Fantastic thread, everybody! Most of my backpacking has been solo--but on well-treaded trails. I'm simply not experienced enough with a compass or GPS yet to avoid what my brother calls a person's last 15-minutes of fame.

I, too, had the heebie-jeebies when I would first go out, and it's nice to see I'm not the only one. In our concrete worlds, I get so used to people being around that I barely notice how they're impacting me. Take it all away--wham, you really start to notice.

So, I recommend as well that a solo person should start small with a trail they know and let family know.

I also like the idea of bringing a book along to help pass the time at night, especially if it's bad weather. Me? I actually enjoy the rough weather conditions as much as perfect weather. Rough weather makes things interesting.