BWCA Why solo? Boundary Waters Group Forum: Solo Tripping
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      Why solo?     

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missmolly
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01/29/2019 03:35PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
“Alone, you are more aware of your surroundings. To have actual survival, living or dying, depend on our ingenuity, skill, or stamina—this is a core question we seldom face. The confidence and strength remain and are brought back to the rest of life. I can return to the lonely splendor—and I am no longer afraid.” Audrey Sutherland
 
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01/29/2019 07:50PM  
You've unleashed the kraken, missmolly :)
 
01/30/2019 06:47AM  
Nice quote miss molly...and now here comes the beast..
Because my canoe only has one seat, my hammock room for one, and my camp chair is small and because like a dog I can.
 
mpeebles
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01/30/2019 07:06AM  
Great quote. Thanks for sharing. I did my first wilderness solo two years ago and it had a positive impact on my life.
 
bwcasolo
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01/30/2019 07:42AM  
i see this post every winter and have responded, this year, as i embark on retirement, soloing will change for me. i will not be under any work restriction of time.it will be such a sense of freedom, i can't wait!
our goal is to make a break from work before my may solo trip to knife.
i can't even begin to say how excited i am.
i solo to be alone.
 
missmolly
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01/30/2019 07:48AM  
HighnDry: "You've unleashed the kraken, missmolly :)"


I'm assuming that this quote has a history here...and here I thought I stumbled upon something new.
 
missmolly
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01/30/2019 07:49AM  
bwcasolo: "i see this post every winter and have responded, this year, as i embark on retirement, soloing will change for me. i will not be under any work restriction of time.it will be such a sense of freedom, i can't wait!
our goal is to make a break from work before my may solo trip to knife.
i can't even begin to say how excited i am.
i solo to be alone. "


I solo, in large part, to be selfish. I've accommodated so many people for so many decades that I reflexively ask, "Would you prefer....?" and "Would you like....?" It's swell to simply do what I want to do when I want to do it without first consulting and waiting for someone to possibly nix it or begrudgingly acquiesce. I also solo to be chatter free. I live in a world of words and it's sweet to be silent.
 
AG4
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01/30/2019 10:33AM  
I agree with missmolly. It's total selfishness. I can do what I want when I want. I can get up early or sleep in. I can fish all day or read in my hammock. I enjoy tripping with my wife and I can't wait to take our kids, but those couple days alone in the woods are refreshing.

I also feel a great deal of self confidence after completing a solo.
 
01/30/2019 11:54AM  
I went on many solos and a few solos with my dog. I've recently discovered what I like best. A hybrid trip where I start out and finish solo with dog but do a pre arranged meet up with others on a designated lake in the middle for a few nights.

In 2019 it will be me with dog doing 13 nights in Quetico with 4 other solos. Should be very fun. So we are all "solo" with the freedom to go off by ourselves for a day or travel with the group or some of the group. I'm really looking forward to it.

The bottom line is I love being solo but not the whole trip anymore. I get lonely. My dog listens really well to my stories but can't add too much. Here's a pic from one of my solos that I like.



 
01/30/2019 02:15PM  
missmolly: "
HighnDry: "You've unleashed the kraken, missmolly :)"



I'm assuming that this quote has a history here...and here I thought I stumbled upon something new. "


You're good --- I am with bwcasolo. I see (and look forward to) this type of thread every winter. Soloing is convenient for me. I have however trended toward finding others to group solo with, i.e. meet up with out there in the wilds even just for a day.
 
01/30/2019 05:53PM  
Yeah, it's been discussed before and there are several reasons, including the quote. The first reason for me was nobody else could get time, arrange schedules, afford it, etc., so it was go alone or don't go.

Then there's the selfish aspect, if you want to call it that, but I was tired of trying to accommodate everybody's needs, making changes in plans, reservations, etc. when somebody'd drop out.

Then there's the being alone, having an uninterrupted flow of awareness of the world surrounding you.
 
