been completely uneventful when it comes to other people. I have hiked alone. Camped alone. Driven down forest roads alone. Slept alone in my car. I've encountered thousands of strangers outdoors who were perfectly kind, normal people or who simply walked past me and went about their day.
But scary encounters can happen. I've experienced them. And I think we can acknowledge that reality, prepare ourselves for it, and talk openly about what we can do without sensationalizing the actual risk.
If you want to learn more about safety strategies for hiking/camping/exploring solo, I have another blog post that dives into all of that a little bit more in-depth, including the tools I carry on me. This post is more about some lesser-known strategies.
So, with that context established, here are some of the lesser-known and less-discussed things my own experiences have taught me.
10 lesser-known outdoor self-defense strategies
1. Situational awareness is everything
Paying attention is probably one of the most useful tools you have. And that includes listening to your gut.
That might look like noticing:
Someone walking unusually close behind you for an extended period of time.
Someone on the trail who seems genuinely out of place or whose behavior doesn't make sense for the setting. (And no, this is not an excuse to be ableist, racist, classist, or otherwise bigoted. I do not mean “this person doesn't look like my idea of a hiker.” I mean behavior that genuinely doesn't make sense in the context you're in.)
Someone parking directly next to you when there is an otherwise huge, empty parking lot.
Someone asking unusually detailed questions about where you're going, whether you're alone, where you're camping, or when you're coming back.
Someone who is clearly intoxicated or under the influence and behaving unpredictably.
Someone who just gives you a bad vibe.
You do not need courtroom-level evidence that someone has bad intentions before you're allowed to create distance from them.
I cannot really explain the feeling in writing well, but there's a point in a situation where you just KNOW that person means you harm. It's a deep, animalistic knowing that you can't ignore. Anyone who has been in a scary situation like this knows what I'm talking about, but it's hard to describe if you haven't. It warps reality and shifts you into survival mode instantly.
If something feels wrong, pay attention to that feeling. Maybe you're wrong. Great! You changed your plans, crossed a parking lot, turned around on a trail, or drove somewhere else for absolutely no reason. That's a pretty small price to pay. I'd personally rather be safe than sorry.
STORY TIME: I once drove over an hour to get to a trailhead. When I got there, there were a few other cars in the parking lot (no other people I could see), but one of them stood out to me. There was a bunch of trash around it, and it looked run down. When I got out of my car, a man got out of that car. He was dressed in normal clothes, not hiking clothes. Instead of getting on the trail, he just hung around his car, watching me. I knew in that instant that something was wrong. I got back in my car and high-tailed it out of there. Did I waste two hours of my time? Yep. Do I know for sure if that man meant ill? Nope. But you know what would have happened? Even if that guy didn't mean harm and left me alone, the entire hike I would have been thinking about him and feeling super paranoid and scared. It wouldn't have been an enjoyable experience. I was glad I listened to my gut and left.
2. Use your body language and your voice
Make yourself big. Stand your ground if it is safe to do so. Shoulders back. Feet apart. Get yourself into a sturdy stance. Keep your hands free. Make direct eye contact if appropriate. Use a deeper, stronger voice if you can. Be loud. Keep a straight face. Make it very, very clear that you're not to be fucked with.
You can do all of this while absolutely terrified. Fake it ‘til you make it, baby!
Confidence in these situations doesn't necessarily mean feeling confident. Your heart might be pounding. Your hands might be shaking. You might feel like you're about to throw up. You can still project confidence and competence.
STORYTIME: I was camping by myself once in a dispersed area. A man started to approach me on a bike. When I realized I was in danger, I stood up from my camp chair. I got as big as I could. I put one hand in my pocket and made it kinda look like I was holding something. The other hand had my bear spray. I looked the man dead in the eyes and said, "HEY THERE" in a very loud, deep, and friendly yet stern voice. A strong voice. I wanted him to know: "I see you. And I am ready." I've never seen a grown man pedal way so fast. He was not expecting that reaction at all.
