Methye wrote:

A certain level of reasonable caution and vigilance is required when you go solo. Your mind has just gone hyper vigilant. No big deal.

1)I wouldn't be bothered by not sticking it out for the full time. Rather look at it as a success. You went to the woods by yourself AND NOTHING BAD HAPPENED.
No bear ate you. No children of the corn. Nada. Nix. It was a great success.
The next one might be two or three nights. Nothing will creep up on you from behind except mosquitoes and black flies. Eventually your mind will wind down from its hyper vigilant state.
2)It might help to have a secondary purpose...taking pictures, identifying plants, doing bush crafty things. Takes the mind off the awareness that you are alone.
3)Bring bear spray and a superbright flashlight and an air horn for peace of mind, too.
4) push yourself so you are tired and fall asleep faster
5) I don't do this on the trail or canoe route, but some people drink or bring weed to relax themselves. Worth considering.

Alcohol is a good idea because it can calm you down or make you feel more confident. Just make absolute sure you don't abuse it! It will also help you sleep at night. As for the weed I wouldn't recommend that unless you are very seasoned with it. That sounds like an anxiety attack waiting to happen!! (trust me on this one).


Last season (2015) I spent over 40 nights (80+days) paddling the interior of Algonquin solo (with my k-9 friend).
I usually have anxiety / restlessness issues at least once per day still.. usually its mostly due to the weather though. I can't swim at all so any-time I'm on an open lake and the wind picks up I get pretty nervous.. even when I already have camp set-up and the wind picks up it can get the best of me. (All the what-ifs? run through my head). I find the more you let it get the best of you the worse off you are. At the time it might seem like leaving early is your best bet but in the end if you do chances are you will do it again next time. If you stick it out then next time when you consider packing up and leaving early you can look back and say no.. I made it last time and I was fine so I will do it again.

yellowcanoe wrote:

[While I have a lot of good memories of our dog on canoe trips, I would have no interest in bringing a big dog on a solo canoe trip.   It would mean more weight to carry -- a larger canoe, larger tent, dog food, dog dish, dog towel.  All that would work against being able to single trip portage.
 

My experience has been different. I've taken a 60 lb golden retriever on a couple of solo canoe trips, and didn't have any means for her to carry anything. But it didn't increase my load other than a few ziplocks of kibble, a collapsable fabric bowl and a small microfiber cloth. I used the same solo canoe and solo tent I otherwise would have, though I admit it was a little cramped in the tent and I had to get used to the dog sleeping literally on my feet. Still better than dealing with a bigger tent on a solo trip. Nonetheless I wouldn't necessarily count on doing single trip portages on your first solo canoe trip. If you manage that's great, but I'd probably plan daily distances that assume you won't.

Last edited by DanPM (3/28/2016 10:52 am)

This thread was fun to read....
The fear of being eaten alive pops up a lot but as a few people have pointed out, if you're out in the middle of nowhere, the animals around you - even the bears (on this side of the rockies at least) are more afraid of you.  I've had a number of run-ins with bears on trails and wolves very close to campsites and each time they were made aware of my presence, they got the hell out of dodge.
I one-trip with a barrel so I make plenty of noise as I'm going through the bush, everything alive in the forest knows I'm coming down the trail.  If you're two-tripping, maybe add some bells to your pack to have the same effect.

I liked the comment about adjusting your rhythm; the first day/night of a solo trip, you're mind is still operating at civilization tempo, always looking for the next task, dead silence is an almost alien sound.  Once you get used to the idea of just sitting around, you start working on a different timetable, it can be quite relaxing.....Maple Whisky helps too....

John Connelly wrote:

Have found these help the solo mind , however I would suggest if you bring this book to read , don't read chapter 8  ( Predacious Black Bear ) before beddie byes .

LOL! My mother-in-law suggested I read The Bear's Embrace - A True Story of Surviving a Grizzly Bear Attack by Patricia Van Tighem just before a 9-day canoe trip in Killarney in the fall. Yeah, right; no way!
 

I think a lot of the psychological issues around solo camping begin with the apprehensiveness of the sheer concept (for first timers, anyway). I say this because I found that following my first solo trip, all I could think about was my next one. Sure, I’m a little nuts anyway so I could be a one-off, but I think a lot of the fear and wonder disappears after the first trip (or possibly the first night).
 
I took my first solo trip back in September 2011 and never looked back. I still love tripping with my fiancée or friends, but I also have a love for solo tripping. They are two completely different trips, both with positives and negatives and both are entirely different experiences.
 
