BWCA When did you start soloing? When will you stop? Boundary Waters Group Forum: Solo Tripping
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      When did you start soloing? When will you stop?     

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gkimball
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12/17/2013 07:46PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Reading a thread about why people like or don't like to solo got me wondering at what age those of us who like to solo started, and how has it has grown (or diminished) in our lives.

I'll start: first solo trips were backpacking in my twenties in the Rocky Mountains in the 1970's. Mostly out of necessity or in between trips with others, or on weekends while working for the Forest Service.

Little or no soloing for 30+ years while I could go with my family and others. Kids are grown, friends are getting "too old" (their words), getting knee replacements or moving away.

Started soloing again at age 61 in the BWCA, partly to prove to myself that I still can. Now 63 and see it (partly) as proof I'm still alive, so I don't want to stop. Now I want to keep going as long as I can, into "old age," whatever that is. It will be one way to know I am still strong. Not a bad motivator.

Follow up question - what's the oldest you've seen someone who was still active outdoors? I went on a 30 day trip in the Tetons in 1979 led by Paul Petzoldt, founder of Outward Bound in the USA, when he was 72 years old. I was 28. He proved the idea that "The younger horses run the fastest, but the Older horses know the way!"
 
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wetcanoedog
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12/17/2013 09:26PM  
i started in 1965 when i worked that summer at a Scout camp as a canoe tripper and life guard.i took out a 14 foot Old Town for over night trips.real BW solos started in 1983 and i don't plan on stopping until i can't handle my 37 pound canoe.note i said handle not portage.Brule lake has a easy landing and lots of camps not far from that landing.
at 67 i have thought this over in some detail.
 
missmolly
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12/17/2013 09:42PM  
"When will you stop?" is a question that scares me. My parents have had their knees replaced and I've got their genes, plus one knee is already a bit gimpy and I'm just 57. I hope to portage and go solo until 72 or thereabouts. I hope to fish past that. I took my dad into the bush when he was 81 and he wanted to go again when he was 82, but it was too much for both of us when he was 81, so I sadly declined when he asked at 82.
 
jhb8426
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12/17/2013 09:57PM  
I started going to Sawbill solo when I was 60, now 67. Usually twice a year. If I didn't go alone, I wouldn't go at all, since no one I know goes very much at all. My previous experience was group trips w/Boy Scouts. Like wetcanoedog, I picked the lake for minimal or no portaging. Alton is just a few steps away if I get bored. So I too will stop when I can't handle things on my own. I'm open to small groups if I knew anyone willing to go, but no more scout trips.
 
12/18/2013 12:03AM  
I may have stopped already. I will be 68 next season and any further solo tripping would involve the 4,000 mile round-trip driving. As I navigate the 13-step stairs off my 2 decks, and the 13 steps to the loft, I am aware that my knees are threatening to cause problems. I suppose I could stick to areas of little or no portaging but there's still all that driving. My wife is more reluctant to let me go alone these days too.
 
12/18/2013 12:09AM  
Grew up in Wisconsin and lived way out in the country. So if you wanted to camp you went by yourself. Moved to Calif when I was 20 and continued to solo, mostly backpacking. I'm 65 know and still enjoy soloing. I'll keep going as long as I can. I still enjoy spending time alone.
The oldest person I new that was active was my father-in-law. He cut and split his own firewood till he was 85.

wetcanoedog, we think alike! Have soloed Brule 5 times and never tire of it. I guess what I like best about Brule is the mood changes. A little wind and the mood changes quickly!
 
12/18/2013 06:44AM  
After a hiatus from paddling when all partners moved away I took my first solo the summer after my 50th birthday. Now at 67 I see no end to heading off alone. There probably will be more truck camping with day paddles/hikes, but so far I can still tote my gear thanks to technology and the ultralight equipment.
When "King Lazy" tries to talk me out of a workout I often reflect on what I would miss and BWCA and paddling often come to mind. I do the workout motivated by what I am preparing to experience. I am not ready to give up what keeps me young.
 
12/18/2013 07:35AM  
I'm not sure exactly how to answer the first question since I've been doing things alone ever since I was a kid. I've hunted alone since they'd let me wander out the north end of town and up into the woods with a gun. I went fishing alone before that. Several years later when I got my license, I'd go camping alone overnight at the lake. Solo activities just continued throughout my adult life whenever there was no one available to join me.

