Groups or Solo...

[demographic]

I have never had the faintest whiff of interest in team games and prefered solo sports (cycling and climbing) so perhaps it should be no surprise that I find the term "group of like minded individuals" to be a bit of an oxymoron.

I think I can work with just about anyone and have a few very good friends from years ago that I knock about with but I also appreciate my space.

I don't know if that makes me a miserable git or just happy enough with myself

 

[Seagull]

I really dunno.

I do like being by myself, it means a great deal to me and to me only .

So , its probably ikesome of me, to foist it on my nearest, in the hope that they may share my enjoyment.

There again, I find it really great to natter to the like- minded, though I am wary of doing so, in any depth.

And, wary of "kit chatter", though I wish I weren,t

To me, the issue is a bit like revealing how you feel about music, to another musician.

So , I got real miffed , when my lad expressed the thought that we were " too anorak-ish", at the WG.

Still, and all, his vocal chords should recover before Xmas. :aargh4:

Ceeg

 

[sharp88]

I dunno if its healthy though sometimes. Im gonna start doing some solo stuff when life starts getting hectic again and loads of obligations and annoyances come and at that point of near breaking when you just want to get away from people. My mar wont worry too much hopefully, now that I have my trusty ash club by my side.

 

[Scuba Pete]

I have only just started camping/bushcraft again. So far I have been out alot on my own but only been overnight with a mate. I have to say that I prefer solo or just one or two people. I have not been to any meets yet, and I have to say a mass of people that I dont know does put me off a bit.

I would like to do more overnight/longer trips on my own, but I am just getting into it again. I keep thinking I will fall down a mine shaft or some ned will stumble accross me in the middle of the night.

 

[sharp88]

You need to be somewhere really secluded. I have the same fear scuba pete, but its an irrational one. If your tarp sleeping, I'd get really low to the ground n keep all my possesions close or in the bivvy in a 'fart sack' and my money in my sleeping bad. If the unlikely event a 'chav' or 'ned' or other weirdo, probarbly engaging in some sort of nighttime activity comes along, as soon as he sticks his head up the bottom of the tarp or makes a ruckuss, smash his head in with a finely weighted stick. If hekills you before you wake though or mortally wounds you so you cant move, your up s*** creek with out a paddle.

 

[Grooveski]

Shall I make an appointment with the shrink for you when I'm on my way out?

Must say, if I thought there was a chance of meeting anyone at a location I wouldn't waste my time going there.
Not trying to wind up anyone from more urban areas but it's really not that hard to lose yourself in Scotland. A hours drive and and another hiking can put you somewhere where the chances of meeting anyone else are pretty remote indeed.

 

[gregorach]

And if you do meet anyone, chances are they're much the same as you... I can't really think of anywhere safer, in terms of the sort of people you're likely to meet - unless you want to live in a hermetically sealed bunker.

Newsflash - the vast majority of people are actually OK. Most of them are even quite nice!

 

[jdlenton]

Newsflash - the vast majority of people are actually OK. Most of them are even quite nice!

are you sure i'm not

 

[Scuba Pete]

Hehe, I know what you mean. If I was in the middle of nowhere I would not be worried at all. The problem I have is that I dont have a car at the moment. So can only go where I can get to by public transport. All the places there are in easy reach are far to near urban areas.

Loch lomond is great, but you have to hike a few miles before you get to a quiet spot.

I have just been testing out my gear, like tarps, hammocks etc. When I am comfortable with it I have no doubt I will feel alot safer.

A more pressing worry is what a copper might say in glasgow central station when they see me with an axe strapped to my pack, heh. That reminds me, I need to buy an axe, lol

 

[sharp88]

Yeah scotlands a bit far from home for me. Im all the way down here, your all the way up there. Il make it there soon though. Prob next summer.

 

[gregorach]

Hehe, I know what you mean. If I was in the middle of nowhere I would not be worried at all. The problem I have is that I dont have a car at the moment. So can only go where I can get to by public transport. All the places there are in easy reach are far to near urban areas.

