I mean, maybe you are different. But I’m someone who loves spending time in nature, and who does pretty well alone. I’ve thru hiked ling trails alone, including the OHT, during which I saw maybe 3 other people the whole time. I’ve solo’d big wall climbs completely alone. I’ve taken solo bouldering trips where I wandered the forest alone for days at a time.
The thing I’ve found - being alone, in general, fucking sucks. Simply from a practical perspective, you have no one to turn to to say “hey hold this for a second, I need another pair of hands”. If an animal or bad person attacks you, you’re fucked. If you take an unexpected fall and sprain your ankle, you’re fucked. If you become ill and are too weak to travel, you’re fucked.
Then add to this the psychological issue of being alone. The world takes on a ringing hollowness. You can go through the motions, sure, but with no one else around to reflect your experiance back to you, all your actions feel empty.
You might think you enjoy being alone because you can go days at a time talking to no one and scrolling the internet. But that isn’t really being alone. Being on the internet, playing video games, watching tv, all scratches the social itch you have. Not perfectly. But it scratches it. But strip that away, and being alone suddenly takes on a new meaning.
Not to say that you shouldn’t do this. Sure, go ahead and go backpacking solo for a weekend. A week. Maybe two. I think it is a good experience - both the good and the bad parts. But just don’t mortgage a little cottage in the middle of fucking nowhere until you’re really sure that’s what you want.
You don’t.
I mean, maybe you are different. But I’m someone who loves spending time in nature, and who does pretty well alone. I’ve thru hiked ling trails alone, including the OHT, during which I saw maybe 3 other people the whole time. I’ve solo’d big wall climbs completely alone. I’ve taken solo bouldering trips where I wandered the forest alone for days at a time.
The thing I’ve found - being alone, in general, fucking sucks. Simply from a practical perspective, you have no one to turn to to say “hey hold this for a second, I need another pair of hands”. If an animal or bad person attacks you, you’re fucked. If you take an unexpected fall and sprain your ankle, you’re fucked. If you become ill and are too weak to travel, you’re fucked.
Then add to this the psychological issue of being alone. The world takes on a ringing hollowness. You can go through the motions, sure, but with no one else around to reflect your experiance back to you, all your actions feel empty.
You might think you enjoy being alone because you can go days at a time talking to no one and scrolling the internet. But that isn’t really being alone. Being on the internet, playing video games, watching tv, all scratches the social itch you have. Not perfectly. But it scratches it. But strip that away, and being alone suddenly takes on a new meaning.
Not to say that you shouldn’t do this. Sure, go ahead and go backpacking solo for a weekend. A week. Maybe two. I think it is a good experience - both the good and the bad parts. But just don’t mortgage a little cottage in the middle of fucking nowhere until you’re really sure that’s what you want.
I’ve been on the road living in dispersed camping spots in the middle of nowhere for 5 years and doing just fine. Everyone is different.
Some people definitely do want to, and in fact do.