Ivar the Red wrote:My point is a lonely mind sometimes wanders into some strange places, and you end up in the fetal position, hiding from noises.
I tend to agree...
I have camped alone on purpose (if you can call camping with a minimum of two dogs 'camping alone.')
I've also camped with two very small boys (ages 3 and 6) and four dogs--so I was the only adult in the party, with a very amped-up responsibility level.
When I was younger I actually enjoyed spur-of-the-moment hiking trips--where I'd load my pack and tent, put dog food and water in the springer's pack, and head out to--where ever (usually someplace free within a couple hours of home, like a DEC forest area.) Those places, since they're largely unimproved, tend to be pretty sparsely camped, even in high summer...so either as a solo camper, or as a solo adult camper with two small kids, I was pretty much on my own as far as safety and emergencies went. Oh, and because I was usually with either small kids, dogs or both, I did generally try to pick a site that is a bit removed from other campers.
Now that I'm older and a lot stiffer, solo and spur-of-the-moment camping is one of the things that I miss most--mainly because I have to make plans that accommodate my doc's schedules for me in order to go anywhere.
The three times I've actually been 'out' in the Sunspot, I was alone--twice in my brother-in-law's back field (they were the closest house and were off on their own cabin-camping trip; I was tending to their horses; the next nearest neighbor is a half-mile through the fields.) The third time was in a parking lot on the far edge of my development's property--it faces a lightly-traveled road and an empty school playing field. On the bright side, it is light up by a motion-sensor spotlight.
In fact, before this summer got overscheduled by team oncology, I had already scouted out a couple of nearby DEC forest areas, and a less-popular state park I've never been to which is only about 40 minutes from me. I had my camping lists and the Sunspot ready to go. But I've still got those spots marked out, and the *second* I am cleared to go and my schedule is free next spring, I will be using them. Probably solo (well, okay, with the two dogs, but otherwise by myself.)
My main safety rules are:
-- keep on my person my cell phone, charged
-- make sure I've left an itinerary (time I'm going, where I'm headed, and when I'm expected back) with someone who will wonder if I don't check in soon after I'm supposed to be home
-- make sure my vehicle is in good running order (vehicle problems in remote places can be more trouble than people problems--at least for me!)
Never have run into a situation I couldn't talk down or safely move away from, so those three safety rules have covered everything I've encountered to date.
I do use the park facilities at night, and move freely about my site and the camp trails--but I always take a dog and a flashlight...and I always sent a dog with the kids, from the time that I trusted them to go to the wash houses with each other but not with me (and that wasn't until they were seven or eight--until then, I walked them there, and waited for them.) *Kid* safety rules were that they were never to be out of sight of either me or each other, never go off without telling me where, and always carry their 10 essentials--which included their first piece of camping equipment--a lanyard with a penlight and one of my best field whistles. A Gonia is loud enough to sound an alarm in the heaviest cover. I always wore one because of the dogs--the boys wanted one like mine and it was an easy way to give them a little safety insurance.
However, the mind can play tricks--I like being alone, and enjoy the solitude of places. And I don't let my mind go to the 'what if?' after I've planned for being safe and made sure that I am. A lonely mind will really get you into trouble!
by oklahomajewel » Tue Oct 07, 2008 1:53 pm 
Mark (& Cindi) 
