Loneliness and fear of being alone in the bush

[straitshot]

I've never taken a formal survival course, so maybe this is not new to some. I'm interested to read here if others consider not just the factors of clear thinking vital to survival, but of unexpected emotions and how to prepare for them.

Some people, especially those who are not prepared for being "dumped" in the bush, may be subject to despair just from being alone. Once, years ago, after a week without human contact (no radio even) I became unexplainably despondent and sort of felt abandoned by the world. I knew it was irrational but knowing didn't make the feeling any less disconcerting. It made even routine outdoor tasks difficult, let alone the extraordinary. Robert Mitchum in "Track of the Cat" ( I just watched it the other day, good movie) was the consumate outdoorsman who became so possessed with getting home he ran, in the dark, toward a signal fire only to stumble headlong into an abyss.

All of the survival knives, fire steels, and wilderness skills are of little value if one is not prepared to be utterly alone if that happens. Stop, Think, etc. is a good tactic but it would seem, to be really prepared, one would have to actually have the experience of isolation (like in military survival training) to be reasonably certain of dealing with it. I once read the diary of a researcher who, stranded in the winter arctic, found shelter and survived on a caribou carcass for months only to kill himself due to loneliness (about a week before being found). In the diary it was clear he slowly slipped deeper into irrational thought each day. Being self-sufficient and confident (with the right gear, of course ) certainly helps, but who has actually taken a "trial run" just to see how it would feel? Who believes it's important or is it not? I found out but not for that purpose and it was a real surprise. Regards, ss.

 

[Bob W]

My longest solo backpacking trip was only a week. I did see four people during the week (three on one day), but only offered a casual grunted greeting. It was no problem emotionally, and I'm confident I could last much, much longer.

Part of a college desert survival program was a three-day or four-day solo. The program was challenging, but the solo was a piece of cake. The professor told me later he was concerned that I would wander off to live alone in the desert forever... I admit it did cross my mind.

-Bob

 

[EmsRescueGuy]

This is really a good point, I recently went out on a solo overnight, I havent done this in a few years. We are so seldom truly alone in modern life that being alone is a completeley foreign feeling and can be unnerving, even for a short period.

I like to escape the noise of civilization, but I generally prefer to do so with at least one person with me.

 

[wilddogmoon]

I once did a solo for six days and on about the fourth day i started to miss my wife and by day six i decided to pack up and head home,i had planned to stay out ten days but i got lonley.Its a good point you brought up i never really thought about it.

 

[Bob W]

but I generally prefer to do so with at least one person with me.

I only camp and hike solo. I can't actually remember the last time that I had a hiking partner. Ten years ago?

-Bob

 

[EmsRescueGuy]

I only camp and hike solo. I can't actually remember the last time that I had a hiking partner. Ten years ago?

-Bob

I actually intend to try more solo trips since it is sometimes hard to find someone who you want to go with who is at the same level of skill as you, has the same days off, etc etc. This is why my last trip was a Solo one, I got tired of the logistics of group trips.

 

[mete]

The 'buddy system' is important for the mental aspects of having someone with you. If you can do it alone so much better but most can't.

 

[Danno4017]

Solo can be dangerous in the Bush.
I prefer not to travel alone as large areas of the Bush here are out of mobile range and a Snake bite would be the end of the story.

 

[nick-nack]

I think the difference between camping solo and actually being lost alone is that you know that you will be seeing people. So any ever been lost and not know if you will make it back.

 

[knifeman65]

I believe being lost and in a survival situation is totally different than taking a solo camping trip. Being lost in the bush has a whole lot more emotions involved. There is the fear of starving to death or never making your way out, or never being found, etc... There have been situations where the lost hiker/camper was so paranoid, that he was actually hiding from his rescuers. His emotions and imagination got the better of him. It took the rescuers longer to find him because he was aware of them, and kept staying just out of reach. I think not being lost, having food and water with you, and that you WILL see people/civilization at the time of your choosing is a totally different scenario. I have only been on a two day solo hike/campout, but I have never been realy lost (a bit disoriented in fog a couple of times though). I usually try to go on hikes with my son or my father, but sometimes I go alone. I haven't been on an overnighter in quite some time. This is just my opinnion guys.

