Solo hike. What you need to know

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In this article, we will tell you what solo hikes are really like.

Solo hikes have a very special place in tourism. The image of an unbending lone wolf, courageously making his way through deserts, jungles and swamps, meditating on the tops of the mountains, while away his evenings in the company of a fire and a cup of strong tea, looks very attractive and romantic, but often has nothing to do with real life. In this article (and possibly several next ones) we will tell you what solo hikes are really like, what skills you need to have for them, and what equipment you need to prepare.

Every person who goes on a camping trip does it for a purpose. Someone just wants to relax and unwind, someone wants to get acquainted with new interesting places, others want to test their physical skills and learn the basics of survival in the wild. However, all these goals can and should be achieved in a company quite calmly. Hiking in a group is much more fun, comfortable and safer. So why do some individuals strive so hard for solo travel?

There is an answer to this question, and it lies in the metaphysical sphere.

Since ancient times, loneliness has been considered the strongest means of influencing a person's personality. That is why many peoples had rituals associated with this practice. For example, some Indian tribes sent the future warrior on a long hunt, and only its successful completion marked the transition of a person to the category of adult men, and in many African villages, the members of the community who have fined are still sent alone into the jungle "for re-education." It will not be superfluous to recall the experience of hermits and monks who sought the truth in solitude. Thus, it is the psychological component of a solitary journey that is of value and interest to us in the first place.

The human impact of solo hiking can be quite varied and can hardly be accurately predicted on a case-by-case basis. One gets unprecedented inspiration, and upon returning home, they rush to work with their heads. Others realize the futility of their being and understand the need for radical changes in their lives. For others, this is just a great opportunity to completely take a break from the hustle and bustle and experience the greatest adventure of their life. Solo hikes will definitely change you, but no one knows how or how much.

And although, as it was just said, it is rather difficult to predict the end result of your adventure, it is still necessary to tell about some characteristic sensations that accompany a person in a solo campaign.

• You will experience an incomparable sense of freedom. In everyday life, we are connected by a thousand threads with the society around us, which sometimes tangibly and sometimes invisibly compel us to act in one way or another. And even in a group hike, certain restrictions will be imposed on you: being on duty in the kitchen, coordinating the route, the need to endure the silly jokes of the companion, wait on the trail for those who are lagging behind or catch up with the hurry. In a solo hike, you are completely and completely dependent only on yourself. This feeling of freedom is so complete, so unusual, that it even scares some.
• You will learn what responsibility is. All ordinary life teaches us that there are no irreparable mistakes. Any business can be started and quit, at a difficult moment you can ask for help and get it right there, and it is never too late to correct any mistake. In a solo campaign, you will have to get used to the idea that everything depends solely on you, and your every mistake can lead to irreparable consequences.
• You will experience loneliness. You can dress up in the clothes of an introvert and poke around in your inner world as much as you like, but it is in a solo campaign that you will truly learn what it means to be on your own. Even the most hardened, whole and psychologically stable individuals on the second day begin to conduct a mental dialogue with themselves, and after a couple of days they catch themselves commenting and discussing their actions aloud. For some, it comes down to conversations with trees and stones, and this is not at all funny, believe me. It is in a solo campaign that you begin to clearly understand that a person is primarily a social being.
• You will gain self-confidence … After several nights in the forest, when you will listen to every rustle and shy away from every shadow; after several days in the rain, when you, drenched to the last thread, will chomp along a soggy path; after climbing the mountain, from the top of which it is perfectly visible that for tens of kilometers around there is not a single living soul; after a dozen extraordinary situations that you overcome, you will finally find out your real capabilities and begin to respect yourself.

Summing up this short article, I want to once again emphasize its main idea.

There is no good reason why you should prefer solo hikes, except for your sore head. Yes, solo travel will undoubtedly have an impact on her, but it is not at all a fact that in a positive way. Perhaps, on the way, insight will descend on you and you will know the meaning of life. But another option is not excluded, in which the cockroaches in your head will grow to an even larger size. In any case, this experience will leave a mark on your life.

On this optimistic note, we will end, and in the next article we will talk about more practical things. I will tell you what skills will be useful to you when you are alone with nature.