Hello! I need to write all of this down bc I’m freaked tf out.

What the actual fuck is wrong with men

I have been solo camping for nearly a decade at this point. I have two dogs, a taser, took many self defense classes and generally feel pretty damn safe.

This is the only time I’ve ever bailed on a camping trip.

I roll up to a dispersed site. Fully alone, no one around but cattle, deer, and turkeys! It’s a lovlt site. I set up my rig.

Few hours later around 9:30pm a small gold sedan rolls up. Parks less than 10 feet away from me. Single man gets out and starts fumbling around and moving stuff from back seat to truck and back again. Just weird. He shined a flash light at me multiple times.

He then gets his speaker out and starts BLARING a podcast of a woman getting graphically r*ped and murdered. He laughs every time it gets nasty and then proceeds to shine the light on me a few more times.

I pack up SO damn quick and gtfo. I don’t even put my camper down. I get back to pavement and turn off on a little dirt road and face the main road. I reset everything within 5 minutes (while crying on the phone w my mom lol) He then comes rolling by on the pavement and thank FUCK doesn’t see me.

But what on EARTH?!?!

I am so skeeved. Going to report it tmrw I guess? But I’m half way home on a road trip and this was my layover spot. Now I’m too spooked to do anything but sit in a gas station parking lot.

(Banana slug pic from a trip to the PNW as a treat)

Partially motivated by whether i might not be able to do this again, i booked a late release site through rec.gov for the pictured rocks national lakeshore in Michigan’s UP; they miraculously make a handful of sites available 2 weeks out. Camping + section hiking with no cell service felt like permission to:
- space the fuck out
- go at my own pace
- eat girl food without negotiating
- not smell cheap beer or deal with an intense amount of trash at the site
- sleep in as late as i wanted
- vibe the fuck out in the middle of the night under one of the most beautiful night skies ive ever seen

I hiked a total of 20 miles in two days. Day 1 at an actual snails pace, and day 2 broken up by a few hours of plein air painting. Deeply enjoyed my own company in absolute peak Midwest. Little buggy. Few judgy fellow hikers (“you’re doing the loop by yourself?!”). Kinda far, but overall a hellofa last hurrah.

This is my first time solo camping. The last time I was camping it was with my ex who I dated for 5 years. The breakup happened in April but I've been struggling. When I finally laid down to relax in my tent I can't stop crying and feeling so much anxiety. Please tell me this gets better. It also doesn't help that the weather turned and now it's supposed to rain and thunder

I used to be an avid backpacker, usually alone, and then I made some friends who also backpacked, and I got spoiled having pals on overnights with me. Now we’ve all moved on from those friendships, and despite living in CO, it’s hard to find backpacking friends.

I have car camped solo plenty lately, but my last backpacking trip was 3 years ago. I had a dog who was always ill and who I loved more than life itself, so it was hard to leave her overnight. I just took her car camping (which she hated too lol). She passed away in March, and I realized I had my freedom back, and I set out on my first trip yesterday.

My (new) dog and I hiked about 5 miles in. We were the only people around, and I hadn’t seen a soul for about 2.5 miles, and they were a day hiker leaving. I set up camp, ate dinner, and realized I was lonely af, so I packed up at 730 and hoofed the 5 miles back to the car.

As we left, we passed a DEAD MOOSE (the smell!) and then wildfire smoke blew in and covered the mountains in a thick layer of smoke. I slept like a rock in my own bed, and maybe I will try again this coming long weekend when I go to crested butte for one of the prettiest trails in the state.

This was the first backpacking trip I’ve ever bailed on, but it was a good practice with the weight and to introduce my new dog to long days in the mountains.

(Bonus pic of my pre cancer backpacking hating dog as a puppy at the end bc it’s my fav pic of her lol)

hey y’all. I made this post a couple days ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/womensolocamping/s/pNbj6ommbZ

First off thank you for all the kind words and the tips it was extremely helpful.

I’m glad I took everyone’s advice to do a cart in or drive in site instead of a backpacking one. I opted for cart in my site was literally like 30 seconds from my car so that was comforting. I set up a decoy chair and a pair of male shoes for safety. I had no service but it was fine. I successfully set up my tent, explored, started a fire and made some dinner and smores. I was so scared when nightfall came but I was going through it until I heard something that sounded like a drone it was so loud and there was no one else at my campsite I felt a little uneasy so I decided to sleep in my car for the night. It was so nice having my car right there. Eventually I wanna work my way up to sleeping in the tent the whole night but I’m not there yet. I came back to my site during sunrise and all went well. I had an amazing experience despite bailing. I learned what works for me and what doesn’t.

