honestly, do you like camping alone? (scary for me)

Never bothers me, although I have been creeped in a few empty buildings at night. Even then it is usually raccoons banging around. I do sleep with a .357 under my pillow.:D
 
It will pass..in fact, if you stayed in an isolated area long enough..the city would bother the hell outta you!
 
Haha all the talk about dogs protecting you. We had a rescue dog from the pound where he was beaten and other bad things by the owners before us. So he was never a brave dog, but he was great in every way. My dad and i was on a short hike from the car with my dog (this being one of his first trips to the forest) and my mom was staying at the car. After about 1/4 of a mile into the hike some thing growled at us up ahead hiding behind some trees and plants. My brave dog heard that and took one look at me and ran for his life back to the car, ran so fast he could not stop in time and passed the car. Then turned around and hide in the front seat foot well. I on the other hand was left to fend for my self, which just included backing up slowly and walking back looking for my dog

Needless to say, he was not the guard dog type even though he was half german sheperd and Doberman. Two of the most feared dogs haha



Trust me it passes i have feelings like that too
 
I did it a lot in the service but No I don't like it. I enjoy camping much more with the wife and or the kids. It makes me uneasy.
 
It just really depends on what kind of camping you are doing. Weekend stuff with family and friends is great. When I go out west (Badlands ND) with a couple of buddies to go bow hunting, I will spend a couple nights out away from base camp. Sleep under a small rainfly using a bivy. It just allows me to do my own thing and blend in with what is going on around me, make sense? When I get into rough terrian or conditions it's just easier to worry about me instead of others in the group. Odds are you will be bothered by the two legged critter before any four legged ones will bother you.
 
I usually backpack and camp with others but occasionally go alone, but have brought my dog and I always carry a pistol with me. No matter if its with others or alone, I always have the weirdest dreams while camping.
 
Drink Unholy Absinthe:
DSCN1835.jpg


Welcome the madness:
l_e29564a2d32aebac508637b0f2bab3be.jpg


And lil green b*****d shitheads will appear out of nowhere:
l_deee2c8cb44924545080864a7be53f11.jpg


and u're no longer alone in the forest at night!
:D
 
Two kinds of camping for me; backcountry backpacking/canoe trips, and campground car camping.

The car camping I do once or twice a year and usually involves getting together with friends, and lately has been more about educating my two god-daughters in the outdoors; showing them a way of life they don't get from their parents.

The more frequent hiking/canoe trips are always solo and I try hard to go places off the beaten path at times of year where I know I will not see anyone. This is the way I prefer it (my wife thinks I'm a bit crazy!).

I long for solitude


"…And I looked upwards, and there stood a man upon the summit of the rock;
and I hid myself among the water-lilies that I might discover the actions of the man.
And the man was tall and stately in form, and was wrapped up from his shoulders to his feet in the toga of old Rome.
And the outlines of his figure were indistinct-but his features were the features of a deity;
for the mantle of the night, and of the mist, and of the moon, and of the dew, had left uncovered the features of his face.
And his brow was lofty with thought, and his eye wild with care; and, in the few furrows upon his cheek I read the fables of sorrow,
and weariness, and disgust with mankind, and a longing after solitude.

And the man sat upon the rock, and leaned his head upon his hand, and looked out upon the desolation.
He looked down into the low unquiet shrubbery, and up into the tall primeval trees, and up higher at the rustling heaven,
and into the crimson moon. And I lay close within shelter of the lilies, and observed the actions of the man.
And the man trembled in the solitude; -but the night waned, and he sat upon the rock….”

excerpt from “Silence - a Fable” by Edgar Allen Poe 1837


My next solo trip is two weeks on Baffin Island in August, and trying to organise a hike for a couple of weeks in the Falkland Islands near the end of the year...
 
nephildevil said:
Drink Unholy Absinthe:
Welcome the madness:
And lil green ....... ......... will appear out of nowhere:
and u're no longer alone in the forest at night!
:D
Click to expand...

Read 'em some of your poetry. They'll leave you alone.
 
gazaati said:
OK, Last weekend I wanted to try camping alone for the weekend. I have always heard of people doing it. I went for it because no one wanted to go with me at the time.

Parked my car and walked for a good 3 hours in an isolated aria. Reached the place I wanted to amp at. During the day it was OK but at night , I couldn't sleep.

I got the creeps. There I was, no one could hear me, No civilization what so ever in a place where months pass by with out a soul passing by in that aria.

( AM I CRAZY)

I couldn't for the morning to come, I packed my stuff and headed home. It still gives me chills thinking about it.

Is it normal? Is it because I am a beginner and it will pass?

Or am I just not cut out for this and i will always need buddies to go camping.

Do you have similar experiences?

please admit if you get scared :D
Click to expand...



It doesn't bother me. I enjoy the solitude, but if you're not use to the noises, it can freak you out a bit at first. Insects get active, so you'll hear lots of leaves rattling around you. Knowing what animals make what sounds may also be helpful. Some may surprise you. Something kept circling my hammock once, and I could not figure out what it was. I kept seeing the eyes and hearing a screeching sound. I threw a branch at it and headed out. It was probably just a bobcat, but the noise it made unnerved me.
 
I like people so I stay with friends most of the time....I have more fun with the group and feel better about numbers....I also carry
 
I don't like going alone. Never did and don't expect to change. I prefer small group but big is OK too.

What I don't like is seeing other people in the woods or on a trail. I want my group to be the only people in the woods. I'm kind of spoiled that way, I grew up in canada and that is what I know. Here in cali, there is no such thing as alone in the woods. Last fall I rode a horse for 4 hours expecting to have isolation but we saw at least 5 groups of hikers per day.
 
I am forced to camp alone, under a tarp, in the cold, and wet.

If the racoons are bad I yell.

If I get scared I just remember I am the biggest preditor in the woods.
 
I like it. I can walk when I want to walk and stop when I want to stop.

On the other hand I love to go with people too.

I'm never afraid of wild animals or anything but when I have been alone up on a mountain and knew that the nearest road was like six miles away and knew how totally isolated I was it makes me way more careful because if you get hurt bad you'd be f*cked.

I tell my wife I'll call her as soon as I get out of the woods and also I leave an itenary with here saying where I'll probably be when in case something happens.
 
I noticed that a couple of people suggested taking a gun but no one asked if he is familiar with guns... Now i have been carrying a gun since i was a kid but i would hate to walk up on creeped out camper at two in the morning holding a firearm that he is not familiar with in the first place.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top