Tell us about long-distance solo hikes you've been on

[taterguy]

A few years ago I hiked from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to Colorado River and back. It was 18 miles. I left at 7:00 AM and got back around 6:00 PM.

A few people knew where I was going but that was it. I didn't even own a cell phone back then.

It was one of the best things I've ever done for myself.

I saw stunning scenery.

I had time to just think and soak up nature.

More importantly, I got to push myself; to remind myself of what I'm capable of when I really try.

That's why I'm really and truly annoyed with this Guvner Sanford loser.

I think we should all be encouraged to do things like he claimed he was doing. Get away. Enjoy nature. Think. Push yourself.

Now he's just turned it into a bad punchline; and whenever anyone suggests doing something like that the perception will be that there's an ulterior motive involved.

So that's my brief story. I'd love to hear what you've learned out in the wilderness alone.

A couple gratuitous pics from that day, taken with a cheap disposable camera

[Botany]

1. I hiked around this lake in January about 20 years ago

Tegernsee, Germany

I remember almost the whole thing ..... 16 miles

[libertypirate]

2. First rule of hiking...

Tell people where you will be so they can come get you when you are dying alone with a broken ankle.


Second Rule...
Take a buddy same circumstances

[taterguy]

14. I disagree with those rules

Life can not be lived risk free.

Sometimes you just have to take chances.

People knew my general route but in a medical emergency I would have been shit out of luck.

By the time anyone realized I was in trouble it would have been well past sunset.

I'm no expert but I can't imagine they do much Search and Rescue in the Canyon after dark.

Those trails are treacherous enough in broad daylight.

It's not something I make a habit of but I think it should be done once in a while.

Hell, when I go on solo bike rides I don't tell people where I'm going, since I frequently don't decide myself until I'm in the middle of the ride.

[nosmokes]

3. I used to head out solo all the time, fishing in the Sierras or just hiking in

the pimeria alta in Arizona in the winter.

Highly recommended for those with the skills and ability, which, sadly i no longer possess.

[handmade34]

4. love your story

not all long distance, but all awesome

me too - Grand Canyon this past April


Cumberland Gap


most all peaks in Vermont and New Hampshire


Redwood Forest

[Kali]

5. my solo hikes happen when the damn truck breaks down

mostly in the years BC (before cell)
I've never done the canyon.
I do ride solo horseback all the time, though.

[Robb]

6. Years ago I did the first 70-odd miles of the PCT

(Pacific Crest Trail), starting ten miles or so inside Canada and heading south.

More skeeters than I care to remember, but also as beautiful a walk as I've ever had.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. It was a steamy summer night in the city ...

... me and a bunch of guys from the platoon were on leave for the weekend ...

[Tempest]

8. Three month solo trip through the Brooks Range in Alaska

Went light and was able to forage, fish and trap for most of my meals.

Any time someone tells you the area around ANWR is flat, barren and devoid of life, send them my way.

[bertman]

9. I hiked the Appalachian Trail one weekend on my way to Argentina.

[laylah]

10. I hiked Pikes Peak and all the areas

around it. Oh, and Telluride Bluegrass for 18 years...not THERE was a hike

[NightWatcher]

11. I want to put together a few days hikes on the AT and make it at least 20 miles

havent been in years

[handmade34]

17. my dream is the Appalachian Trail

[maxsolomon]

12. i try to go out for 1 or 2 nights every year

last 2 were:
1. Spider Meadow in the Glacier Peak Wilderness at the start of deer season.
2. the Lakeshore Trail along Lake Chelan in early spring.

learning to be by yourself is a valuable skill.

[librechik]

13. in 1974 I hiked to (near) top of Wilson Peak from Wilson Mesa

outside Telluride CO and spent the night in an old log cabin--What a thunderstorm there was! I hung on to the floor of the cabin becuz everything was popping and shaking!

Oh, I wasn't entirely alone--I took my two Siamese cats along, and they kept up with me for the whole hike!

[dysfunctional press]

15. cathederal lake in yosemite.

not that long- about four miles in from the road in the back-country. it was meant to be a week-long 50-mile hike of the 'circuit', but about 150 yards in, i realized what a pipe dream that was, so i re-grouped and decided to make cathederal lake a destination, and stayed there for a few days doing day hikes from there.

[seemunkee]

16. 3 days on the AT in Shenandoah Nat Park

My mom dropped me off and came back a few days later to pick me up. Started off in the rain so I hiked nude to keep my clothes dry.

Day hike in Acadia park when I was 16. It was a family vacation and my parents dropped me off on one side of the island and picked me up late afternoon on the other side.

Numerous other day hikes in the area.

[WolverineDG]

18. I've walked parts of the Camino Frances in Spain

& while technically "alone," at any point in time there are at least 100 others on the same portion as you are, so I was never more than 5 minutes from "help" if I needed it. And in some places, the local town has a police officer or other city employee who drives up & down the camino offering help & water to those who need it.


dg

[here_is_to_hope]

19. I walked the entire coast of California...

The Summer after I turned 14.
My Dad gave me a ride to the Mexican border, I walked north to Orange County and then took a bus to Ventura and hit the pavement again.
It took 7 weeks to get 9 miles into Oregon, I then turned around and walked back south to Monterey where I caught the Greyhound home to Venice beach.
I would suggest a trip like to this to any one, at any age.
Hardest part was keeping water with me, its amazingly heavy and it can get hard to find.

[Dead_Parrot]

20. I once walked to Argentina...

Man, it was hard. I was fucked when I got there, and completely fucked when I got back.

[bertman]

22. Mark, is that you?

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Sadly I was the idiot tasked to go look for them lone hikers in the back country

not too often, but it happened a few times.

So my rule is... if you are going to do this is....

FINE... carry enough water for more than just a day.

Carry food for three... energy bars mostly, so they don't weight too much

Carry a mirror... invaluable to tell us idiots who have to come get your sorry ass, where you are. Great for signaling

Carry a whistle, same idiotic reason

Carry a small first aid and a small survival kit

Carry a knife\ multi-tool, can never emphasize this enough

And chiefly, learn how to use all this crap

Oh and a map and compass is also highly useful.

After that, enjoy yourself.

I've done this near my home in San Diego, on the trails, but I always carry all that crap, even if it just a day hike. Why? Well if I do break my ankle I will have to be able to tell the idiots coming to get my sorry ass, where exactly where I am.

:-)

That said I always tell people when I do that, and my expected time of return... again, that idiot who once went to get people out when they got in trouble.

:hi:

And if you carry a cheap disposable camera... great for getting a fire going, after you take the lenses out whit that multitool, for example.