Camping is typically thought of as an activity that is done with friends or family. While this is certainly enjoyable, there are valid reasons to go camping by yourself as well.
If you’re looking to go on a camping trip alone, you’ll want to make sure that you’re prepared for solo wilderness survival. Let’s dive in and explore some of the areas of solo camping that you’ll need to be aware of before you set off.
Let People Know Where You’re Going
You never want to go on a trip thinking that it’s going to turn into a dangerous situation that you might need help out of. In fact, most of us hope that any trip we go on will end up going as smoothly as we dreamed it would. On the other hand, it’s extremely naive to assume that it couldn’t possibly turn into a serious situation.
While it might not be something that you want to think too much about, there’s always the possibility of a crisis happening. For instance, you want to be prepared in the case that you fall and twist your ankle and get stuck. While you’ll ideally be able to call for help yourself or even administer temporary first aid on your own until you get back, it’s always better to have a backup plan just in case. It’s always best to be prepared for the worst just to make sure that you’re ready for anything.
Choose a couple of friends or family members who you can inform of your trip. Let them know where you plan to hike and camp, as well as when you expect to return. If you fail to contact them at a predetermined time or fail to return home on time, they can alert authorities of your absence and tell them where you said you’d be. This can prevent you from being stuck in the woods without help waiting for someone to pass by and help you.
Have Enough Provisions
When calculating how much food and water you should bring for your trip, make sure you account for potential emergencies and bring extra. There are a number of situations in which you’re stores of food and water may be affected, including spoiling and wild animals at your campsite. Remember, it’s a good idea to bring more water for warmer climates or when more strenuous activities are planned but it’s even better to have a way to safely purify water while you’re camping.
You’ll want to be prepared to hunt if other food becomes unavailable. Bring a powerful rifle and a suppressor, if possible, so that your sounds do not scare away game. Focus on keeping it low so that game animals may wander past you without even noticing you’re there.
Pick a Familiar Location
A solo camping trip is not the time to go camping in a new location unless you’re an experienced camper. Your first solo camping trip is better spent in a location that you’ve frequented, whether you’ve camped or hiked there before. This way, you don’t have to worry as much about complications like getting lost.
Defense is Important
You aren’t going to have anyone to give you a hand if you end up in an encounter with a wild animal. If you’re camping in an area where bears, mountain lions, or other predators are common, you’ll want to be prepared for a potential encounter with one.
If you’re an experienced shooter, bring along a firearm that packs enough punch to save you in an animal attack. You may want to do some research on how to survive attacks from any of the predators in the area. Like we said before, it’s a good idea to have a way to hunt for food if you need to which covers this category as well.
Practice Your Skills
You’ll want to make sure that your camping skills are up to snuff before you set off for the wilderness. These skills include pitching a tent, navigating, forecasting weather, and general first-aid. You’ll need to be able to accomplish these tasks proficiently so that you don’t end up without your basic needs.
There are countless tools on the market now that make camping easier than ever for solo campers. Despite this, it’s ill-advised to rely on these tools entirely. These tools may be helpful, but they can fail at any time. If the tool fails and you don’t have adequate skills to perform the task yourself, you’ll be in a bad situation.
Pack Light
Your solo camping trip is going to be a lot less fun if you spend it struggling to carry all of your gear. This doesn’t mean that you should skimp on gear you need, it just means that you shouldn’t opt for unnecessary gear. For instance, when you’re camping on your own, you probably don’t need to bring the five-person tent you use for family camping trips.
Don’t Forget About Entertainment
You won’t have anyone to talk to during your trip, so it’s important to bring entertainment to keep your mind occupied. Do you want to listen to music by the campfire while you make your dinner? Would some light reading help you relax at the end of the night?
This is a much more important part of camping on your own than you might think. Of course, a huge part of camping is the chance to enjoy nature but with a whole weekend between yourself and nature, you’re going to want to take some time to relax and stay entertained compared to the hiking, hunting, or fishing you might have gone on your camping trip to do.
Taking a camping trip on your own can be just as if not more rewarding than camping in a large party. However, you have to be prepared to camp on your own to enjoy the experience. Keep tips like these in mind as you get ready to set off of your own.