[pct-l] The hazards of hiking alone

[ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com]

Sorry, Jeff that I sent this to you alone. I meant to send it to Nathan and 
the List:


Nathan,

I understand about the concerns of loved ones. There is wisdom in not hiking
alone, for the obvious reasons of injury and the naive fears of remoteness.
However, for those who have tasted of the intimate relationship between man
and nature that comes from time spent alone in the midst of her majesty,
they know and understand that there is a trade-off between realizing this
relationship for themselves and the safety of a companion.

Don't get me wrong, you can have just this awareness and "oneness" with your
surroundings while travelling with another hiker, especially when you hike
apart, hike quietly together, or mutually desire this relationship and want
to share it together. This is the best of both worlds. However for many,
they can't divest themselves of the chaos and pressures of civilization
until they have been in the silence of wilderness for awhile and hiking with
another doesn't always facilitate this as quickly as hiking alone.

Take your wife with you. You don't have to go far. Show her what you've
found in the Cathedrals of Granite and meadows of green. Sharing this
together can be the best thing for the two of you.

Mtnned and Lady J

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nathan Miller" <erccmacfitheal at yahoo.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 8:01 PM
Subject: [pct-l] The hazards of hiking alone


> For everything we do and every choice we make, there's always a 
> trade-off--always.  Whether and how to hike is no different.  My last 
> three hikes were done solo mainly because everyone who was interested in 
> joining me had to bail for one reason or another and I was too stubborn to 
> just stay home, despite my wife's wishes.  The first of these ended 
> prematurely when blisters prompted me to make a strategic withdrawal--on 
> this trip, I only saw one person in 3 days.  On the second, I had no 
> mishaps at all (aside from some relatively short-lived bad weather on Mt. 
> Hood) and met a lot of other people on the trail, a few of whom were also 
> out there by themselves.  On the third, I encountered a cougar, a bear, a 
> rattlesnake and then subsequently crashed the car on the way home--I saw a 
> few people the first two days, but no one the rest of the time.  Good 
> times, good times....  Anyway, my wife, understandably insists I don't 
> hike alone.  In fact, most people to
> whom I talk about hiking -- section or through -- say, "Oh, you're not 
> going alone, are you?"
> After reading this list and hiking, I've come to conclusion that hiking by 
> one's self isn't really any more dangerous than doing anything else by 
> one's self.  I'd be interested in hearing about y'all's attempts --  
> successful or not -- to convince others of this.  I fear I'll miss out on 
> some great hiking because I fail -- through my own fault or not -- to 
> secure hiking companions.
>
> -Nathan Miller
> Newberg, OR
>
>
>
>
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