December 6, 2017
Some thoughts on solo hiking
This are actually some thoughts on lots of solo activities,
including climbing, scuba diving, and more.
I have broken the rules in all of these areas and will probably
continue to do so, and I feel pretty good about it overall.
Motives are notoriously hard to analyze, including our own motives.
But in general, my reasons for doing things solo is because I enjoy
doing things alone outdoors. I enjoy being alone in the big mountains.
I am not antisocial - I enjoy doing things outdoors with other people also.
I am not trying to impress people or show off, nor am I into crazy risk
taking as some kind of emotional joy-ride.
A philosophy of risk
Some people, it would seem, would like to make it a goal to live a risk free life.
I would argue that this is impossible and thinking you are doing so, or trying to
do so involves some level of self delusion. That aside, some of the best experiences
in life come from accepting some level of risk.
Driving in traffic, getting married, changing jobs are just a few examples of
things most people do that involve serious risks.
The fallacy of the buddy system
The scuba diving world makes diving with a buddy almost a law, and there is a
big stigma against solo diving. This merits deeper examination.
I would prefer diving solo that being buddied up with some random person.
The buddy system only has merit if both people are competent and cool headed.
The last thing I would want would be an out of control paniced "buddy"
trying to grab my regulator underwater.
In depths less than 30 feet, an ascent to the surface would always be a
straightforward and bulletproof option, in every way preferable to relying
on a buddy. In deeper water or wreck diving, diving with a well known and
trusted buddy would be the optimal way to do things.
The point here is that just adhering to the buddy system without further thought
is next to useless.
Switch off your brain
Consider a neophyte partnered up with an experienced person.
Some would call this an ideal situation, and perhaps it is for
the absolute neophyte. But this should be a short term stepping
stone to gain experience and ultimately independence.
What can happen is that a person can put themselves on "autopilot"
and rely of the more experiences "expert", when they should be keeping
themselves totally involved.
The delusion becomes that since I am with "this person", nothing
can go wrong, and I am immune to harm and danger.
Death in the Grand Canyon
This is the title of a book that every outdoorperson ought to read.
This book points out a correlation between bad decision making and
solo hikers. It is not clear what the root issue here is.
Is the decision to go on a hike alone just the first of a series of bad decisions?
Or is there a sort of safeguard to the need for two or more people to agree
on decisions when things start to go wrong?
I think the latter is worth some deep thought.
Have any comments? Questions?
Drop me a line!
Tom's hiking pages / tom@mmto.org