Seeing as how I will probebly be going s olo-

“How do you not freak out when your out there alone?”

“The great thing about being alone is if you freak out, there's no one there to witness it.”

“Relax - enjoy the solitude. Going solo is the ultimate break”

“You stay on well worn, frequently used trails so you see other people and are not truly alone. Especially if it's your first solo trip.”

“Take a small radio or mp3 player. If you can tune in to any radio stations, it will make you feel less lonely... until, that big a$$ bear comes charging through camp!”

“I have hiked solo for the majority of my life. It has only been in the last couple of years that I have gone on "group" hikes.

The two or three days can become pretty miserable until you adjust to lack of human contact. It always seemed to me that about the 4th or 5th day I adjusted and it didn't bother me as much.

Of course depending on where you hike, the great odds are that you will not be in camp alone anyway. Of all my solo hikes, I would estimate there was someone else on the trail at least half the time. If not in the same camp site, then certainly not too far away.

It makes trip planning easier. If you change your mind while on the trail, you don't have to take a vote, just do it.”

“Develop an alternate personality and learn to converse with it.


Hey, it works for me...”

“Free24 - I went solo for many years. You just get used to it and soon don't think twice about it.
I got a little tired of it a few years back and quit backpacking for about a four year period. My nephew's got me back into it when they got about 12. They asked good ol' uncle to teach and take them on a backpacking trip. They had seem pictures of some of my past trips. They are more interested on chasing girl's tails rather than trails at the current time. ;)”

“1) Becoming comfortable in your own company is a very worthwhile effort. Often the things that make you uncomfortable being alone for a long time are things that are worth facing for other reasons.

2) Bring a dog.
(LNT = LMAH)”

“Take simer190 with you. He's skeered of the dark too. ;-)”

“Another thing about solo hiking is you never have a free moment of time (shorter weekend trips) because you have to do all the camp chores that are typically distributed amongst the group. Set up camp/tent, fetch water, cook, clean, hang food bag, fetch firewood, make fire... Barely time to have a conversation with yourself!”

“Means more TNT for yourself though!”

“LOL @ bitpusher. I swear I had a split personality in a previous life. My adventurous self takes me three hour touring, my chicken self causes me to belly flop while stream crossing. Whichever self has the strongest feelings at the time controls the legs. =D
(crazy I know, lol...)

pedxing has a good point in #1. :)”

“LOL twigeater, that's funny! I think I may have the same affliction.”

“It really sucks when the chicken self suddenly shows up while the adventurous self is doing something really fun but really scary. It also usually hurts. A lot.”

“One nice thing about solo - you can run around camp nekkid and no one will be there to tell about it.

I know what you mean about losing that last shred of decency, I left mine at a camp site a few years ago and some bear swiped it...”

“Don't be scared at night Free, everyone knows that if you pull your sleeping bag over your head then you are completely safe from everything - lions, tigers, bears, monsters etc.”

“...rednecks showing up in the middle of the night in off-road vehicles...”

“Bring a good book. I spend a lot of time reading and journaling when I hike solo. I also bring my camera and do a lot of photography.

I have come to prefer hiking solo on many occasions.”

“also going solo means that you can spend almost 2 hours hanging up a bear bag and no one is there to laugh at eerrr with you because you cant get the darn rope over the branch.

not that this has happened to me, dont ya know....”

“"Take simer190 with you. He's skeered of the dark too. ;-)"

It's not the dark that bothers me...

I haven't been able to get over the emotions that come with being alone... maybe it's a genetic thing, my dad said he had the same problems, or maybe I just don't know how to deal with it yet. I've been on two solo trips, both times I turned around and came home, the first time was after 5 days, the second after 9.

So, if you're prepared to handle the emotions of being alone, I'm sure it can be a wonderful experience... I'd suggest giving it a try, but I believe that solo hiking isn't for everyone. I know a lot of people live for it and just love being alone.”

“Phew! thanks skully, I thought you guys would have me committed for that post, LOL! I totally agree - when adventurous self is in control, why can't chicken self stay out of it? I could really been hurt on that rock! LOL...

maple - or if you forget the bear line, no one knows that you slept with your food in your tent.”

“Well, no humans anyway.”

“Maybe... if yogi catches you then everyone will know - and we will have to disavow any knowledge....”

“This bear bag will self destruct it 5....4...”

“I didnt have a hard time going solo. I had a hard time dealing with the night time.
But that is getting better. I play a game , where i go out of the tent and let my eyes adjust to the darkness and try to see any animals. fun stuff. (as long as its not a 10 foot bear or big horny moose)

I think I get lonely going solo. so i bring a little radio. I like the sound”

“simer190, you're young. After 36 years of marriage you'll come to appreciate some solo time. Trust me on this one. ;-)”

“If your alone and your lonely,you must not be very good company.”

