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My whole life I have enjoyed getting outdoors on my own. Fishing, hunting, jeeping, hiking, you name it, I would often go solo. I know that many people would call that foolish. But I see people out on boats alone, wade-fishing the river solo, etc. My wife is not very happy when I go alone, either. What I would like to know is what others think. Right now I am thinking specifically about ice fishing, but what outdoor activities do you feel a person can go alone? I think, for example, that going ice fishing where there are a lot of other people is safe, but heading off up in the Uintas alone this time of year is foolish. What do you think? Where would you draw the line? [:/]
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The older I get the more I would rather be considered a good man than a good fisherman.
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Well, probably depends on your abilities, risks your comfortable taking and the level of safety your comfortable with... I love to go alone at times, but when I go alone, I act a lot different than I do with someone else that call help pull my stupid carcass out of the drink.. I up my caution level and try not to do anything I consider to be high risk.... Now to some of us that high risk level is different than others.... I know a lot of folks that don't want to try ice until there's 8".... Well last year you may not have gotten on the ice at all if that was your comfort level... As for me, I like 4" of ice to start feeling some what confident that I won't go through... more is of course better, but I'll fish 4" on most ponds.. Some like Bear Lake still make me pucker at that thin of ice since there are so many weird pressure ridges happening out there... I'll fish it, but I won't feel confident... so that means I'd like to have others around me in case something goes wrong... Now there is one thing about ice fishing that is really cool, that is, you can go with a group of many fishermen and spend time visiting with lots of folks, unlike a boat that you're limited to just a few... So that is fun at times too... but when you want to catch good quality fish, I prefer to be limited in numbers where I'm at so the fish don't spook from the noise and they will still bite freely.. So you wondered where the line is? Well I'm probably on the stupid side of the line... Later J
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Another soloist here. Of course, my kayak only holds one, but that's also a reason why I bought it. I even golf alone most of the time.
I used to hunt alone, until a rancher friend my age went out one evening for a short walk after deer - and they didn't find him until Spring. That was one of the last straws that made me quit hunting altogether.
Even quit geocaching after finding myself a mile or two out of sight of the road, heart pounding and lungs wheezing after a climb. Looked around and decided a geocache find wasn't worth dying for.
Gave up ice fishing last year. Wife much relieved.
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And here I was hoping to read a Star Wars thread....
....I enjoy fishing alone sometimes too. The key is not taking any unnecessary risks.
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Nope. No Han do.
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[quote RockyRaab]I even golf alone most of the time.
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Golfing alone is a complete waste of time. As is golfing in a group. Because no matter how good the company, it's still golf. [cool]
Matt
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After applying for 19 years I drew THEE tag. My boys were working and the hunt started on Thursday. So I went alone.
Scouted for years and knew how to prepare for the best conditions possible.
Hunted 200 yards above my wheeler and knew where to expect the elk. Shot it on Friday at 6 o'clock pm. At 47 yards with my 50 cal. Cut till dark and took out one load. I called my two son, that came down the next day.
Great experience, but no one there at the time of the kill was a little disappointing.
I was a 64 year-old and knew to be prepared. That was two years before my heart attack. I would recommend hunting alone but it is a risk.
My family knew just where I was and i waited for there help.
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[#0000FF] Those who know me know that I ain't antisocial. But they also know that I like to fish alone. Fishing has always been my best "brain-broom"...to sweep out all the accumulated stress and garbage and open myself back up to being tolerant of family and "friends".[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF] But, there have been plenty of times I would have liked to have had someone else nearby to witness and help me celebrate great experiences. And there have been a few times when having someone else along would have made problems easier to solve or at least to bear. Most of us who choose to set forth all by our ownself come to realized the tradeoffs between solitude and companionship.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF] One of my favorite fishing jokes involves just that. Seems a prominent member of a small town church woke up one Sunday morning with a severe case of "fishing pox". He looked out on the lovely spring morning and just knew the fish would be slurping his favorite flies. So he faked a cough and headache and sent the family off to church without him.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF] Knowing he didn't have much time to fish and get back home before the family did, he rushed to his favorite spot on a nearby stream. His first cast was accepted by a big brown trout...one of the biggest he had ever caught on that stream. After releasing it he moved downstream and got into a series of very nice fish...all brought to net without any breakoffs or "long line releases". For over an hour it was fish after fish. But then he had to go home to get back into his "sickbed".[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF] Up in heaven there was a conference going on. One of the angels approached the holy Deity and exclaimed that what they had just witnessed was surely a great sin...asking why He had allowed a slacker from church to have such a great fishing day. With a sly  , He answered "Who is he going to be able to tell?"
