Moved to proper forum: How comfortable are you in the woods?

[marty]

I'm quite comfortable camping alone in remote areas of the Northeast. Remote areas probably have far less wildlife issues (bears, raccoons, porcuplines, strange people) than established campsites.

I do prefer to camp with others than alone, just because it is more fun!

 

[Nessmuk]

well timed thread though, just yesterday, I wrote a -Trip Report- that address, or at least describes my comfort. I'll quote it, so your don't get bored reading about a place you likely have no interest in. "There was the serene and embracing comfort I’ve come to expect in the woods, with just a touch of that unknowing “gloominess” that often comes with “naked” untrailed woodland travel. Hard to explain it, but if you've ventured far out into the deep untracked Adirondack wilderness, you know the feeling. It was glorious."

Mavs, you are certainly not "alone" in having those feelings...
"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God…I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles." - Anne Frank

 

[adirobdack46r]

I do most of my day trip and overnights with someome else just because that is how it usualy turns out. I have no fear at all in solo day hiking. I have done a few solo overnights and wasn't too spooked. We'll soon see if my spook factor grows night after night as I'm prepairing to go out on a 8-10 day/night solo adventure. I hope the ghosts don't get me.

 

[the starchild]

I had to choose the first: I camp all the time with or without others in remote areas. however, i have not yet backpacked solo. I have been out dayhiking alone many times and have camped well off trail in the wilderness with others.

i think the hiking part of backpacking alone would be great, no worries there. but come nightfall, i think my first time sleeping truly alone with nobody camped close by will be quite an experience. i am looking forward to it while knowing i'll prolly be a bit scared of being attacked by bears or some silly thought like that.

 

[Dugan]

And of course, you do have your dog buddy with you, right?

Keith

Does it count as solo with a dog? Multiple dogs? Other pets? (non-dog) pack animal(s)?

 

[KayakDan]

I'm quite comfortable camping in remote areas,however,since Mrs KD and I always backpack together,solo has never been an option. Going solo wouldn't be a problem for me,but it just wouldn't be as much fun!
Going remote in winter,as in breaking trail with a backpack,does limit how remote we get in winter,due to the effort involved.
Does camping a mile offshore in Maine count as "remote"?

I'm actually a lot more relaxed in the woods at night than I am walking in Boston at night-I know what to expect of the "wildlife"!

When people ask if there's anything dangerous in the woods,I tell them" The only thing that will hurt me is myself."

 

[Tim Horn]

Hike anywhere and camp with or without company. My best vacations are my annual solo weeks. I like the freedom to go where I want, eat when I am hungry, fish as much as I need. I really enjoy not being with folks even if it is only for a week. I really dis-like established camp sites. I can't stand having to listen to another persons snoring. (Of course I never snore) Mostly I enjoy the journey when I am out. I like finding that perfect spot for camp. Getting up early and staking out the berries to see critters. Or watching Moose and Deer come to the water. Or wandering throught the woods until I finally find the Owl making all that racket! Critters it seems are much easier to see when you are alone. I will admit I can also occasionally get the yips in the woods, but I tend to get them more about people than bears...usually anyway. There was that incident on the Green River in Wyoming..... I also like not having to be responsible for anyone elses well being for a change. It really allows me to unwind and detox my soul. I still day hike and play on the trails but I prefer finding less travelled areas. Not interested in vast vista's, I like the trees!

 

[Nessmuk]

Hike anywhere and camp with or without company. My best vacations are my annual solo weeks. I like the freedom to go where I want, eat when I am hungry, fish as much as I need. I really enjoy not being with folks even if it is only for a week. I really dis-like established camp sites. I can't stand having to listen to another persons snoring. (Of course I never snore) Mostly I enjoy the journey when I am out. I like finding that perfect spot for camp. Getting up early and staking out the berries to see critters. Or watching Moose and Deer come to the water. Or wandering throught the woods until I finally find the Owl making all that racket! Critters it seems are much easier to see when you are alone. I will admit I can also occasionally get the yips in the woods, but I tend to get them more about people than bears...usually anyway. There was that incident on the Green River in Wyoming..... I also like not having to be responsible for anyone elses well being for a change. It really allows me to unwind and detox my soul. I still day hike and play on the trails but I prefer finding less travelled areas. Not interested in vast vista's, I like the trees!

Tim, if we weren't so much alike in what you said, we'd solo together. What did I just say???

 

[spider solo]

Probably no big surprise that I primarily camp and hike alone. I have been known to flee an area at the sound of approaching people or avoid a place where I can hear people already there.
I suppose that might sound a bit anti-social, but I have certainly seen others do the same...for example when you see someone ahead on a summit and they leave before others arrive, I think that's fairly common.

I greatly enjoy the times that I travel with other people... perhaps it is enhanced by the times that I spend solo.
A couple of days alone in the woods and I'm I regular "chatterbox" when I do meet up with some folks...

