mental health<\/a> disorders.<\/p>\nAll of this sounds great, but what about the risks that accompany hiking alone?<\/p>\n
Peace, empowerment and\u00a0solitude<\/h2>\n
Thirty-year-old Kate Donald initially began hiking on her own because her schedule as a health care worker made it difficult to coordinate with others. Although she\u00a0started hiking out of necessity, she quickly realised the benefits. \u201cI needed that\u00a0outdoor alone\u00a0time. Just to get my thoughts together. Honestly, I feel like it\u2019s my form of meditation.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an experienced solo hiker who has\u00a0spent many weeks on the trail by herself, Kate knows what she\u2019s talking about. In 2019, she completed her first thru-hike \u2014 a\u00a0long-distance end-to-end trail \u2014 hiking the 690km Australian Alps Walking Track. \u201cI was going through all my own thoughts, to the point where my brain became still. It was just \u2026 peace. It\u2019s the absolute most amount of peace I\u2019ve\u00a0ever\u00a0felt\u00a0in my life, just walking for days\u00a0and days and days.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the mental clarity Kate describes, thru-hiking can be incredibly empowering. Successfully navigating challenging terrain, pitching your own\u00a0tent\u00a0and carrying everything you need on\u00a0your back develops self-reliance. But thru-hiking is not for the faint hearted or beginner hikers.<\/p>\n
Luckily, you don\u2019t need to spend weeks on the trail to gain the benefits. Twenty-six-year-old Isabella Clark tries to get away for an overnight camping trip whenever she\u2019s not working as a tour guide on local trails. \u201cThere\u2019s something about being in the bush\u00a0that is regenerative to the soul. This is how life is supposed to be lived. Everyday life separates us from being a part of the planet, but we are a part of it; that\u2019s why hiking feels so natural.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kit Kline, founder of Nature Based Therapy, agrees. \u201cWe are not separate from the natural world, we are nature,\u201d she says. Kit uses nature-based experiences such as solo hiking as a tool to promote health. She says the sensory experience of nature\u00a0is therapeutic and can relieve modern ailments like stress and burnout.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we tune into our sensory system and become physically present, that has a profound effect on our mental health,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause we\u2019re tuning into our senses, we get into the body rather than thinking. So a lot of people stop overthinking because they\u2019re tapping into that sensory embodied experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s often easier to tap into that embodied experience when you\u2019re not distracted by other people. \u201cAs an anxious person, I feel a distinct sense of calm inside me when I walk alone,\u201d says Isabella. \u201cI find on occasions when I do walk with others, that anxiety returns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna Rogan, 37, feels similarly. \u201cWhen I go hiking with other people, I\u2019m always tuning into their experience. I\u2019m like, do
\nI need to slow down? Am I going fast enough? Do they need to stop for a snack? Is this too difficult? Is this not difficult enough? And when you\u2019re on your own, you just don\u2019t have that.\u201d<\/p>\n
A mum of two and a small business owner, Anna doesn\u2019t have the flexibility to escape for days at a time, but she finds regular day hikes feasible, as well as necessary. \u201cI\u2019ve had phases in my life as a mother where I\u2019ve felt like I\u2019ve really lacked any sense of agency or independence. And it\u2019s taken some time to understand that I can have a private life, I can have things that are just for me. I can have solitude.\u00a0And\u00a0solo bushwalking is a beautiful way of doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t discount the benefits of a shorter hike either. Even a few hours in the woods can offer the mental relief many of us require in this busy world. As Anna describes it, \u201cThere\u2019s a certain point you get to during a bushwalk where your nervous system relaxes. It\u2019s being in nature, it\u2019s the movement of your body, it\u2019s the sounds and the sights and it\u2019s not being on your phone. It\u2019s the total immersive sensory experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
The most important thing, according to Kit, is avoiding your phone. \u201cBe present and tune into your sensory system,\u201d she says. \u201cOften, I\u2019ll see people hiking through the bush while talking on their phone or listening to music. I don\u2019t think they\u2019re getting that full nature connection experience.\u201d Put your phone on aeroplane mode and leave it in your backpack.<\/p>\n
Preparation<\/h2>\n
Regardless of the length and level of your hike, preparation is never so important as when you\u2019re in the bush on your own. As Tim Savage, founder of the hiking platform Australian Hiker, says, \u201cWhen you\u2019re by yourself, you\u2019re it and you can\u2019t rely on anybody else.\u201d Here is what you need to think about before setting off on your own.<\/p>\n
