Do you backpack solo? How "experienced" were you when you took your first solo trip? What are the advantages/disadvantage? What are some of the challenges (mental and physical) of taking a solo trip?

I put some miles under my belt over the summer and I would consider myself an advanced newbie. I really want to do a leaf peeping backpack in the GSMNP over fall break (being a teacher is nice)but the other newbie partners I went with over the summer figured out they are "campers who like to hike not hikers who camp along the way." So, I've had trouble finding new partners to go with.

Yes, I backpack solo. i enjoy it a lot. I did my first solo trip when I was probably something like 18 or 19. I'm 40 now.
I probably do at least one a year, sometimes more.
Was I "experienced" then? well. not like I am now, but I was past the dumb 16 year old kid in jeans with beer in his pack stage, and I'd been being carted around the bush by my father since I was 8 or 9 so probably had some "bush sense"

Mental challenges? You're alone. Don't get stupid. You do need to be mentally prepared to be self contained and self reliant.

Physical challenges? It's walking.. Carrying stuff. You should only have more "challenges" if you get stupid. See the first point about Mental challenges...

Why do it? Exactly some of the reasons you outline. No suitable person to go with.. Or you just want some alone time, and enjoy it. My reasonings are usually both.

You should probably start on a few short trips next to civilization to get a hang for how you like it, and how comfortable you are in your own skills. It's one thing to say it in a forum and another to realize you are finding your own way over 15 km of off trail travel, route finding, and two mountain passes before you reach a trail to get out again.. something I feel quite happy and confident doing now, but I certainly remember a good deal of trepidation the first few times I did something like that solo, so work yourself up to it and progress as your skills and confidence increase.

Senor Phat puts the basics quite well. I have one further suggestion, which is to think about your role in the trips you have been on. Were you the "leader" of the group? I put that in quotes because even when there is no agreed upon or foramlized leader there is usually someone who dominates the planning and navigating - though sometimes it's more spread out than that. If you have been the main navigator and decision maker (when and where to camp, etc), then you are more likely to be able to go solo without problems. If not (and be honest with yourself about this, it's a safety issuehere) then you may want more experience before going by yourself. In any case, the best plan is to make your first solo trip less adventurous than what you have done before - shorter, closer to the trailhead, easier terrain and navigation. You amy find you like it, you may not. Or you may find you like it and dislike it. I love to walk alone, but I prefer camping with friends. So I'm often torn. I certainly wouldn't want to take all my trips solo, but sometimes it's just the thing.
I took my first solo trip when I was 17 - planned it for a week and ended up doing fewer days - although all of the miles - because I found there wasn't much to do except walk when I had no one to talk to!

I've been solo bike touring with no prior touring experience, but thousands of road miles, winter solo camping with only one other winter trip as experience and solo hiking after not hiking for years.

As already said, just use some common sense, don't put yourself in unnecessary danger, understand your limitations and you should be fine. If you are concerned you don't know enough, you probably don't.

Also, as a backup, get a SPOT or PLB or carry a sat phone (the most expensive option) if you or your loved ones are concerned about your safety.

It is important to keep your first trip simple. I'm sure there alot of simple trips in the smokies, do it a popular place so at least you can pass other hikers or see a tent from where yours is.
My first solo hike I saw my first bear, pretty intense, it rained so bad the trail turned into a creek and became hard to follow, why do I remember this, cause my heart was pounding and I got pretty nervous, but when you feel that way just don't panic, stop, gather yourself, take some deep breaths and review your surroundings and work through it.

I love to solo hike even though these days I have a K9, I still like to go out alone a few times a year.

Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty confident in my abilities and knowledge but not arrogant and over-confident. On the previous trips, I was the main person planning and leading the trip even though we were all first timers and/or newbies. I was the one that everyone was jealous of because I actually read and did research before we left. I had the best meals, carried enough water, had the lightest pack in the group, etc. And all I did was read a lot of websites, including this one, read a few books, and trained a minimal amount.

I'm leaning pretty hard to doing this now.

Yes, in fact solo is my preferred mode of backpacking. For me, the advantages are mostly psychological. I am a bit of an introvert and find that I need a certain amount of time alone. My wife understands this and does not object when I plan a trip. Since I have always come home from my adventures, after over 50 years together, she doesn't seem to worry too much.

My first solo of any consequence was a through hike of the John Muir Trail. This was in 1954, I was a teenager at the time and nowhere near as experienced as I thought I was. I started south from Yosemite with about 15 pounds of gear and 25 pounds of food; the idea of mailing food ahead had not occurred to me. I had a poncho for shelter/raingear, a totally inadequate sleeping bag and a pack designed for a lighter load. I cooked over fires. I got cold, hungry and lonely on the trip but I had a great time.

To me, the biggest challenge was dealing with the sustained solitude-the Sierra were relatively untraveled in those days. I don't recall seeing more than a dozen people on the trip and most of them were in large, horse-packed parties. Another challenge was simply the need to get up and get going every morning. I had to keep going because my food supplies were limited; even then, I finished the trip on half rations.

