BWCA First NOT Solo Trip (in a while) Boundary Waters Group Forum: Solo Tripping
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06/12/2014 10:01PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Plenty of folks have posted their questions, comments, and trepidations about taking their first solo trips on this section of the forum. I'm confident in my solo travel, and have tried to help with comments where I can.

What I sometimes wonder about is after getting used to paddling, camping, cooking, etc at my own rythem over the last couple years, what will it be like going back to paddling with a small or large group?

So what experiences have you veteran solo paddlers had when rejoining groups?
 
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06/13/2014 06:23AM  
I'll tell you in October - for the first time in several years, I won't be going solo. I'm sure it'll be different. It should be interesting since it's not my brother, who has been on two trips with me, but someone I haven't tripped with before. That'll be a first since 2002. I'm sure I have gotten "old and set in my ways" too :).

I'm looking forward to it, to a new perspective. I think we'll be compatible tripping partners. I'll probably miss the total, pure, absolute freedom of my solo whims, but will likely enjoy the company, the camp help, and lighter portage loads. Besides being "old and set in my ways", I'm "not as young as I used to be" either ;).

When my brother has come, it's been good, but there have been certain accommodations. I have also learned - and probably will again - that I know even less about tandem paddling than I do about solo paddling. And my brother knows even less than I do, but is a strong paddler.
 
gkimball
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06/13/2014 07:54AM  
Interesting topic! I have been doing both solo and non-solo trips in the same year for a few years now, and have become aware of differences in my own state of mind in the process.

The main effect is being aware of the impact companions have on my inner enjoyment and state of mind. The fellows I have been canoeing with are great friends and I will always be happy for their companionship.

Still, the more soloing I do the more I become aware of the need to control one's consciousness, and it becomes really obvious when your companions can't. An example would be one fellow's nearly constant worrying about mosquitoes. I try to suggest just letting them be what they are, accepting them as part of the natural environment,and not obsessing about them, but he can only go so far and thus is quite uncomfortable at times. He also worries a lot more about bears, and I sense he is less relaxed because of it. On the bright side he is generally a cheerful and fun person to be with, so I try to keep it light and he responds most of the time. He is also quite willing to pull his share of the load, which makes up for his occasional fits of pique about the bugs.

When my companions are uncomfortable or unhappy about some element of the trip I am more aware now than I used to be. Not so much to spoil the trip, but I find myself needing to limit their impact on my state of mind at times. This is much more noticeable than before I started soloing.

I guess the lesson is to go into a trip with companions ready to preserve your own state of mind in some way, without letting it cause conflicts or reduce the quality of the trip by focusing on the positives.
 
Alan Gage
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06/13/2014 11:05AM  
I've never taken a proper trip with other people but I certainly notice when I paddle tandem with someone else. I paddle a lot and am very used to my solo canoes. It can be a little frustrating to be in a tandem and not have complete control of the boat. My normal paddling partners, while adequate, aren't real experienced paddlers. Thankfully it's usually just a lazy float down the river and I can cover for them.

While not a true camping trip I will be traveling to the pacific northwest next month solo with my dog but then I'll pick up a friend in Seattle and we'll spend a few days on the Olympic Peninsula doing some camping, hiking, and canoeing (bringing a tandem with). I haven't traveled with anyone in a long time but I'm kind of looking forward to it. I've been there before but she hasn't. It will be fun to show someone else around and to see someone else experience things. We've traveled together quite a bit in the past and I know we travel well together so while it will be different hopefully it will be a fun different. But, this will probably be a 2 week trip and I'll only have someone else along for a few days, so I still get to do whatever I want whenever I want for the most part.

I can only think of a couple people I'd be willing to commit to a week or more of canoe camping with. She's one of them and the other escapes my mind at the moment. :)

Alan
 
sunnybear09
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06/20/2014 09:16PM  
You will be amazed at how less intense traveling with a second person is compared to going solo. Once a happy solo, always a happy solo. Friends are great, but when you have only yourself to depend on, and no distractions, the woods are a great deal more exciting. Of course I feel that way back home too, so......
 
06/21/2014 09:55PM  
Don't seem to get to solo so much anymore... More like "group solo's". Just have met so many good people here and so many opportunities popping up. But it's been great to paddle with like minded (for the most part) people. I'll always keep it open for an option though.
 
wetcanoedog
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06/22/2014 12:54AM  
last august i went a trip with my old canoe buddy from NY.our first trip was in 1969. we made many trips in the 80's and 90's.last time he was out was in 2006.
we have the team work down to the point where our camp chores come unspoken.
we e-mail and have phone yaks but the only "problem" i had was watching out how much i talked,no joke.not being face to face for some years and having a back log of stuff going on in my life i had to make a point to shut up and let him enjoy the wilderness without me going on about what i fished for in that bay or what a camp was like when i was in it a few months before.
 
06/23/2014 09:55AM  
I took my brother and his family on a recent trip, all who had been on at least one trip with me before, and it got quite annoying. Somehow I became an unpaid guide for the entire trip. I was chief navigator, head cook, they assumed I had knowledge of every campsite and portage along the route even though none of us had been to the area before, and every decision was dependent on my opinion. It was just a constant barrage of questions the entire trip.
 
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