Solo backpackers ???

[scopeye]

Yeah my wife and my dad tell me all the time it's not safe to go out by myself but with my schedule I don't always have a hunting partner so I go by myself. Usually I make it back to my truck and sleep inside or in the bed of the truck. How many of you go on backpack trips by yourself?
I sort of find it peaceful by myself in the woods even if it isn't "safe" but that's me. Some might find it boring but one thing I like is watching the sunrise and sun set over the mountains

I predominantly backpack hunt solo and find I prefer that type of hunting. As you mentioned it's often hard to find buddies who can/want to hunt that style.

When solo you really get a unique experience in the woods. I find everything slows down and I am more connected to the experience. This translate into being a better hunter and more cautious about my movements around bears/dangerous terrain.

I started using a Garmin Inreach last year and it has been great to keep in touch with my wife. I always send a text when I get back to my camp at night. This alleviates a lot of her stress. It's nice knowing that I can send a text out if I get into trouble or need some help packing out meat.

 

[Shakyshot]

I predominantly backpack hunt solo and find I prefer that type of hunting. As you mentioned it's often hard to find buddies who can/want to hunt that style.

When solo you really get a unique experience in the woods. I find everything slows down and I am more connected to the experience. This translate into being a better hunter and more cautious about my movements around bears/dangerous terrain.

I started using a Garmin Inreach last year and it has been great to keep in touch with my wife. I always send a text when I get back to my camp at night. This alleviates a lot of her stress. It's nice knowing that I can send a text out if I get into trouble or need some help packing out meat.

I second the Inreach, just wanted to add that it also has the option to send your wife your location with each messege you send her.

 

[Snyderite]

Yep love solo!

 

[dgogogomez]

I am one of those people who ultra runs for a 100 miles solo in the wilderness and have through hiked most of the PCT and CDT. Backpack hunting is harder, and worth thinking about more. Being off trail is harder on the body, carrying a heavy pack is harder on the body, and packing out an animal is harder on the body, and the psychological paranoia of truly being alone and the need to be more deliberate with route choices weigh more heavily too. When I am through-hiking or running I pound trail and move - 20 miles is nothing but an afternoon on trail and I know where I will end up by staying on the trail and most towns aren't all that far away. Plus those trails are often crowded, you see people every other day at the worst. As far as all the fear of "dangers"... thats silly. Driving to the trail head on the highway is far more dangerous than anything in the mountains - you and I can agree on that.

I'm new to hunting, but not new to high elevation solo adventures/mountaineering. 20k+ feet, over a week, remote, and technical. Maybe 100+ solo trips of various types.

I agree with WeekendWarrior; do not under estimate the psychological paranoia. It'll mess with logic. It can be very rewarding though if you can get past it. And I agree that you are more likely to die driving there than any outside "dangers" in the backcountry. I would add that being great at navigation/route finding is critical. Killing an animal is optional, making it back is not.

 

[PRCReaper]

This is a skill I'd definitely like to build over time. I think risk management goes long way when solo.

 

[GW Hunter]

I'm new to hunting, but not new to high elevation solo adventures/mountaineering. 20k+ feet, over a week, remote, and technical. Maybe 100+ solo trips of various types.

I agree with WeekendWarrior; do not under estimate the psychological paranoia. It'll mess with logic. It can be very rewarding though if you can get past it. And I agree that you are more likely to die driving there than any outside "dangers" in the backcountry. I would add that being great at navigation/route finding is critical. Killing an animal is optional, making it back is not.

Making it back from a solo drip is obviously the main goal, however, there is no better feeling than the moment when you've made it back to your vehicle and you remove your pack after a successful hunt. You feel like you own the world after one of these backcountry hunts….

