My friend, Niki Collins prefers to backpack alone. Because she is an attractive woman, she is really looked on askance when she tells someone of this preference. After the initial look of horror, there is the incredulous question: "Why?"
Outdoor Living, Macon Telegraph and News, Fri., Jan.27, 1984
By Richard Goudeau
Maybe it’s the "Me Generation" but more and more people are turning their energies to "solo" performances in outdoor activities. There are probably more solo paddlers now than tandem teams. Some rock climbers are taking in incredibly difficult ascents alone, with not even a rope for self-belay.
At least the paddlers, though in their boat alone, are still for safety’s sake paddling in groups. Climbers making solo ascents and scuba divers doing solo descents, as far as I am concerned, are missing vital portions of the gray matter between their ears.
But solo backpacking is another matter. While there is little doubt that having a partner along on a wilderness backpacking trip gives an added margin of safety, there is not nearly the hazard here that is involved in the other sports already mentioned. Colin Fletcher, perhaps the most famous backpacker of them all, makes a strong case for going solo. Trekking sans companion is clearly his preferred way to get away from it all.
And he is not alone in this view. My friend, Niki Collins prefers to backpack alone. Because she is an attractive woman, she is really looked on askance when she tells someone of this preference. After the initial look of horror, there is the incredulous question: "Why?"
Her answer is a rather lengthy one…too long for here. But the essentials are worth hearing, I think.
Niki did not set out to backpack alone. Two years ago, a companion had to cancel out on a planned trip. Niki decided to go anyway. She admits that initially it was an experience in terror. The first few hours were the most difficult.
"My mind wanted to play the ‘What if…’ tape. What is a snake bit me? What if I broke my leg? What if someone tried to hurt me? What if …?
"After a while, I resolved not to give this tape any more attention." She sat by a creek, enjoying the warm sunshine and the cool breeze. She began to focus on the bubbling creek and the sparking water. And then…
"To my surprise and dismay, hot tears began to roll down my cheeks. I was crying, and I had no idea I was sad. Long forgotten hurts and anger, people and places raced through my mind; then it was over. Like a thunderstorm, the tears left as quickly as they came. In their place was an incredible sense of being cleaned out, of peace, of having cast off a burden. My body was light and carefree. I felt as if I had come home."
But this was only the beginning of her learning experience. Back in the "real" world of career and city, she was constantly involved with numerous activities. Now that she was alone in the wilderness, her thoughts and her observations of nature were overloading her mental and emotional circuits.
However, time took care of this. As the days passed and her life simplified, things slowed down. She noticed that when she was back in the city much of her energy was directed to the past and future. On this wilderness trail, she spent the bulk of her time in the present.
The approach of darkness on the first night brought with it a rise of anxiety as new fears blossomed with the gradual decrease of sunlight. Lying in her sleeping bag, she heard every chirp, every rustle, every snap and everything else that went bump in the night. Somehow, she finally went off the sleep.
The next morning I awoke with the warm glow of the rising sun and the soft murmurs of the stream. I was euphoric! I had made it through the night!
Looking back now, I can see how when I had the courage to face my fears, I felt much more confident. Sure, there was risk, but taking the risk paid off huge dividends.
Safety is a real concern, she says. But so is driving, and we all still drive our cars. She minimizes the risk by being knowledgeable and developing her wilderness skills. And to those whom she encounters on the trail, she greet with confidence and friendliness. And expects the same from them. "Expecting the best usually brings out the best," she says.
But the real benefit has been the ability to bring back the "renewal" she gets from solo backpacking to her workaday life in the city. It has taught her to set aside time for solitude, for contemplation and for meditation at home. It has taught her to live more in the present than in the past or future.
"Backpacking alone allows me to relax (at home), to get in touch with myself and my feelings. And like a shaft, this cuts through the mind to tap that fountain of joy that flows within us all."
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