 

[jessbee]

I voted that I "dayhike only but will solo in remote areas for several hours." I have no problem camping alone and I frequently do, but not out in remote areas. I don't have a light tent or stove so backpacking deep in the backcountry without sharing gear is out of the question

One of the primary reasons I hike is for solitude so I'm sure as I acquire more gear and knowledge I will be soloing for several days out into the wilds... There is something peaceful about spending a day (or night) in the woods without being in contact with another human. I'm looking forward to long summer camping/hiking trips on unpopular trails with just myself and my sketchbook. And once I get more comfortable winter hiking, I'll look forward to nice snowy nights on my own as well.

 

[CrisisBill]

I have hiked and camped for years, did the AT, Long Path, Long Trail and the Northville-Lake Placid trail alone.
I prefer being alone most of the time, but every now and then it's nice having someone along for that "Wow Look At That" factor. Sometimes you run across something so special that it would be nice to share it with someone.
I spent 5 days on the backside of Peekamoose alone for my 50th birthday last Sept, the only human voice I heard was in my head it was great.

 

[jbrown]

I didn't vote, none of them really fits me.

I have backpacked for years, I've camped in all kinds of places from my car at the trailhead, to established tentsites, to lean-tos, to somplace comfortable on the ground. I have always done overnight hikes with others, at least 2 or 3 others, but will more often do solo dayhikes.

When doing an overnight with others, I have found myself often spending the night a comfortable distance away from the group, i.e. under my trekking tarp or in my tent somewhere away from the lean-to that everyone else is staying in. I snore so it's better for them, but they're often goofy and raucus and I get migraines if I don't sleep well, so it's better for me too.

I'm doing my first solo overnight this summer, probably next month, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I won't bushwack by myself, and when I solo I'll stay at an established site. (Most likely the lean-to on the point on Pharaoh Lake or in my hammock nearby. I think it's #6.)

I guess the answer to how comfortable I am in the woods is, comfortable enough to camp solo at established campsites, but I like the company of my hiking buddies and prefer to hike with them.

 

[RoySwkr]

no good answer for me either

I often do long bushwhacks alone but rarely backpack because everything in NH is a dayhike if you stay out late enough

I often camp in remote areas where you don't see other people but this is car camping at MFS sites. By comparison 13 Falls or Guyot Shelter is Grand Central Station

 

[forestgnome]

I am completely comfortable in the woods alone, both camping and hiking. In fact, I refuse to be with others, except occasionally with my wife.

I don't go into the forest to be away from people or civilization. Civilization is good. I go into the forest to be in the forest. No way in heck could I experince all that I do if I was with other humans. It just wouldn't happen.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

I'm quite comfortable hiking off trail for a day, finding a little place to set up my slightly-larger-than-a-bivy tent, then continuing the bushwhack the next day.

I can sleep anywhere. On my long cycle trips, I've even slept in the ditch along the road (hint make sure you're not going to have thunderstorms that night)

In the woods, I think I prefer spending the night in as remote an area as I can find, rather than extablished camp areas. Less problems with animals in these areas as well.

 

[Paradox]

I have kids and a wife. They whine. I dayhike almost exclusively alone, save for Chips and Zippy my Labrador Retrievers. They go when I want to go. They go at my pace, and they often carry some of my food and water. They keep me moving. They only whine when I stop. Other hikers seem to really like them. Well mostly like them, Chips can be a scrounge. Zippy is a perfect lady.

 

[Woody]

I enjoy dayhikes and backpacking trips solo and with others, in all seasons. I haven't done much bushwacking but the little that I have done I have been comfortable with. I am pretty comfortable with a map and compass and my gps helps as well (always have extra batteries). I do try to cook and eat away from my camp and hang my food in another location all at least 100 feet apart when possible. I have never had any problems with wildlife, except for what I think was a group of coyotes once, but I think my tent may have been pitched in the middle of their territory next to a nice stream.

 

[jn316]

Camping, camping alone in remote places....been there, done that.
Older now, I find that I like an arduous day-hike, on or off trail to a remote place, and that I also love a shower at the end of the day. And since there's no place in the Whites that I can't get to and back in a day, (and I'll go to the 'dacks for a day from my home in nh) that's the way I tend to hike now. I get plenty of solitude, hiking alone, thinking, praying, breathing in the forest or tundra. And sometimes there'll be a few moments of congenial chatter with others on a summit. In the evening, having done, say, a thrashing bushwhack somewhere, or a Twin /Bonds traverse, I get to enjoy the night sky from my deck, freshly cleaned up, perhaps a chardonnay or coffee in hand, listening to the night sounds (or vivaldi) .....and be happy I'm not camping!

 

[Mike P.]

Define comfortable?

Started hiking Memorial Day at 3:30 AM in the dark. Sometimes I would make noise so i would not surprise a bear or other animal & sometimes thought all the noise would do is ring the dinner bell. Headlamp, good for seeing 15-20 feet in the dark, visible to those in the dar for 100's of yards (if the trees were not in the way)

Kept going & felt better when it started to get light about 4:40, okay so I'm comfortable when I can see & not completely over the childhood fear of the dark, too many Halloween & Friday the 13th Movies.

 

[Iceman]

Looks like I'm the only one who voted:

I dayhike only in the company of others

Being a newbie, I got to start at the bottom