Sleeping Alone in the Woods

[Bare Bear]

I have hiked and slept alone a lot more than I care for. It is good and bad depending on where you are. I can recall being in a swamp in Fl and seeing the blazes 6 foot up trees and realized that was just above the high water marks! Think of that when you have 20 miles of swamp to crawl and it is raining.......
On the other hand, on several long distance hikes I have truly enjoyed being alone especailly the last month of a long hike. You are left alone to think about you have accomplished towards your own goals, solved all of the worlds problems, etc.

[Sleeps_With_Skunks]

My first solo hike without Bearpaw was going well at long hunter state park until two things happened.......A skunk wandered into my camp (no surpprise there) and thought about snuggling up to my tent for the night before wandering off, then 4 hours later I heard a HUGE kaboom and the lake lit up like the fourth of july. Seems some guys were night fishing with explosives and the rangers caught up to them near my camp. so...I picked everything up and walked over to a different campsite farther back from the lake. Made for an interesting night.

[Pony]

I am more likely to wake up in the middle of the night or get a bad night's sleep if there are other people around. Plus, I enjoy my alone time especially in the morning.

[XCskiNYC]

It's easy to get freaked out by strange noises in the night.

I carry a little 1 ounce MP3 player with different stuff on it, sometimes podcasts, sometimes music, etc.

Listen to recorded NPR ... puts me out like a light.

When it comes to sleepy time, I'm pretty much addicted to newsradio, or NPR, or a really wordy PBS documentary, anything with well-modulated human voices going on at length puts me right out.

One of the biggest traumas on this hike, besides all the bear warning notices at Fahenstock State Park, was that the new radio brought along couldn't pick up WCBS AM (newsradio).

[Lellers]

When I was young and blissfully ignorant of my mortality, I loved being alone in the woods. I'm just not as fond of the solo thing anymore. I much prefer the company of friends. Back in April, I found myself on an unexpected solo hike, and I wrote about it for another website. It's a long entry, but if you're interested, you can read all about how I climbed to the top of the Priest, and then turned around and took 5 (yes F-I-V-E) days to get back to Reed's Gap: Playing Head Games

[freefall]

You end up getting used to sleeping alone in the woods. I personally, have a rough time sleeping w/ someone else then I do out in the woods.

[mr. dribbles]

I have just started solo hiking- love it. After waking up in the hammock with a critter in the camp- turned out to be a porcupine- I decided that the critters that make noise won't be the problem. It's usually a chipmunk or porcupine. It's the predators that don't make noise that will get you. Never heard the bear in the Adirondacks open the bear canister. So might as well sleep well and not worry about stuff you can't hear anyway. A good single malt highland scotch and ear plugs help.

[randyg45]

If Daniel can sleep with lions, I can snooze with the occasional bear.....

[partly cloudy]

Left out of Penn_Mar late one evening. Didn't make it to Devil's Racecourse shelter. Just went off the trail and strung up my hammock, no tarp. It was fantastic. The lights of Hagerstown in a distance, but total darkness around me and the stars to look at. One of the most memorable night on the trail. I prefer solitude with occasional conversation while passing.

[J5man]

The first night I ever backpacked overnight was solo. Just as I was about to drift off, about half a dozen coyotes starting howling about what seemed like was a hundred yards from my tent. I am about wet myself. After the initial fright went away, it was enjoyable listening to them communicating with another pack across another ridge. It was quite beautiful actually.

[RastaHiker]

