For so long as I can keep in mind, I’ve loved being on path on my own greater than with different folks. Whereas I didn’t begin solo backpacking and tenting till just a few years in the past, most of my dayhikes and peak-bagging excursions have all the time been alone. Final month I talked concerning the advantages of group outings, and the way they take me out of my consolation zone. That’s all nicely and good, however for probably the most half, I’d reasonably go by my lonesome.
I began mountaineering alone proper round once I began mountaineering. I rapidly gained confidence and expertise on my early hikes within the White Mountains with my dad; quickly, I used to be heading out solo when he wasn’t obtainable. As soon as I moved west, I had loads of mountaineering and biking companions, however I nonetheless beloved being alone on the path.
To me, the advantages to solo backcountry journey are two-fold. Whereas it could appear counterintuitive, I’ve typically discovered extra mountaineering alone than going with somebody extra skilled. I like studying from different folks, however once I’m with somebody who is aware of the ropes higher than I do, I find yourself defaulting to their experience, and I are inclined to get lazy. The easiest way for me to study—when it’s protected to take action—is by doing it myself. Each on occasion, after all, this implies I’ve to confront the truth that there’s quite a bit I nonetheless don’t know.
My first solo backpacking journey in bear nation was a chief instance of this. I packed my meals bag and a coil of paracord and pranced fortunately out to a campsite by a pristine alpine lake. Because it was beginning to get darkish, I collected water, inflated my sleeping pad, and picked up all meals and smelly objects in my bear bag. Then I paused. This was all the time the half the place my mountaineering companion had grabbed the bear hold and wandered off to discover a appropriate department whereas I filtered water and completed establishing camp. Besides now, it was simply me.
Was it actually doable that in all of my nights of backpacking and tenting, I someway had by no means hung the bear bag myself? I racked my mind, however I couldn’t give you a single instance. To make it worse, I might have counted on one hand the occasions I’d even gone out to “assist” hold the bag. I knew the idea in principle—tie a weight to the top of the paracord, throw it over a sturdy department no less than six ft from the tree trunk and 15 ft off the bottom, haul the bag up, tie it off.
Placing it into observe turned out to be quite a bit more durable than I anticipated. The rock I tied to the paracord reached the department perhaps each fifth throw. After I lastly bought it over the department, it bought caught on one other department and wedged in place. Then the rock fell out of the loop of twine, then the paracord bought tangled. Lastly, once I was this near giving up, I bought the rock over the department, hauled the silly bag of meals to the proper peak, and managed to tie it off, the place it dangled, considerably precariously 15 ft over my head. It had taken practically half-hour.
I used to be drained and irritated, but additionally a bit pleased with myself. On one hand, I felt like I ought to have identified the right way to hold a bear bag: This was a newbie ability, and I wasn’t a newbie. However I had all the time defaulted to another person who both loved doing this job or was more proficient at it. However, I had carried out the factor. By figuring it out by trial and error, I had added this ability to my again pocket, even when it had taken longer than I’d have appreciated.
That is the second good thing about solo backpacking: confidence. The extra I’ve discovered and skilled solo, the extra positive of my very own abilities I’ve turn into. It wasn’t simply that I had discovered the right way to hold a bear bag: I had figured it out myself. If I might get the rattling bag into the tree with out anybody to carry my hand by it, what else might I do?
From route discovering to campsite choice to bear bagging, the extra abilities I’ve discovered on my own, the extra confidence I’ve gone into the following journey with. To be clear, I don’t suggest getting your self into solo conditions above your paygrade or the place security is a priority. However upon getting sufficient backcountry expertise to maintain your self protected, doing issues alone helps broaden abilities and confidence by leaps and bounds. Perhaps your companion all the time selected the tentsite, so it doesn’t happen to you to look out for potential water pooling, or perhaps your entire off-trail journey has been in teams, so that you haven’t actually needed to navigate. On a solo journey, there isn’t any companion or group. There’s solely you—and everytime you succeed, that’s yours, too.
Each time I’m confronted with one thing new on a solo journey, I feel again to the opposite points I’ve solved alone. It’s been top-of-the-line elements of solo journey. I’ll simply should do not forget that subsequent time I’m confronted with a size of paracord, a heavy bag of meals, and a tree.