It's not that I was a lone wolf and unsocial - quite the opposite, in fact - but just that if I wanted to do something, I'd do it alone if necessary. I've always needed a certain amount of solitude and been comfortable with it, so after a couple of years of trying to organize a second trip to the BW with family and being unsuccessful, I just went alone. I enjoyed it. Every year I plan a trip, invite some family and friends, and usually end up going alone, although my brother has accompanied me on two trips. This year will probably be my first non-solo BW trip since 2010, although the drive there and back will probably be solo.

I just plan to keep doing it as long as I can. I've known guys who were active outdoors up into their 80's, although it was at a lower level.
 
12/18/2013 07:43AM  
I was 24 for my first and my last 3 have been solo in '11,'12, and '13. I'm looking to go with others again but know that the solo is always there for me and I expect to do it as long as physically able. So far so good at 53.



 
12/18/2013 08:47AM  
Over 30 years ago started solo hunting/fishing/hiking trips, solo canoe trips started mid 90's. Retired last Aug. and have enjoyed a large surge in my outdoor activities especially solo trips. Will stop when I cannot do it anymore, hopefully far into the future!

butthead
 
12/18/2013 09:48AM  
Started solo in my early thirties, though have hunted deer and grouse and critters solo for many years prior to that. My grandfather went to Philmont with me when he as in his early 70's. I bet you could have dropped Dick Proenneke into the BWCA in his early 80's and wouldn't have heard a complaint other than it was to flat and small.

I figure I have 20 or so years of solo left in me, though I enjoy a group or a partner, the experience is just different.
 
bwcasolo
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12/18/2013 04:25PM  
i turn 58 in two week. i have been on many solo trips.
i commute to work by bike every day. in the winter it is a 35-45 minute commute, up a big hill in the country and down, then reverse on the way home. the gravel roads here in iowa suck in the summer, but are awesome in the winter on a bike.
i figure soloing in the bwca is easier than biking to work, so i guess i will be soloing for quite a few years yet.
 
gkimball
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12/18/2013 05:21PM  
Looks like a pretty dedicated and experienced group bunch of soloists out there. Many years of experience with good ideas about how to keep it going.

Seems that portaging is the biggest obstacle as we age. Only makes sense. Haven't been to Brule in many years, but I remember there are many campsites. Once I'm retired, getting wind bound might not matter!

Sawbill is a great place for a lot of reasons and I can see how that could be a place to go for a long time.

Maybe we should start evaluating trips for 'age challenged' soloists!
 
mobass
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12/18/2013 06:52PM  
When I retired in 1998, I started fishing about 120-130 times a year, more than half solo. First solo in the BWCA/Q was in 2003 at the age of 56. Made 6 more solo trips since then. Missed the 2012 trip due to quadruple by-pass surgery that August. Despite the wife's protests, I made a solo trip last September just to prove to my self that I could still do it. However, I had to promise that it would be my last solo. Feel that I could still do it but a promise is a promise. I think I have her talked into going next year. In summary: don't stop soloing until you have to!
 
OBX2Kayak
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12/18/2013 07:03PM  
I've always figured that death will be my last solo trip.

Until then, I don't plan on stopping.
 
hobbydog
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12/18/2013 07:31PM  
I have fished and duck hunted solo for many yeas. About 6 years ago my canoe parter had to back out of a fishing opener at the last minute. (He had a good excuse)It was a late ice out and a good weather forecast so knew it would be good fishing. Over my wife's protests I went solo. Then a few years later I had no one to go with and my interest in getting back into canoe tripping was picking up. I did a 4 day trip. Then I found out through this site that I was not crazy as lots of others found the same joy in going solo.

I will be 57 in a week. I have lots of places yet to explore.It is a strong motivator to keep my weight down and my body in good shape. Maybe when a SAR team extracts me one day it will be my last. :-) Or when I no longer get the butterflys or pre-trip excitement I get now. At that time I will move on to something else. There are many places left in the world I would still like to visit.
 
12/18/2013 07:48PM  
Obviously, there are quite a few of us who haven't taken the advice to "die young and leave a nice corpse". It seems like just about everybody replying is in their 50's or 60's.
 
12/18/2013 09:48PM  

quote boonie: "Obviously, there are quite a few of us who haven't taken the advice to "die young and leave a nice corpse". It seems like just about everybody replying is in their 50's or 60's."


Good one Boonie! :-)

I started solo canoe tripping in the early 80's and I don't plan on stopping until I'm dead and buried.

Hans Solo
 
luft
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12/19/2013 01:55AM  
I have only solo'd as a hiker/camper in my 20's because I broke up with my hiking partner/boyfriend and didn't have anyone else to go with. I soon convinced a couple of girls to join me on the trail and haven't solo'd since. Truth be told I prefer to share my outdoor experiences with a trip partner or two.

