Women adventurers

[MrHare]

I came across this on the indie this morning and thought some here might be interested:

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel...y-of-a-woman-on-a-solo-adventure-9971130.html

Lois Pryce has an interesting point. There are some incredible stories out there (Lillian Ailing anyone?) but often they attract far less attention than their male counterparts.

 

[cranmere]

The other problem is that women are taught to be afraid.

 

[mrcharly]

Sarah Outen
Dervla Murphy

These are two I follow, or read about. Lost count of how many of Dervla Murphy's books I've read.

 

[cranmere]

Rosie Swale-Pope
Nellie Bly
Christina Dodwell

For that matter I wonder how many of us here have done some fairly extensive travelling? I've hitch-hiked around Europe, sailed around the world, wandered around Brazil and New Zealand, for example.

 

[Harvestman]

That was really interesting.

Now I'm not a woman, but it has always puzzled me why most women that I know wouldn't dream of going camping for fear of being attacked in the woods, but those same women will quite happily go into a town centre on a friday night where there are lots of drunk and unpredictable people around. I know which one I consider to be safer. Give me the woods every time.

 

[sandbender]

These are the female adventurers who've featured in my reading and who in some cases have inspired my own journeys.

Freya Stark
Amelia B. Edwards
Laura Dekker

Not an adventurer in the traditional sense, but aslo...

Jane Goodall

 

[woof]

That was really interesting.

Now I'm not a woman, but it has always puzzled me why most women that I know wouldn't dream of going camping for fear of being attacked in the woods, but those same women will quite happily go into a town centre on a friday night where there are lots of drunk and unpredictable people around. I know which one I consider to be safer. Give me the woods every time.

Used to go walking with a good friend(until my wife put a stop to it)& she was terrified of the woods after dark & no amount of reasoning on my part would convince her otherwise.

Rob

 

[JAG009]

I have been following some of this woman's adventures for some time now http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...NIYSbtMifdLMgzLRA&sig2=hLxJIqXcBPYTob9IIBTw-Q ..I have never seen her on the news , don't know why her expeds are quite epic.. have a look and a read of some of her blogs

 

[santaman2000]

I suppose it may stretch the definition of "adventurer" a bit, but I always admired these women:

Amelia Earhart
Lottie Moon

 

[Robson Valley]

Useful to add the travels of Emily Carr (aka Klee Wik) who journeyed north
in a career powered with painting.

 

[British Red]

The other problem is that women are taught to be afraid.

According to three generations of women in my family, the worst culprits for this are other women which is very sad. Certainly when my wife comes shooting, off road driving, tree felling, camping out etc. Its inevitable that more than one man will say "I wish my wife would come with me". Always sad that.

 

[cranmere]

Now I'm not a woman, but it has always puzzled me why most women that I know wouldn't dream of going camping for fear of being attacked in the woods, but those same women will quite happily go into a town centre on a friday night where there are lots of drunk and unpredictable people around. I know which one I consider to be safer. Give me the woods every time.

This, in spades. I have lost count of the number of people who have expressed horror that I am happy to walk alone in wild places. I've even had an official management order that I was not to walk to and from the office I was temping in across half a mile of fields rather than taking 2 buses through the middle of town, on the grounds that they "could not be liable for my safety." I asked if they thought there were crazed sheep hiding behind every tree but they didn't see the joke.

British Red, I agree with you, I have had far more women tell me that I should be afraid than I have men.

 

[Joonsy]

[FONT=&amp]one of my favourites is GRANDMA GATEWOOD, the first woman to walk the Appalachian Trail in 1955 aged 67, she was a pioneer of ultra-light hiking and often carried little more than a blanket[/FONT] and walked in sneakers even back then.

Grandma Gatewood >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Gatewood

 

[sunndog]

Barbara toy

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&s...5XdHTNJjtdzmlKhlg&sig2=a9v-0XuHRlQjEaVstlsSoQ

 

[rorymax]

[FONT=&]one of my favourites is GRANDMA GATEWOOD, the first woman to walk the Appalachian Trail in 1955 aged 67, she was a pioneer of ultra-light hiking and often carried little more than a blanket[/FONT] and walked in sneakers even back then.

Grandma Gatewood >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Gatewood

She wins for me.

 

[bb07]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacagawea

 

[Tengu]

Yes, women are taught be afraid too...Ive never bought that. (But in the feminine line, Im a failure, and rather distrust women.)

a good book is `An Explorers Handbook` by Christina Dodwell.

 

[British Red]

One such woman I was lucky enough to meet was Ellen MacArthur. What struck me most with her was the focus. There was no angles or expectation of people making allowances for her gender or waif like stature, she was going to be the fastest round the world single handed sailor. No quarter asked. I liked that.

 

[cranmere]

Sailing is one of the few places where we have a genuine level playing field.

 

[British Red]

Shooting is another. Both great sports I enjoyed with my mother.