Yea i hike alone because everyone has differnet schedules and noone is on the same schedule. so its hard to plan the same time for everyone.Originally Posted by Trailweaver
I LOVE to hike alone, however, do try to find at least one other person to hike with. It sometimes happens, sometimes doesn't. I don't know if you've ever heard of meetup.com? There are a TON of hiking groups out there, good way to find other people who like to hike. A lot of times I'll go with one or two other people and we each hike our own hike but meet up at the same campsite every night, just to make sure we're all okay!
The whole point of hiking (to me) is to experience nature in all of her wonder and beauty. I like to soak it up, with my undivided attention, and let my mind wander and become imprinted by my surroundings.
When I hike with another person, I experience that other person, and it reduces the amount of imprinting that nature can perform on me.
Spending time with people is fine, but that can be done anywhere, so I tend to reserve my time with nature to be alone with her.
Nicely said.
I always start out w/ a group but end up alone!
very cool!!!
Um ... get back to work Governor Sanford.
I love hiking myself. No worries about pace, food for others, and a general feeling of escape. I love hiking with the wife and my dad and my brother in law.....sometimes my brother....but solo I'm free.
Planning my august solo right now for 3 nights somewhere.....can't wait.
Yeah, you are weird, which means nothing more than wanting to experience something out of the norm. You are telling folks you want to do something they themselves don't typically do. You represent something that most folks fear or are threatened by - change and the unknown.
hiking alone
Tried the hiking "with someone"...naw...stayed hiking alone...
No bitching, complaining, finding fault, stop when I want, do what/when i want. Recently tried hiking "with someone" again...NEVER again...too much finding fault with my way I do things. Didn't realize it ment so much to hiking partner to be their "blueprint/cloned hiker".
If you like hiking alone and it makes you happy great! If not..stop doing it.
Occassionaly I'll venture out w/someone for a day or overnight close to home but if I want to hike I'll go regardless of company or not.
Do one thing everyday...that makes you happy...
And if it helps...that charactarizes everyone on WB!
For me it depends on why I am hitting the trails.
If I am going just to recharge my mental batteries, I prefer to hike alone, but am always glad to have company at camp.
If I am hiking just to be in the woods and enjoying nature, what better way to enjoy it than with a friend or fellow hiker?
Of course being an middle aged overweight hiker, getting someone to hike my speed with me is another issue
I've got an old friend who still hikes with me occassionally, but I have primarily always hiked solo. He's about the only person that I have been able to put up with when I am in the woods, mostly because he hikes his own hike and I hike mine, then we eventuallt both end up in the same place for the night. We are totally independant and don't need to share any of our gear, pack up in the morning without having to talk about it, get on the trail about the same time, etc. In my experiences I have found that it is even harder to find a compatible hiking partner than it is to find a compatible girlfriend/spousal-equivilant. When I am in the woods I am very picky about who I share that experience with, because that is my only escape from my mundane world. In my mundane world, I am far less picky, because I have to put up with the great unwashed masses every day, and what's one more?
I have hiked alone because of my work schudle
I hiked with other folks about ten days from Springer Mt. in this year's thru hiking. Actually I realized it only in a few days that I was tied up with other people's paces and plans. I was basically losing my ability to make a judegment and decision. I was overconcerned about other people's needs and ended up having missed a lot of fun.
Having a partener(s) in a hike may be a way to share expenses. I don't mind talking to other people at campsites/towns, dinning together...But it is no way for me again to hike with other people along AT. I don't want to lose my freedom, my hiking rhythm.
Solo
BlackCloud almost always hikes alone. I'd like to say it's b/c he likes to hike his own hike; but who wants to hike w/ a guy who refers to himself in the third person????
Be Prepared
As of today, I have now hiked just over 100 miles and have done them all solo. Finding someone to hike with is more difficult than I expected.
I also refer to myself in the third person when talking to the voices, but that's because I hear voices...
I used to hike alone all the time till I had a close encounter with Big Foot. I'll not hike in the woods alone without my dog or someone else with me.
I'm not really a hiker, I just play one on White Blaze.
I hike alone a lot now days. Never used to. As I have aged, fellow friends who had been hikers fell by the wayside due to various life choices or physical issues.
One reason I hike is spiritual - it is how I reconnect with the natural world after a week in the artificial world of "convenience." As I have aged, I have slowed, partly for physical reasons and partly because I'm no longer a goal-oriented peak-bagger. I'm happy to go for a "walk" and never reach a peak. I enjoy stopping and exploring. The corny old adage, "stop and smell the roses" applies.
I still do strenuous hikes, it just takes me a lot longer than most. I always finish.
Re-starting that search for new hiking partners is difficult, I don't want to keep up with or hold back others. As we get older, we get stuck in our ways, find things we enjoy and want to do it our way. I set my own start and stop clock, make most trip decisions as late as 24 hours before I go and have made it a priority to get out.
I've also always enjoyed hiking in silence; it gives me a chance to really connect with wildlife and nature. I've startled (or they startled me) many an animal, including a moose 10 feet away, around a bend and over a rise. Those things make for very memorable experiences.
Now as far as the "Safety First" crowd goes. I'm just getting over very serious head trauma from a spill on the AT in Maine. It was a difficult section and I chose to do it with others for that reason. I also know that you're never really alone on the AT. So I got hurt and I got help.
However, there are many other even more remote areas I've gone by myself. Could I get hurt? Absolutely. I had every possible piece of rescue gear recommend and then more. Why did I do it? Because of the solace I need. It's how I unwind after living under the final approach path of Hanscom Field and Air Force Base all week.
Rewards are proportional to risks you take in life. Not foolish risks, but calculated and mitigated risks. My life tells me this is true. Will I hike another day, even after a grave injury hiking? Absolutely. Will I now adjust my hiking risk profile? Only slightly.
Life would be so boring living in a stay-puff marshmallow man suit!
i heard the PA bigfoot yesterday around the hawk mtn road area....sounded crazy as ****.....like nothing i'd ever heard before.....
It's an eerie sound. I've heard owls screaming and panthers and bobcats screaming. Big Foot yelped at me. The BFRO researchers I went out with to show them the spot were good at reproducing the sounds.
I'm not really a hiker, I just play one on White Blaze.
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