Do you prefer camping alone or with other people?

[Sagebrusher]

Originally Posted by Penelope

I think camping and hiking alone is dangerous. My brother-in-law takes a ferry to a deserted island several times a year. He will camp and hike there by himself for about a week.

I worry because in order to catch the ferry back, he must hike across the entire island. The ferry only comes once a week. This means that if he is injured and is unable to reach the ferry, he is stuck on the island for another week.

There is only one spot on the whole island that phone service is available. He has a device now that allows him to tell us he is ok, which does make me feel somewhat better.

Isle Royale???

Isle Royale National Park - Isle Royale National Park

[ChadTower]

Originally Posted by Penelope

I think camping and hiking alone is dangerous. My brother-in-law takes a ferry to a deserted island several times a year. He will camp and hike there by himself for about a week.

I worry because in order to catch the ferry back, he must hike across the entire island. The ferry only comes once a week. This means that if he is injured and is unable to reach the ferry, he is stuck on the island for another week.

There is only one spot on the whole island that phone service is available. He has a device now that allows him to tell us he is ok, which does make me feel somewhat better.

I believe you but someone has to ask... why is there a ferry to a deserted island?

My family has some camps on tiny fresh water islands in NS. Some of the very best camping can be had in 75 year old rickety shacks on 2 acre islands.

[DuctTape]

Penelope, I understand your concern for your brother on those trips. My wife used to worry about me on my solo trips. After a while as she learned to appreciate the woods was a safer place than the "real world". Once I texted her when I got back to my car with, "out of the woods, back in danger." She still worries for me, but is now more at ease than she used to be.

[ibgary]

My wife worries about me on solo trips to. This summer I was going solo on a river trip for about 4 wks. She said shed come along if I made it shorter, so now its about 2 1/2. uploadfromtaptalk1357058045363.jpg:thumbup:

[ppine]

ibgary,
where are you going? We would like to hear about it.

[ibgary]

Originally Posted by ppine

ibgary,
where are you going? We would like to hear about it.

The trip will be down the Yellowstone River. We'll get on in Yankee Jim Canyon, and paddle all the way to the Garrison Damn. At least that's the plan. I'm thinking about 10 days to get to the Missouri and another week to cross lake Sacajeweea. No idea how to spell that.

[ChadTower]

I am very careful who I am out with because I tend to get angry when people won't take care of themselves. I'll take care of my wife, my kids, my mother. Anyone else better have their own act together or I don't need them around me and my site. I have met friends/family at campgrounds for a weekend and ended up having to do nearly everything for everybody else and was angry all weekend as a result. I don't handle the "Chad is here - time to stop thinking and trying because he can do it faster" moments very well. Then people consider me an A-hole when I'm uhhappy that they showed up late, asked me for help, then wandered off to the bathroom until I had their tent up for them. Or on day two their cooler is totally out of ice because they can't manage a cooler and they want me to give them one of my frozen milk jugs rather than go out and refill their own cooler. Then I'm the problem when I say no.

[Grandpa]

I can't blame you for feeling that way Chad, but where do you find these people. I just don't have that problem with the friends I camp/hike with. That isn't to say we don't lend each other a hand now and again but bottom line is we all hike our own hike.

[dinosaur]

Originally Posted by Penelope

I think camping and hiking alone is dangerous.

Getting out of bed in the morning is dangerous. And where is the fun in staying safe? I know people who've been afraid all their lives and they've never done anything. I, on the other hand, have managed to survive all this time being what they call crazy.

Preparedness is extremely important but not doing something because there is an element of danger is a sure way to live a very small life. It may be long but it will be insignificant and boring.

[ChadTower]

Originally Posted by Grandpa

I can't blame you for feeling that way Chad, but where do you find these people. I just don't have that problem with the friends I camp/hike with. That isn't to say we don't lend each other a hand now and again but bottom line is we all hike our own hike.

Dunno. I seem to attract them. I could probably handle it better, too. In the tent scenario I could stand around and wait for them to come back from the bathroom. I have better stuff to do than sit around a half hour and wait for someone to come back and do their own work, though. I was brought up to get up and get the work done before anything else. No food, no walks, work first, then fun. But most people aren't like that anymore. When we arrive at a site the stuff gets unpacked and set up as soon as everybody has had a chance to pee. Nothing else. Everybody else seems to arrive, wander around, have a couple beers, post 45 pictures to Facebook, and then consider taking the tent out of the vehicle. Maybe. And, since we're done, we should help them, right? That's their expectation and it bugs me. The fact that we got our work done immediately doesn't mean that they need help getting theirs done eventually.