Forum Index > Trail Talk > Remember when we went out for the solitude.
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Celticclimber
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Celticclimber
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PostWed Jun 06, 2018 5:48 pm 
Back in my early hiking days (I'm now 66) we all went out to 'get away from people" ie Solitude. Think about what you find now: According to some studies done by the FS. 'We' no longer want to 'get away from it all'. "We' would much rather head for a trail that: WE KNOW WILL HAVE PEOPLE ON IT. Hence so many now go out in groups. And have their earbuds in and on loud. Being alone in Nature is no longer the drive it once was. I say sad frown.gif Live every day like you will die to-marrow. For some day that will be true.

Live every day like you will die to-marrow. For some day that will be true.
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Stefan-K
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PostWed Jun 06, 2018 6:16 pm 
Celticclimber wrote:
Back in my early hiking days (I'm now 66) we all went out to 'get away from people" ie Solitude.
I dunno, my parents are older than you and they enjoyed people when they went hiking. What's peculiar is when people make their opinions everyone's opinion... which seems to be a widespread fallacy throughout human history, one that I believe we'd all do well to disabuse ourselves of because it certainly doesn't make us happier. Good for you for wanting solitude! I like solitude too, but mostly it's a by-product of enjoying exploration--and boy is there a lot to explore out there! On any given day the Cascades are emptier of people than they are full. So many choices! ...and that cascadian solitude certainly beats internet solitude Go get some!

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Randito
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PostWed Jun 06, 2018 6:50 pm 
I find it's easy to find solitude in the Cascades. Even along I-90 West of Ellensburg. Just monitor posts on WH&C and don't go to any of those places.

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Riverside Laker
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PostWed Jun 06, 2018 7:34 pm 
Only saw one other person on our trip to Monte Cristo today. Uh-oh. Gonna be herds tomorrow now that everyone knows!

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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Jun 07, 2018 8:31 am 
If you seek and find solitude somewhere it about as stupid as it gets to post it, write about it, or even tell others about it.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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cambajamba
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PostThu Jun 07, 2018 8:47 am 
Go off trail.

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neek
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PostThu Jun 07, 2018 9:11 am 
The original post seems to be making the claim that people no longer want solitude, not that it can't be found. I'm not really convinced of that but it would be hard to prove either way since I doubt people have been surveyed on the matter over the years. Personally I am more interested in seeking solitude than when I started hiking 20 years ago. And of course it's easy to find around here.

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SteeperColder
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SteeperColder
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PostThu Jun 07, 2018 9:44 am 
If I go for solitude - I can always find it with some creative planning. If I need a fitness hike - I don't mind seeing other people. A lot of them are just out there doing the same, and we pass each other with a simple validating nod "I see you pushing hard too - nice work" Be smarter than the hords. What time of year is it? What trail is not shown on green-trails? What day and time would they start? -then pick the opposite of those.

"You won't find reasonable men on the tops of tall mountains" - Hunter S. Thompson
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DigitalJanitor
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PostThu Jun 07, 2018 10:15 am 
Simple: Go out in the back yard tonight, swap earbuds for beer, wait for the stars to come out. By the time the sun goes down you'll be on your own fo sho. SOLITUDE. up.gif

~Mom jeans on wheels
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Schenk
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PostThu Jun 07, 2018 10:16 am 
I had no idea Cabin Fever was still going around in June??? The OP is right; these days a lot more people are going into the mountains for reasons other than to find solitude. What is wrong with making that observation? The OP's post doesn't berate or detract from the pleasure folks get by being social, it just points out one aspect of mountain travel many of those folks may be missing: Solitude. And that seemed to make the OP sad because these folks are probably missing out one of the best parts about being remote: Solitude; it can be quite therapeutic. it is good to go to the mountains for any reason (except to exploit).

Nature exists with a stark indifference to humans' situation.
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jared_j
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PostThu Jun 07, 2018 10:23 am 

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Gil
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PostThu Jun 07, 2018 11:11 am 
We're going to be discussing the issue of trail crowding today on The Record. Tune in to KUOW 94.9 at noon!

Friends help the miles go easier. Klahini
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Mikey
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PostThu Jun 07, 2018 1:32 pm 
Years ago a U of Wash student in the College of Forest Resources did a research project about USFS campground camp site spacing via questionnaires to people camping at the USFS campgrounds. The student told me that the majority of the people preferred camp sites near other campsites so they could socialize and communicate with their "neighbors". Perhaps this was Larry Fry's Masters Thesis.

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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Jun 07, 2018 3:21 pm 
Relatively few ever went out for solitude. Solo hiking has always been an unusual endeavor. Most people are scared of being alone in the wilderness. Hiking is usually a social recreation. Sane climbing requires a team. Solitude is irrelevant for conditioning, folks like to compare times.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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gb
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gb
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PostFri Jun 08, 2018 6:32 am 
Sometimes I prefer solitude and sometimes I want company. At least a few times a year I like going and camping where I know I will see no one else. But, there is no question there are far more hikers today than 15-20 years ago. Even the full day hike I did yesterday I saw 12 people, where even 5 years ago I'd have seen no one. Last week, however, I did another full day hike and it appeared I was the only one on the trail. The problem is the same as in climbing. Twenty years ago the Beckey Guides were the only logical source of information other than personal study and exploration. Because the guides were encyclopedic there was no concentration of people especially when a bit away from the car. Then came the "100 best" climbing guides created in kind of a prostituting way in which the authors traded best kept secrets (all of which were in Encyclopedic guides anyway) for "fame" and diving for a few dollars. I am proud to say I have only one of those guides - "50 Classic Climbs in North America". Now everyone wants to climb the same crowded climbs which are not necessarily the best routes even on the listed peaks. And then add the internet and all of a sudden these are "the climbs" to make you an official climber. Add lists and you take it one step further. I never had a list in climbing or backcountry skiing. I didn't climb or ski for those reasons. All of human climbing pursuits are rather meaningless. Yes climbing is fun, but there is nothing on a higher level about it - it is just fun. And yes, challenge and adventure are fun and interesting. But you don't need lists, just imagination. Hiking parallels this. The first hiking guides were Wood's in the Olympics (at least in my era), which was encyclopedic, and the 100 Classic Climb series which were encyclopedic enough with a lower active hiking base that they were essentially encyclopedic. All of these early guides in climbing and hiking were vague enough that they allowed one to explore and build one's own base of experience which in turn allows further exploration. There was adventure involved. What you have now is a bunch of people using checklists and climbing, hiking, skiing for a rather ridiculous pursuit of fame. Of course not everyone, even using lists, hikes, climbs, or skis for this rather insane reason. But the sense of adventure is lost when personal exploration using one's own abilities is not pursued in favor of recipe style information. I think rock climbing is somewhat different in that what one can climb doesn't depend just on imagination, but is rather limited by physical ability which has been clearly defined by the YDS since the 60's. So, I appreciate, for instance, a guide book to Red Rocks or Tahquitz, say, because some climbs can either be too difficult or too dangerous. Unlike hiking, and even skiing, climbing something unknown can be risky to life itself. But, I do still prefer an encyclopedic guide book that describes perhaps with some words or with topos routes. But in rock climbing I don't think one is pursuing adventure in the same way. Yes a new climbing area is fun but personal exploration is not the point as much as the pursuit of advancing one's athletic abilities and the comradeship of climbing on opposite ends of the same rope. Climbing seems different, but, of course, is also way more popular now.

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