[at-l] Hiking Solo

["David F. Addleton" <dfa@wimlaw.com>]

> << Lastly, I wanted to comment about solo hiking.  I wanted to solo hike 
 
> this 
>  past weekend so I could set whatever pace I wanted to.  However, the  
big 
>  downside was that when I set up camp, I was bored to tears.  >>
> 
> Carry a book. Talk to the animals. Hike until its dark. Solo hiking is
great. 
> Never get bored out in the woods.

I love solo hiking and camping. Solitude and silence give special rewards
not available when hiking with others.  Hiking off season on empty trails
provides unusual opportunities for observing wildlife largely because
humans tend to make so much noise and odor.  By yourself you can maximize
opportunities to observe.

I've also found that solo hiking creates something different when I meet
someone else also solo hiking on the trail. When groups meet groups, the
dynamics change, but the group identities remain present; but when two
strangers who value solitude meet, a new group happens which neither member
have theretofore experienced.

I'll never forget this forest squirrel who sat on a log observing me for
who knows how long, since I awoke to find him or her staring at me about
three feet away. When I stirred, it remained there, staring, and I stared
back for the longest time. I've seen squirrels before and after, I've fed
them from my hand, but have not experienced a squirrel's curiosity quite in
this way before or since. Being solo, gave this squirrel more courage than
it might otherwise have felt to take a closer look, if others had camped
nearby. I've also experienced something similar with birds who seem to find
a single human being considerably less threatening than two or more.

David
* From the Appalachian Trail Mailing List |  http://www.backcountry.net  *

==============================================================================