How's it going my friends my name is Hayley and welcome back to Set To Hike.
This is a channel that is all about hiking and in today's video we're going to share the pros and
cons of solo hiking. Now I am just recently back from an eight day solo hike, so while these pros
and cons are freshly in my head, I thought I would present this video. Now i'm the kind of person
that always likes to finish things on a positive, so I thought I would start with the cons.
A con safety.
This would have to be the number one negative thing about going solo hiking.
By going solo you are putting yourself at more risk than if you were with others.
Let's say you twist your ankle or you get bitten by a snake. Even having two sets of eyes to reduce
the risk of losing the track. Or maybe you run out of water but your friend still has some.
Going with two or more people is always going to be better in these kinds of situations.
I will also add that being a young female alone, there is an entirely different safety issue there.
So I will say that if you are going solo hiking no matter how experienced you are at
hiking you must carry a personal locator beacon for any of these safety issues.
Con you lose the ability to share weight.
So this obviously depends on the type of gear that people
have and people's individual preferences. but generally when you are hiking with others you have
the ability to save some weight. So one person might bring the tent, another person might bring
the stove, the first aid kit, the navigation. You can save some weight by hiking with others.
And the same thing goes for if you run out of something or you forget something, then your
hiking buddy might have it.
Con you can't split costs.
So this can refer to a number of things,
if you are going solo you can't split the cost of things like campsite fees,
park fees, petrol money or other means of transport even things like accommodation
before and after the track. Things can add up pretty quickly when you are by yourself.
Con transport becomes harder.
I am mainly talking about one-way tracks for this point,
I don't know how many times I have researched a track to find out it is a one-way track instead
of a loop track or there isn't really much public transport or support for the track. The best way
to overcome this is by grabbing your hiking buddy, and doing a car shuffle so that when you reach the
end of the track you can jump in their car drive to the start of the track and pick up your car.
So by going solo, transport becomes harder.
Con no one can take your photo.
Or in my case
filming video. Now this certainly doesn't apply to everybody but let me tell you it is
way easier to compose a shot when somebody is in it rather than when somebody is not.
Con you might get lonely.
There is a quote from a film called Into The Wild which says "happiness
is only real when shared" which is both a beautiful quote and a sad quote at the same time.
So you might see this beautiful view at the top of the summit that you've just climbed and simply
wish that you had someone to share that experience with. I think some people need social interaction
more than others and your own company might drive you a little bit lonely and a little bit crazy.
Con scary noises at night time.
This only concerns you if you've watched too many horror films but
night time can be surprisingly noisy. The sound of the drop toilet door banging in the wind
could be a whole range of things if you let your mind wander. So now let's move on to the pros.
Pro solo hiking is easier from an organisational point of view.
You can go whenever it suits you you don't have to wait for people to get time off work,
you don't have to consult anybody about any decision along the way. Time is probably the
main reason why I go solo hiking. Sometimes I have a very small window of free time that
simply doesn't align with anybody else's free time and my two choices are to go alone or not go
at all and once i've made a decision to go then the process of booking things and making
decisions is very streamlined because I only have myself to consider.
Pro you can set your own pace.
Now I know this affects a lot of you, I always hear people being worried about hiking with
others because they fear they are not as fit as the other person. Or on the opposite side,
people don't want to be slowed down by others. The reality is that most people don't mind,
but solo hiking removes this thought completely, you don't have to worry about being too slow or
too fast for somebody else. I feel this a lot by the amount of times that I stop to film something,
I feel like that gets very annoying to the person or people that i'm hiking with.
So by going solo if I see a shot I can get it I don't have to feel bad for stopping,
even though I stopped two minutes ago.
Pro you can set your own routine.
This is pretty
similar to setting your own pace but basically you can do things in any order that you like
so maybe you're the type of person that sets up their tent immediately as soon
as they arrive at camp or maybe you like to rest before you do anything camp related.
Solo hiking really gives you the opportunity to listen to your body and make your own way. Maybe
you want to stop for an hour lunch break or maybe you only want to stop for 20 minutes the choice
is entirely yours.
Pro a sense of achievement.
Now you're going to feel a sense of achievement
of finishing a track regardless of whether you're going solo or hiking with others but I feel there
is a very special sense of achievement when you go solo. You can learn a lot about yourself both
physically and mentally when solo hiking and that is something to be proud of yourself for.
Pro you might genuinely enjoy being alone.
Going into the outdoors might be your way of tuning out
you can really allow yourself to think about things without distractions
and I feel there is almost more of an openness to the things around you when you are not stimulated
by somebody else or somebody else's thoughts.
Pro you can meet new people.
So again, you're
going to meet new people regardless of whether you are hiking solo or hiking with others but
hiking can be a great way to meet like-minded people and when you are going by yourself you
might be a little bit more inclined to get to know the people that you meet on the track.
So that's my little list of the pros and cons of solo hiking if you are thinking about solo hiking
give it a go and see how you feel. Start with day hikes before moving on to overnight hikes.
Choose a track that is really well maintained and really well sign posted. Let someone know your
itinerary and when they can expect you back. For me personally. i've been hiking for about 12 years
and I only went on my first solo hike last year. I do prefer hiking with others simply because
I think it's funner and I enjoy sharing those experiences with other people, but in saying that
sometimes if you wait for others you might never go, so if you want to do something go and do it.