Going it Alone: The Merits of Solo Hiking

On a recent backpacking trip in Baxter State Park, as I checked in with the ranger before heading into the backcountry for the week, the ranger commended me and said how she loved seeing women hiking and camping on their own. I felt so gratified to hear this, as more often than not I get the opposite reaction. Personally, I couldn’t agree more with this ranger, particularly when that woman hiking and camping on her own is me!

I greatly enjoy hiking solo. Whether it’s a quick hike in Acadia to clear my head after work, a week backpacking in northern Maine, or as a part of a longer trip in a different country, I find adventuring on my own highly satisfying, and an entirely different experience than hiking with others.

Travel in general I find to be a completely difference experience on my own versus with others. One of the aspects about traveling by myself that I enjoy the most is (ironically) all the interesting people I meet. I find when I’m traveling with someone else, not only am I less likely to strike up a conversation with others, but I find it’s highly unlikely other travelers will initiate any exchange with me. I find this is the case wherever I am, whether summiting mountain peaks or exploring world-class cities. When I’m exploring distant locales, I enjoy meeting folks from the world over, both from the place I’m visiting and others touring that location, and I find this occurs much more naturally when I am on my own.

There are immeasurable of benefits to hiking on one’s own. Given the course of a typical day, even when I am home by myself, my mind is occupied by whatever task is at hand – whether I am sitting at the computer focused on work, interacting with screens of any kind, cooking up a new dish, playing an instrument, or reading a book. When I am out hiking alone I can be “one with my thoughts.” It gives me such mental space, and I do my best thinking when I’m hiking – many a personal problem has been solved or idea for work generated during an ascent to a summit. Getting away on our own, away from the dissonance of distractions that plague modern life, gives us room to reflect and get to know ourselves, know our own minds, evaluate our decisions, and discover our desires.

“I am no more lonely than the loon in the pond that laughs so loud, or than Walden Pond itself.” Henry David Thoreau, Solitude

As well, when I am hiking on my own, I can observe my surroundings without distraction. Whether it is a chipmunk chattering at me from a stump, or fall leaves lit by the sun in such a way as to catch my eye. Compared to when I am with someone else, with my attention on the other person and our conversation, causing me to miss so much of all that is occurring just beyond our little bubble of focus on each other.

Being an independent person, I have at time been accused of being selfish. One could interpret Emerson’s essay Self-Reliance as espousing a lack of caring about others and society as a whole. Can, and when does, self-reliance become self-ishness?

The most impactful benefit of solo hiking in my opinion (and even more the case when solo backpacking in the wilderness) is that it fosters – in fact necessitates – self-reliance. Whether mentally pushing one’s self those last couple miles to the evening’s campsite, or heaven forbid hiking out on one’s own with an injury, or even just getting out of a cozy sleeping bag in below-freezing weather to get the food bag down from a tree to make a hot cup of coffee! Both mentally and physically there is nobody around to assist. This cultivates a certain mental toughness within us. We become more self-aware, cognizant of our strengths and weaknesses. We become more confident – the more we are able to thrive independently, the more we realize what we are capable of accomplishing. We learn to trust ourselves, our intuition, and how to follow our instincts and plain common sense.

“Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

When it comes down to it, while most of us have others in our lives that can lend a helping hand, in the end it is up to each individual to create our own happiness for ourselves from the inside, and by taking that and applying it to what we do with our lives on the outside. To quote Emerson, “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”

“BUT IS IT SAFE?”

Isn’t it dangerous? What if something “bad” happens, and no one else is around to help? Well, bad things can happen anytime, anyplace. And even when there are other people around that doesn’t necessarily mean they will help you! As with anything else in life, it is a matter of being the best prepared that you can be, knowing you can’t anticipate every situation that will arise, and most importantly, using your brain and plain old common sense.

Getting lost. Having others lost with you is really of no help (unless maybe you are lost overnight and have each other’s body warmth to help stay warm.) More to the point, there’s really no reason you should get lost if you a prepared with a map and compass and the skills to use them, and you avoid making stupid choices.

