Many things in life are enjoyed more in groups. Holidays, special events, and meals to name a few. But sometimes being alone can be just as rewarding. Camping is often seen as a great activity to do in groups but doing it alone can be fun too. There is a lot to be said about the advantages of solo camping.
Camping alone has many advantages. In terms of resources needed to be brought along and also personal growth opportunities. Packing lighter loads of essentials leaves more room for the things that people want to bring but do not always have space for. There is plenty of time and opportunity for reflection, meditation. and relaxation. There is no one else there to cater to or change plans for. Seize the day at your own pace. If this sounds like it appeals to you, give camping alone a try.
Here are 10 Things You Must Do While Solo Camping.
1. Rest and Relaxation
2. Talk to Yourself
3. Practice Something You Love or Want To Try
4. Polish Up or Learn New Camping Skills
5. Set Your Itinerary
6. Make time for Things You Don't Normally Have Time For
7. Play the Chef
8. Learn to Be Alone
9. Take Time for Spirituality
10. Be Weird and Have Fun
1. Rest and Relaxation
The average person living now has a higher stress level than their counterpart from just a couple of generations ago. Society has become much more fast-paced and keeping up with the Robinsons is now putting a lot of pressure on us. Social media displays all these images of an ideal that we must work towards, the news constantly shows the negatives of what is happening around us. We all live busy lives now.
There is always something that needs to get done or is coming due. Even on our days off from work, our time is filled with chores or other tasks that make truly resting a thing on our list we always push off until the next day, if it ever does get scheduled in.
Often we are held to a schedule. We have to wake up at this time to get ready and make it to work. The kids have soccer practice at six, we are having dinner with a friend at eight. If it is not one thing demanding our time and energy it is another. Solo camping trips are a great way to get out of this rut.
Camping alone means you wake up at the time you want, you start breakfast when you want, you hit the trails when you want, or don’t. That is fine too. A camping trip isn’t always about waking up at sunrise. It can be about rolling out of the tent around noon, taking a relaxing dip in a nearby lake, and meandering along the trails. Take it all at your own pace and reset.
2. Talk to Yourself
It has been said that the only person who listens to you is you. It has also been said that geniuses talk to themselves. Take the time and go camping with one of the smartest people you know, yourself, and have a conversation. Often we take so much with other people about things that don’t even matter but never turn the conversation inwardly to talk about things that we like or even things we have been avoiding talking about.
Reflect. Think. Contemplate out loud. Sometimes things make more sense when we say them aloud. Sometimes we are more honest when no one is listening except ourselves. Camping alone is the best place for this.
The deer aren't paying attention. Sing to yourself. Read to yourself out loud. Tell yourself a joke and don’t be scared to laugh. Thinking and talking out loud to yourself helps process information differently so maybe that issue you have been struggling with at work or that idea you have been toying with will get solved by you talking it out with yourself.
This also helps if the ideas or thoughts might not be as brilliant as you thought they would be. No one is around to hear you say them out loud.
3. Practice Something You Love or Want to Try
Being alone out n the wild is a great place to try new things. No one is around to judge you or laugh if you mess up. Being surrounded by nature is a great inspiration. Bring an instrument you love playing or one you want to try out.
Pack some brushes and a canvas. This is an opportunity to discover your next favorite hobby or polish up on one that has fallen by the wayside. It may not be a success but you learned something new about yourself and that is still a great take away.
There is plenty of space around you so you can try any number of things. Also, you only have to bring enough gear for one person to camp so that means there is extra space to pack things you would not normally have room for like other instruments or equipment for a new hobby you want to try. Trying new things in front of people or having time to dedicate to learn something new is hard to fit in today our daily lives.
Solo camping allows for the time and space for you to give it a go and see if its a pursuit or a passing fancy. And if you decide it was a passing fancy or something you enjoy doing, once you are back home you have a better idea of what direction to take and how to prioritize it.
4. Polish Up or Learn New Camping Skills
Often going camping in groups people are assigned tasks that they are good at or end up doing something they don’t want to do. When you go camping alone, you have to be a jack of all trades. This is a great time for you to learn how to do something new or get better at what you usually let others do when you camp.
Practice starting a fire in new ways or finally figure out how to put up a tent by yourself. No one is around to laugh when you stub your toe. By the time you have returned from your trip, you will be a one-person camping expert.
