Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Solo Tripping :: Penny for your thoughts...
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cowdoc |
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JWilder |
giddyup: " Yes! This was on another thread here in the solo forum. So very true. I have this in my office. As I said before. Nobody (at work) understands... JW |
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Portage99 |
LindenTree: "Portage99: " Someone told me a story once that floored me and meant so much to me. I think it is Lakota, but not sure. They said that souls leave people's bodies and follow the Milky Way home. I don't know why I love that so much but I find it very comforting.Portage, do a search of that term/quote you will find some very interesting reading. i still have my place on the White Earth Reservtion and rememeber some teachings on this. That's so cool. It really is the first spiritual concept that makes sense to me and makes me feel better about death. |
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GraniteCliffs |
Do you hear that buzzing? Here they come! Run for the tent! |
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TomT |
Lailoken: "I love soloing. During the day, it is my favorite way to travel in the wilderness. It's quiet, I go where I want to go, I am alone with my thoughts, but I do get lonely when find a campsite for the evening. I like being alone, so it is not just lack of being with someone, it's camp seems social to me and especially camp fires. On my first 13 day/12 night solo, I made a fire the first night, mid way through, and last night. Almost all were from a feeling of obligation to habit, not desire. When I solo, nights at camp are more just simple work, time in the tent reading, less fire and less scotch for sure. I've always wanted to do a solo during the day trip, meet up every few nights with my "solo" partner. " It sounds exactly like what I would write. It’s the evening or dusk when I miss having partners there. You might try a group solo. Everyone packs like it’s a solo but you all travel and camp together. So the day is yours to do as you please but there’s evening company. Or, what I’ve done in 2016 and 18 is prearrange a meet up on a certain lake and day to camp with others. Spend 1-3 nights at the site then go your own way. I’m working on a trip like that for this year. Maybe we could meet up. :) |
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PineKnot |
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BearBurrito |
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sns |
So as I reflect on my solos, most evenings have been in the moment. Camp has just been set up. Have to feed the dog. Feed myself. Get things in order. Plan the morning...and then hit the hay. It's only on layover days that I can relax a while, meditate, contemplate, and eventually solve the meaning of life. The answer is: People Aren't Wearing Enough Hats. |
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bfurlow |
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jillpine |
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deerfoot |
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MossBack |
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TomT |
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MacCamper |
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RetiredDave |
By the time my yawns crack my jaws, the Milky Way is blazing, and I can see its reflection on the water. When it's time (whenever I feel like it's time) I put the tiny blaze out and turn in. There is no sleep that equals sleep in the wilderness. Thanks for asking the question! Dave |
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merlyn |
After a while the world comes back damnit. |
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JWilder |
I begin by summarizing the days activities and experiences I have had and things I have learned. Next I check the overnight forecast into the next day. The forecast will dictate my tentative plans for the morrow. With the sun on the decline my mind floats between the in-the-moment and my life as a Christian, father, husband, son, brother, friend or whatever. I confess my weaknesses, give thanks for my strengths, and come to peace with where I am at; physically, mentally and spiritualy. It may be at this moment I begin to miss my family, or company in general. I push this aside and tell myself that the trip is only temporary, and to enjoy the moment, which I gladly submit to. Wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world right now. It is now dark and I am sapped. I hit the fart sack and sleep like a baby... JW |
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boonie |
Sometimes I think about the trip I'm on - weather, where I'm going tomorrow, how well new things are working, things I've seen. Or about other trips I have done or trips I might do. Other times I'll think about the first people and how much different life was/is. How did they view things . . . ? On a clear night, I might try to put myself in their shoes - wonder about looking at the stars, the milky way, without knowing everything we now "know". Sometimes I marvel that we are here, that they survived long enough to send us all into "the great unknown" - the future. I might think back over my life, or think about something I've been reading. Sometimes I realize I've been sitting there quite a long time without really thinking about much at all . . . The light has faded, it's cooler, it's still, it's quiet. The birds have vanished into the sky, And now the last cloud drains away. We sit together, the mountain and me, until only the mountain remains. Li Po And then, sometimes, the icy wind-driven rain is slashing through camp, and it's "come on, man, I'm on vacation - cut me a break" |
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paddlinjoe |
butthead: " That was lovely. Can’t wait for episode 2. Was that a beaver swimming by right to left in the distance? |
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butthead |
butthead |
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JWilder |
deerfoot: "“Softly falls the light of day as our campfire fades away, silently each scout should ask have I done my daily task.....” Some of you will know the rest." "...while taking a sip from his flask?" |
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donr |
Seriously, though, I usually think about how blessed I am to be able to travel solo and enjoy the wilderness. |
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deerfoot |
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mjmkjun |
Edit: Well, that is not all I do. Otherwise, a nip of Jim Beam relaxing to a 'no thinking' mode, most often. Turn-in, afterward. Hardly ever a night campfire. |
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jwartman59 |
