I don't think that most rapists go out into the middle of the AT and setup camp waiting for a solo female hiker, which is always sort of the inferred outcome if a female goes hiking alone which I find to just be ludicrous.
I doubt "most rapists" stalk the Appalachian Trail but two women backpackers were savagely murdered on the AT about a decade ago. Not far from the campground I frequent.
There are plenty of creepy people on the AT but that trail is far more populated than most I hike on. There are criminal cases where the suspect "disappeared" by hiking the AT.
It is more dangerous to be in the city (where I live and have been attacked walking home from work at 7:00p -- and so I commuted by car afterward). I laugh when people say it's nuts for me to go alone to a 200-campsite ranger-patrolled campground.
But hiking trails are not always safe, especially for women.
And hiking solo -- from a safety perspective -- is not optimal.
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