High Sierra Topix

Going solo I have a feeling of serenity and find I crave the feeling of solitude.

Exactly. To truly experience wilderness and comprehend all its layers of meaning one needs to go solo. Just you and the wilderness.

Dusy Basin is a great place to go for a first solo trip. Cross country travel is relatively easy. There are lots of gorgeous off-trail lakes where one can solitude and serenity.

All my trips have been solo, except for one about a month ago where I took someone who had never been camping before, and it was fun having someone else along. But due to scheduling of trips and generally being a loner, all my other trips have been solo. My first backpacking trip was about 13 years ago, when I just decided I wanted to do it, went to REI and bought everything in site and went. Although its been so long ago, I still consider myself and feel like a newbie. I am a middle aged female, not that I guess this makes any difference, just I am pretty sure someone looking at me would not imagine me the type to be going backpacking alone, if at all .

Anyway my first trip, I hiked in about 7 miles to a lake (this was the Caribou wilderness near Mt. Lassen), set up my new tent and stuff, and got settled. I had seen no people and was feeling mighty proud of myself and how comfortable I was. Yep, I'm pretty amazing. I went to sleep. I woke up late in the night and was all of a sudden terrified. I could hear something walking around outside my tent. I felt trapped. I knew logically that there probably wasn't anything out there at all, and even if there was it wasn't likely to be a serial killer, or a bear. I was mad at myself because I knew this was in my head, yet I could do nothing but lay there wondering if I should make noise, or play dead . I could not drive away this fear with logic. Finally I bolted out of my tent, saw nothing, and spent a few hours sitting with my back against a tree until I fell asleep.

I hiked back out and went home the next day and was annoyed at myself for having given in to this fear. I found another place to go later in the week, that was closer, off HWY 20 somewhere where there are a lot of little lakes..I can't even remember where it was. I was determined to go out again, and get over this. I hiked in a short ways and set up camp by a little lake. I stayed awake this time after it got dark, and stayed outside my tent and every time I heard a noise I went and tried to find it. I found that two squirrels chasing each other around at night make a LOT of noise. That there are weird sounds made by birds that I can't find but that aren't things that care whether I am there or not. Anyway I got over it.

Now, sometimes I hear things and might be slightly uneasy for a minute or two, but you know..even at home that happens occasionally. It's a great feeling to me being out there all alone and feeling at home and at peace. My main concern is just being careful when I'm hiking to take it easy and watch my step so that I don't fall off a cliff or otherwise become injured while alone. I do take a SPOT and leave an itinerary, and send SPOT check ins where I am camping, or if I change my route or destination. Also I find that the more I tire myself out, the less attention I pay to the little noises. I'll hear the noise, I might imagine it being a bear or something and then say to myself, I'm too tired to worry about it (knowing it isn't really a bear )

Hi Ssdivot,

Welcome to HST! Thank you for sharing your experience here on HST, and hope you
will post some TR's about you adventure to the Sierra and beyond in the future!

Fear out in the wilderness at night while being alone is almost always the ancient instinctual fear humans have of dangerous wild animals. Some who have never been out so may laugh but none of your ancestors would. Some of the most aggressive macho types back in their urban civilized world when out for the first time at night alone in a wilderness are reduced to paranoid sleepless quivering cowards.

Note if a person goes solo but then sets up camp within earshot of where others are camping, especially at popular destinations, it is hardly going solo psychologically. Likewise if one brings along their dog. Advice would be to start out on a real solo trip in wilderness areas where bears or mountain lions are unlikely of which there are many destinations. That way you will have to face the innate fear humans have out in the wild at night alone while knowing there really isn't anything to be afraid of in the way dangerous creatures except for saber-toothed chipmunks.

SSSdave wrote:That way you will have to face the innate fear humans have out in the wild at night alone while knowing there really isn't anything to be afraid of in the way dangerous creatures except for saber-toothed chipmunks.

And Sasquatch..

rlown wrote:And Sasquatch..

That's pretty funny because right after my 1st trip in the Caribou wilderness, when I got irrationally terrified at night, I somehow found this article about a smokejumper who saw something in the same wilderness area.

http://www.bigfootencounters.com/stories/redcinder.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was

But Sasquatch lives in Washington,right? - so we are safe!! I guess I am not truly solo with my dog, but he's my good buddy and it would be mean to leave him at home (plus I would have to hire a dog sitter). And I have finally convinced a few family members that he will keep away those bears that circle the camp at night....ha ha. I do wonder, tho, if I were stupid or careless enough to leave food right outside the tent if a bear would be put off by his scent.

I'm glad I'm not the only one subject to this.

Camping with someone else I have no fear of night sounds, at least not in the Sierra. There's virtually nothing to worry about. But when I camp alone, and I have done plenty of this, I sometimes get spooked by noises. I know I'm being irrational but the fear is still there. It really pisses me off that I can't control this with my thinking brain.

Cool thread, with lots of feelings!

I've done a bit of solo-ing, and also enjoy it for all the reasons stated here. My only contribution, alluded to by others is that tiny critters can make A LOT of noise at night. Not to mention megafauna like deer, racoons, marmots, etc.

It really is amazing how loud animals can be just going about their business. Just something to keep in mind when you wake up in the night.

I am turning this in a new direction, but twice I have been scared while backpacking with another person. One, I had an episode of sleep paralysis and there were these evil glowing neon squares....lol....another time strange flying beeping noises buzzing by the tent sent us packing