Backpacking solo

I’ve been mostly backpacking solo for over 40 years, and learned a few lessons the hard way.

– Hiking with a partner is NOT a solution to all backcountry emergencies. Chances are good your partner will be injured, hypothermic, AMS, … right along with you. Chances are good that you know more about first aid and survival than your partner. Learn to take care of yourself (and others), and to make safer choices.

– Take classes in backpacking, Wilderness First Aid (Wilderness First Responder is better), even wilderness survival, if they help you feel more confident. Way back when, I took a Sierra Club Basic Mountaineering course that helped a lot.

– Hike on well-traveled trails. If something bad happens, passersby might be able to help or call for help. Or at least identify your remains for next of kin :-)

– When in doubt, bail out. I’ve cut short many trips when multiple signs were pointing the wrong way. Like the morning I woke up with a bloody nose, giant blisters on both feet, and snow falling when I wasn’t prepared. Best to head lower and closer to civilization, not higher and deeper into the wilderness.

– Take a PLB, or something similar, and know their limitations.

– Start with short, easy solo trips and work your way up to longer, more challenging trips. You’ll gain experience and confidence with each trip.

Hope this helps.

— Rex

"I think you are really wrong on this. A partner could save your life in most conceivable backcountry emergencies."

I may be. But you haven't convinced me. If you are unconscious and remain unconscious, then a partner could definitely help. What is your distinction about unconscious near water, sleep walking? :) You also forgot unconscious near a cliff, unconscious near a rattle snake den …. And what happens with your unconscious friend next? Leave him there to go get help?

As far as the first scenario, broken leg, broken arm. I could get my shelter up and in my bag. And send a signal for rescue if necessary. Or in your case, wait for your friend to hike 25 miles and drive into cell coverage to summon help.

Hypothermia? Avoid it or prevent it by keeping your bag dry and dealing with issues like getting soaked immediately. Sure anything is possible, but if someone can't keep their bag dry, recognize when they need to take action to get warm, and start a fire when necessary, that person should not be in the back country alone. Or perhaps at all.

Having the right partner is a lot different than just having a partner. I went with a couple of friends many years ago. He broke through some snow above a creek later in the day and soaked his leather boots. He went to sleep pretty early and the next morning he told us about it and how he was shivering badly so he got in his bag. We were doing camp chores and hadn't noticed it. We discussed that the time to mention that is right away. Not the next day. On the last day he was REALLY slow. Turns out his pack, which he hadn't wore in years and took on this trip because he wanted more volume, was chafing his hips badly. But again he didn't mention it until it was already a problem. I haven't backpacked with him again.

Another time, a friend and I were doing the 4 Pass Loop as an overnight. At his insistence we passed up a nice camp spot maybe an hour before dark. He really wanted to get to another spot he knew a mile or two away. There was a stream crossing and I zipped right though it. He didn't want to get his feet wet so he looked up and down the stream for quite a while trying to find a log or rocks to cross on. Eventually he gave up and took his shoes off, waded, dried his feet, put his shoes back on, etc. Now it's dark, cold and starts raining. The trail is quickly a quagmire and when we get to his spot, it no longer exists. Strong winds had blown over tons of trees in the area. We had to backtrack to a spot near the stream. If I had been by myself, I'd have been warm and dry in my shelter. Instead I was cold with wet feet setting up my shelter in the rain. I wasn't hypothermic but I was cold enough that I was stopping no matter what at that point to avoid it. I quickly got into my bag and was fine. But it was a bad idea to ever get into that situation. Which we discussed at length hiking out the next day and we worked it out and have not had any issues since.

Bottom line is I fully trust myself to avoid most problems and deal with the ones I do encounter. And to carry a means to summon help in a true emergency. If you'd rather go with a partner than solo, that's certainly understandable. But when I do it's because it's someone I want to spend time with, not because I feel safer having them along.

Randy, sounds like you would have been a bit safer WITHOUT your partner on that occasion. However, I doubt he would have been safer without YOU.

A little less than a decade ago I had a friend die on a trip I planned in Sequoia NP – a simple out, camp for two days, and back on a route to a regular primitive camp area, with reservations no less, where people often bring there little kids on their first overnight trip. In other words an easy trip I planned for a semi-newb backpacker.

I had to back out due to illness, literally at the last moment. I had backpacked with him a few times before, and knew he had minor issues of judgment and situational awareness, at least in my view – but I figured he would be fine.

Anyway, apparently he wandered off exploring on the second day, fell down into a stream, hit his head, and then drowned while he was unconscious. I feel like if I had sucked it up and went with him, in spite of the way I felt, he would not have died. If I had been with him maybe I could have pulled him out of the creek, and maybe he would have had at least a chance. More importantly, if I had been with him I could have probably kept him from making bone-headed decisions, as I had done on a few past trips with him. A ranger who was handling the search told me later that he probably would have died anyway, but I still felt he as just trying to make me feel better.