There are plenty of skills any camper can polish up or learn that will make their experience in the wild more enjoyable or even more fun. Things like hatchet throwing is a great way to pass the time alone or with friends. Practicing alone is great so you can show off next time there is a group camping trip.
Practical skills like learning to identify different plants and improve animal tracking skills would also be great. These take time and doing them alone affords you the concentration without the pressure of an audience.
5. Set Your Itinerary
The best part of camping with others is getting to do things together. Group hikes, group swims, sitting around the fire, and cooking. This can also be one of the hardest parts of the trip. Getting everyone to agree on what to do is not always the easiest thing to do under ideal circumstances and sometimes trying to plan a day out in the woods is tough.
With solo camping alone you make the whole process much easier. If you want to go for a swim then it is as easy as you grabbing your towel and heading to the lake. Go at your own pace and enjoy the day. If you change your mind, there is no one else that is bothered.
6. Make Time For Things You Don’t Normally Have Time For
There are often in life things that you need to get done or want to do that you do not always have time for. Chores you enjoy doing or small projects that you started and never got around to finishing. Camping is a perfect opportunity to wrap up these things. You are alone and have the time.
There is no fear that you are being the boring one and you have the chance to do it at your pace and do it right. Often sharpening blades is a time-consuming task so you might have some hatchets or knives that have been neglected. Since you might need them for camping, this is a great chance to sharpen them.
Perhaps you have a carving project or another task like that. It can be hard to get things done in a workshop at home where you can be easily interrupted. Camping one affords you the solitude to finish in peace. Take advantage of the trip. You don’t have to be productive the whole time but make use of the opportunity.
7. Play the Chef
Camping cuisine is often known to be simple. Roasting some hot dogs over an open fire. Eating some beans out of a can or using a simple pan over the fire to cook some small items. Camping in a group often means having to try and make something simple so you can feed everyone in the bare minimum cooking conditions. Camping alone lets you get a chance to cook for yourself only and try somethings you wouldn’t normally.
There are plenty of fun camping cookbooks or recipes online you can try out. If you mess up or don’t like it that is fine. No one will be offended or will have to suffer because of it, except you. You might even discover something new you like and have something great to impress others with the next time you go o a group camping trip.
8. Learn to Be Alone
We live in a time where it is hard to truly be alone. There are usually neighbors a few yards away. Friends and family who keep in touch often or are in constant contact. Bystanders outside your house. Coworkers with constant questions. There is just a myriad of people who are around you and many of them require you to be there or do something for them. These connections can be meaningful and great but many times we can end up using these connections as distractions.
Solo camping alone teaches you a fundamental skill: being comfortable being alone. Truly alone. No distractions like social media or television. No neighbors coming by asking for sugar, if people even still do that. No buzzing phone letting you know your parents are coming over for a surprise visit. It is just you and nature.
This can be a daunting situation, especially for the more extroverted of us out there. It is okay. This is not something you will adjust to right away but being alone is great. Once you get used to it, it can even be freeing.
9. Take Time for Spirituality
Faith is an important part of our lives but making it a priority in the day-to-day is something many of us fail at. Camping is a great way to get reconnected and deepen our connection with God. Many great people in the Bible often went into the wilderness and that is when they heard from God the loudest.
Getting away from everyone and everything allows us to better hear His whisper and gives us a chance to commune with Him in a way we don’t normally when we are home or with other people. Go on a hike and meditate. Bring a devotional with you or just take your Bible and read it on a hill. Take this chance to grow and recharge spiritually. You won’t regret it.
10. Be Weird and Have Fun
Being out alone in nature affords you some opportunities and chances you would not have back at home or if you came with a group. Take full advantage of this. Do silly things that you would not do otherwise. Run around in a silly way.
Scream! It can be very cathartic. Make something weird for dinner. Sing loud and badly, you’re your only audience. Take a skinny dip in the lake. Let your imagination run free. You are alone so no one is around to judge you. Camping alone can be weird but embrace the weird and enjoy it.
Is it OK to go camping alone?
Only you can determine is it okay to go camping alone. And the only real way to find out is just try it. It gives you the solitude and time to gather your thoughts, to be yourself, lean about yourself and recharge your emotions. And most importantly, think about what’s most important in your life without being bombarded by the noise of your daily routine.
Please think about giving camping alone a shot. I have done this for year to get away and just think about life or plan the next year. In the past year, the number of people doing it has gone up. It is a great learning and relaxing experience. Nature is waiting.
All the best,
Alex Anderson