[smokeydon]

With all the talk about the Colchuck Lake TH this past weekend I started to ponder the meaning of the word solitude. Solitude: being alone; seclusion; lonely place or life. Definitly not a desciption of Colchuck this past weekend. Tom hit it right on the nose about steering clear of it this weekend. I agree with backpacker joe about the amount of people not taking away from the beauty of the scenery, though I think it does take away from the experience. Personaly, I feel I live in a large city packed full of people and through my work deal with people all day long( mostly in negative situations). The last thing I want to do is exchange the crowds of the city for the crowds of the wilderness. I also am a SOLO outdoor enthusiast and over the years have gotten more and more into off-trail travel to escape the crowds. There is a big difference between SOLO and SOLITUDE. One can be a solo traveler and not experience solitude. I don`t think it is an elitest attitude to shun a trailhead because of crowds. Everybody has a different idea of what thier ideal wilderness experience should be and there is enough places out there for everbody to have thier own.

[Backpacker Joe]

Good point. My intention was to explain that I would rather have the solitude, but I wont let the lack thereof ruin my trip! TB

[McPilchuck]

Solo Solitude: http://www.alpinequest.com/mountain.htm http://www.alpinequest.com/buckhornsolitude2.htm

[MCaver]

I tend to be a solo hiker as well. As I've posted before, I am really slow on the trail due to lengthy photography stops and general out-of-shapeness, plus I tend to make last minute destination decisions based on the weather and photo conditions. These aren't condusive to having hiking partners. I also pick more remote trails mostly because they seem to be more photogenic from my experience, but I explicitly avoid the I-90 and US-2 corridors during nice weather weekends to aviod the crowds. I don't mind fellow hikers on the trail, but I'd rather stay away from the people just out for a walk with their dog. I also seem to hike more in the off-season months than during the peak season, which lends more to solitude. It's odd that I seek such isolation in the wilderness considering how much time I spend by myself in my non-hiking life.

[Otter]

There is a great book on this topic. it is based on women's experiences...but I think most that have had a Solo expereince in the wilderness or wonder about one might enjoy the book. The book is titled: Solo: On Her Own Adventure it is edited by Suzan Fox Rogers It is a collection of stories from various women about Solo experiences. I have read full books by some of the authors in the book also and enjoyed them for the most part. I found that after having spent so much time with themselves in a wilderness expereince they were far more bolder in their manner of writing...extremely honest about themselves...and there were some parts that would have taken a lot of guts to admit in writing..and publish. The Solo book gives a good sampling of a lot of these authors work.

[Stefan]

Solitude = off trail Solitude = Pesayten

[Bushwacker]

Solitude for me....sharing it with a hiking partner. A person to experience the adventure with me. That way you can stay within yourselves and enjoy regardless of crowds. Kind of a contradictory viewpoint because most people define solitude as being by yourself. But hey, you go with what works! BW

[polarbear]

I like your definition bushwacker. I've always noticed that when I've hiked solo on a lonely trail, it was always nice to run into some one after a few hours and it always gave me an extra shot of energy.