“LOL AT MARK

gee what was I thinking.
I bet you are a party in your own right...”

“I've only solo'd in reasonably warm weather. I save time, weight and work by not cooking anything.”

“I bring my dog.”

“Freak out....you say that, like it's a bad thing.


I love going solo.


I don't freak out nearly as much as I used to.


I'm much better now.......”

“Just don't freak out if you see a knife-wielding psycopath at night around the campfire. Put your prejudices aside, ask him to pull up a log and share a nice cup of hot cocoa with you. A little kindness goes a long way.”

“Are you visiting California, Artex?”

“No comment.”

“Hmmm...you say that as if you would appreciate a little kindness like that directed you way Artex ; ) .

I'm afraid I would have little else of value to contribute than what little I already have. I love being alone and have since I was a small child. I have loved solo hiking since I was 6. Just remember that the wildlife is usually much more afraid of you than you are of it and you should be fine. My Dad used to tell me that and it worked on me ¦ ) .”

“I never hike alone without the proper ordnance. I'm talking 'bout at least one (1) semi-automatic rifle, a grenade launcher or two, and a full complement of surface-to-air missles. Hope to see y'all out there...happy hiking!”

“oh suurrrre chips, like THAT would protect anyone.....[eyeroll]



i would feel less confident about solo'ing if i was female, i rekon....”

“When we are out with the kids, we tell them this

There is nothing that waits until it gets dark, then comes out and maims, eats and kills people...









well, almost nothing”

“Free-
I'm reading a book about self dicovery through travel. It's called "the way of the wanderer".
He talks about all the different "me s"and about how he worked through some serious bouts of alone-ness. It's by David Yeadon. good, good traveling tales.”

“Mapleleaf, dump your radio and the sounds will call your name. They may even call you names.
Dirtyoldman, the owners of that neighborhood do know how to laugh. Thank God we dont hear it too well and our esteem issues are compromised too much.
And goin' solo means you dont have to worry about your's or their mistakes causing a problem for either. And you dont have to listen to that annoying sound they make when they are eating your peppermint + butterscotch candy.
And you dont have to feel guilty cause they aint got matches in every pocket to lite sumthin! Thats my story an I'm stickin' to it!”

“...there is no substitute (not unlike a Porsche...)”

“If you gets scared at night dig a fire trench around your campsite and use your stove fuel to ignite it. Dig hasty fighting positions and machine gun nests with interlocking fields of fire. It's always worked for me.”

“Good idea ultra! Should I bring my foil hat too?



There are aliens amongst us... Proof: http://community.webshots.com/photo/69900786/72183142tDLWFZ”

“2arrows I aint deef yet, that wasnt laughter I heard last time I let it all hang out. Thats one bear that will never see again. Esteem is for youngins who still think it matters :}”

“I talk to the ants and birds when i hike alone, they are good conversationalists, great listeners, and hate the french as well!”

“its all relative...when I first get to camp, Im too busy to really notice that I'm the only one there...well, plus Khatru...but after dinner is done, and Im just sittin there, listening to the sounds of silence, it can be overwhelming, cause its not really all that quiet out there...that's the time when I do my meta-travel...I kind of dissappear from where I;m at and and go back to where I;ve been. I retrace my steps and trips and relive the moments of the past...that can occupy hours of still time...and theres the fire to tend during all this...then it gets late and you fall asleep in your thermarest chair and then pee, go to bed and dream the night away...

And...if that don;t work for ya...find a friendly fellow traveler(s) and join their group and hike/float with them for a while.

Have fun...its all good.”

“Solo is, to borrow a phrase from Crazy Mike, so pimp!”

“36 25 38 Hike"

Hmmmmmm - nice!
Then again, my grandmother was 36 25 38...


Solo is oh so... you know... the show!

I was exclusively solo til Belle came along. Then it was just she and I til the ECT RRG a couple-three years ago. Or was it the ECT Cumberland Island?

I don't read.
I don't write (I did a couple times, tho).
I just "be".

I can sit listening and looking and smelling and whatever else my senses do.

Tend the fire, if applicable.

Listen intently to the babbling brook.

Watch the birds.

Whatever.

I can read at home. I can't immerse myself in the backcountry there, tho. Therefore, it's all about full immersion when going solo. Yet the hours still slip away too fast.”

“That really is extremely well put Gojo. You've described it exactly.”