 

[mnoland30]

Read Ray Jardin's book "Beyond Backpacking". I can spend the night in a light bivy under a tarp tent for about 6 lbs. added to my hunting pack. I use a Personal Locator Beacon ($250 and no subscription). I've hunted by myself for years and did it again last week. I'll be 68 this week. A dog will go **** off a bear or a herd of javelina and then run back to you for protection. Or it will find a skunk or porcupine. Ask me how I know. Tie your food up in a tree away from your camp and the bears generally won't bother you, especially if you're off the beaten trail, and not camping in the bottom where they tend to travel. I did have a cougar watch me cleaning my deer once. I didn't see him because i had slipped on some moss and landed my butt in a prickly pear. I was standing there with my pants down around my knees picking out spines when I caught his eyes with my headlamp. I was 10' from my rifle. I fired a round between his ears, and he leaped about 8' in the air and took off. I jacked another round into my rifle so fast that I never found the ejected shell, even when I went back for the rest of the meat. When I go back for meat, I carry my 11 oz. .357 S&W revolver. I've never used it, but when a bear found my elk before I did, it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling as I was butchering the elk, and looking over my shoulder. As wolf packs get bigger and bigger, they become much more dangerous. You'll want an AR-15 and 30 round mags then. As long as predators are hunted, they are less dangerous to man.

 

[JTComfort]

>50x solo, including ~10x in the snow.
Maybe 5 times with someone else.
When I climb, also solo.
90% off trail
Still on the razor's edge of winning at "playing stupid games."

Shine on, you crazy diamond!

 

[southpa]

A little late but I will chime in. All the advice about being extra precautious and overly prepared is deffinately important but its entirely subjective. I hunt no different solo in the backcountry as i do with mates. Theres is always a chance for things to turn south but using what you've learned and paying attention to your own comfort level is key. Running a knife ridge at 10k with 200 vert on either side, at night, in the rain is only sketchy to the individual if its sketchy to the individual. I've found that a fair bit of what people bring into the backcountry is 100% not necessary. That is not usually a debate more so its driven by exact necessity. "Better to have it and not need it" is not something to live by in the backcountry. It will make you old VERY quick and in the end, limit your potential to grow as a backcountry hunter. But again, progression is subjective. All that being said I love/hate solo backcountry. There are no holds when I run solo accept the ones I place upon myself. But i enjoy sharing the unique experiences of the backcountry with people who relate without having to express.

 

[Treeslug]

A little late but I will chime in. All the advice about being extra precautious and overly prepared is deffinately important but its entirely subjective. I hunt no different solo in the backcountry as i do with mates. Theres is always a chance for things to turn south but using what you've learned and paying attention to your own comfort level is key. Running a knife ridge at 10k with 200 vert on either side, at night, in the rain is only sketchy to the individual if its sketchy to the individual. I've found that a fair bit of what people bring into the backcountry is 100% not necessary. That is not usually a debate more so its driven by exact necessity. "Better to have it and not need it" is not something to live by in the backcountry. It will make you old VERY quick and in the end, limit your potential to grow as a backcountry hunter. But again, progression is subjective. All that being said I love/hate solo backcountry. There are no holds when I run solo accept the ones I place upon myself. But i enjoy sharing the unique experiences of the backcountry with people who relate without having to express.

When I solo hunt, I always find something not there that I knew I should have had. When I hunt with, The Pack, as we used to call ourselves, I always found something missing that I knew I should have had, and usually, no one else had it either. Hunting is a tough game, but necessary.

 

[southpa]

When I solo hunt, I always find something not there that I knew I should have had. When I hunt with, The Pack, as we used to call ourselves, I always found something missing that I knew I should have had, and usually, no one else had it either. Hunting is a tough game, but necessary.

When I solo hunt, I always find something not there that I knew I should have had. When I hunt with, The Pack, as we used to call ourselves, I always found something missing that I knew I should have had, and usually, no one else had it either. Hunting is a tough game, but necessary.

I once heard that if you're not going to use the item at least 3 times it's just dead weight. Once I learned that, my pack was always lighter. Theres plenty if things we think we need but in reality theres very few things we have to have. I would consider myself a bit of a minimalist. Its aided me in success over the years.

