From the first memories I have of hunting talk, I was always told to never hunt alone. I was told it was too dangerous and just downright foolish to go into the mountains by myself. So, that’s how I lived my life into early adulthood. Stifled and scared of Mother Nature, with no one-on-one connection to the wild.
As you can probably guess from the title of this article, I eventually changed my ways and went against the grain of what I had been told for so long. And to take it a step further, I started backpack hunting alone as well, which is on a whole different level than just solo hunting.
The years I’ve spent living out of a backpack solo have not come without challenge. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, dealt with my fair share of mental hurdles, and also have friends who’ve screwed up out there. I want to share some of that here. So, if you’re yearning to dive into the world of solo backpack hunting, you should keep reading.
Too Much, Too Fast
There’s usually a lot of excitement on the front end of this solo backpack hunting thing. So much so that eyes are oftentimes bigger than stomachs. In that regard, one of the most common “no-nos” I’ve heard about from new backpack hunters is taking on too much, too fast.
What I mean is biting off more than you can chew. Folks will do something like plan a solo 8-day backpack hunt before they’ve ever spent just one night alone in the backcountry. In order to set ourselves up for success, let’s tackle the route walking rather than running at first.
If you’ve never done a solo backpack hunt, I think it’s incredibly valuable to go do a 1- or 2-night trip first. This will help you get used to being alone out there and the rhythm that comes with doing so.
It’s not for everyone. Being alone can be extremely mentally taxing. By signing up for 1 or 2 days, you’re just upping the chances of seeing it through. This is a muscle, and in order to get stronger, you need to exercise it.
Calories and Hydration
Hearing that your buddy is in the hospital shortly after he was packing in solo on an archery elk hunt is not the call you want to get. After a long drive and a push cross-country straight up the mountain, my good buddy ended up hobbling his way out of the backcountry and found himself hooked up to an IV shortly after. He was extremely dehydrated and didn’t eat enough, and his hunt was over because of it.
Your body needs water, electrolytes, and calories, period. I don’t care what fad diet you’re currently following, or how much you fast each day. The backcountry is no place for any of it.
It’s because of the demands. You are burning an immense amount of fuel out there. Much more than your regular, everyday life. And what happens to a car that runs out of gas? Car no more go. It’s really simple and even more important to adhere to when solo. Nobody can help you except yourself.
It is essential that you figure out how many calories you need per day out there and plan accordingly. I can’t tell you what your number is, but I can tell you it’s not the same as being at home. I can also tell you that I personally shoot for around 3,500 calories per day in the backcountry, but at home, I will naturally sit at around 2,500-2,800. Take that for what it’s worth.
The point? Pay attention to food, or you will 100% pay the price one way or another. And the same goes for hydration and electrolytes. You need both to be optimal out there. I will usually do one electrolyte packet a day and try to intake about 2L of water. That works for me, but might not for you. Friends of mine need 3-4L a day.
Have a Plan or You’ll Stew
If you want to truly hear yourself think, go on a solo backpack hunt. You’ll hear yourself louder than ever before. On one side of the fence, this is a good thing. I’ve worked out a lot of stuff upstairs simply by being alone in the backcountry. It clears my head. On the other side, this break in silence can send one down a path of self-doubt and ultimately right out of a hunt entirely.
The best way to avoid this is by having a plan. I’m not talking about just the plan to go hunting, either. I’m referring to having a plan for each day you’re out there. This will help keep you on task, as well as keep drifting down the rabbit hole in your mind to a minimum.
When you’ve got something to do, you’re focused on that thing. When there’s nothing to do, that’s when we start overthinking things. I like to have a loose plan for each day that looks something like this:
- Glass from point A until 10 a.m. or so.
- If there’s nothing at point A, I’d like to hike into the bottom of the basin to check for sign.
- If I find sign, maybe I’ll set up an ambush.
- If not, I’d like to hike out of the bottom and check out the adjacent basin to where I am. This is where I’ll eat lunch and potentially stay until early evening.
- If I don’t see anything there, I’ll head back to point A to glass until dark.
The point? Stay engaged, and you’ll stay in the game.
The Fewer Ifs, the Better
When you’re solo, everything hits harder. Things have greater meaning. The effort you put in is greater. Consequences to your actions are greater. With that in mind, it’s important to dot your i’s and cross your t’s.
Of course, preparedness comes into play here, which holds its own importance for a solo backpack hunt. What I’m really leaning into here, though, are the ifs. The chances you take. These are things you can largely control. Things like jumping to that next rock, rather than just stepping down and walking to it. Or camping on the tippity top of a mountain, knowing there is going to be lightning.
Then there are things like taking the sketchy shortcut versus the long way that’s safer. You are solo. Take the longer way. Walk to the next rock. Don’t camp at the top of the mountain with lightning. Remember, consequences have greater meaning for you. The fewer ifs, the better.
You’re Gonna Want to Quit, But …
Should I receive a dollar from every solo backpack hunter who said they wanted to quit, I’d have a dollar from every single solo hunter I’ve ever spoken to. This is an inevitable feeling. Thoughts of family, a warm bed, the embrace of a loved one, I could keep going on. I’ve felt them all. Even fear has pushed me out of the backcountry before.
In order to make family feel closer, I’ll bring an inReach to communicate. I’ll also wear a bracelet my daughter made for me. These little things help when things get hard, and I promise you, they will get hard.
I can’t tell you when it’s right or wrong to pull the trigger and head home early. What I can tell you is that every single time I have ever given in to these thoughts, I regret it as soon as I start driving home.
So, when you are contemplating your life decisions back there, remember that you asked for this. You asked to be in the backcountry. You asked to live in the dirt away from the comforts of home. You asked to be a solo hunter. The wilderness is just obliging you.
If you embrace the backcountry, it will embrace you back tenfold.
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