I am planning for a NOBO in 2010. I recently went out for my first solo overnight hike on the AT. The day started out great, nice weather, beautiful scenery, just me and the dog having a blast. We got to the shelter kinda early, set up everything, ate, made a fire and were just settling in nicely when we hear someone else coming. I was happy to have the place to myself, but realized I would have to share with what sounded like multiple people. They were really loud coming through the woods carrying on a vibrant conversation. About 20 minutes later, I realize all those voices were coming from one person. The man was screaming at hiself in different voices as he was walking. As he came into view I saw that he had on huge clear construction type glasses... like the kind you would wear if you were operating a table saw, jeans, workboots, and was carrying a jansport bookbag on his back and some Kroger bags in hand. ***!! I try to make conversation with the guy but he only gives me one word answers if he answers at all. He slurps out his can of chili and noodles like a wild animal and then passes out with the boots and glasses still on. The only reason I stayed at the shelter once he got there was because it was raining and I had no tent. In the middle of the night he gets up three different times to pee. The third time around 3am, he actually pees on the boards on his side of the shelter! At that point, I'm out, rain or not!
I don't know where this guy came from but he really was the strangest being I've encountered in my life. The great thing about the story is that I got to meet him in the middle of the wilderness, at a small shelter that just the two of us had to share. Yay! He definitley made me rethink my plans for thruhiking for a few days, but I've decided that was mostsly just a freak experience. And if something like that does happen again at least I'll know I can handle it.

[Wise Old Owl]

My first solo hike without Bearpaw was going well at long hunter state park until two things happened.......A skunk wandered into my camp (no surpprise there) and thought about snuggling up to my tent for the night before wandering off, then 4 hours later I heard a HUGE kaboom and the lake lit up like the fourth of july. Seems some guys were night fishing with explosives and the rangers caught up to them near my camp. so...I picked everything up and walked over to a different campsite farther back from the lake. Made for an interesting night.

You always have some of the best posts.....

[Captn]

This is one more reason NOT to stay in shelters.

Have dinner at the shelter then sleep down the path a ways in your own tent.

I am planning for a NOBO in 2010. I recently went out for my first solo overnight hike on the AT. The day started out great, nice weather, beautiful scenery, just me and the dog having a blast. We got to the shelter kinda early, set up everything, ate, made a fire and were just settling in nicely when we hear someone else coming. I was happy to have the place to myself, but realized I would have to share with what sounded like multiple people. They were really loud coming through the woods carrying on a vibrant conversation. About 20 minutes later, I realize all those voices were coming from one person. The man was screaming at hiself in different voices as he was walking. As he came into view I saw that he had on huge clear construction type glasses... like the kind you would wear if you were operating a table saw, jeans, workboots, and was carrying a jansport bookbag on his back and some Kroger bags in hand. ***!! I try to make conversation with the guy but he only gives me one word answers if he answers at all. He slurps out his can of chili and noodles like a wild animal and then passes out with the boots and glasses still on. The only reason I stayed at the shelter once he got there was because it was raining and I had no tent. In the middle of the night he gets up three different times to pee. The third time around 3am, he actually pees on the boards on his side of the shelter! At that point, I'm out, rain or not!
I don't know where this guy came from but he really was the strangest being I've encountered in my life. The great thing about the story is that I got to meet him in the middle of the wilderness, at a small shelter that just the two of us had to share. Yay! He definitley made me rethink my plans for thruhiking for a few days, but I've decided that was mostsly just a freak experience. And if something like that does happen again at least I'll know I can handle it.

[Captn]

When I was young and blissfully ignorant of my mortality, I loved being alone in the woods. I'm just not as fond of the solo thing anymore. I much prefer the company of friends. Back in April, I found myself on an unexpected solo hike, and I wrote about it for another website. It's a long entry, but if you're interested, you can read all about how I climbed to the top of the Priest, and then turned around and took 5 (yes F-I-V-E) days to get back to Reed's Gap: Playing Head Games

Lellers,

You bring up a very interesting point .... if you're hiking with a group, and one has a non life threatening injury that slows them down, should the group stay together or should they split up?

[ShelterLeopard]

Okay, here's one for solo hikers, or those who have hiked solo at some point in their wandering careers.

Have you ever slept out alone, either at a shelter, organized camping area, or just at a stealth campsite?

If you answered Yes to the above, what was the experience like for you?


My take on it:

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=289403


The pertinent section of the above trailjournal entry:

"You could probably say there are two kinds of people in the world: those who enjoy sleeping in the woods overnight by themselves and those who picture a bear or, even worse, a townie who wants to offer them a beer, every time an acorn comes bombing out of the trees and hits the forest floor. As you may have guessed, I belong to the latter group. I did not fall asleep until 0200 and woke up at 0500, very relieved when you could 'tell a dark thread from a light thread' as a certain book once said."