 

[Trout Tamer]

I believe being lost and in a survival situation is totally different than taking a solo camping trip. Being lost in the bush has a whole lot more emotions involved. There is the fear of starving to death or never making your way out, or never being found, etc...

Yep, I completely agree. However, I'm of the opinion that solo hiking and camping aren't wholly without value - partaking of such gives a person one form of being alone in the wilderness. Therefore, in a lone survival situation, the survivor would be able to recall similar situations and draw an amount of strength and comfort from familiarity of experience. While solo camping isn't the same as truly being lost, it can help accustom one, to a certain extent, to wilderness solitude.

However, there's one big caveat -

Solo can be dangerous in the Bush.
I prefer not to travel alone as large areas of the Bush here are out of mobile range and a Snake bite would be the end of the story.

Danno4017 hit the nail on the head - solo camping entails many, many risks. I personally got my leg and foot crushed by a boulder while in the wilderness. Five years out, I'm recovering from my third surgery and am looking ahead to the fourth, and hopefully final, surgery. And here's the kicker - I was taking a land navigation course and was accompanied by a very skilled and capable class instructor. All the company in the world wouldn't have held that boulder back. Yet, without the instructor present, and the immediate medical attention he gave, I surely would've lost my leg... at the very least.

Yes, I believe solo hiking and camping can have merit as training aids for the real deal, but they themselves entail an increased amount of risk.

Good topic :thumbup:

 

[Salamander42]

I believe being lost and in a survival situation is totally different than taking a solo camping trip. Being lost in the bush has a whole lot more emotions involved.

Agreed. . . Going out for a planned solo hiking trip may help prepare you to some extent for the lonliness, but in an emergency/unplanned situation there will be a lot of other emotions. Add in the possibility of not only being lost, but also injured and you have even more potential emotion.

I guess that's why it's important actually practice your outdoor/survival skills and to think about things in advance and come up with basic plans for the most likely scenarios. But leave enough flexibility in your plans to accommodate the unexpected. That way when you find yourself in a bad situation your training and planning can carry you through when your emotions may not be allowing you to think clearly.

 

[straitshot]

Yes, I've also been lost, once, in my teens. I was fishing a remote stream when caught by a storm front. After the rain and hail, fog made orientation impossible. I knew I was only a half-day out, but the wrong direction would lead to nowhere. It was difficult to admit to myself that I was lost. I didn't want to believe it. I nearly struck off in a random direction, cold and wet, hoping for the best, but fortunately forced myself to backtrack until I found a spruce overhanging one of the small streams I had fished. From there I carefully remembered the sequence of how I had wandered, then became a little more at ease.

My first reaction to being lost was to hurry up and get unlost, a bad move. The realization was unnerving because I was surprised, unprepared, and confused. Completely foreign emotions that had to be resisted took a lot of effort. Even knowing then that I was traveling in the right direction, I was uneasy until I actually proved it to myself by reaching a familiar lake. When it happens, it is a complete surprise to be dealt with , especially when even the sun and stars are not visible. It only took one time to convince me keeping aware of how you get somewhere is the key to getting back in roadless territory. I've even had companions try to get us both lost, but I didn't let them. It can become a real contest (emotions again) when the other person is convinced you are wrong. It's something to ponder. Regards, ss.

 

[Codger_64]

I actually prefer traveling the wilderness alone. Yes, there are certainly hazards in doing so. No cell service? I don't carry a phone with me anyway. Medical emergency? Deal with it using training and prior knowledge. Do I get lonely? Not especially. I enjoy the freedom solo travel gives me in deciding where and when to stop or go without having to consider the opinions, preferences, experience and wellbeing of another.

I've never been one to let my own sense of wellbeing and accomplishment depend on others. Life itself is fatal. All of my ancestors have died. Some in war, some at home in bed, a few hooked up to machines in modern hospitals.

There is something to be said for shared experiences, and also for experiences which are mine alone. I prefer solo wilderness tripping. But I have the confidence that comes from training and experience. It isn't for everyone.

Codger

 

[raylaconico]

I usually only go solo because usually I can't find anyone who wants to go with me. In a way, I like being alone but the longest I've been out was 4 days. I started to miss my wife and was worried about here being home alone. I don't think it caused a problem with me mentally but I couldn't wait to go home.

 

[Troop]

Luke, the Force is with you...Always.

