Have you ever gone solo backpacking? If you have, you’ll probably agree that it isn’t a matter of it being better or worse than backpacking with friends. It’s just a different activity altogether.
When you go backpacking with others, it’s a social event. You enjoy the scenery, feel good hiking the trails, and you get to know people in a different setting than usual. There’s usually a lot of talking, and you feel relatively safe as part of a group. It’s a good experience.
Solo Backpacking Trips
When you are alone in the wilderness, it’s different. There is a peacefulness that can never be there when you’re with others. With nobody to talk to, you stop defining everything and start seeing things more directly.
I remember sitting by an alpine lake at 12,000 feet in the Sierra Nevadas, after not seeing anyone for two days. The sun was shining, and the silence was broken only by the clatter of rocks falling from the cliffs above. I was relaxed, and I felt like it was the most beautiful place on earth. It isn’t the same when I’m with friends.
It’s also true that there’s an...