3. Call someone if you can
Ideally, call 911 if you believe you're in immediate danger. But in a pinch, call someone you trust.
Having another person listening to what is happening can be incredibly valuable. They can know where you are. They can hear what's happening. They can call for help if you suddenly can't.
Even just making it obvious to the person confronting you that someone else now knows what's happening can change the dynamic.
STORYTIME: In my most recent scary encounter, I called my husband. Looking back, I wish I had called 911, but who knows if that would have aggravated the aggressor even more. I called my husband, put him on speaker, and told him: "Prepare to call 911. There is a man threatening me. I have already sent pictures of his license plate to the cloud backup." This was both for my husband to know the information and for my aggressor to know he wouldn't get away with anything if he tried it.
4. Most situations can be de-escalated before they become physical
I think when a lot of people hear “self-defense,” they immediately picture fighting. Punches. Kicks. Weapons. Hand-to-hand combat. And yes, learning physical self-defense can absolutely be valuable.
But so much of self-defense is everything that happens before you ever get to that point.
Creating distance.
Recognizing weird behavior.
Using your voice.
Setting boundaries.
Moving toward other people.
Calling for help.
Leaving.
De-escalating.
Changing your plans.
Most scary encounters aren't going to end in hand-to-hand combat. That doesn't make them any less threatening or scary. And it doesn't mean you were overreacting because nothing “actually happened.” Sometimes nothing happened because you did something.
Please, please, please don’t skip over all of those strategies because they aren't as dramatic as learning how to throw a punch. We don't live in a movie.
5. You most likely will never deploy a weapon
This is another place where I think our action-movie brains can take over. Having pepper spray, bear spray, gun, or another defensive tool doesn't mean you're necessarily going to use it.
In fact, hopefully you never do. A weapon is not a magic shield. Carrying something doesn't automatically make you safe, and owning something you haven't learned how to access and use under stress isn't necessarily helpful.
Whatever you choose to carry, know how it works. Know where it is. Know its limitations. And don't let having it replace all the other safety strategies you're using. Do not let it give you a false sense of security.
6. Sometimes a defensive tool can work as a deterrent without ever being used
There is a difference between having a defensive tool and actually deploying one. Sometimes simply making it clear that you are prepared to protect yourself can change someone's calculation.
But (and this is important!!!) introducing or displaying a weapon can also escalate a situation. It is not automatically the right move. This goes straight back to Ground Rule #1: there is no universal script for these encounters.
STORYTIME: I regularly hike with my pepper spray either in hand or my bear spray displayed at the front of my pack. I've gone so far to remove my bear spray from its holster and hold it as well as unsheath my knife to "show" an aggressor that I had tools. Every time I've done this, it's deterred them from even coming a step closer.
7. Do or say whatever you need to do to get out of the situation
If standing your ground isn't working, you might need to do the exact opposite.
You might fawn.
You might apologize even though you've done absolutely nothing wrong.
You might compliment the person.
You might agree with them.
You might hand over your stuff.
You might say whatever you think they want to hear.
Your pride does not matter more than your safety.
One thing I try to think about in these situations is: What does this person need from me in order to leave on their own? What do I need to say or do to get them to leave me alone without making this worse?
Sometimes the smartest response looks aggressive. Sometimes the smartest response looks submissive. Sometimes it's running. Sometimes it's staying perfectly still. Sometimes it's acknowledging the person; sometimes it's ignoring them completely.
You are not trying to prove how tough you are or how wrong they are. You're trying to survive the encounter and get home.