Well, you could get the train to say, Dalwhinnie - not too far to get remote from there. Or even Corrour, which is remote as heck as soon as you step off the train. Not for the inexperienced though...

A more pressing worry is what a copper might say in glasgow central station when they see me with an axe strapped to my pack, heh. That reminds me, I need to buy an axe, lol

You have a perfectly valid reason if you have a pack full of camping gear. Match had a great story about getting stopped by the police in Waverly with a bag full of assorted sharps and an axe strapped to the outside. They were very understanding.

 

[sharp88]

I never realised the UK could be so remote. I knew there was some stuff that was pretty secluded in Wales and I knew Scotland could be quite baron, what with heavy fog and such, but I never thought it could be so remote that it could become lifre threatening.

P.S. Why strap the axe to the outside of your pack? Exposes it to the elements. Will make the handle soften up and loosen it from the head.

 

[dwardo]

I have allways been with another person or two when tarping, not realy by preference but theres always somone i have promised to take lol. As far as going it alone i would love to give it a try but im often to badgered by the missus that it isnt safe I feel much safer outdoors as im away from my TV video, Jewellery, money, passports, car etc that scum bags want to pinch. Plus the fact that i usually have a rather sharp gransfors axe n a big knife to keep me safe One day when i find somwhere close PM please as i rarely have time to travel far i will go it alone.

PS any suggestions for spots close to chester for wild camping in "theory" gratefully appreciated

 

[gregorach]

I never realised the UK could be so remote. I knew there was some stuff that was pretty secluded in Wales and I knew Scotland could be quite baron, what with heavy fog and such, but I never thought it could be so remote that it could become lifre threatening.

People die in the Lake District, and that's not very remote. There are several places in Scotland where you can be a day's walk away from the nearest road - and if you sprain an ankle, that might as well be a million miles.

P.S. Why strap the axe to the outside of your pack? Exposes it to the elements. Will make the handle soften up and loosen it from the head.

It's probably not ideal, but it's often the easiest place to put it. Provided it's proofed and looked after it properly, it should be fine.

We're drifting increasingly off-topic here...

 

[Draven]

Personally, I prefer being out on my own, or maybe with one other person.
However, I'd love to go to something like the moot, just to meet like-minded folk and learn new stuff

As for feeling safe... I don't think I've ever felt unsafe in the great outdoors... when we lived on Skye I only remember one instance of our door being locked, and that's because some creep wouldn't leave my sister alone. And that was in a relatively populated place (for Skye, that is), so no worries if you're away from the towns!

And anyway, as mentioned, who's going to attack someone carrying a knife and an axe?

I never realised the UK could be so remote. I knew there was some stuff that was pretty secluded in Wales and I knew Scotland could be quite baron, what with heavy fog and such, but I never thought it could be so remote that it could become lifre threatening.

Countless places in Scotland alone are remote enough to be life threatening, if you don't know what you're doing - and even if you do, there's still the chance of something going wrong, slipping on a rock, etc.
It's a pretty concerning thought, but I'm relatively convinced that someone who knew how to build a shelter, how to light a fire and could distinguish edible plants would generally be alright, unless they took a fall.

EDIT: sorry for the off-topic-ness

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

Solo, everytime!

That said, I am Nobby no-mates anyway ...........NLM, IDC!
(No-one Loves Me, I Don't Care!) :sulkoff:

Yeoman

 

[laurens ch]

solo for me too.(unless you count the dog).I just like to be on my own sometimes, I feel i can concentrate far better at whatever I'm doing when on my own

 

[sharp88]

Too true laurens ch. I cant help but feel hassled trying to do things when other people are lurking behind me and watching me.

 

[Toddy]

If you can get to a meet up it's well worth it twenty different ways to do *everything*

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Tony]

I like to just be with a couple of people, but now and then a big group is great.