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Article: Hiking alone: understanding fear, negotiation strategies and leisure experience.
- Article from:
- Journal of Leisure Research
- Article date:
- January 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 National Recreation and Park Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Introduction
Women's participation in athletics and outdoor pursuits has increased 250% since 1977 (Women's Sport Foundation, 1997). According to the Foundation, the most popular women's fitness activities today include exercise walking, swimming, biking, aerobics and working out in the gym. Over 11 million women participate in hiking and backpacking. More women hike than play softball, basketball, tennis or golf (Cordes & Ibrahim, 1999). Despite the popularity of hiking among women, Chasteen (1994) found that 33 Out of 35 women interviewed claimed they would never hike alone in the woods because they would feel isolated and vulnerable to attack by a man. These ...