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[quote wormandbobber]And here I was hoping to read a Star Wars thread....
....I enjoy fishing alone sometimes too. The key is not taking any unnecessary risks.[/quote]
If you use the force, you should be fine fishing anytime you want, either alone or with others.
For me, typically, short quickies will be solo trips, but for longer excursions, (either in travel distance or duration gone) I prefer to be with others.
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I look at things a little different so take my words with a grain of salt. I work alone about 90% of the time on the ranch. Even when a bunch of us are riding for cattle, we spread out and may not see each other til much later in the day. I love to camp, fish and hunt alone. I also love taking my kids and wife with me. But I would miss out on countless memories and experiences if I didn't go out without company. I enjoy pitting my woodsmanship and cowboying ability against nature. And to be totally honest, if I cash in my chips alone, at least I died doing what I choose to do. I'd much rather have a bear eat me than to die in a rest home. I am not a fatalist and don't stand in front of buses or trains. But I love seeing how far I can push myself. I am always prepared and as ready as I can be for any adventure, whether alone or in a group. Our society has made many technological advances but for centuries, man has somehow made it without all the gadgets invented in the 100 years. I take a lot of pride in doing what a lot cannot. But I am just a hollowed headed rancher who used to ride bulls and race motorcycles, so I may not be the role model to follow. I say, enjoy life but don't fear it. Nowadays lots of folks miss out a bunch worrying about what might happen on the negative side.
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Bovineowner's reply of his nature is most similar to how I would have replied, so that's my shortcut to not making a longer post. The differences are I'm sure he has many skills I don't have (would love to learn) and I'll have some different skills.
As for as risk goes, I take unnecessary risks for no good reason. I even ski off cliffs.
As for thin ice, there is one way to see if it will support my weight and I'm fine with that. I'll get out just fine and it won't be a major event for me because I'll still have fun fishing as I have got wet and fished wet having so much fun that it didn't bother me enough to even change clothes which were right there in my tent. After a few hours of fishing, the wet clothes were mostly dry by then anyway.
My risk tolerance is mitigated by not being fragile. I take hard falls, hits and extremes and am blessed with an extremely high resistance to getting bruises and injuries and seem to heal overnight for most things.
I also do a lot on the preparedness side of safety for when things do go wrong. I often have rescue equipment and extras of warm clothing and food, but more so for being prepared to help others and just because I'm very into preparedness.
If something goes so wrong that I need help, I carry SPOT and a friend can see exactly where I've been, my route, and exactly where I am within a few feet on his computer or cell phone. In that respect, I'm not really alone.
https://www.findmespot.com/en/
Ronald
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[quote morcey2][quote RockyRaab]I even golf alone most of the time.
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Golfing alone is a complete waste of time. As is golfing in a group. Because no matter how good the company, it's still golf. [cool]
Matt[/quote] ![[Image: 8tvQ8GJ.jpg?1]](https://i.imgur.com/8tvQ8GJ.jpg?1)
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Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 81 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
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Golf makes no sense at all to me. EXCEPT with enough skill you might get a duck to cook and make a meal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCzkAQDjPQc
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_q...opensearch
Ronald
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There is a good reason god created golfing. It's so the crazy people would have something to do, so they would stay off the lakes.