 

[ColoradoElkHunter]

Hard to believe I've now been hunting solo for almost 50 years. That seems insane. Not the solo part but that it's been 50 years. If I had waited to just hunt when uncles and friends could/would also hunt with me I would have spent about 20 days in the woods and fields during the last 50 years. Be smart. Take precautions. Learn about yourself and how to take care of yourself. But, make sure you go every chance you get. There is really no describing a morning sunrise as you sit alone on a ridge top. Both the view and the feelings can't truly be expressed to another but you WILL always remember. Hunt elk in the high mountains and have a calf elk appear out of nowhere and decide to bed 15 feet from you. It's these miracles that touch your soul and also open your heart & mind.

You'll spend more time thinking about your loved ones and those that are gone but touched your life. Sometimes the only way to find your way back to your loved ones is to get away from all of life's distractions. Best of all, hunting solo is the best ego check in the world. I have never met a solo hunter who spent one minute asking me about my bow, my rifle, or my pack. We have shared hours talking about what we've seen.

I've been telling my family for decades that if I don't call or arrive as scheduled to wait two weeks so my body bloating will be gone. Of course this has always disturbed them. But, they finally understand after watching and praying for family and friends who have been eaten by cancer, or became debilitated by disease, or accidents occurring while safe at home.

Technology today means we can keep our loved ones connected to us better. Do it. They deserve their peace of mind. Keep going solo. It's what we all do every day of our lives. One day all too soon we won't have these days and nights of joy, tension, fear, excitement, special moments, and peace. I wish you just "one more solo hunt" and all of the equipment manufacturers will keep our equipment debates alive forever!

 

[Ward Thurman]

Yup I have a SPOT device that I can use in case an emergency and typically carry a 10mm along with rifle or bow. Always have extra food, water, supplies when I head out but if I'm planning on making it back to the truck at night I don't carry shelter or bag with me all day.

I have backpacked alone many times when I was younger. I never backpacked-hunted alone, but the times in the woods by myself were awesome. Now, just so you know, at the time, GPS and all the fancy stuff available today was only a dream in some people's mind. Yes, I would rather pack in with a partner, but alone is not as bad as it sounds. Yes, occasionally people will perish when alone. Case in point, last summer a young lady vanished in the wilderness where I have packed numerous times (Montana). The armchair "experts" were slamming her for "putting the rescue people at risk" (nobody forced them to be a rescue person) and after several weeks, another climber found her partially buried under a rockslide. So, if she had been with a partner, there is a 50/50 chance 2 people would have gone missing. Or best case, her partner would have been able to tell S&R where to find the body. Tragically, she perished - but she was doing what she loved. There is risk in life - regardless of what we do or don't do. Do what you love, manage the risks and get out there. Don't let anyone stop you. I would not trade my lone trips for anything.

 

[Ward Thurman]

I have backpacked alone many times when I was younger. I never backpacked-hunted alone, but the times in the woods by myself were awesome. Now, just so you know, at the time, GPS and all the fancy stuff available today was only a dream in some people's mind. Yes, I would rather pack in with a partner, but alone is not as bad as it sounds. Yes, occasionally people will perish when alone. Case in point, last summer a young lady vanished in the wilderness where I have packed numerous times (Montana). The armchair "experts" were slamming her for "putting the rescue people at risk" (nobody forced them to be a rescue person) and after several weeks, another climber found her partially buried under a rockslide. So, if she had been with a partner, there is a 50/50 chance 2 people would have gone missing. Or best case, her partner would have been able to tell S&R where to find the body. Tragically, she perished - but she was doing what she loved. There is risk in life - regardless of what we do or don't do. Do what you love, manage the risks and get out there. Don't let anyone stop you. I would not trade my lone trips for anything.

To be completely honest going solo into a back country situation is kinda sketchy. That being said I go out solo and don't plan to stop now. Be prepared, slow down, think about what you're doing, and have fun. My quiet alone time in the woods is always precious. Getting back home is as well. This was my view for the evening.

Nice image.