These days my first priority to to get my boys out for our spring and fall trips but I have spent the last year acquiring lighter solo gear in hopes of finding some free time for a solo trip in 2014. I figure the boys will be headed off to college soon and that will leave me to my own devices.

I hope to be soloing into my 80's if my strength holds up.
 
12/19/2013 08:04AM  
I started canoe solo's at 51, I've done lots of hunting and fishing solo's from the 80's till the present, hopefully I can continue for many more year's.
 
yellowcanoe
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12/19/2013 11:55AM  
First canoe solo at 50.

But I am getting slower on the portages. Those portageless trips are looking mighty fine!

Will be 68 next summer. I would like a canoe whose float tanks are filled with helium.

 
wetcanoedog
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12/19/2013 12:07PM  
helium float bags!!!! hello science person!!! would that work?????
 
12/19/2013 01:52PM  
I started soling when I was maybe 49 (?). Prior to that I couldn't do a solo trip if I wanted to. I always had people begging to go. Then the older ones aged out of it and the younger ones lost interest, so I started to solo.

I'm 60 and am still able to, but who knows how long that will last. I think when I get to the point I can no longer handle it, I'll car camp and do day trips. I'm sure I'll be able to do that for quite awhile.
 
bear bait
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12/20/2013 07:02PM  
I took my first solo trip in 2008. I'm 38 now so I haven't given much thought into when I'll quit. Maybe when I'm dead, maybe :)
 
gkimball
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12/20/2013 07:45PM  
It was really a great thing to go out with him at that age. Hopefully my daughter and son will do the same for me.

I started taking them for BWCA trips when they were little. Simple trips that wouldn't burn them out or scare them. Trips with them were why I did so little soloing for the years I could take them. Had so much fun that it is hard to go back to those places now when I go solo.

As one who isn't that far behind your Dad I propose we start to share ways for us all to stay "out there" as long as we can.
 
12/21/2013 05:59PM  
I mainly soloed when I was young because I've never been one to not do something because nobody else would. That was in my twenties. I never thought of it as anything special... I just had to go. I tripped with my family as my kids were growing up and then was so involved with work I didn't paddle much until 2009. I went on a trip with some friends and I was all over it again. I think I'm more into it now than when I was younger. I'm hoping to do it a long time in the future, but will not normally turn down a chance to paddle with others if it works out. Now I'm hoping for better results when I see a specialist next month. I may have the dreaded prostrate problems.
 
12/21/2013 11:17PM  
I started in my mid-fifties when I found fewer partners who could go when I was able to. I'll keep going until my knees give out so I have a few more years left. I find it relaxing and fun to go where and when I want.
 
RetiredDave
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12/30/2013 05:46PM  
I'm wondering, what's the oldest any of you have ever heard of anyone soloing? (In modern times.)

Dave
 
yellowcanoe
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12/30/2013 06:21PM  
75 offhand. Reinhardt Zollitsch is still doing massive expeditions.
 
12/30/2013 07:17PM  
Started about ten or fifteen years ago when I left the party. Hiking then backpacking and now the BW. I think I'll stop when the Alzheimer kicks in and I forget which lake I'm on. Might not be a bad way to go out.
 
JJ396
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01/01/2014 08:49AM  
I'm 52 and started soloing in May of 2012. It had been about 13 years since I had been in the BW and I wanted to go back. I've since done a couple of solo's to Sylvania which is closer for me. I enjoy the solo's but have to admit it may(?) be more enjoyable to trip with a buddy. I plan to keep soloing when no one can go with me. The great thing about solo's are that you go when you want to go. No hassles.
 
01/01/2014 11:37AM  
I'm 52 and have only gone solo once about 21 years ago. I didn't like it because I had to do everything (.e. I'm lazy). Last year I didn't get to trip at all because nobodies schedule could match. In 2014 I am looking to go solo again. My health is is good and I am still an active runner so that's not an issue today...but if you do the math it is kind of sad...suppose I can continue to age 75 to do canoe trips and I can get at least one per season in...that means I only have 23 more trips to make. I think we all realize there are more routes that need exploring...
 
gkimball
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01/01/2014 08:31PM  
Yes I am starting to think the same way.

This year is the first time I can see the possibility of "the end" - reaching a time when I think I can't do this any more.

Don't feel it it yet, but at 63 its only common sense that I will fade or weaken some day. That's why I'm thinking I must to do a good, long trip this year. I'm just starting to think I really understand why I want to do this.

