kudos to all old ladies

A lot of times when I tell people my plan they go "Who are you going with?" and I say "No one" and they say "Wooooow." This doesn't make me pat myself on the back, it makes me freak out just a little bit more. Like the edges of my apparently unequipped-for-solo-travel body bug out an inch further, I go through my mental list of men available for travel, come up with nothing, and resign myself to being on edge for all 85 days of my trip.

So, in the interest of not getting trapped in an alleyway or stuck on a mountain with an unsavory character, I have gone straight to the "For Women Travelers" section of every guidebook I pick up. I've pretty much talked myself out of recurring rounds of fear about being on my own in a city--it's the mountain climbing that's got me freaked out now. The Lonely Planet Trekking in the Indian Himalaya says:

In simple terms, the traditional attitudes in some remote villages are that
there could be something wrong wth females trekking without male company.
Here, your guide--who normally comes from a more educated area--can assist by
explaining why you have decided to trek without male company. This can go a
long way to assist women trekkers who want to spend time in the villages, visit
the local school and be invited into the houses.

Trekking crews (there are rarely, if ever, women porters, horse handlers or
guides) treat women with more respect, although they will always defer to any
males for instructions on where to camp, etc. It is an attitude to be
recognised but will change as more women trek in India--it can be overcome to
some extent with good humour and patience. Women trek leaders are likely
to be treated with appropriate respect.

So, I've decided I will latch onto a large crowd of strong men when hoofing it through the mountains. This is what you might call a huge downer. I'm going on the trip of a lifetime, blah blah blah, and for the first time ever, it depends on the will of the patriarchy whether or not I get to do something. I'm not really worried about finding a bunch of guys to hike with--it seems to me that all the posters on the Thorn Tree are hardy men with big backpacks--but it's possible that I'll only get to look at the mountains just because I'm a girl!

And it sucks fundamentally when I think about how if I were a man, I wouldn't have to read this section at all. I could trip up to a hill station, ask who's the best cook, and head for the hills.

That's when I give myself a pat on the back. Go women. And if you know of anyone who wants to climb a mountain, give them my card.