Recently, you may come across some hikers who advocate solo hiking. To them, solo hiking has some unique benefits, which we can’t reap from group hiking.
Hold on. You might be shocked as you think solo hiking is cringy. You know anything can happen when hiking. While hiking solo, nobody can help us if anything happens.
Because of that, you believe solo hiking is extremely risky and dangerous. So, you dismiss the idea right away. And you don’t bother to think about it.
Well, coins have two sides. All hikers, including solo hikers, know that very well. But, what makes them into solo hiking?
Certainly, these reasons or benefits must be so intriguing that make them prefer solo hiking, rather than group hiking.
So, let’s not treat this as a debate between solo hiking and group hiking. Try to THINK from solo hikers’ perspective and understand their thought. That’s why, in the post, “you” will be the main viewpoint.
Hence, I’ll share 7 benefits of solo hiking to see if you agree with these benefits, even if you aren’t a solo hiker.
1. No people issue
You are amazed by a hike that is shared by a Youtuber. The view is breathtaking. And you start to fantasize that you’ll be hiking the same mountain.
After you do some brief research, you notice the mountain is just 1-hour distance from your house. So, you feel excited and start to ask your friends to join you for the hike.
But, thing doesn’t go the way you expect. It turns out that they aren’t available as they have their own priority.
You are frustrated as you have no choice but to cancel the hike. So, wait until next time, huh?
The thing is, do you really have to wait?
Why not just go to hike on your own right away? – That’s another option, right?
Solo travelling is so common nowadays. Same goes to solo hiking. Essentially, we get out of our comfort zone and try something different.
You don’t have to care for their fitness level or availability, which we need to consider for group hiking. – We always strike a balance in group hiking and this somewhat makes the hikes either too easy or too hard for us.
Solo hiking allows you to choose the hikes that are totally based on your wish. Nobody is going to have a say in your plan. You can opt for easy or difficult hikes, WHENEVER and WHEREVER you want.
2. Solitude
Group hiking is fun because it’s the perfect time for socializing. You can chit-chat with your friends, or hear them bickering about any problems.
You guys laugh and have fun with each other during the hikes. So, you guys focus on the social moment, and tend to FORGET to observe and enjoy the PEACEFULNESS when hiking.
Try to experiment yourself. When hiking in a group, how often do you pay attention to the surrounding? – The wind, trees, trail conditions, bugs, etc.
Do you agree where these details are clouded by the conversation with your friends?
In contract, solo hiking gives a perfect moment to let you totally immense with the Mother Nature.
You’ll discover a deeper connection with the Mother Nature, as compared to group hiking. You exclude all possible distractions.
Then, you start to pay attention to these subtle details. This makes solo hiking MEDITATIVE as you start to be aware of the PRESENT moment.
Some hikers even claim this solitude helps them solve some daily-life issues as this makes their mind clear, which help them to think.
3. Purely on your own
You are purely on your own. Nobody is going to JUDGE your personality or appearance. So, you can dress like a mess.
Look horrible? That’s OK. And no one is going to judge you on the hiking gear. So you don’t have to deal with the unnecessary opinion and comment. Make yourself peaceful.
Ladies, you don’t have to put on makeup, too. Guess what? Some might be too self-conscious that they put on makeup for group hiking.
Can’t deal with those hikers who are always LATE for meet-up? Well, certainly it won’t happen for solo hiking. You can start your hike anytime you want. – Early or late, it’s totally up to you.
Since you are hiking on your own, you don’t have to COMPETE with anyone else.
Not to forget to mention that hiking out of your own pace is tiring and makes you out of breath easily in group hiking.
In contrast, you can comfortably hike on your own pace without the fear of losing in solo hiking.
You don’t care whether you are a fast or slow hiker. No rush, no pressure.
4. Independent
I need to confess. Although I know the need of doing research and planning for hiking, I will fall back to my “lazy mode” in group hiking.
I tend to DEPEND on someone who takes the initiative to do these for me. Then, I can selfishly just carry my backpack and go hiking.
I don’t bother to know the details and just blindly follow the group during the hikes. That’s all.
Well, who likes to do this tedious stuff? – Unless you are the one who is willing to sacrifice.