So while you are technically right about hypothermia, for example, not being an issue if you are prepared, the same thing could be said for the vast majority of injuries. It is the time when we miscalculate that it is nice to have an extra person along, if only so that the other person can have the opportunity to learn from experience from a mistake without having to pay too high a price.

That said, I will still be going solo most of the time anyway.

"When in doubt, bail out. I've cut short many trips when multiple signs were pointing the wrong way. Like the morning I woke up with a bloody nose, giant blisters on both feet, and snow falling when I wasn't prepared. Best to head lower and closer to civilization, not higher and deeper into the wilderness."

I would've thought the trip was just starting to get fun at that point. ;-)

I'm kidding of course, but I think a person's perspective on adversity makes a big difference in whether or not they will enjoy going solo. Ask yourself, "if something really challenging happens which threatens to end the trip or even my life, will I enjoy taking on that challenge alone, or will I regret not having someone to help me?"

"A venturesome minority will always be eager to set off on their own, and no obstacles should be placed in their path; let them take risks, for godsake, let them get lost, sunburnt, stranded, drowned, eaten by bears, buried alive under avalanches – that is the right and privilege of any free American"
–Cactus Ed

That is rather how I feel.

I could die in the backcountry. My wife would (hopefully!) lament it. But I truly think that people would feel happy for me in the sense I am doing something I love when I pass on.

I remember seeing my grandfather a few days before he died. This man who fought a war, raised a family and was strong well into his old age. More importantly, through example, he showed my brothers what it was to truly be a man. Not the macho BS that is looked on to be "manly", but rather the real way to be a man: Be honest in your dealings, work hard for those you love, and there is no such thing as "man's work". Grandma would cook a wonderful meal that often last all afternoon; my grandfather would clear the table and wash the dishes while she was enjoying coffee and dessert.

However, the man on his deathbed was not my grandfather any more. Old age robbed his strength. Dementia robbed his personality. He did not die peacefully in his sleep. He was obviously wracked in pain until the end.

I do not romanticize dying out in the wilderness. Could be painful or lingering. Could also be quick and painless.

I do know that I do not want die robbed of whatever makes me *me*, however.

Having said all that, I obviously love backpacking solo.

Another pertinent quote:

"I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of starlight. I am twenty miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but instead of lonliness I feel loveliness. Loveliness
and a quiet exultation. "

So said Cactus Ed….

I really can't say it much better..but because obviously I ramble on, I'm going to say something anyway. :-)

When hiking solo. I do not feel alone. I do much thinking that otherwise would not be done.

Everything is more intense. Somehow the views are vaster, the sounds sharper, the smells more intense. The feelings are overwhelming. In short, I feel intimately
connected to the universe in which I walk. I do not feel alone…but more connected. The longer I am out, the more this feeling is intensified.

On a past hike, I remember being out nearly four days without seeing
anyone. I stumbled in a herd of elk on a damp Oregon day. The sounds of hoofs crashing through the woods, the smell of damp earth, the incredible sight of the
large elk going through the woods. Years later, this image is etched vividly in my memory.

On a trip in he San Juans, I was caught in an early September snowstorm on San Luis saddle . I bailed into Creede. The following day, I was again on a divide. The mountains around me were white, the sky was a deep blue. The air had the crispness of Colorado in autumn. It was an over-whelmingly intense scene. My eyes filled up with the
intense emotion I felt with the beauty encompassing me. Being alone can do that and I am not ashamed to admit it.

Solo hiking can be difficult. You are by yourself, in your own thoughts. You must use your own resources. I don't think being alone is what makes going solo
hard…I think confronting yourself, having all around you that much more intense…that is what people find difficult.

For me, solo hiking turns a backpacking trip from an extended vacation into a wilderness pilgrimage. When going solo, I am forced to confront on a very gut level what I am seeking on the pilgrimage. The beauty, the emotion, my thoughts. And I would not have it any other way.

Is it more dangerous? Perhaps. But I do not take any unnecessary risks. I do not ski avalanche paths. My hiking on technical terrain is on the conservative side and does not take me past my ability level.

Most importantly, my wife has a plan of my itinerary and often a map.

Perhaps I am being foolish gy going solo.

But if we only did things that were 100% safe, a bicycle would never be ridden for the first time, skiing would be something I would never do and I'd have been too timid to ask out my now-wife out on date less I get turned down and embarrass myself (I embarrass myself with Mrs Mags in many different ways now!)

I've always thought I was in more danger on the way to the trailhead than off the pavement. City life is fraught with dangers! Odd, but we will stand on a street corner with an 80,000 pound bus roaring by at arm's length away and then feel endangered on a trail. Jaywalking a busy street has to have far more odds of catastrophe than walking a dirt path alone.

