SallyCat
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
As my recent posts indicate, I am in the middle of a three-week ski and mountain bike vacation in Mammoth Lakes, CA. It's a grand adventure and has been an absolute joy so far.
A socially-awkward introvert by nature, I can be a comfortable Chatty Cathy on chairlifts and around the lodge. I also carry a technical, outdoor-specific wallet that is transparent and thus reveals my Pennsylvania driver's license whenever I pay cash, and that's been a frequent conversation-starter.(The wallet is waterproof and ultra-light. It's made by a company called "Ziploc").
Anyway, the fact that I've come 3,000 miles to camp, ski, and bike in June by myself often garners some wide-eyed looks of surprise and sometimes more overt commentary. All of the comments have been positive ("Good for you!" "What an epic adventure!", etc.). I have not at all experienced any feedback even remotely discouraging or judgy. In fact, because I'm solo, I've met and skied with many very nice people just from chatting in the parking lot while booting up. I'm honest about my skiing ability and new-ness to Mammoth, and several people have been generous with encouragement and advice. So, I don't feel socially isolated at all.
But the inevitable surprise is sometimes....annoying is too strong a word. Disappointing, maybe? I feel as though if a guy of any age were doing the very same thing as me, his trip would elicit very little surprise and probably zero commentary other than "cool."
So my question is: have Divas who have engaged in solo travel had any notable reactions? If so, what do you think the root cause of the reactions were? Do you have any tips for traveling solo as a woman?
(And by the way, I'm not necessarily saying that there's anything wrong with people being surprised about solo traveling women; we're only a generation or so removed from a time when it would have been inconceivable or unseemly.)
Here are my tips for traveling solo.
1. With strangers, be vague about where you're staying and who with.
2. When camping, get to know the rangers and hosts.
3. Wear a RoadID wristband so that if anything happens, rescuers will be able to notify your family.
4. Carry a Personal Locater Beacon when venturing into less-populated trails.
5. When eating at casual restaurants, go during the off times, either bit early or a bit late, so you don't take up a big table that a group could use, and thereby lessen the gratuity that would go to the server.
6. When driving, a KOA is a cheap and safe alternative to rest stops and random pull-offs when you need to sleep.
7. I wear earbuds when I ski so that I can listen to music or podcasts if I end up on a chair by myself. I take the buds out of my ears if I have company on the chair, just so the person knows I can hear them.
There's probably more, but I'm exhausted from skiing.
A socially-awkward introvert by nature, I can be a comfortable Chatty Cathy on chairlifts and around the lodge. I also carry a technical, outdoor-specific wallet that is transparent and thus reveals my Pennsylvania driver's license whenever I pay cash, and that's been a frequent conversation-starter.(The wallet is waterproof and ultra-light. It's made by a company called "Ziploc").
Anyway, the fact that I've come 3,000 miles to camp, ski, and bike in June by myself often garners some wide-eyed looks of surprise and sometimes more overt commentary. All of the comments have been positive ("Good for you!" "What an epic adventure!", etc.). I have not at all experienced any feedback even remotely discouraging or judgy. In fact, because I'm solo, I've met and skied with many very nice people just from chatting in the parking lot while booting up. I'm honest about my skiing ability and new-ness to Mammoth, and several people have been generous with encouragement and advice. So, I don't feel socially isolated at all.
But the inevitable surprise is sometimes....annoying is too strong a word. Disappointing, maybe? I feel as though if a guy of any age were doing the very same thing as me, his trip would elicit very little surprise and probably zero commentary other than "cool."
So my question is: have Divas who have engaged in solo travel had any notable reactions? If so, what do you think the root cause of the reactions were? Do you have any tips for traveling solo as a woman?
(And by the way, I'm not necessarily saying that there's anything wrong with people being surprised about solo traveling women; we're only a generation or so removed from a time when it would have been inconceivable or unseemly.)
Here are my tips for traveling solo.
1. With strangers, be vague about where you're staying and who with.
2. When camping, get to know the rangers and hosts.
3. Wear a RoadID wristband so that if anything happens, rescuers will be able to notify your family.
4. Carry a Personal Locater Beacon when venturing into less-populated trails.
5. When eating at casual restaurants, go during the off times, either bit early or a bit late, so you don't take up a big table that a group could use, and thereby lessen the gratuity that would go to the server.
6. When driving, a KOA is a cheap and safe alternative to rest stops and random pull-offs when you need to sleep.
7. I wear earbuds when I ski so that I can listen to music or podcasts if I end up on a chair by myself. I take the buds out of my ears if I have company on the chair, just so the person knows I can hear them.
There's probably more, but I'm exhausted from skiing.