01/30/2019 08:20PM  
Took my first solo last year because I couldn't get anyone else to go. It was pretty great. I have spent many years relatively alone so I am good with my own company. It is one of the few places and times that I have been able to ignore the cacophony that is my mind. Takes me at least a day to get to that point, but once I do, it's magic. When I was on my own it was even more so as I didn't have to take others into consideration and could enjoy the silence and appreciate what was around me. That would be the selfish part. I tend to think that people benefit from a little bit of that kind of selfishness from time to time.
 
mpeebles
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01/31/2019 07:46AM  
I certainly agree with most the comments on the subject. One additional thing it did for me was to narrow down the list of folks of whom I'd consider going with on a trip. Last year by newly retired brother went along and we had a great time. I think the reason was that we both think very much alike. We both enjoy and savor the exact same things.
 
OCDave
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01/31/2019 09:35PM  
Go Solo or don't go at all.

I have the will and the capacity to take someone with me but, my schedule rarely aligns with anyone I'd like take.
 
02/01/2019 06:43AM  
OCDave: "Go Solo or don't go at all.
I have the will and the capacity to take someone with me but, my schedule rarely aligns with anyone I'd like take."


It's good to know that if I can't find someone or people back out of a trip that I will always go no matter what. And I know I'll have a great experience regardless.

Even when things are miserable with either my health, mosquitos, the weather... I know I will come away with something. Nothing that could ever happen on a canoe trip will ever cause me to say "Well, I'll never do THAT again".

That's the sentence I overheard my Dad say to my Mom when we got back from his one and only trip to the BW. :)
 
02/01/2019 07:29AM  
Like others have said I got tired of working around other peoples plans. I was always the trip leader because I was the one with the BW experience. I stated going solo because I like the freedom of making my own plans and the option to choose any alterations while I'm on my trip. I enjoy the company of others, but I'm also totally fine being by myself. I've introduce many people to the BW, but someday I'd like to take a trip with someone who has equal or greater BW experience as me.
 
02/01/2019 08:46AM  
Blatz: "Like others have said I got tired of working around other peoples plans. I was always the trip leader because I was the one with the BW experience. I stated going solo because I like the freedom of making my own plans and the option to choose any alterations while I'm on my trip. I enjoy the company of others, but I'm also totally fine being by myself. I've introduce many people to the BW, but someday I'd like to take a trip with someone who has equal or greater BW experience as me. "


I've always wanted to ask you, how come the name Blatz?

Ah, the memories I have of drinking that poor mans beer.
 
02/01/2019 08:56AM  
The waves are growing larger, closing fast
I see the future and the past
and in the middle, here am I
In the Sweet, Bye and Bye
between begining and the end
paddling alone, with my only friend

Linden
 
02/01/2019 10:55AM  
Very nice, Linden!
 
02/01/2019 01:23PM  
LindenTree: "
Blatz: "Like others have said I got tired of working around other peoples plans. I was always the trip leader because I was the one with the BW experience. I stated going solo because I like the freedom of making my own plans and the option to choose any alterations while I'm on my trip. I enjoy the company of others, but I'm also totally fine being by myself. I've introduce many people to the BW, but someday I'd like to take a trip with someone who has equal or greater BW experience as me. "



I've always wanted to ask you, how come the name Blatz?


Ah, the memories I have of drinking that poor mans beer. "

Goes back about 15 years ago when a group of people I Mt Biked with had a Website with a message board. Craft Beer and Mt Biking go together like peas and corn. So just to be funny I made my username "I Drink Blatz". It stuck and got shorten to Blatz and that's been my nick name ever since. I don't think most of those people know my real name. So I thought I'd use it here as well.
 
02/01/2019 07:53PM  
boonie: "Very nice, Linden!"

+1
 
hobbydog
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02/01/2019 09:31PM  
After years of soloing I finally talked my wife into doing a solo. She saw how much I enjoyed it and got the courage to go on her own, not on a canoe solo but rented a small remote cabin on the North Shore. She had 4 days of total freedom. She shut off all her devices and made no advance plans. She loved it. She now knows "why solo". In today's connected world I think it is more important than ever to disengage from the world and everyone in it. It is good for the soul.
 