I had a co-worker who slipped on some easy stairs outside a city center mall and dislocated her shoulder. She was European born and had hiked the Alps with no incident. The irony was not lost on her.

And there was the guy I saw riding a bike the wrong way down a one-way street without a helmet and smoking a cigarette. If he didn't smoke, at least he would make a better organ donor!

I agree with Dale. I backpack "solo" most of the time. I've definitely gotten past the whole "let me consider all of the horrible ways thatI could die doing this" thing. Much of that is projection, and a bit irrational. Oh, and I also don't buy into the whole "he died doing what he loved" business either. On the contrary, I take simple and obvious precautions while solo hiking that keep me as safe as possible. Also, since I pretty much stay on trails, out of precaution, it's typical to run into people during the course of a day, or every other day.

I think that fear of hiking solo is a bit like fear of bears. Once you've done it a few times you realize that the danger is exaggerated, mostly in your head.

I feel incredibly at home in the wilderness by myself; hiking solo has helped to give me this gift–and others as well. Also, I get to go more often, and to places that I like going, because I don't have to take a group itinerary into account.

"I do not romanticize dying out in the wilderness. Could be painful or lingering. Could also be quick and painless.

I do know that I do not want die robbed of whatever makes me *me*, however.

Having said all that, I obviously love backpacking solo." and the rest of your post.

Well said, very well said, indeed.

You might die.
So what?
You might have the time of your life and experience things that will change your life for the better.

You WILL die someday, in some way, that you cannot know beforehand.

Sitting on your sofa afraid to go do anything because something "might" happen , isnt living.

With most things in life, the greatest rewards await those that take the greatest risks.

I am relatively new to backpacking and up to this point I've always been on trips with my son's Scout troop. So a group – with a lot of more experienced hikers around (both adult and older scouts).

We've missed some hikes over the past 6 months due to various conflicts and my son and I have talked about going on a trip just the two of us. Now I know this is a thread about a solo trip – but backpacking with a 12 year old who has gone on as many trips as I have (i.e. a newbie, and a young one at that) inspires feelings of trepidation similar to those mentioned about a solo venture – maybe more pressure as I am responsible for my son on at least higher levels (he is a good hiker and knows plenty of basic skills at this point but…).

I've had a hard time pulling the trigger – and reading this thread has been helpful. He is up for the adventure and I am, at least intellectually, getting there.

I can only imagine the feelings are different going solo vs taking someone you have responsibility for.

Taking a Wilderness First Aid course may help ease those feelings a bit.

About $200 +/- and a weekend and you will have the basics and perhaps more of a peace of mind to go in the backcountry with your son.

I know in the West, WMI/NOLS is the main instructor. I believe SOLO back East? Not sure where you are located in NC, but they be a class offered locally.

Just one idea anyway.

As far as taking your son on a "trip", I wouldn't think it need be exotic, at least not right away. I don't know what your local is like, but around here there are a few state parks that have hike-in only campsites. Some less than a mile from the ranger station or parking lot. That's not to say that you couldn't do 10 miles of trail hiking and take the long way in, or out, but it would be a bit of peace of mind for you and yet an adventure for him.

It would be a great way to build confidence, skill, technique, streamline your system and even lug in some luxory items at first. All the while being close to civilization and probably still in cell phone range, yet being leaps and bounds above backyard or even car camping.

And ditto on the paid training if you can find it. I've yet to find anything worthy in my area without being a full on EMT course.

I forgot the Red Cross also offers a WFA course. The curriculum seems similar.

May be more widely available, too?

http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/program-highlights/cpr-first-aid/wilderness-sports-pets#wilderness-remote-first-aid

I do recall my trepidation at taking a 43 mile trip on the AT with my son when he was 12 thru Roan Highlands on the AT. My son, wasnt worried about a thing. Blind trust in dear old dad I suppose. We planned 4 days, maybe 5, just did not know what to expect with him.

Finished it in 2.5 days Passed up thru-hikers in NC/TN that had been on the trail many weeks. After that, zero hesitance to take any trips. When you know you can walk 20 mpd or more if needed, well any trail just seems like a much smaller place. You really arent that far.

In reality, a mile isnt very far anyway. Even 10 miles is a small distance. People are just very slow walking on foot.

Most people were probably petrified when they first drove a car in heavy traffic when learning, I know I was. After a while, its second nature.

My first solo was a 4 day trip out in the Mt Rogers area. Simple right? I tried to sabatoge myself with my own thoughts. I got lost on the AT. How does that happen? Well, there is an area where equestrians all saddle up with thier horses and there must have been a club ride because there was at least a dozen horses or more. They blocked the trail head…they blocked the white blaze. After wandering around, I realized the problem, so then I had to push through a sea of horse rump to get to the trail. I was scared I would get kicked. Honestly, I didn't want to die with a hoof in my head.