Now we just need the power squad to start golfing .
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Your attitude closely matches mine. No brag, just fact: I hunt very well alone, thank you very much, but it's nice to have somebody there to share the load once the elk is down. More fun around the campfire, too. Only problem is that I'm now 65 and,  to say, I can't do a lot of things others can anymore. There should be a saying that goes something like this: "The beginning of wisdom is knowing your limitations." I still hunt alone but I always follow the usual precautions. My wife doesn't like it, though. So as much as possible I hunt over here while others hunt over there and we get back together for lunch and again for the hike out. "But what if you have a heart attack or break your leg?" she says. My answer is much like yours: what a way to go! I also try to hunt in places where I have cell phone contact and call or text several times a day. I also follow the Scout maxim, "Be prepared." I have carried a heavier-than-usual day pack full of possibles for so long I don't notice the weight anymore. Having said all that, in my upcoming antlerless elk hunt I will go out alone when I can't go with others. But I will stay close to roads and leave a detailed map of where I am going and when to expect me back. I will also leave a note on my dash when I take off on foot of where I am headed, when I left, and when I should be back. Oh yeah, I can call or text, too, if possible. And I'll have the phone numbers for the local authorities in my phone. And I'll have two lights and extra batteries, and ......
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[quote doitall5000]There is a good reason god created golfing. It's so the crazy people would have something to do, so they would stay off the lakes.
Now we just need the power squad to start golfing .[/quote]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Amen, Brother; AMEN! [fishin][/#800000][/font]
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Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 81 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
"Free men do not ask permission to bear arms."
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My wife doesn't like me going alone. Says I am no youngster anymore and she worries about me. She expects me to call her when I am traveling to or coming home from a trip, even when someone is with me. I respect that and even though I feel I will be okay, I try to remember it is not about me... our marriage is a "we" thing. The last time we had that discussion, she made it very clear that many people depend upon me, so I am needed and wanted... besides, should I have a heart attack and end up dead somewhere in the woods... littering is against the law. Pack out what you pack in. [ ]
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I am a 67 year old woman that fishes, hikes, and camps 4 to 5 months of the year. Most of that time is alone, and I may not be down out of the mountains for a month or more at a time, depending on conditions. I am usually above 7k feet elevation where there is no cell service.
The best solution for my family has been a Garmin InReach satellite communicator. With it I check in every day, my family can pinpoint my location on a map. I can text about other things, or if I need something, and they can text me. If I have mechanical or health problems I can contact either family or emergency services.
The initial cost is a couple of hundred dollars and their monthly service is about $11 a month or a bit more if you want more bells and whistles. For me the cost is cheap for the safety and peace of mind that it brings to all of us.
Then again it isn't a cure all for stupidity! I try to refrain from that as much as possible in the first place. [blush]
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I also hunt and fish alone about 90% of the time. It's not that I don't enjoy others company but when alone I can dictate where, when and how I do things. It's also quite therapeutic for me to be alone with my thoughts. I have to agree with bovineowner about being eaten by a bear, or wolf, or coyote rather dying in a rest home. It would be poetic justice for and animal to make a meal of me, where I have made a meal of so many of them. It does bother my wife, and I generally do leave detail of where I'll be but my theory is when it's your time, it's your time. Might as well go doing something you love. There's no guarantee that being with others would prevent you from drowning, heart attack, fall from a cliff etc.
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I also prefer to fish and hunt alone. There are a certain few I trust enough to enter my small circle. Didn’t use to be that way. But after years of disappointment from my fellow sportsmen I changed. Last minute cancellations because Moma don’t want you to go. Haven’t got the money for a trip that has been planned a year ahead. Guess who has to come up with the money for the Outfitter and guide? Drive 3 hours to go ice fishing and find out they have to be home by 12 noon. Then you got the ones that fail to eat breakfast and get their morning coffee. More time lost at 7-11. Then you got the folks that want to use a overnight excursion to chase women. Not worth the hassle!
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