Plan your hike and hike your\u00a0plan<\/h2>\n
Kate has made it her mission to help people avoid the mistakes she made on her first solo hike. \u201cI had no idea where I was going. I just went for a drive and found this spot and was like, this looks great! I didn\u2019t have a first-aid kit, I didn\u2019t have water, I didn\u2019t have snacks. I just wanted to be out of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to define where you\u2019re going well before you go. The amount of detail needed will depend on the length and complexity of your hike. If you\u2019re heading to a well-defined, well-signed and populated trail for a few hours, you\u2019ll need to do less research than if you\u2019re preparing for a multi-week thru-hike with food and water drops. \u201cReally what it comes down to is: are you in a remote area with no phone signal? And what\u2019s the likelihood of someone being able to come across you?\u201d says Tim.<\/p>\n
Pack the right equipment<\/h2>\n
\u201cIf you have the same things in your bag all the time, then you\u2019ll never be caught out. It\u2019s so simple to just have a bag packed at all times and grab it when you want to go,\u201d says Kate.<\/p>\n
What to pack in your bag:<\/p>\n
First-aid kit with basic supplies, including a snake-bite kit.
\nAdequate water and food.
\nLayers \u2014 always check the weather before you leave and be prepared. Particularly in the desert or in the mountains, where weather can change quickly and dramatically.
\nMaps \u2014 if you\u2019re on a well-marked trail with phone reception, paper maps are likely unnecessary. There is a multitude of applications you can download\u00a0(AllTrails\u00a0and Gaia GPS are popular ones). But on a longer hike without reliable phone coverage, having
\na physical back-up is vital.
\nCommunication \u2014 when venturing onto a more remote trail or any trail without\u00a0phone reception, it\u2019s a good idea to invest in a Personal Location Beacon, which will enable you to call for help in an emergency.<\/p>\n
Let someone know where\u00a0you\u00a0are<\/h2>\n
Even if you\u2019re heading out for a two-hour walk on a well-defined trail, let someone know where you\u2019re going and when you expect to return. Anna says she also leaves a note on her dashboard with this information, just to be safe.<\/p>\n
Know your limits<\/h2>\n
These will be different for everyone, but the important thing is knowing yours. For Isabella, a desert dweller, that\u2019s not hiking in snow. For others, it might be avoiding river crossings or more technically challenging trails. \u201cI think one of the hardest things I\u2019ve had to overcome is knowing when to quit,\u201d\u00a0says Kate. \u201cYou need to be okay with turning around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pay attention<\/h2>\n
\u201cMake sure you\u2019re not going to get yourself lost; you need to be looking where you\u2019re\u00a0putting your feet,\u201d says Tim. This sounds obvious, but it\u2019s easy to\u00a0become distracted by your own thoughts\u00a0and find\u00a0yourself drifting from your\u00a0planned\u00a0route.<\/p>\n
Paying attention is key \u2014 both for your\u00a0safety and to reap the benefits of spending time alone in the woods. Pay attention with all of your senses: smell the scent of pine needles and eucalyptus in the air; listen to the breeze as it moves through the branches of the trees or the waves as\u00a0they crash on the beach; feel the give of the trail under your feet; taste the rain water as it\u00a0falls on your tongue; look at the colours of\u00a0the landscape surrounding you.<\/p>\n
When you focus on your sensory experience, it will not only calm your mind, but possibly lead to answers you\u2019ve been looking for. \u201cReducing your thoughts makes way for more creative thinking and problem solving,\u201d says Kit. \u201cA lot of people who walk on their own in the bush tend to find solutions to problems without even thinking about it. The answer just arrives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kate offers one final piece of advice for anyone thinking about hiking on their own: \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid. Just get out there!\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen Bryant is an American-born freelance\u00a0writer based in the Macedon Ranges, Victoria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There might be no better remedy to modern-day burnout than alone time in nature, but can women hike safely, solo? Ellen Bryant speaks to the women who have found tranquility on the trails to find out what you need to know before setting out on your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":2322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[109,113],"tags":[248,401],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2321"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2336,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321\/revisions\/2336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}