02/02/2019 09:37AM  
I've done 5 solos now..... 1st one was basically just to see if I could do it... My wife was shocked when I returned and told her how much I loved it. I hope to continue doing one every year. I think she expected me to not like it and that it would be a one and done adventure.

I think my favorite part is being able to use the "empty box" in my brain so much while on a solo trip. No thinking, no worrying, no planning, no interruptions, no talking,....... I can just "be"

 
02/02/2019 10:38PM  
I have spent over two magical years alone in Q. Call me really selfish. And I plan to be even more selfish this year.
 
02/03/2019 07:41AM  
I like the "empty box" analogy. Somebody noted somewhere else that even if you're with someone who isn't talking, it's not the same because you're always thinking they might, or you'll have to if you want to deviate. Subtle, but true.
 
02/03/2019 07:59AM  
boonie: "I like the "empty box" analogy. Somebody noted somewhere else that even if you're with someone who isn't talking, it's not the same because you're always thinking they might, or you'll have to if you want to deviate. Subtle, but true. "


There's certainly a ying and yang aspect to soloing for me. I've had almost spiritual moments while solo where I never experience that when with company. I vividly remember a few times at dusk when just sitting by the lake watching it unfold in silence.

Hearing the loons, watching beavers very near, and the most spectacular was watching this flaming sunset on Finger Lake when a flock of geese flew down the lake right in front of me. I remember they were in a "V" but a wacky one. Only 4 on one side and approx 120 on the other. I counted the exact number as they went past honking away into the sunset. I was on a boulder next to shore and this is what I was looking at. Watching a sunset by yourself takes a really long time.





 
02/05/2019 12:50PM  
Being alone reduces the interference's, the background that requires attention. The comments about going with someone, but seldom talking. Some of my best trips were with Hal, we did not talk beyond coordinating tasks. But his being there made it different, something that required attention. We did share and have talked more when not tripping about those things we did share and that was special.
Being alone and refocusing attention is an adjustment, but changes everything.
I do not go into the wilderness alone. I take my attitude. It gets lost so I end up being solo. Attitude seems to find its way home and Sue might suggest I plan another trip. Ah, life is good today. I lost attitude hiking in the Superstition Wilderness outside of Phoenix this weekend.
 
mjmkjun
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02/07/2019 07:01AM  
selfish? meh. Now, I've heard everything.
I'm basically a loner who likes to interact with folks now and again. I can talk quite a bit if you happen to stop by my solo campsite. Lord knows I can. Right, Linden & bfurlow?
For me 'solo' is natural. "I can return to the lonely splendor—" expresses an aspect of it very well. Only, part of it.


Long live the kraken!
 
02/07/2019 08:16AM  
bhouse46: "
Being alone and refocusing attention is an adjustment, but changes everything.
I do not go into the wilderness alone. I take my attitude. It gets lost so I end up being solo. "


The hardest part is quieting the thoughts running through. I guess if someone is versed in meditation it wouldn't be so difficult. I usually get into a state of "quiet" around day 2 of a solo. Everything slows down. The days and evenings feel way longer than normal.

Usually around day 4 I'm missing company and really enjoy meeting others on portages. Normally I don't enjoy small talk with strangers but out on a solo any contact, especially with other solos is a nice diversion.

I did a hybrid solo with my dog last Sept. where the first and last part of my Quetico loop were alone. I happened to meet and chat with 3 other solo guys on different portages. These experiences add a lot to a trip. We instantly are bonded by what we are both doing and it's like an immediate friendship is formed. I love that. One of them is a member on here from Wisconsin. I forgot his board name but something like Wismike.



 
gkimball
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02/07/2019 11:06AM  
One's history of doing things solo (or not) determines how you approach solo canoeing. If you have no history I can see how starting it "cold turkey" could be pretty hard. I think that the fundamental challenge is being alone itself, not the techniques you will use, is the biggest road block. Once you are psychologically accepting and able to be solo the other things are easier to fit together.