On solo trips I try to think like my dog, I’m always learning from him. |
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egknuti |
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TomT |
egknuti: "I try to be in the moment—No thoughts. I soak in all that surrounds me with all my senses. The crackling of the fire. The loons calling across the lake. The buzz of the mosquitos. Breathing in the scent of pines. Feeling the aching of my bones. The last of the sun dipping below the horizon...." What you describe is something that often gets lost when with a group of 3 or more. Dusk is an amazing time in canoe country. |
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paddlinjoe |
I think I need to take another trip and do some research. |
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rtallent |
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TomT |
cowdoc: "Kind of a live in the moment guy.....and, I don't sit still well. I always gotta be doing something. So, I guess I'd be thinking about what I have to, or want to do next. No sitting and relaxing and deep thinking for me. Staying busy with fun things is when my mind is at ease." My wife is the same. Her Dad was the same. Cowdoc, it amazes me that you solo at all. There's many who tried to solo and left early because of this very reason. And truthfully I found it very uncomfortable on my early solos. It got better with time and now I feel I'm able to control my where my thoughts go. EG: If there's employee issues at work or a troubled relationship at home - as soon as the seed of a thought enters I'll shut it down immediately and go to another place and if I can't do that easily then I'll take a walk or just sit and observe what's around me and then divert my thoughts to happier stuff like my family or where I'll be and who I'll be in 5 years. DAMN that's a long sentence. The coffee made me do it. :) |
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moray |
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HistoryDoc |
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rtallent |
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MikeinMpls |
Mike |
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Portage99 |
Sigh...now I want to be out there. |
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Minnesotian |
Good question. I honestly try not to think about anything in particular. I try to embrace the loneliness and how tiny I feel in the whole grand scheme of things. I lounge in front of the grate, sculpting the fire into the most optimal burn with resources at hand, keeping my ears spread to faint sounds in the gloaming light, like a mouse squeaking past an unopen jackpine cone in the dried grass, or the breath of flight from an owl's wing as it alights on a branch above me. "Many a night I saw the Pleiades, rising thro' the mellow shade, Glitter like a swarm of fireflies, Tangled in a silver braid." -Tennyson, Locksley Hall These moments are completely opposite of my regular life that I find the less I think, the more I appreciate. |
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Jaywalker |
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straighthairedcurly |
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TomT |
straighthairedcurly: "I like to be in the moment just watching and listening to the nature around me...watching dragonflies flitting, watching birds, listening to the wind. Just being quiet/still in mind and body is such a gift." I've had some of the best experiences doing this. Especially at dusk, I'll go by the shore and just sit quiet. Good things are happening at that time. |
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GraniteCliffs |
I find a distinction between group trips and solos. On my group trips there is a campfire with a lot of laughing, talking, inquiring about other's families, etc. Some very good and meaningful conversations that allow us all to check in a connect with one another. My solo evening rituals are substantially different but no less rewarding. No fire. No laughing. No conversation. I tend to be a bit introspective in reviewing my life past, present and future. I, too, love to just listen as the calm of the darkness settles all around me. It is nothing short of magical on some nights. Cairn Lake in the Q two years ago was one of those nights. No wind, perfect temp. Near full moon. A great campsite with plenty of granite. The lake was glass. The beaver slapped his tail right in front of me. I heard an owl. Then heard a quick howl or yip from a coyote or wolf. All in a matter of minutes. It can be a lonely time but is also the time when I feel most at peace at being all alone on that granite slab in the middle of nowhere. I have had a wonderful life and find myself flooded with gratitude. I have finished plotting my next day's route with the maps spread around me. I finish the last bit of booze in my cup, snuff out the end of my nightly cigar and climb into my solo tent nicknamed The Coffin. At that point I let everything slide from my mind and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. |
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dschult2 |
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giddyup |
Not sure where I saw this, maybe on this site, but it struck me enough to save it. |
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rtallent |
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LindenTree |
Portage99: " Someone told me a story once that floored me and meant so much to me. I think it is Lakota, but not sure. They said that souls leave people's bodies and follow the Milky Way home. I don't know why I love that so much but I find it very comforting.Portage, do a search of that term/quote you will find some very interesting reading. i still have my place on the White Earth Reservtion and rememeber some teachings on this. "Birth, life, death and afterlife are four stages of the journey of the human spirit. ... she intends to follow and will indicate the family's responsibilities to prepare offerings. ... The soul may also leave the body while a person is alive, and go to any ... The souls that are at peace travel back to the Sky World by way of the Milky Way." |
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OgimaaBines |
It's a blessing to have such a short list of things to think about out there, and it's something that I found out needs to happen with as much regularity as my busy life allows! |
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butthead |
butthead |
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paddlinjoe |
butthead: " That was lovely. Can’t wait for episode 2. Was that a beaver swimming by right to left in the distance? |
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Lailoken |
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sueb2b |
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