[pct-l] Why do you hike solo?

[kentr-lists at sbcglobal.net (Kent Ryhorchuk)]

I'm not entirely sure how I ended up *not* hiking solo. Cathy, my hiking
partner and wife, wasn't interested in backpacking when I met her. She
got interested in it while being my support crew for an adventure race
that I was, ironically, racing solo in. That race touched part of the
PCT, along Deep Creek and Silverwood Lake. The question of "what is this
PCT?" was raised, one thing led to another and 7 months later we set off
from Campo.

Extended hiking with a spouse is not always a love fest - it takes
commitment and a strong will to push through the inevitable bad times. I
imagine that without a formal commitment like marriage it could be even
harder to stick with a hiking partner. I would miss Cathy if she wasn't
with me, but I can also see the advantages of hiking solo (i.e. no
teamwork, no compromises required). Overall I would say that hiking
alone isn't better or worse, just different.

Kent.