What practical issues do I need to be aware of when hiking or camping on my own?

Question

Related to this question, if I'm camping and hiking on my own, I'm obviously at more of a risk than if I were with someone, and some key tasks will definitely be harder with no-one to assist (such as putting up a tent).

If I were planning such a trip, what should I be aware of and therefore practice or train? I'm thinking both in terms of safety (such as learning basic first aid) and practicalities (such as learning how to quickly erect a tent on your own).

Answer 1

• Have an emergency kit, and a first aid kit. Keep both of these on your person at all times, but at a minimum, keep the emergency kit on you. People have died less than a mile from camp because they left all their gear at the tent and went for a "short hike"
• Set up a some sort of check in system. These range from the simple cell phone to the fancy (and pricey) GPS Search and Rescue systems which can send short pre-programmed emails.
• Tell someone when you are leaving, your route, and your expected return. Do this even if you have the fancy S&R system.

Gear

• Carry backup water purification in case your primary fails.
• Ditto for fire and cutting tool

Behavior & Knowledge

• Move slower and more carefully; no one is going to be there to go for help if you get hurt.
• Camp off trail, preferably out of sight. Two legged animals are the most dangerous and a hiker alone is more at risk.
• Do NOT put yourself at risk for hypothermia. It's incredibly hard to self rescue or self aid when under the affects of hypothermia.
• Make more noise. A group will make a ton of noise (comparatively) and scare off bears, dogs, snakes, etc. As an individual you are more likely to startle something which can hurt you.

(I'm trying to restrict this to just things that are different when alone, as opposed to a catch-all "safety" answer)

Answer 2

I guess the only difference when travelling alone is that everything is more dangerous, difficult and time-consuming. :D

Here are some things I did before undertaking my last long trip alone.

1. Did some research on local wildlife: snakes, bears, wolves. Based on the research, practised a drill in case a snake bites me, so that I have a chance to act adequately when I am panicked, scared and tired at a moment of incident.

2. Brought a turned-off cell phone.

3. When camping, stayed as close as possible to my fire. Had a prepared fast burning fuel e.g. a dry branch with the leaves still on. When this thing is thrown into the fire a fireball results for several seconds - that may scarry off animals and it lights the entire immediate area. Had а prepared knife at my immediate reach.

4. When camping, placed the food and any smelly things about ten meters from the tent.

5. Used a staff not only as a walking aid, but also to disturb high vegetation before I step in it. Also carried high boots in the summer.(*)

6. Was suspectful of strangers.

And some mistakes I made:

I. Not enough water - water is a heavy substance and I always liked to believe that I will find a stream soon, no need to carry too much. Wrong. Had whole days without water. Always check the map ant/or talk to people who have been there, to know how often you will find water. Less of a problem in the spring or winter. Spring is especially merciful, as you can melt snow in a bottle in the sun or on your backpack.

II. Lost my gear. Yeah, sounds scary. Having a heavy backpack and being quite tired a couple of times I decided to go scouting "just a hundred meters" in a circle around my backpack. Never, never, never again. If you are with people, they can scream, jump. Anything you leave in the forest should be considered lost and only happy coincidence if it is found.

III. Carried monotonous food. I had a good deal of dried meat, bread and several other things. A bad idea. After several days only meat and bread were left and two days eating only this I began feeling my energy leaving me. Carry as many different foods as possible.

(*) Note: this is not reliable. Only very high and reasonably thick boots can protect from a snakebite. Regarding disturbing the grass: when I met a snake I decided to test this. I approached the snake - it didn't move. I raised the staff and hit the ground several centimetres form the snake. Still nothing. The damn thing was probably thinking it is hiding from me.

Answer 3

I would not recommend camping alone if you have not camped before. There is quite a lot of multitasking - in a group of 4 adults often every single one works simultaneously for an hour or so when we reach a campsite - and you could find yourself trying to do things in the dark (which is dangerous) or when you're too hungry to think straight. Next thing you know you've tripped over something and sprained an ankle, or burned yourself, and you don't have any help.

Make sure you're capable of putting up your tent and that you know how long it takes. Make sure you're capable of lighting your stove. (You can practice these in the backyard or possibly in a park, though you might get a visit from someone who thinks you're trying to actually camp and tells you to move on.) Make sure you stop early enough each day to do everything that has to be done before dark. When planning your route, take into account that you may walk more slowly (carrying a heavier load) or need more trips across portages. You may also just stop to stare from a lookout, or to watch some wildlife, or various things that you wouldn't do if you were with someone. You should know what order things have to be done: unrolling your sleeping pad and bag and getting your flashlight out of the pack can wait until after you've made dinner, but getting a tarp up to protect from the rain that's coming probably can't.

Also, imagine you're canoeing with a partner and you suddenly need to pee. You and your partner paddle to shore, you jump out and go as far inland as water protection and privacy require, then you come back. 5 minutes. But if you're alone, you'll need to find a place where you can tie up the canoe and leave it unattended without having it tipped by waves or washed away. Maybe pull it up on shore a bit. You'll need to dig out some rope to tie it to a tree. This all takes time. Same when you're at a campsite, you can't just pop out to gather some wood for a fire, you have to secure the campsite (at least to stop stuff blowing away) and pick up the things you need to take with you (cell phone, emergency kit) rather than just coming and going as you please and yelling for help if you need it.

Most people who go camping suffer nothing worse than blisters and sunburn. I find that if people are going to get hurt more seriously, it's when they're tired, hungry, grumpy from their blisters and sunburn, or when it's dark. Going alone significantly raises the chances of all those things. So allow more time, and look after yourself.

Answer 4

One thing that should be obvious, but still is worth repeating: If you’re out alone, make sure you can get help when you need it. I recently went on a solo trip into the mountains in the winter and realized that something like hurting your knee in the deep snow can happen quite quickly and if you can’t get help, in the winter you’re in big trouble.

Which is why you should always carry a working phone, make sure the battery does not run out during the trip and make sure if there’s carrier signal. Certainly it doesn’t hurt if somebody reliable knows where you’re going and when to ring the alarm if you’re not back.

cf. 127 Hours :-)