STORYTIME: In my most recent scary experience, I had to apologize and essentially fawn. After attempting to stand my ground, make myself big, etc. and that didn't work, it became clear to me I needed to pivot. My strategy needed to shift. I knew this guy meant harm, and he wasn't going to leave me alone until I did something different. The altercation initially started because his off-leash pitbull charged my infant daughter and I. When I yelled "HELP!" and asked him to please leash his dog because it was coming after us, he was extremely upset that I would "falsely accuse" his dog of an attack. After my attempts to reason with him just got the man even more agitated and aggressive, I switched up my approach. I apologized to him, complimented his dog, told him I made it all up, and that I was a stupid woman. I told him his dog was amazing and sweet and lovely and looks like it is so well-behaved. I was about one minute away from falling on my knees to beg him to leave us alone when this strategy finally won. The man finally got in his car, satisfied at my self-degradation, and left. It saved us. Was my ego bruised? Sure. But I did and said what I needed to do to get him to LEAVE and to get us to SAFETY.
8. Never rely entirely on someone else for your safety
Even if you're with other people. Have what you need to take care of yourself. Pack the 10 Essentials. Carry your own water. Know where you are. Have access to navigation. Know how you're getting back to the car.
9. Make sure your phone (and your emergency communication device) is charged
This sounds incredibly basic until you desperately need your phone and realize it's at 4%. Start with a charged phone. If you carry a satellite communicator or GPS device, make sure that's charged too.
And remember: technology can fail. Batteries die. Phones break. Service disappears. Devices get lost. That's why none of these things should be your only safety plan.
10. Take a beat before deciding what you're going to do
You don't always have to jump into action immediately. Sometimes you do. If someone is actively attacking you, obviously you may have no time to stand there contemplating your options.
But if someone is confronting you, yelling at you, behaving strangely, or making you uncomfortable without physically attacking you, you may have a second.
Use it. Breathe. Look around.
Where is your exit?
Where are the other people?
Where is your phone?
Where are your defensive tools?
What does this person seem to want?
What action is most likely to get you out of this situation without escalating it?
Fear and adrenaline make everything feel incredibly urgent. Your body may be screaming at you to DO SOMETHING RIGHT NOW. Sometimes you should listen to it. And sometimes the smartest thing you can give yourself is five seconds to think.
The goal is not to “win”
I think this might be the biggest thing my own scary encounters have taught me. Self-defense isn't about proving you're tougher than someone. It isn't about having the coolest weapon. It isn't about responding exactly the way someone on the internet thinks they would respond from the safety of their couch. It's about getting home.
Anyone who has ever been a victim knows that the hardest part about healing from trauma is replaying the moment over and over and picking apart every decision, every second. Those "what ifs" and woulda, coulda, shouldas just eat you alive.
I go back to different moments in my life and replay every hypothetical situation over and over. What if I had bear sprayed that dog that charged us? Wouldn't that have been the right move? But no, that guy was so insane about protecting his dog, he probably would have murdered me if I harmed his dog. But why didn't I think of throwing my daughter in the car and locking her in there and out of safety while I confronted the man? Why did I keep her in the backpack on my back? Well, what if I had done that and then the man or his dog harmed me? Then my daughter would be stuck locked in a hot car. The questions go over and over and over in my mind. But there's no use in killing myself over it. Because at the end of the day, I got both of us to safety and that's all that matters.
Maybe you yelled. Maybe you ran. Maybe you froze. Maybe you handed over your stuff. Maybe you apologized to someone who absolutely did not deserve an apology. Maybe you trusted your gut and turned around before anything happened at all.
You got yourself out. That's enough.
And if something did happen to you: It is not your fault, and I'm so sorry.
And please remember: The outdoors are for everybody. The scary things I've encountered are so, SO rare. Most people you encounter outdoors are going to be lovely and kind or at least just leave you alone. Do not let me stories scare you.
Additional resources
Girls Fight Back - INCREDIBLE self-defense strategies and courses
Outdoor Defense - A subset of Girls Fight Back, specifically designed for outdoor scenarios like hiking and camping solo
Outdoorsy podcast episode: Empowered & prepared: Staying safe in the outdoors as a solo adventurer
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