I had a history of a few solo backpacking trips, only a couple of which were intentional, in earlier decades supplemented by a summer stationed on a fire lookout when I was 21, so the idea of being solo itself wasn't totally foreign. The hardest part of the transition was accepting the need - kids growing up and friends losing ability to go. I saw it as a loss at the time. Things had moved on without me. I had to make some big adjustments in motivations and expectations or I was finished in the BWCA. My previous experiences, even though 20-30 years prior gave me a starting point.

Now after 10 trips - some better than others - BWCA soloing is now the "norm" and going with companions requires adjustments. Perhaps the biggest is I hesitate to go with someone who either is not family or I am not good friends with. Being in the BWCA puts me into a state of mind that doesn't want to accommodate being with someone you can't be quiet around, and with whom you can't just be yourself as you experience such a beautiful place.

Soloing is so powerful that things or other people that might diminish the experience no longer work!
 
GraniteCliffs
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02/07/2019 12:16PM  
All of the above and one more thought. When I solo I like the ability to push myself right to the edge some days without worrying about how others are feeling. I go long and hard and worry only about myself. Last year in the Q I had great weather and was able to put in some long days, which I love, even at the age of 67. It is a challenge on those days. Only my challenge.
 
02/07/2019 03:41PM  
GraniteCliffs: " When I solo I like the ability to push myself right to the edge some days without worrying about how others are feeling. I go long and hard and worry only about myself. Last year in the Q I had great weather and was able to put in some long days, which I love, even at the age of 67. It is a challenge on those days. Only my challenge."


Yes, the freedom. That's what I love the most. No compromising, it's just do what you want, and how you want to do it. I think as long as we understand that compromise is the best way when with others it's totally fine and healthy to be "selfish" on a long solo.
 
02/14/2019 02:38PM  
I like long trips in and since the 80's haven't been able to find anyone to go in for more than 10 days or had the ability myself due to work or family. With the last chick leaving the nest last year I decided a long trip was past due. I took my first solo and it was amazing. I had a great time despite less than ideal weather conditions.
Soloing really is a life changing experience. As many have stated it removes all the mind chatter around what the other person(s) want and you are free to just be. Not to mention the audible chatter. To do what I want when I want without having to convince someone else of its merits.
Even though I am doing something I love to do, I really don't find it selfish. Or maybe I just deserve to be selfish once a year. I found myself looking at life and the people in it in a different light. I appreciated them more since they weren't around. Some times the only time we experience that is when the worst happens and they are no longer there to tell them how awesome they are and how much they mean to you. I think my attitude is improved and I am more appreciative because of my solo, so is that a selfish thing?
I could go on and on but really all it boils down to is "Life is short, live it"!
 
RetiredDave
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02/27/2019 06:14PM  
TomT: "
boonie: "I like the "empty box" analogy. Somebody noted somewhere else that even if you're with someone who isn't talking, it's not the same because you're always thinking they might, or you'll have to if you want to deviate. Subtle, but true. "



There's certainly a ying and yang aspect to soloing for me. I've had almost spiritual moments while solo where I never experience that when with company. I vividly remember a few times at dusk when just sitting by the lake watching it unfold in silence.


Hearing the loons, watching beavers very near, and the most spectacular was watching this flaming sunset on Finger Lake when a flock of geese flew down the lake right in front of me. I remember they were in a "V" but a wacky one. Only 4 on one side and approx 120 on the other. I counted the exact number as they went past honking away into the sunset. I was on a boulder next to shore and this is what I was looking at. Watching a sunset by yourself takes a really long time.






"


I really connect to this, and to so many other comments on this thread. Missmolly mentions the 'sweet silence'. It's so wonderful I can even feel it now as I type this. Of course, it's never really silent on a solo, but there is absence of chatter. My ears actually tune in to the sounds of nature when another human isn't there to fill the space.

Sometimes when I'm walking a fifth grade class from the classroom to the music room I ask them to remain silent in the hallways for the incredibly long two minutes it takes to get there. I tell them about how on solo trips I can go a few days without my voice ever making a sound, so I know they have the capacity to make that long two-minute trek in silence.

