I have hiked solo for over thirty years and really never have gotten myself into any serious trouble. For the last twenty years I have hiked in Oregon's high desert without trails. I usually set up a base camp and then head out in a different direction each morning and come back in the late afternoon to eat and sleep.

I guess I started going solo because of a lack of companions or a lack of suitable companions. And now at fifty six it's really difficult to find peers who want to rough it in the back country. But finding my way down some desert canyon and maybe catching a trout and picking some onions for my dinner is the best part of living IMO. I'm shocked and saddened that so few people care about it. But I guess that also has an up side. I almost never encounter other hikers in the places I frequent.