The Beautiful Benefits of Hiking Alone

List of Benefits of Hiking Alone

Hiking solo or alone has many benefits.

• Clear the mental chatter
• Solve Life’s Problems
• See more wildlife
• Hike your own hike

Why Hike Solo?

I absolutely love being out on the trail by myself. Often, when I share about a recent solo adventure with others, people will look at me with big eyes and say, “WHY! Why would you go alone?”. The subtext and the look in their eyes generally reads- this woman is nuts, no sane person would venture out into the wilderness all ALONE! My answer is always the same. I just shrug, keep it simple and say “I hike alone because I like to”. 

Reasons to Hike Solo:

Clear the Mental Chatter

At the top of the list of benefits of hiking alone is that I get to clear the mental chatter. When I start my hike, my brain is full of thoughts that keep playing through my head. This is especially true if I have a lot going in my work and personal life. My thoughts can become full of to-do lists, relationship concerns, ideas for new adventures, thoughts on solving problems at work and a host of other random things. It can become like grand central station! 

Then, something magical happens as I take each step into the wilderness.  I start to think less and less about all of my daily concerns. Then, I notice and appreciate my surroundings more. Were those wind currents moving through the trees the entire time? I hear the birds making their little chirping noises as they move through the underbrush. Colors become more vivid and overall my senses start to wake up. 

The steady beat of my feet moving across the trail along with navigating the changing terrain (stepping over roots, going around rocks, watching for cobwebs, etc) gives my brain just enough to focus on. While my brain is busy with these menial tasks I become more and more relaxed with each step. The thoughts in my head both slow down and quiet down- and then it arrives, Peace. That moment in the woods where it feels like all is right and the concerns melt away.

Solve life’s problems

On the flip side, sometimes I just need time to think. Sometimes I have a big decision to make and I really just need some time to weigh the pros and cons before making a choice. Trail time can be a time when I can really focus on that one big decision. I can focus without all of the other distractions. There is no-one around to try and influence my decision, the TV is not on, I am not being bombarded by phone calls, text and advertisements. I have the time to think and make a clear choice. Somehow, when I am walking among the trees, everything comes into a sharp focus and often I am able to make a clear decision on whatever it was that needed my attention. Answers often become obvious and solution appear that I had not thought of before. 

See more wildlife

Another benefit of hiking alone is to see more wildlife. It can be noisy if you are clomping through the woods while chatting with a group of fellow hikers. The animals can see, hear and sense you coming. When I am alone I am quieter and calmer which gives me a lot more opportunities for seeing wildlife. 

On a recent solo hike I was walking through the woods and I heard what I thought was a squirrel off in the woods as I hiked down the trail. The rustle of leaves and the occasional snapping of a stick alerted me. After a few moments of hearing the sound, I froze where I was and looked off into the woods. For a moment there was stillness and then all of sudden I saw a flash of something climb up onto a rock and then it was gone. I realized what I had seen was a Fisher Cat (Fisher), a large member of the weasel family. His large, long sleek body and rounded ears gave him away. 

Then, later on the same trip, I was climbing up a particularly steep section of the trail. I was huffing and puffing and watching where my feet were stepping when I felt like something was watching me. I froze and slowly looked up. Then there in front of me, about 25’ into the woods up the trail we saw each other. It was a bear watching me huff and puff up the trail. He was probably wondering why I was making such odd noises. As soon as the bear realized that I had seen it, it turned and ran off into the woods. I watched as he disappeared into the forest.

Both of these encounters were very brief. The animals quickly slipped off deeper into the woods as soon as I saw them. I am confident that if I had been traveling with others I never would have had the blessing of seeing these beautiful creatures in their native habitat! 

The example above shows how when I am hiking solo my awareness is greatly increased. Not only do I see more animals but I am also much more aware of everything around me. I am more aware of the different trees and plants that surround me. I am more aware of the beauty that surrounds me. With this awareness comes an increased appreciation for not just my surroundings but for all things in my life. 

Hike your own hike

The above reasons are some of the intangibles of hiking alone but there are also many tangible benefits to set out solo. 

You can go at your own pace. There have been many times when I haven’t been as fit as I would like on the trail and it is difficult for me to maintain the pace of the other hikers that I am with. Yes, they will often adjust their pace to accommodate my fitness level and will tell me not to worry about going slow but I always feel bad and on some level I think that I am ruining their hike.  However, I feel guilty which takes some of the joy from my own hike.

When I am hiking alone I can go as fast or as slow as I like. I can push my pace or I can slow it down. If I want to stop and take a few pictures of an interesting fungi or linger and snack at an overlook and catch some sun I can. You truly get to hike your own hike. 

Also, when you hike solo, you get to make all of the decisions. You get to decide when you are going to hike (do you want to sleep in an extra hour or do you want to summit at sunrise?), how long you will be hiking and you also get to choose the difficulty of your hike- no negotiating with someone else. 

While making all of these decisions at first can be a little overwhelming, with practice it becomes second nature. Once you get over your initial fears of setting out alone can be incredibly rewarding and empowering.There is great freedom with being able to make decisions that are best for you and the more you venture out alone the more confident and responsible you will become for those decisions.

While hiking solo can be very rewarding it is not something that should be done unless you have prepared carefully. Please be sure to read Going Solo (part 2) which discusses safety considerations when hiking alone and how to build your solo skills one step at a time.

Another good read is Hiking Rating System, this article will help you learn how to gage a trail, to see if it is right for you.