As others above have said, keep busy. If that means you travel a bit further (8 hour days instead of 6 hours days) then so be it – just keep it within your capabilities and don’t push the envelope – that could land you in trouble. I’ve found that arriving at camp too early (say, before 1pm) makes me antsy and often I prefer to move on – more time on the water and portages.
 
If you don’t mind arriving at camp early or if you prefer to, then there are plenty of camp chores that can keep you occupied. Firewood, for one. Ever arrive at a campsite to find a beautiful stack of wood waiting for you? If you’re bored, get at it – those piles for others won’t make themselves! Lol. Or go fish, just pinch your barbs and make sure you know the limits/regs for the waters you plan to travel. Fire pit maintenance – clean out and rebuild the pit (but only if it’s going to be better than before, not worse.. ADAM!) Its like a giant puzzle and these things need cleaning too – the rangers will appreciate it – just don’t move the pit – that’s illegal.
 
What else.. reading is fun – especially books about Algonquin. Joe Lavally & The Paleface (Bernard Wicksteed) as well as Algonquin Story (Audrey Saunders Miller) are excellent camping reads – reading by firelight is relaxing too.
 
 
Most importantly, over everything else – RELAX. This is what you’re here to do, nothing more, nothing less, just relax. Bring a hammock, bring some whiskey, add the two and enjoy life. I mean, you ARE in Algonquin after all.
 
 
Finally, I have one other suggestion. I can’t say for sure that this will help, but I think it helped me. When I did my first solo back in 2011 it was a 5 night trip. However the first 2 nights I had a friend travelling ‘tandem solo’ with me. We began at Cache Lake and went down to Bonnechere Lake for the first night. Moving via Big Porcupine Lake to Crown Bay (Ragged Lake) for the second night. On the third day, he went back to Smoke Lake access point while I continued up through Claude Lake and westward to Hilly Lake for the third night (and my first solo night). I then went on to the Oxtongue River for two more nights before finishing at AO on Oxtongue Lake.
 
If you have someone willing to do this and you can work out the logistics, perhaps this might be a way to introduce yourself to solo camping. Have a night or two with someone else around to get into the vibe, then proceed solo for a night. Or two.. or ten!
 
Just a though – seems to have worked for me (perhaps too well).
 
As Bill Mason said, some people think its crazy to disappear into the wild by yourself – but no one who has ever done it, has said that.

I don't want to shift the conversation too much from its starting point, especially since I know there are forum members with very strong opinions on this topic, but... *deep breath*

Regarding the wife: I take a SPOT with me on all of my solo trips. It lets me let her know that I'm okay. For her it's the difference between worrying like crazy the whole time I'm gone, and getting mildly worried now and then when I forget to 'call home' for too long. It makes a huge difference for her peace of mind - she wouldn't be okay with all of my solo camping if I didn't have that with me. 

well now, isnt this interesting. As im a female that sometimes solo's, and my OH is not interested in camping and never was, i leave a detailed trip outline with him, and dont differ from that, although i plan for unforseen circumstances and I always have a 1 day leaway on my trip. Other then that, we go by the motto "no news is good news". He is to call the access point if im 3 days overdue for coming home. After 37 years of having done things this way there was only one trip where things got a little screwy. I had gone on a kayak trip in georgianbay, and driving out of parry sound drove right into stopped traffic on hwy 400. I could not see a way through this and by 4 pm was  still only near barrie, I decided i would stay the night at a motel and carry on home next day (within the planned date i was coming home) and promptly forgot to call home to my husband. In the meantime, the rental place where i had brought back the kayak found a full fuel bottle in the nose of the kayak and  at 3 pm called my home number to tell him i forgot it and just incase i wanted to pick it up. He calculated i should be home somewhere between 8 and 10 pm if i left there at 3pm. Ofcourse i did not show up, having gone shopping in Barrie and after that being sound asleep at the motel. This caused a bit of anxiety on his end (i dont have a cell phone) .
But, we still go by the same thing: No worries, no news is good news. (in all those years ive done about 50 trips)

I love to solo cause I can spend time with my camera and not worry about any one elses timetable. My first solo was in 1996 in Algonquin and was for a week.. The only jeebies I have and still do is leaving gear unattended.   So I break up portages so I am never far away from my gear. 

I have seen bear aplenty and do think about the fact that they are active during my day and perhaps sniffing my gear when I am gone. But mostly its been seeing back ends of bear though one walked 10 feet in front of my canoe going to Radiant while I was carrying it. It left fast. The scary part was the second bear..the cub that stopped and walked under the bow of the canoe  to stare at me before..thankfully..following mama.

I have seen some wonderful bear antics as cubs and mama played in the water for a few minutes before the fleet of Girl Scouts in Grummans arrived.

Watching wildlife is so much more possible solo.