Your first solo camping trip - details

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jibler
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Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by jibler »

Summer 1999 - living in Missoula Montana

came to realize my old camping crew had all moved away and/or the people who remained were not hardcore enough

August 1st, 1999 - full moon night!

I landed on a very random destination - ended up driving all the way over to Bozeman and camped south of town in the Gallatin Mountains - and hiked up to Hyalite Peak ("Higher Light")



https://imgur.com/R5WcJcJ

it was nice that first time out in a way - I just found a random little gap in the woods where I could spread my sleeping bag - no discussion or debate as to what The Plan would be for the night.

but it was also freaky deaky - being out in the woods utterly alone

but got over that and now solo camp quite frequently
Keep looking up - Jack Horkheimer
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two lunches
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by two lunches »

idk about first, but most memorable would be one of the times i camped out in lost creek wilderness after doing a sawatch 14er. i made a fire to cook my post-hike steak on and as i was enjoying the fruits of my labor, an entire herd walked past my site. super awkward eating cow while looking at cows.
“To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles.” – Mary Davis
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by WildWanderer »

I had my first of three children when I was 17 so I never got to do the solo camping thing before having kids. Instead I took my kids with me camping and backpacking even when they were infants and before they could walk.

For 18 years I went camping at least a dozen times a year, but I was always the one in charge (either as mom or as scout leader), and thus responsible for everyone. Camping and backpacking trips were always amazing and fun-filled experiences, but also included hauling tons of gear, making sure no one fell into the fire, waking up in the middle of the night to help a kid go to the bathroom, chasing away raccoons that got into the marshmallows someone hadn’t put away properly or consoling a child who was homesick. I don’t think I’ve ever had a night camping when I went into my tent the first time to sleep and didn’t have to get back out again to solve some sort of problem. I’m not complaining. I loved every minute, and will keep doing this for years to come because I love teaching kids outdoor skills. However…

The first time I was able to go camping by myself was last summer when I was in the Chicago Basin (and it was basically empty because the trains weren’t running). It was glorious! I could sleep when I wanted, eat when I wanted, get up when I wanted, hike when I wanted, and no matter what it was, if I didn’t want to, I didn’t have to. Oh, and alcohol was involved. I’m looking forward to a lot more of this kind of camping in the future.
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HikerGuy
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by HikerGuy »

WildWanderer wrote:The first time I was able to go camping by myself was last summer when I was in the Chicago Basin (and it was basically empty because the trains weren’t running).
What a rare treat. I too camped in Chicago Basin this summer and saw one other tent and spoke with one other person. The place took on a completely different character, so quiet and peaceful. Not to mention getting the attention of the entire goat herd at once vs. a couple at time and they weren't pushy at all, very chill.

My first solo trip was the 2nd (or 1st?) Annual Fall Gathering in October 2006. I couldn't make the first day, so I hiked into Horn Fork Basin on Saturday evening and didn't find anyone. Turns out everyone had a rough day on Harvard and bailed. I ended up hiking Columbia the next day by myself.
Last edited by HikerGuy on Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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polar
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by polar »

I really regret not getting to Chicago Basin last summer when the train was not running. I have a feeling that I'll be regretting that for a long time.
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by Scott P »

I did my first solo camping trip at age 15 when I did a solo winter ascent of Storm Mountain in the Wasatch.

After that I commonly went solo overnight, but especially at ages 16 and 17 because I worked as a backpacking guide for the scout camp (Camp Evergreen in the Uintas). During the week, I'd go camping and backpacking with the scouts, but on the weekend the scouts were gone and I set off alone, climbing many of the peaks in the Uinta Mountains. Since hiking and backpacking was all I did with most of my time, I was in really good shape and could make some long mileage days. I ended up climbing a lot of peaks during those years.

Unfortunately now days, staff aren't allowed to stay overnight on the weekends unless they are age 18.

Edit: Now that I think of it I did sort of go solo camping at age 14, but since there were other people in the campground, I really wasn't solo. I rode the bus to the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch and hitch hiked up to the Redman Campground.

When I was 11 and my brothers were 9 and 4 we used to all go backpacking without our parents. I remember the ages because I remember that my youngest brother could ride the bus for free since he was under five. Now days parents would probably be in serious trouble if they let their kids do this.
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Eli Boardman
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by Eli Boardman »

Age 16: I pulled a sled of gear a few miles up Baldwin Gulch in the Sawatch solo in late February. It got dark before I made it to my campsite at 11k feet, so setting up the tent solo in the dark in several feet of powder snow was tricky. I woke up at dawn the next morning and it was so cold that the tent fabric made crackling sounds when touched (3-season tent). I got up and made a solo winter ascent of Antero that morning in somewhat of a windstorm that turned into a real blizzard on the descent. Overall it ended up being one of my most memorable ascents ever. I'll never forget the satisfaction and relief of returning to the tent after a somewhat harrowing ascent/descent, all alone in the silence of a winter wilderness.

The ascent of Antero:
Antero's ridge
Antero's ridge
6467.jpeg (551.76 KiB) Viewed 4506 times
Returning to camp in a winter wonderland:
Camp in Baldwin Gulch
Camp in Baldwin Gulch
6470.jpeg (646.98 KiB) Viewed 4507 times
Last edited by Eli Boardman on Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Cruiser
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by Cruiser »

Did a week of solo backpacking through great smoky mountains national park back in college. What a great time that was! Had some good big milage days and a new campsite every night. On my last night I was befriended by some really nice Cherokee guys who lived just outside the park. We hiked to their house and ate fresh caught trout, mashed potatoes, and fresh ramps and then they have me a ride to my truck so I could start driving back to the flat land.
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RWinters
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by RWinters »

My first solo trip was Como Road to the lake on 4th of July weekend. Solo took on a whole other meaning, I was young and more naive than I am now (still naive) and Little Bear ended up being my first CO 14er. Ended up doing the traverse and Ellingwood too. It was very memorable. Packed down and the next day packed into Colony Lakes for my second solo trip. I guess that kind of set the tone for me.
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by peter303 »

One interesting solo trip some years back was in Mineral King southern California during autumn. I encountered a pocket of utter silence: no civilization noise, no wind blowing, no water flowing, no birds or insects. Then I noticed my body was rather loud and noisy. I could hear my breathing, my heart beating, the blood flowing though the vessels near my ears. And my digestive juices were gurgling like a waterfalls.
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Oman
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by Oman »

My first solo camping trip I heard footsteps outside my tent and I was convinced a psycho killer was out to get me. The next morning I woke and found elk scat and tracks.

The next night, in a new camping spot, I wore earplugs and fell into hibernation. The next morning there were more elk tracks around the tent.

Since that trip I have worn earplugs every time I have camped.
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Re: Your first solo camping trip - details

Post by jibler »

Oman wrote:My first solo camping trip I heard footsteps outside my tent and I was convinced a psycho killer was out to get me. The next morning I woke and found elk scat and tracks.

The next night, in a new camping spot, I wore earplugs and fell into hibernation. The next morning there were more elk tracks around the tent.

Since that trip I have worn earplugs every time I have camped.
i had aborted attempt to solo 'camp' at forest lookout in montana in 1998

i had stayed there with another person november 1997 - and went back to try it solo

but there was this big ax buried into a log - and that axe alone just freaked me out for some reason - ended up just catching sundown and bailing out of there!
Keep looking up - Jack Horkheimer
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