The thing is, we can’t be like that for solo hiking. Solo hiking trains us to be resilient and persistent.
We need to be INDEPENDENT. We need to take responsibilities for ourselves.
So, you have to plan and research for your hikes. From A to Z. Nobody is going to do it for you. While hiking, you have to be mindful or alert to the surrounding and location.
After a few solo hikes, you start to gain SELF-CONFIDENCE as you realize you can do all these by yourself.
And these are important SKILLS in daily life. You train yourself to be independent, which you need them for your work, family, etc.
Despite that, solo hiking planning is more FLEXIBLE than group hiking planning. Firstly, you don’t need to account for human factor.
Secondly, planning for an impromptu hike is also possible. This is what I did when having my oversea solo trip.
5. Scalable difficulty
Many people are terrified of solo hiking as they think it is extreme and dangerous in wildlife.
Perhaps they perceive this as having long backpacking hikes, a few days or even weeks. And it’s totally remote from cities or towns.
I don’t deny where this is one of the extreme solo hiking cases. But, this is just part of solo hiking. In fact, the difficulty of solo hiking is scalable.
For example, you can choose to trek alone in the park. Or, you can choose short day hikes, say 2-hour day hikes. – And they are also perfect for solo hiking!
And solo hiking doesn’t mean you have to be alone in the woods all the time. You could be meeting a lot of hikers on the trails.
Also, it doesn’t mean you are thrown to the woods for a few weeks all by yourself even you have zero experience. – This is even frightening for me, too.
Opt for the easy ones. For example, try trekking in national parks with clear and defined trails on weekends, possible with a lot of hikers or tourists.
So, solo hiking isn’t something out of reach. In fact, to certain extent, everyone can try solo hiking, just fine.
6. Learning
Due to the geographical nature of my country, there are many short hiking trails waiting for us to explore. – Hence, day hikes are popular in my country.
Thus, solo day hiking is normal for me. And I enjoy solo day hiking very much.
Nonetheless, I adore American hikers where they can attempt thru-hikes, Appalachian Trail for instance. And what makes it more impressing is they do it solo. – That would be my dream!
But, I’m not brave enough to attempt it yet. That’s because I know I still need to learn and improve a lot.
That is my point. Solo hiking exposes our weakness and rooms of improvement.
The skills for solo day hikes are definitely not enough for solo thru-hikes. You need to know survival skill and how to use compass and map.
Of course, you need to sharpen your planning skills, too.
But for group hiking, we tend to ignore this as we think we can RELY on others. Then, we might refrain from learning.
And solo hiking makes you appreciate the need to learn and improve, because we can only rely on ourselves!
7. Approachable
Picture this. You see a group of hikers smiling at and talking to each other. In contrast, you also see a solo hiker. So, to whom would you rather talk?
I believe your answer would be the solo hiker, right?
That’s because the solo hiker looks more approachable.
Now, let’s turn the table. When hiking in a group, your focus is on the interaction with your friends. And you are more reluctant to talk to other hikers outside of the group.
So, it’s like having an invisible wall that blocks interaction between each other. And it requires extra effort to break this wall.
Conversely, there’s no wall for solo hiker. So you don’t need extra effort to do so.
And this counters with the claim where solo hikers are lonely. You might meet a lot of hikers and befriend with them on the trails. – Just like what you’d experience when solo travelling.
Final thought: solo hiking benefits
These benefits explain why some hikers prefer solo hiking, although they are completely aware of the risk of solo hiking.
Having said that, this doesn’t mean group hiking is totally safe, either.
It all boils down to certain factors on how we manage the risk whether for solo hiking or group hiking:
- Research and planning
- Skill set
- Risk awareness
Hence, I find the debate between solo hiking and group hiking pointless. Literally, they are comparing an apple with an orange.
Obviously, none is better than each other. It’s a matter of preference.
To me, I enjoy both solo hiking and group hiking as both have their own benefits.
If you also prefer solo hiking or want to give it a try, yeah, it’s great.
But, if you are not convinced, it’s fine. And I respect you. Let’s also be an open hiker who respects solo hikers, too.
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