Injuries. Know your pain tolerance! I have managed to hike out with broken bones. If it were a more serious injury and I was in and out of consciousness, this might be more difficult, and this is a risk I acknowledge and knowingly take. But this particular risk can be minimized by not putting yourself in situations where you are more likely to get injured in the first place (staying on the marked trails, etc.)

Crime. The numbers support that public lands are overwhelmingly safer places than the rest of the country. Your risk of being a victim of a violent crime (murder, rape, or aggravated assault) is thousands of times lower in a national park than in the country as a whole.

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source: backpacking.com

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Interestingly, the other solo hikers I encounter more often than not are men; I am less likely to see other women hiking by themselves. The Appalachian Mountain Club reports that only one in four hikers on the AT are women, although anecdotal evidence says that the percentage of female through-hikers is on the rise. Ashley Gossens, solo hiker and writer, suggests that “The fear of hiking alone is a cultural thing for [women]. It has been ingrained in us since we were little to never do anything alone. Men don’t really get that.” I have to admit, I find it rather incomprehensible myself, having always been fine doing anything alone since I was young, but while I personally may not fit into that norm, I do think this is in fact a cultural perception for women.

However, this perception is not consistent with the reality of safety for women being out in the backcountry on their own. In addition to crime being practically non-existent in public lands, 82% of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the woman upon whom assault was committed. Which means that sexual assault upon a woman out exploring public lands by herself is significantly less likely than while that woman is going about her day-to-day life among the people she knows.

Bottom line? There are safety measures to consider when hiking or heading in to the backcounty by yourself, for sure, and these need to be taken seriously. But these are precautions that ANY responsible hiker should take under consideration, whether heading out solo or with companions.

During a book talk for my children’s hiking guide over the summer, I was rather surprised by an attendee asked me at what age it’s OK for a child to hike by themselves. In my hiking guide, I recommend kids hiking with others for safety. But I am for kids heading off on a trail on their own, if they are mature enough for it (regardless of numerical age); if safety measures are in place; and if their parents are comfortable with it and confident in their child’s abilities. Like with an adult, it’s a question of kids knowing what to do and how to handle any situation they may encounter. A plan cannot be made for every possible circumstance, but reviewing plans with the child for say getting hurt, or becoming lost, would be wise; ensuring children have the common sense to apply knowledge to the unanticipated before they hike on their own is key.

ADVENTURING WITH OTHERS

This is not to say I don’t enjoy hiking and adventuring with others as well. Experiences can be enhanced by sharing them with others. Living next to a national park, I find hiking Acadia’s trails is a great way to catch up with old friends or get to know new people. As well, it’s amazing how fast camaraderie can build among a group experiencing any kind of a challenge together.

And then there’s the stories! For several years now, each Memorial Day weekend I take a canoe trip with a group of intrepid explorers from the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club. Inevitably around the campfire in the evening, after a long day on the river and a few glasses of wine, tales are told of expeditions past, from the banal to the silly to the down-right dangerous if not life-threatening. (If there’s any MOAC folks reading this – “The AMC guide, ah… doesn’t say anything about the upper stretch of the Seboeis River.” “It’s for you, it’s Mr. Allen!)

So many people today are constantly connected, with phones and texting and Facebook and other social media and modern technologies, that they are never truly alone. In fact, I suspect there are some people that would be terrified by the thought of hiking by themselves, not because of any perceived risks, but because they don’t know how to be alone with themselves even for a short time. I say to these people, give it a try! Start small, and you may realize that with the great outdoors and your own self to connect with, you aren’t really all that alone after all.

By no means do I eschew hiking with companions, that is an activity I enjoy as well. But I will continue to seek out and relish those hikes and adventures where I have just the trees, birds, chipmunks, occasional moose, water chattering over the rocks in the streams, and my own thoughts for company.