 

[runningboar]

I usually only go solo because usually I can't find anyone who wants to go with me. In a way, I like being alone but the longest I've been out was 4 days. I started to miss my wife and was worried about here being home alone. I don't think it caused a problem with me mentally but I couldn't wait to go home.

I am solo most of the time myself, for the same reasons. I can never find anyone that wants to go with me, and if I do it is usually someone that thinks it is a cool idea but has no outdoor experience and I usually am just taking care of them or answering questions. I do a lot of hunting and coon hunting with dogs, my wife doesn't like me to go out by myself but I can't do anything about it. My next 4 day weekend I am going on a solo hog hunt, I had one guy that wanted to go but I reckon his wife told him no and seems like he minds well, something I never have been too good at. Chris

 

[knifeman65]

Several years ago a conservation officer told me that they had found a guy in his undershorts running through the woods all cut up, bleeding, and bruised all over. This was in the fall and it was pretty cool outside. Apparently he got lost and started running through the woods like a madman, and as he ran, he got hot and started sweating, so he started shedding his clothing as he ran to try to cool himself. Now that is an accident waiting to happen on so many levels: getting knocked out, badly cut, more lost, falling off a cliff, and probably the most likely thing--hypothermia. It was probably two or three years after this that I was on a short hike with my father in law when we saw a young guy running thru the woods, he hit some brush and fell down, got back up and kept running right into us. He said he was lost and he was a nervous wreck. My father in law said head in a northeasterly direction and you'll hit the road. He said which way is that? My father in law said you don't have a compass? The guy said no. Then we pointed out the way he had to go which wasn't very far, and asked him if he wanted us to take him and he said no I'll be ok. If he sat down and collected himself he could have actually heard the cars on the road.

 

[ilbruche]

I do most of my trips solo. I never worry about being alone because I get in sync with my surroundings and am more aware of what is happening around me. Solo trips require you to know your limits of mental and physical ability. I accept the risks of getting hurt or lost. Being alone in the woods brings you in touch with yourself and helps to wash away the monotony of work and everyday life. It is good for the soul to be a part of nature and not a cog in a machine.

As far as the main point of the thread is concerned I think loneliness can be mitigated by bringing a couple friends with you. Fire and a good knife. Spending nights alone in the woods is much more tolerable with a nice fire and some sticks to whittle on.

The only thing I miss sometimes is someone to share a beautiful sight with or an animal encounter. Words usually don't do them justice, but pictures come close.

 

[runningboar]

knifeman65,
I actually have real experience, I panicked in the woods one time. I killed a hog and was dragging it out and got really tired and hot I decided to leave the hog, walk out to my truck and drop off my rifle and my pack and then go back in to get the hog with a much lighter load. I had no problem getting back to the truck I dropped off my gear and headed back into the swamp, by this time it was getting pretty late in the evening but I still had plenty of time, I thought. Walking back to find the hog I got disoriented and started heading in the wrong direction. I had no gear besides what was in my pockets which was pretty much just a pocket knife, no lighter, compass, whistle, flashlight, or anything else, it was all in my pack back at the truck.

The later and darker it got, the faster I was moving, trying to make it out before black dark. It got black dark and I was practically running through a Ga swamp, pretty much in a blind panic. I tripped on a cypress knee and fell face first into shin deep swamp water and it woke me up, the only thing I could think is what if I had hit another knee when I fell, I could be seriously hurt and never make it out. I found a dry hump and sat down, breathing hard and shaking, I calmed myself down, got control of my breathing and tried to figure out how to get myself out of this mess, I new my wife would be beside herself very shortly if she wasn't already. I was very familar with maps of the area and new if I could walk a straight line without going in circles, very easy to do in a swamp, that I would find a road. It was black dark and there were no landmarks to walk towards, I didn't have a compass, it was in my pack, so I decided to pick the brightest star and walk towards it. In about an hour of walking I hit a dirt road, I had no idea what road or where I was so I just turned right and started walking. After about a half mile I saw my truck on the side of the road, that's how close I was to it the whole time.

A whole lot of learning was done that night, I will never go into the woods without the basics, on my person, not in a pack, and I went the next day and bought a Garmin GPS system. I have always been a woodsman and always have gear with me and if anyone would have said what I described would happen to me I would have told them they were crazy, swear on my soul it did happen to me. This all happened about 10 years ago and the experience has changed a lot about my preparations today. Chris