Backpacking and Hiking

 Do I have what it takes to spend two nights in the wilderness alone?

This year I am going to try backpacking by myself. I’ll head out for two nights and three days all alone near the end of June. Dan would come with me if I asked him to. We’ve enjoyed many backpacking trips together and we’ve got another trip planned for the end of July.

But I’ve often wondered what it would feel like to hike out alone into the wilderness just me and my backpack containing everything I need to survive. How would I feel hiking along the trail by myself and trying to fall asleep all alone in my tent - nervous? lonely? afraid?? Or would I feel free, empowered, confident, brave?

I’ve done many backpacking trips with friends and family. I’ve researched routes and campsites, planned daily distances and rest stops. I’ve obtained permits and passes, reserved sites and created packing lists and menus. I’ve carried heavy packs over different types of terrain for multiple days. I’ve set up camp in the rain and occasionally in the snow. I’ve been cold, wet, tired, hungry, sore, grumpy and even scared but at the end of every trip, I’m always eager to go again. The joy outweighs the hardship.

I know I can handle the physical and logistical challenges of backpacking by myself. I think the hard part will be the mental game. Will my own thoughts and emotions get in my way?

Fear Can be Big

I started doing some shorter hikes by myself last year and, I have to say, at first I felt pretty anxious. I wasn’t sure I should be out there alone. 

My greatest fear was bears. I imagined coming around a corner and surprising a bear on the trail. In my dark imaginings, the bear would be angry or threatened and attack before I had a chance to think. I carried bear spray and loud horns but my imagination could always conjure up scenarios where these devices failed me and I ended up grievously injured or suffered a painful death. 

I enjoy time alone in other aspects of my life. After university, I lived alone for a couple years. Sure, there were lonely times but mostly it was peaceful and restful. I enjoyed coming home to my own private space after work or after an evening out with friends.  

I think I can find the same peaceful aloneness out in nature. I believe it will feel like a nice break from the daily obligations and responsibilities of life. Just me and my dog Peaches moving along the trail and in the tent at night.  

Start Small

My first shorter “alone hikes” were near the road where there were other people hiking. It felt safer to have others around. I also brought Peaches. I didn’t really believe she could scare off a bear but having her with me made me feel a little less alone while still hiking by myself.  

I kept reminding myself that in reality, the chances of being attacked by a bear are very remote. Bears are out there but typically they run away from hikers or just ignore them. I’ve met bears out hiking with others and they always either run or carry on eating plants as if we weren’t there. It shouldn’t be any different alone.

As I completed shorter hikes, I began to feel comfortable doing longer hikes, either with Peaches or completely alone. I rode my mountain bike alone too. I’m now pretty comfortable heading out for a few hours by myself, even when I know bears are in the area. The next step is to spend a night or two out by myself.

Backpacking Alone

I think it will feel quite different from backpacking with others. I love the walking-away-from-the-road feeling where I know I won’t be back to civilization for a few days or more. I love that when I’m backpacking, all I really have to do is walk. At the end of the day’s walking, it’s a simple matter to set up camp and make some food. Then sleep, eat breakfast, pack up camp and walk some more. Simple.  

It’s a pure experience. How will being alone change this?

I have reserved campsites for two nights on a popular hiking, backpacking and mountain biking loop close to home. Peaches and I will stay in designated campgrounds so we’re almost guaranteed to have other people staying there too. I think being around others will be reassuring.

And who knows, maybe I’ll love it. Or maybe I will get out there the first night and be so uncomfortable that I pack up and head right back. That’s fine. At least I will have tried.  

Maybe it will be something new and different that I can’t imagine right now. Maybe my next trip will be somewhere more remote where I’m less likely to see other people. I won’t know until I try. And try I will.