Can no longer assume I will be able to do BWCA trips for ever. Still gotta think I will have to be pretty far gone to not be able to paddle up to the head of Sawbill and make camp someday...
 
01/01/2014 08:50PM  
I am 51, and I did not do a serious solo trip until two years ago, and I totally fell in love with it!. My wife does not like when I solo, and she has asked me to never do so again unless it is with a group. So, from here forward, at least according to her, I will be soloing with a group, which to me is not soloing. Kind of like going on a motorcycle trip alone or with a group of buddies; when with my buddies, even though I am on my own bike, I am not alone. But now I am blibber-babbling...
 
OldGreyGoose
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01/02/2014 01:17PM  
I was 51 when I first soloed -- unplanned -- in 1995. (My daughter was going, but had to cancel.) That summer, heat records were broken in Minnesota. Went solo again in 1997 to see what it was like in a "normal" year -- this time to the Q -- and fell in love with it.

Nowadays, portaging the canoe, even ultralight, is my biggest challenge, due to a bad back. (Portaging packs is a lot easier for me.) Aside from portaging, one big issue I notice at almost 70 is that I tire a lot more easily and take longer to "recover." This means that a couple of portages may do me in for the day, and a really hard day may do me in for tomorrow!!! I actually take longer solos now, to build in more recovery time.

I guess I will stop soloing when I can no longer portage the canoe. (When not canoeing, I am very active outdoors, and logged 398 miles walking in 2013.) --Goose
 
Primitiveman
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01/07/2014 08:37PM  
I did my first solo last May 12-15 with frozen lakes primarily from the inspiration to do so found here. Was tough and I didn't particularly like it but I am going to do it again this year. I actually was trying to book a permit earlier tonight but discovered I can't until the last Wednesday in January. So back to entry #37 on May 9 in my Old Town Pack canoe. I can hardly wait. My solo tripping skills have lots of room for improvement. I intend to canoe into my 80's and it is my primary motivation to stay in excellent physical condition.
Jon
 
01/21/2014 10:56AM  
first solo trip when i was eighteen. last solo trip will be the one i just took in november. after last weeks neurologist-athon it's highly unlikely that my wife will let me go anymore.
 
yellowcanoe
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01/21/2014 11:27AM  
quote jwartman59: "first solo trip when i was eighteen. last solo trip will be the one i just took in november. after last weeks neurologist-athon it's highly unlikely that my wife will let me go anymore. "


So sorry to hear that. You've had good trips to share.
 
01/21/2014 04:42PM  
My first solo was in 1998 when I was 39.
I will stop when my body tells me it's time
 
Primitiveman
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01/21/2014 05:38PM  
Will she let you tandem?

quote jwartman59: "first solo trip when i was eighteen. last solo trip will be the one i just took in november. after last weeks neurologist-athon it's highly unlikely that my wife will let me go anymore. "
 
Primitiveman
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01/21/2014 05:39PM  
Oops. So will she let you go on a tandem or group trip?
Jon
 
01/21/2014 07:43PM  
group trips are still good.
 
01/21/2014 08:32PM  
quote jwartman59: "first solo trip when i was eighteen. last solo trip will be the one i just took in november. after last weeks neurologist-athon it's highly unlikely that my wife will let me go anymore. "


Sorry to hear that - I know you like your solos.
 
01/21/2014 08:33PM  
quote jwartman59: "group trips are still good. "


Group solos?
 
01/21/2014 08:47PM  
quote jwartman59: "first solo trip when i was eighteen. last solo trip will be the one i just took in november. after last weeks neurologist-athon it's highly unlikely that my wife will let me go anymore. "

sorry to hear.
 
DanCooke
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01/22/2014 10:13PM  
Jwartman59, Sorry to hear of the changes. Hope to see you on the water in the spring.
 
Longpaddler
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01/23/2014 07:36AM  
I started in '90s when I bought my first solo boat from Piragis. I will stop when they pry my paddle from my cold, lifeless fingers...or when I can no longer get in my canoe...which ever comes first :-)
 
01/24/2014 09:55AM  
First BWCA trip as a group 2009. First solo 2010 then 2011, and 2012. 2013 did "Group Solo" to the Q, 4 solo canoes four "brothers" from this board. Also did a 3 "Group solo" to WCPP with 2 other "brothers" from this board. This year will do a group solo.
I like solo canoeing and will not quit till I can't am or DEAD.
SunCatcher Will be 57 years young on Valentines Day!
 
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