As I continued the next day, I couldn't find where the next campsite was. I looked at the map…I thought it was further than it really was so I bedded down in a grove of trees…found a small trickle of water and scooped it up in a baggie. I was crying the entire time. Mad at who knows what. But something happened when I awoke the next day. I listened to the stillness of that grove….I felt strong within…and decided this wasn't so bad after all. Yes, I fell along the way on the last day. I went head first on a downhill, slid and landed on the Virginia Creeper trail with a thud and face plant in the dirt.

While I was finishing up, a thru hiker who was SOBO, had been passing me from time to time along the way ( very UL, btw) saw me in Damascus and came running out and we hugged. He knew it was my first solo. It was the icing on the cake. When I approached my car, I was dirty, sore, and beat up.

I'm going out this summer to do the Foothills Trail solo. I can't wait to see what adventure it brings.

Good luck in your quest of facing your fears. It's our mind and the voices of others that tend to hold us back.

I think there are 3 kinds of people.

1) Those who, when they started backpacking, thought. “Wow, this is fun and would be more fun if I went alone.” These folks might be like me. We are inclined to want to do things By ourselves. At work if I get assigned to a project to create a new product and it includes “collaboration” and a work group, I ask to be reassigned to a project I can do alone. It’s my personality.

2) Those to are okay being alone or with a group. Sometimes they prefer to go it alone and other times with a group.

3) Those who are most comfortable in a group and really don’t like to be isolated.

These are personality traits that perhaps we are born with.

Solo backpacking has nothing to do with bravery, courage, self-sufficiency, etc. Some people like it; others don’t. Solo is not necessarily good or bad. For me it is my preference 99% of the time.

If you somehow want to go solo, but there is a lurking question whether it is safe, reasonable, etc.; it probably means that you may lack specific knowledge about a facet that has you sitting on the fence. Determine what it is that is stopping you (the “fear”) and then research the subject.

Last year I wrote this article on my blog, which included…

“For some reason, I get the greatest criticism about hiking solo from other backpackers. This might infer that backpackers have greater knowledge about the dangers of solo walking than non-backpackers, or perhaps I come across as elitist. I couldn’t disagree more. In my opinion, hiking alone is safer than hiking in a group.”

Well said, Nick!

I think I fall in category #2 . . .

#1 here. Have always been a loner, but would probably shade more towards #2 if my first group experience hadn't been negative. Then too, there is a difference between going with a friend or two you've vetted, and going on an arranged group trip with 4+ strangers or near-strangers.

Number 2 for me.

I've noticed for day trips, I seem to enjoy being with my friends. Most of my current friendships were developed through a shared love of the outdoors so it makes sense that we continue to have shared time together in the outdoors.

Backpacking trips? I've done them with people in the past (esp for logistic reasons), but I really do prefer solo for various reasons already articulated earlier.

I'm naturally inclined to solo (and introverted, probably not unrelated). This was confirmed by having to bail out early on a couple of trips recently due to new hiking partners not being as fit/prepared as they assured me that they were. Given the limited amount of time I have in the outdoors I'm loathe to not make the most of it.

Wish I was in #2, but if being honest with myself, I'm firmly #1.

I'm a #3 trying to get the courage to be a #2. Right now I solely go out with others, but that's fear driven. I'm a woman so there's a bit of caution of "what if some creeper guy notices I'm camping alone?", and then I am in Alaska where we have bears and other predators which are more easily deterred by groups than a lone individual, and finally the fear that if something happened I would be completely alone with no help around.

On the flip side, I day hike alone all the time. All. The. Time. And the reality is, I'm just as alone and exposed on a day hike as I would be on a backpacking overnighter (or longer trip) but I guess I feel safer because I'm not spending the night? I don't know.

It's a fear I need to get over, because I want to backpack more than I currently do and I don't want to be so dependent on other people's schedules.

I prefer hiking alone to staring at someone elses derriere all day. Of course, that could depend on the derriere.

I do like sharing awesome views, etc with others, as long as they dont spoil the moment.

And of course, I like chatting and socializing for a while in the evening, meeting new people. Before going off by myself to eat and camp.

You are more likely to see wildlife solo as well. Multiple hikers make too much noise.

Based off Nick's criteria, I'm mostly a #1. I will occasionally hike with another person or two as long as they can keep moving.

For instance, last year my ex, her brother, and I went on a 3-day, 2-night trip. She assured he could average 18 miles a day. Well…he certainly did not. To me, nothing detracts from a trip more than having to stop and take a break every 30 minutes. In reality, he did not belong on trail with us, at least for that trip.

However, dayhikes are different. I'm willing to go at others' pace. To some people, 10 miles is a big day. Heck, for some people, 6 miles is a big day. I can deal with that; I just have to be mentally prepared for a more leisurely stroll.