For the most part, I sleep in or near shelters, but a couple of times I've slept completely alone ("stealth camped", I suppose) far away from any shelter or anything. The first time I slept in what was clearly a used campsite (three fire rings, plenty of flat areas for tenting, etc...) and I'll admit, I was a little nervous. Wel, pretty nervous. Twigs snapping, you know. So, I decided to take the "emergency" sleeping pill I had brought. Slept fine and all. Every night after that I "stealth camped" (well, not near a used campsite or any sign of previous hiker habitation) and was fine.

[harryfred]

I hike alone, and sleep alone a lot of the time in shelters or my tent. I can't say I've ever realy thought about it. I'm very comfortable in the woods. I grew up roaming around in the woods in SE PA and alot of nights I simply sat leaned against a tree an slept till the sun woke me no tent no sleeping bag.

[nitewalker]

True story. My friend went to the ER because he said he had a bug in his ear. Nobody at the ER believed him. He insisted he could feel the bug crawling around in his ear. Finaly this old doctor came in and washed out his ear with some kind of fluid. The doc asked if his ear felt better and if the "bug" was gone. My friend said ya, his ear felt pretty good, but the bug was in the other ear. The doc used used a paper clip to pull a bug out of his ear. My friend was drunk at the time. Maybe thats why they didn't believe him.

i know the feeling. i had a bug get in my ear one time and it was one of the most annoying things i have ever felt. i was driving myself to the doctor when i felt it start to crawl out. the darn thing took its sweet time but finally crawled out. it took all of 2 min to come out. the funny thing is that most bugs are pretty silent but letone crawl around in your ear and see what noises they make, not good! the bug ended up being about the same size as a mosquito until i crushed it against the side of my head as it tried to fly away...................................smack.......ahhhhhh

[Tinker]

Okay, here's one for solo hikers, or those who have hiked solo at some point in their wandering careers.

Have you ever slept out alone, either at a shelter, organized camping area, or just at a stealth campsite?

If you answered Yes to the above, what was the experience like for you?


My take on it:

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=289403


The pertinent section of the above trailjournal entry:

"You could probably say there are two kinds of people in the world: those who enjoy sleeping in the woods overnight by themselves and those who picture a bear or, even worse, a townie who wants to offer them a beer, every time an acorn comes bombing out of the trees and hits the forest floor. As you may have guessed, I belong to the latter group. I did not fall asleep until 0200 and woke up at 0500, very relieved when you could 'tell a dark thread from a light thread' as a certain book once said."

My first night out alone was at a shelter in Vermont in the 1980s. I, like you, didn't get to sleep until the wee hours of the morning. Every little noise required investigation. I lit a candle inside the shelter for a sense of security. The more time I spent out alone at night the easier it was. I still camp predominately near shelters or at established tentsites, not so much for company as to not be a nuisance to authorities who take a dim view of "stealth" camping (yes, I have done that a few times, mostly due to running out of daylight on my way to an established area).
You'll feel more at home sleeping alone in the woods as you do it more often.

[IceAge]

I heard a sstory.. mmaybe two..

Yep, I heard those same stories.

Also heard about a guy near Franklin that found a nice level path to sleep on, but was a little worried about the tracks on it.

Sure enough, the 2:45am train to Knoxville flattened him.

[ShelterLeopard]

Yep, I heard those same stories.

Also heard about a guy near Franklin that found a nice level path to sleep on, but was a little worried about the tracks on it.

Sure enough, the 2:45am train to Knoxville flattened him.

I went hiking in the hundred mile wilderness (you know all those logging roads, I'm sure), and we were exhausted at one point and decided to stop when we got to a logging road.

A couple people wanted to sleep in the logging road (they thought that particular road was out of use), but the rest of use said no way, so we slept pretty far away, but within view of the road. Lo and behold, around 3am a HUGE full logging truck ROARS by. The kid who suggested sleeping in the road was sitting bolt upright in the tent.

He would've been street pizza.