Solo canoeing is a meditation and an experience I would hate to have missed on this one shot at life.

Dave
 
03/01/2019 06:45AM  
I don't feel I'm selfish as much as considerate…. Trying to manage different menu needs and styles adds to other reasons. Like TomT I like to meet up from time to time and group solos. Even though TomT avoided me when I was on my forty day... (We think we camped on opposite sides of island on Finger). Haha. You can't beat a good trip with a good friend... but sometimes alone is just good for the soul.
Another thought I had... When a couple going through life together goes, to me it's as close to a solo as it gets when two becomes like one...
 
em8260
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03/01/2019 01:04PM  
Sometimes I just want to get the hell away from EVERYONE....
 
03/02/2019 05:28PM  
nctry: "Even though TomT avoided me when I was on my forty day... (We think we camped on opposite sides of island on Finger). Haha. "


Yeah that was funny. I also was one day behind the Tuscarora Borealis family on that trip. They left me a huge pile of split wood on Gun Lake but the wind was so strong I never had a fire. I see more and more BWCA.com stickers on canoes in Ely too. This site has a big reach. See you at Copia Ben.

 
missmolly
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03/08/2019 09:10AM  
RetiredDave: "
TomT: "
boonie: "I like the "empty box" analogy. Somebody noted somewhere else that even if you're with someone who isn't talking, it's not the same because you're always thinking they might, or you'll have to if you want to deviate. Subtle, but true. "




There's certainly a ying and yang aspect to soloing for me. I've had almost spiritual moments while solo where I never experience that when with company. I vividly remember a few times at dusk when just sitting by the lake watching it unfold in silence.



Hearing the loons, watching beavers very near, and the most spectacular was watching this flaming sunset on Finger Lake when a flock of geese flew down the lake right in front of me. I remember they were in a "V" but a wacky one. Only 4 on one side and approx 120 on the other. I counted the exact number as they went past honking away into the sunset. I was on a boulder next to shore and this is what I was looking at. Watching a sunset by yourself takes a really long time.








"



I really connect to this, and to so many other comments on this thread. Missmolly mentions the 'sweet silence'. It's so wonderful I can even feel it now as I type this. Of course, it's never really silent on a solo, but there is absence of chatter. My ears actually tune in to the sounds of nature when another human isn't there to fill the space.


Sometimes when I'm walking a fifth grade class from the classroom to the music room I ask them to remain silent in the hallways for the incredibly long two minutes it takes to get there. I tell them about how on solo trips I can go a few days without my voice ever making a sound, so I know they have the capacity to make that long two-minute trek in silence.


Solo canoeing is a meditation and an experience I would hate to have missed on this one shot at life.


Dave"


I'm an ex-teacher too, Dave. Of course, WE love silence!
 
singlebladecanoe
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04/14/2019 06:23PM  
I solo for the solitude and to get away from everything. That and no one ever wants to do the trips I want to do :)
 
RetiredDave
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04/16/2019 07:41PM  
Miss Molly, somehow I knew you were a teacher too, Live long and prosper!

Dave
 
JuanCarlos
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04/18/2019 11:49AM  

I solo, in large part, to be selfish. I've accommodated so many people for so many decades that I reflexively ask, "Would you prefer....?" and "Would you like....?" It's swell to simply do what I want to do when I want to do it without first consulting and waiting for someone to possibly nix it or begrudgingly acquiesce. I also solo to be chatter free. I live in a world of words and it's sweet to be silent."


+1 Well said......
 
MReid
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04/18/2019 04:50PM  
All my solo boats are skinny and have only one seat. Somebody else just doesn't fit. So what's a fellow to do?
 
luft
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04/26/2019 07:28AM  
I am a wife, mother, and RN so much of my life is spent filling others' needs.

I solo to take care of MY needs so I guess it is for "self" reasons!

No one to have to take into consideration...just playing it by ear and doing what ever I feel like at that moment.
 
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