[pct-l] Solo Woes

[themtgoat at yahoo.com (The Mountain Goat)]

 I found that I felt more alone after I got back from the Thru hike of 2005 than any
  time on the trail.
   
  It seems in the crowdy civilzation we now live in, it is actualy more remote than
  catching up/passing or othwise meeting people on the trail that you can have a
  short chat with, or occationaly hiking with someone for part of a day here or there, it is far more interaction than we sometimes get in normal society.
   
  Or perhaps it is deeper on the trail, since we share common goals.
   
  Your experience may very, but I long to join my fellow hikers on the trail again.
  Enjoy you hike Class of 2006!
   
  -Mountain Goat-
   
  dsaufley at sprynet.com dsaufley at sprynet.com 
Fri Mar 17 07:50:35 CST 2006 
  

Some of the folks I've known who nearly broke down due to the challenges of solitude weren't people I would have suspected would do so.  They weren't the type who seemed to need an audience, nor did they seem to have any kind of dependence on others for anything.  It seems that the loneliness that they experienced was just so overwhelmingly profound, and it surprised them.  For those who may have already been physically at their outer limits after several months of daily marathons, dealing with loneliness was another factor in the mental mix of whether to stop or continue.  No matter what activity you're doing, all of the factors in and out of your control that affect you add up:  hunger, physical stresses, weather, terrain challenges, equipment deficiencies, and mental outlook all combine to define your experience.    Humans are social beings.  It's our tendency to pair and congregate, and hermits are anomolies.  The need for companionship varies by degree in us like all other
 aspects of our makeup.  You may not know your capacity to endure prolonged periods alone, in a new and wild place, until you get there and find out.  You may like and enjoy it, or it may be a miserable experience.      OTOH, you really don't know how well you'll get along with a pre-chosen companion in the same set of conditions.      As for me, I plan to do my sobo JMT hike solo for the freedom of doing what I want when I want, but I also plan to not do anything hairy alone (i.e., high snowy passes or challenging fords).   I will wait for amenable fellow travelers because I am a chicken at heart.  Of course, I will be passing most of the nobo PCT hikers that we've already hosted, so I don't think I'll be having a lonely experience by any measure.    L-Rod  

		
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