Midle of nowhere

[Aaron Sorensen]

My all-time favorite time while backpacking was when I realized I was further away from any human being than I have ever been before.

This happened the summer of 2005 when I took a 5 day 75+ mile loop around the high sierras. On the night of day 2 I camped out were my (photo to the right) was taken just below Forester Pass.

Day 3 and I got off the JMT/PCT via the High Sierra Trail. As I descended into the valley where the kern river begins, I realized I was the only person in the entire 360 degree field of view, (see photo).

I got the idea for this trip after seeing an up and back 5 day hike from the ranger station at the end of Hwy 180 to Lake South America in Backpacker magazine.
I thought a loop would make much more sense.
When I picked my permit, the ranger looked at me funny and told me, you know only 1 other person has gone over Colby Pass this year and he did it the opposite way from the way I went.
It was this reason that I knew I was the only one around for so many miles.
As I ascended Colby Pass after crossing the Kern River, I found a few foot prints in the mud from that 1 other person.
Other than that, there was not a single piece of anything I could find that told me anyone else had been there.

This was an awesome trip and I did not see any one for 2 1/2 days.

Just wondering if any one else has had similar accounts and felt the same way about it.

The photo shows the start of kern river. It continues further down all the way the the valley floor.
The little knob hill across the valley is where the trail continues on to Colby Pass.

I have a few more pictures of the trip on the "User Test Forums" page.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/5709/index.html

[les lloyd]

my best middle of nowhere trip has to be in the escalante nat. monument, utah. can't remember the name of the trailhead but i went out on to stevens bench from the west side of the monument. saw 2 people at the trailhead on the way in and 2 on the way out. 8 days solo, over 100 miles and saw no one else. just stay out of coyote gulch, hurricane wash, and the botton of the escalante river and you are almost guaranteed not to see anyone. most of the great routes are off trail so map skills and route finding are critical. these are commiting areas without much hope of rescue if you get hurt. it would take days to get help from some parts of this nat. monument. tons of potential for getting lost.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I once hiked the 82 mile Susquehannock Trail loop in north central Pennsylvania (Potter county).
I met only 4 people the 1st two days. the next 5 days I hiked TOTALLY alone and grew to love the solitude in all that forest beauty.
There were several vistas that had NO sign of any human habitation – just forest as far as the eye could see.

QUITE a contrast to the "Applachian Trail Society" situation.

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