I am looking forward to doing more solo stuff as my friends' ideal hikes and/or personal schedules just don't allow for much. I'm fiddling with the idea of doing the JMT or part of the Sierra High Route but my problem is I wouldn't want to have an experience that significant without being able to share it with my wife. Getting the kind of time off for both of us to do that kind of hiking is proving to be a very tough problem.

I'm almost exclusively solo now. At first it was due to a lack of partners/scheduling problems, etc....I then reached a point in my life where I realized I wasn't going to wait on other people to help me do what I want to do; so solo it is.
I now feel more weird about the prospect of trekking with someone; nothing against people, but I've really come to love being alone in the mountains as well as the simplicity of planning for one. I feel being solo heightens my experiences- I pay more attention to what's around me.

For me it isn't how long/far I can go solo, but how long/far can I hike with a partner. I'm not anti social, but after about 2 days I need to hike alone. I much prefer the freedom of solo hiking and setting my own schedule, challenges, etc.

Things changed for me after the kids came along. I sold the motorcycle and started paying more attention to risk. In my youth I would sometimes tell my folks the trailhead, planned start/finish dates, and when to call S&R. I'd do sketchy stuff off trail.

After an 8 year hiatus, this year I wanted to get back into backpacking with something personally challenging but not likely to risk life. So I'm hiking the John Muir instead of a less traveled route. Even though I'll be hiking solo as long as I'm within earshot of the trail I'm not far from help. It's a solo trip but I don't expect too much solitude unless I step off the trail.

I do remember fondly those times where I tramped for days without seeing a soul. Maybe next year I'll go more off the beaten track and carry a PLB.

I too greatly enjoy solo - greatly heightens the experience. As a group it seems most of the time it's take too many pictures and way too much talking and the experience takes a back seat. Some of my most relaxed nights I can remember were camping by myself too, the sound of the trees rustling in the wind is just awesome.

Ryan Krause- "Some of my most relaxed nights I can remember were camping by myself too, the sound of the trees rustling in the wind is just awesome."

Is there any more amazing natural sound than tree surf?

Most of my trips have been solo. When I first started, I use to feel lonely after a night out. But that was because I would get into camp at 2pm with nothing to do. Doing longer days and bringing something to do (read, music etc) solved the problem for me. In fact, it was when I did a trip where I had no choice but to stay out longer (due to the mileage away from the TH) that got me over the intitial hump.

Now I'll stay out a full week being several days away from my car without any thought about it. I generally do 5-6 day trips over 60miles long. Normally I average ~15 mile days though I will do longer days up to high 20's on occasion. I like the flexibility of being able to adjust my own pace and destination without worry of what someone else wants. I find that by being solo, I'm more open to meeting and talking with others that I meet on the trail. On trails like the JMT in summer, you can find plenty of company to talk to when taking breaks/camping due to the large numbers of people out there. Though to be honest, I prefer to camp away from people at night though I enjoy talking to them during the day.

Edited by Miner on 07/04/2008 16:37:37 MDT.

Seems like most if not all the respondents are male so here's one female's point of view.

I just hiked 1500 miles of the PCT solo. I was surprised how many people were on the trail with me and how much I enjoyed the social aspect of the trek. I had expected much more solitude.

The first 700 miles seemed like a giant party on foot. I camped alone only twice.

The rest of the trek was more like the solitude I expected and while I did have many times of loneliness I grew comfortable with being completely alone almost all the time.

I hated hiking with other people since all that chit-chat wore me out and made me no longer part of the world I was walking through. Plus hiking with another person made it more difficult to get water, take a rest or go to the bathroom whenever or wherever I wanted.

Still, I really did enjoy meeting new people all along the way and were I to attempt 3 months completely alone without another person I think I wouldn't like it. A week or three would be fine, however.

I'm never more alive than when I travel alone.

I love being in the mountains and experiencing the intensity of watching big birds of prey, camera in hand, with nothing but the sound of the breeze and the brightness of the sky.

When I head down to resupply, I enjoy speaking to people I've never met before, I'm a raconteur by nature and making new friends is easy for me, but I camp for free up outside the village, and head away again before the darkness descends. I light a small fire and contemplate the night before turning in for a good sleep before rising at first light and moving on before the heat of the day gets oppressive.

Now though, I've found a partner who seems to appreciate the same sort of minimalist approach. I still walk at my own pace, but have more time to look around while my lady catches up and rests. We talk awhile then head on.

It's all the best.

I've only done solo trips and love the feeling that I am alone. However, I have found nobody willing to do my style of hiking which is typically very heavy on miles per day. I am lucky that I live close the Santa Cruz Mountains which provide so many opportunities for me to “escape my daily life.” My longest trips this summer have been the TRT (4 days) and the JMT (6 days) but I would say that these popular trails are very safe since so many backpackers are on the trail. In some sense, I would say that I am not doing it solo. Strangely enough, some of my solo day hikes in the Santa Cruz Mountains worry me more than these well established trails since I avoid popular trails and hike less well ones. I guess comfort is knowing that someone maybe come around sooner or later if you where to get in a jam.

Cross country routes (no trails) have similar traits to back country rock climbing and are much more serious and may catch the “true spirit” of the original question. Serious back country rock climbers always think in terms of self-rescue because they know help is NOT an option. To rephrase the question, suppose that there is no possible chance of a rescue, how long would one be willing to go out solo? The longest I’ve spent alone in the Sierra’s, I spent 7 days looking for climbing lines and not seeing a single person. I think that I could have gone longer but I needed to resupply myself.