Posted on 05/08/2015 2:52:44 PM PDT by nickcarraway
y Tom Paulu(0) Comments Like my co-worker Sarah Grothjan, who wrote the previous Take a Hike blog post, I like to head out into the wilds by myself, though not without some angst.
As I’ve gotten older – past 60 -- I’ve found that old hiking friends aren’t available as often as they used to be when we were single and didn’t have weekend house chores and family responsibilities. I often can’t clear a hiking day until a few days in advance, and I don’t have much flexibility about when I can go so hiking clubs aren’t always an option.
And, like Sarah, I like to be able to set my own pace and distance. I can get impatient waiting for someone who’s slower and I don’t want to struggle to keep up with someone with stronger legs and lungs.
Another reason for solo hiking is that I can pick new trails to me that aren’t the most popular places to go, rather than routes with lots of folks on them.
Here’s where the angst comes in. I have gone on some routes when I saw maybe one person – or nobody else – all day. I don’t worry about getting lost because I can follow even a faint trail – and now GPS makes it easier to retrace steps. I tell my wife where I’m going. I carry enough extra clothing so that I could spend a night outside if I had to, safe if not toasty warm.
Still, I don’t ever want to be the subject of a search and rescue effort. Let those dedicated volunteers save their energy for people who can’t stay on trails and don’t know when it’s time to turn around and get out before dark.
Hiking with someone else is considered safer, though the only time I got in moderate trouble hiking was with a partner who didn’t wait for me on a steep off-trail stretch in the Olympics. We got separated for a day and ended up spending the night reunited but away from our packs. Another near-adventure came in a group of three, also in the Olympics. We were having such a great day hike from camp in the Hoh Valley that we didn’t start heading back to our tents until too late, and barely found our camp before dark. That’s when I learned why hikers really should carry flashlights.
Despite the risks, the rewards of solo hiking include letting the world slow down, away from the distractions of media and traffic. Real world problems fade away for a few hours.
Backpacking especially gives me a feeling of self-sufficiency, if only for two or three days. I have everything I need to survive on my back. I imagine I’m Daniel Boone going where few have gone before, though of course unlike Daniel I have a trail to follow. Then I get back to my car, drive down winding forest roads to the freeway and home, refreshed and looking forward to company from friends and family.
Take a gun for protection from humans. Here in LA.
That said, I've a lot of solo hiking. Mostly in Vermont. Nice to be alone with my thoughts...and my Ruger .357 Speed Six (just in case of bear).
I’d go on a solo hike, maybe even a solo overnight.
I’d bring back pack, a survival kit, my .44, and my dog, because she goes everywhere I go.
Do the gun laws of Vermont apply to out of state visitors?
Several companies make GPS locators that you can text with or send rescue alerts like an EPIRB. They are about the size of a small walkie talkie.
InReach from Delorme is a satellite communicator that does two-way text and has SOS button. Spot is a one-way text and SOS device. Both cost about 300 and require a service plan. Spot also makes s satellite phone. These things work almost everywhere in the world.
I bring a nine iron lost all my guns in a tragic boating accident
I like solo hiking with my wife
Camped & hiked solo a couple of times, and often times it’s for the best as I have a tendency to walk at a faster pace, which kinda pisses off my companions. Just make sure you have a satellite phone, GPS and weapon(s) in case of “unforeseen factors” aka bears, wolves, liberals worshipping a tree etc..
Make sure someone knows when your leaving, where your going and when you’ll be back. A map left with the person is good too.
I like solo hiking...I don’t want to have to worry about carrying on a conversation.
Today I went out the back door of the office in town to have a smoke in the alleyway and I noted the people in the “smokers corral” of the mailorder call center as well as the diner busboy were out back doing the same... every one of them had a hunched over posture as they were all effing with their cell phones obvivious to anyone else. I think the isolating influence of smartphones is a real problem... then again so is the isolation of goofing of on the interwebz at 3am. I look forward to kissing it all bubye and going Amish ASAP.
I bring a knife..or two. Easier than that nine iron....
So your turning into a black person?
I hiked alone a lot in my younger gung ho hiking days. I was never alone because there was always me.
i also had a good group of hiking buddies and we always made several annual hikes together. The hike over Roan mountain to Grassy ridge to see the rhododendron, the flame azalea and Gray’s lillies is still on the calendar although I haven’t been the last two years.
The oldest will be 78 this year. I’m the youngest at 73....... except for Leslie, a daughter of my friend who will be 49, and who some how became part of the group.
Idiotic if going to an isolated area. One good fall or hungry bear will be your end
But the nine iron is a visual so they think twice like a sign in the window or a big dog
I would rather be charge than dead.
But they died doing what they loved
When we were young, Daddy used to take us on hikes. Sometimes we would go on the railroad tracks which sounds dangerous but I don’t think it really was.
Later my oldest Brother would go exploring with us. That was basically just hiking. Our dog would always scout ahead.
My Daughter has loved hiking since she was only a year old. There were some trails beside our suburban house and I would take her walking and she just loved it. She is now 38 and still loves hiking.
My health prevents me from doing more than walking around the yard. I live in a rural area and that is a bit more than one would think. I always stick a little .22 Unique or Walther PP pistol in my pocket. They don’t hit very hard but they hit hard enough.
I always carry a hiking stick even walking to the mailbox.
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