I stumbled across an excellent podcast series that asks this very question (via Tom Mangan’s hiking blog). The two-part podcast is worth a listen (Sargeant’s stuff largely kicks ass), as are these excerpts of reader comments on Mangan’s blog:

From Dan Mitchell:
I’ll never forget the time I casually mentioned to one of my work colleagues who has (I now clearly understand) led an entirely indoor life that I was planning a short pack trip. She ripped into me for acting foolishly and dangerously and risking my life and putting the futures of my children in danger. There was no explaining…

Randy L:
I cracked up a few weeks ago when one of our office workers spotted a turkey outside the window near her workspace. Our building is very near the wetlands beyond 237, and we commonly see ducks, seabirds, various rodents, and such. She was actually scared of it. She was saying “oh my god” “what about diseases”, and “do they bite?” “Should we call security?”, things like that.

Sure, you don’t tangle with Marauding Packs of Killer Turkeys every time you head out into the backcountry, but you have to wonder about the “Wild IQ” of people who think you do — or people who think backpacking involves risks on a par with spearfishing for sharks.

Danger, Will Robinson. Danger.

Every report we’ve seen cites the decline in participation in outdoor sports (the Internet and video games are seen as culprits). Does the popular, somewhat sensational media play a role?

After all, the only time you hear about mountain climbers is when they die; the only media attention given mountain lions comes during their very infrequent attacks.

Years ago, — while suiting up at a fishing access — I was confronted by a woman who wanted to know why I was “risking my life” (presumably in the raging waters of the river) “just to catch some silly fish.”

She was nice about it, but it’s hard to answer a question when you disagree with the basic premise. Suggesting that I was in more danger on the drive to the river (down I-5) didn’t make much of an impression, and I wonder how she would have reacted to a backcountry skier.

A Question of Risk

Does the average “indoor” person believe wild animals are hanging right on the fringes of the darkness, waiting for dinner some foolish human to wander by?

Do people really perceive wild turkeys as a threat?

Is the wilderness really more dangerous than your average freeway at rush hour?

And how many wild turkeys (the animal kind, not the bottled version) would it take to kill a pair of fly fishermen?

Weigh in Undergrounders; do you have any stories/opinions/rants to share about the public’s perception of wilderness?

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