I repeated the trip last summer. My planning was much better and, overall, I had an easier time of it even though I am much older now. I found the company I wished for among other hikers but also had the solitude I needed.

I will never recommend solo hiking to anyone else; going with others is safer. But, for me, going solo fills a need for solitude and contemplation that I don't get any other way.

I go it alone every now and then. For me, the biggest disadvantage is not have someone there to share the experience with.

The biggest advantages are going wherever I want at my own pace.

I'd say the pace of solo is slower. I'm more cautious hiking off trail so I go slower, and it takes longer to cook dinner.

But, unlike Pika, I'd recommend it to someone that has some backpacking experience. BigB's advice to keep it simple to start with is sound. Stay in your comfort range and you'll enjoy yourself. Go somewhere your familiar with so you don't have to stress about getting lost. And you don't have to go far, you can just hike a couple miles and spend a night or two.

It's a whole new adventure being alone and it's worth the effort to go solo. The experience you'll gain will be invaluable even if you never do it again.

Bill

Chattaben

I generally go solo. Frankly I hate being alone for more than 3 days so my trips are short. Its more fun to share camp with someone once yer there, but alone you go wherever you want without anyone elses agreement, and camp where you want. I feel almost as at home alone in the wilderness as I do in my home. When I started serious solo BPing I was 24, although I was also a boyscout and have camped since I wasa 7.

If you feel comfortable that you have the gear you need to do what you want, and the skills to use that gear, then go for it.

Be safe, and avoid potential injuries. At first you will not be aware of what can get you. More people are injured by axes and sharp sticks and sharp knives than animals. Breaking firewood does not happen the way you think - it will not break in two, it will break into three and three may be moving VERY FAST in an unknown direction. Protect you eyes and carry some eye drops.

Wear good shoes at first - a sprained ankle is a bitch when yer alone. Its also not really a good idea for you to go too far off trail at first. Don't pitch your tent under a dead snag, watch out for thorns, and do not wear open toed footgear even in camp, or you could end up with an injured toe.

Jim

"...do it a popular place so at least you can pass other hikers or see a tent from where yours is."

I think this is great advice at least for a first solo trip. The risks that folks talk about (generally I think folks that haven't hiked much alone ...) are mitigated a lot if you stick to fairly popular trails. If something does happen to you, better chance that someone will be along reasonably soon and can help out.

I think our perspectives on this differ based on our own experiences. I've never had any significant injury on a trail nor been on a trip where someone did barring one climbing experience some 30 years ago --- so there could be a real tendency for me to underrate the risk of going solo, particularly since I did a bunch of it last year.

OTOH, I've talked with people who have been on trips recently where either they personally were hurt or were with someone else who was injured --- slipped and smacked head against a rock, impaled their calf on a branch of a downed log, etc. Multiple times I've heard them say "... and we used up everyone's first aid kits to stop the bleeding". Folks who have had an experience like this are likely to be a lot more leery about going out by themselves.

As always, it's about making wise choices and balancing risks. I feel safer on the trail (alone or in a group) than I do driving on the freeway to get there. But indeed I feel more safe hiking solo when I'm on a reasonably well populated trail, as I know that no matter how "good" I might or might not be, I can always be unlucky.

I was 19 when I started to solo hike, but I was hiking in the Oregon Cascades where I had been hiking and camping with my family since the age of 3 or 4, and I had been backpacking since age 16.

The only added physical shallenge of a solo trip is there are no others to split gear with, so you may end up carrying a bit more weight. Almost all the additional challenge is mental. You just need to be more aware when hiking solo - aware of your limits, your current physical state, your location, and any hazards you encounter - because your margin for error is smaller.

For instance, when you get to a poorly marked trail junction you won't have anyone else's judgement to consult. If your attention has been wandering or you're really tired, you can't delegate the decision. You pay your nickel and take your choice.

Normally this is not a big deal, because your safety margin will cushion you and a normal day in the backcountry doesn't present much danger besides a sunburn or a bug bite. But when something unusual happens that takes away that margin, you have to be able to pull yourself together and get through it on your own.

That's the real challenge in going solo. That's why you learn your map and compass skills and how to build a fire in the rain, even if it seems like you'll never need them.

Of my eight trips this year, seven were solo, the longest a four-day trip into the Golden Trout Wilderness, although I've taken solo trips in the past of as long as ten days. It's my preferred mode of travel -- it's my meditation time.

As others have said, you have to get used to the solitude; indeed, you probably have to prefer solitude to enjoy going solo. It's good advice to make your first try a fairly easy hike on a busy route, and then gradually make your trips more challenging.

I like being able to hike at my own pace (slow) and stop wherever I want. I like being able to eat what I like rather than worrying about my hiking partner's likes and dislikes. I like the feeling of being self-sufficient. And I really, really like the solitude.