MJ calls what happened to her in Zion national park “small ‘T’ trauma”. She knows women have experienced worse from their partners. But she still feels the anger of being left behind on a hike by her now ex. “It brings up stuff in my body that maybe I have not cleared out yet,” she said.
Five years ago, MJ and a new partner – he was not exactly her boyfriend, and the pair were not exclusive – traveled from Los Angeles to Utah for an adventure getaway. MJ, who is 38 and works in PR, was looking forward to exploring Zion’s striking scenery; its vast sandstone canyon and pristine wading trails were on the list. But on the morning of their big hike, MJ was not feeling well. She could not shake the feeling that something was “off”; indeed, MJ would learn on this trip that her partner was seeing other women.
As they made their way up Angel’s Landing, MJ’s partner started walking faster than her. “I could tell it was getting on his nerves that I was slow,” she said. “I was like, ‘Fuck it, just go ahead of me.’” He did without hesitation.
When she caught up at the top of the mountain, they took a picture together. Then her partner hiked down the mountain with a woman he had met on the way up, leaving MJ to finish by herself. They broke up shortly after that trip. (MJ asked to be referred to by her initials for the sake of speaking openly about a past relationship.)
Last month, MJ opened TikTok and heard the phrase “alpine divorce”, a label she now attaches to her experience in Zion.
It’s a big deal that he started with a hiking partner and then abandoned her. It’s rude.
And hellesbelle was correct when they said you were making a lot of assumptions here.
A woman told her date to leave her…
And you think the man should have refused her request, and pestered her anyways while in an isolated area with no one else around…
Don’t even have to put yourself in a man’s shoes, or even another woman’s. Imagine you told a man to leave you in that situation and he said “no” and refused you’re valid request to be left alone.
How would you feel, in your own shoes.
Another round of assumptions from you lol
So if you’re on a date and tell your date to leave you alone…
To physically leave the surrounding area, that you want to be alone…
You’d want them to ignore your request?
I’m not assuming anything, I’m literally asking you what you would do.
Quick edit:
I mean, technically I’m verifying, you said it was “rude” it’s just such an unbelievable opinion that I wanted to make sure that’s what you meant…
You didn’t ask me a single question in your previous* reply hahaha
Edit: an assumptive statement is not a question.
But clearly I’m not going to get any answers here.
At least this isn’t a mountain, but we’d never have gotten close to one to begin with, just this was exhausting
Oh no, being called out for making assumptions about what women are thinking or feeling is exhausting to you?
Maybe you should check yourself before reading ill intent into any woman’s statement just because she’s a woman.