Acquiring a taste for hiking

The weather was nice enough again last week that I decided to finally give hiking a try. Actually I want to get more into trail running than hiking. I went two days and LOVED it. I can drive to the base of the mountain in the same time it takes me to get to the gym. Maybe 5 minutes. I hiked the lower trail that still climbs quite a bit. The trail is often literally on the edge of the mountain. I have to really pay attention. The second day I hiked I ran quite a bit of it for over an hour. It was AWESOME! My lungs and legs were really getting a workout. I did stop several times to take in the scenery. I was overlooking the entire valley. Amazing. I was running eye level with a helicopter flying by! For awhile I was mesmerized by the F-16's. They were doing their practice runs. Usually they fly over my neighborhood and I don't really know where they go, but from my view I was able to see exactly what they're up to on those practice runs. I could see easily to the air base so I watched them take off and land, circle around, skim the runway and take off again. It was such a treat for me since I'm hopelessly fascinated by air force aircraft. Two aircraft skimmed over the mountain top and I had to sit on the trail so I wouldn't get dizzy and roll down the mountain when I looked up. I could easily read the bottom of their wings but I didn't see the airforce markings so I'm not sure if they belonged to them, but they were flying around the base so they probably were. ahhhhh....this was all so much fun for me. I had an amazing run. The next night I was telling my neighbors about my new love for mountain running and they told me I should not be doing that solo. It just simply isn't safe since there are incidences that women are robbed and probably worse. Definately not common, but it can happen. I felt so deflated. I knew they were right. It really isn't wise for me to be out there by myself. I just don't know enough people yet to have a running friend. I had envisioned how fit I was going to get in the month and a half I have left before the kids are out of school, and I felt like it went up in smoke. There's no way I can replicate that kind of running in town. It's just not the same as a rocky winding trail. grrrrrrrr.....
Last complaint: It isn't fair that Nephi can run trails solo with little concern because he's a guy and I can't. It's just not fair.