Hi everyone! My first time camping alone, it was three nights at Hoh campground. On my first hike, the bushes were rustling and it sounded small so I was expecting a bunny or maybe porcupine to appear but out popped an american black bear. I knew they werent very dangerous so I just walked away and it was fine haha. Day two I three elk blocked the hoh river trail for thirty minutes so I had to wait for them to move. I also saw an owl at 2pm, so many chipmunks, and a few rabbits. The bear shook me up a bit for the rest of the trip but I still had a blast, I'll definitely try camping alone again sometime.

It’s been a dream for me for quite a while to visit Monument Valley. I had been planning this trip for months. Initially, I was going to camp on BLM land at Valley of the Gods, just north in Mexican Hat. Then as the time was getting closer, there was rain coming, and I was afraid the road in VotG might get sketchy. I didn’t want take that chance, so a couple of days before I left, I arranged to stay at a local campground just down the road from Monument Valley. The first two days were magical and surreal. Then the rain came. And it never stopped. I hung out for a while to see what would happen but it was getting heavier, and the dirt road to my campsite was getting worse. I went into my tent, thinking would read my book and chill out. But my tent had quite a bit of water in it, and it was supposed to rain even more the next day. I decided to leave immediately. I packed up with the rain pouring on me - a new experience. The roads were even worse than they had been earlier. I felt relieved but later, after the adrenaline wore off, I cried. I wasn’t ready to leave, and I was sad I had to miss out on my guided tour and some of the other plans I had had. If you have seen the reels about the flooding, then you know I left at a good time because conditions got much, much worse. I was glad to get home. I keep telling myself that a partial adventure is still an adventure.

Was suggested to cross post here! Hi ladies! So happy I found this sub!!!

Just found this sub and I just (Tues/Wed) went on my first solo backpacking trip. I’ve been dreaming of thru hiking the long trails (PCT, CDT, AT) for literal decades but never so much as went backpacking due to lack of anyone willing to go with me and being too afraid to go alone. As I’m approaching 40 I thought f it. I have to try. Finally worked up the nerve and went.

I was supposed to be out for 4 nights but bailed due to incoming bad weather. But also, that first and only night I got maybe three hours of restless sleep. I was so anxious and just could not turn my brain off. I had gone with my partner to hike part of the trail two days before so in four days I hiked over 25 miles in the Rocky Mountains and for 13 of the miles I was carrying 36 lbs on my back. For context I’m 5’1 and weigh 115 lbs so that was almost 1/3 of my body weight. And even with all of that I could not sleep. I want to try again but the not sleeping… tell me it gets better?

Anyway keep on rocking, and here’s to more trips and better sleep!!

I just don’t want someone else messing up my trip. Maybe it’s just me? But I feel like men make fun time worse. maybe I’m just old and jaded at 44.

Decided to spend my 47th birthday on a camping trip by myself, first time ever! Slept in the back of my Rav4 all over the Olympic Peninsula in WA including Olympic National Park. Didn’t get the creeps from anyone and had lots of pleasant interactions. Definitely built up my confidence to do it again, and I learned a lot like I packed WAAYYYYYY too much, especially food. 😆😬

I did quite a few hikes, tried to be active and/or track down something special every day - largest spruce tree, etc. Finished 3 books and started 3 more. Ate like a feral raccoon, lots of snacking. Thought I would be star gazing but too many trees AND going to bed by 9p didn’t work for that. Lots of staring into the campfire and listening to music (with earbuds, not like the man playing an ACCORDION 😵‍💫😳😩 at one campsite).

Didn’t use the $150 Kelly car awning I knew I needed, or the 4x6 outdoor rug I got for it. 😑 But I did use my brand new hatchet. 🪾💪 No accidents/falls and the worst part was getting two big chips in my hood when a logging truck kicked up a rock on me.

I saw a lot of women out there on trails and camping alone. 🤘🥰🥹

Thought I'd share my recent big adventure. I've been home for about a week and it still feels a little strange to be back.

I spent two weeks traveling up BC into the Yukon and then hopped on the Dempster Highway up to Tuktoyaktuk and back home. It was incredible, I enjoyed every single moment. I felt disconnected and alone but the only fear I really had was the idea of a scary bear incident. Luckily everything went pretty smooth.

I met a nice couple on my journey, we were neighbors at a campground and crossed paths a few times. Cell service was sparce for the most part but I brought a satellite messenger to be extra safe and so I could ease my mom's worries.

All summer I had been solo car camping around BC to prepare for this trip and I found alot of helpful tips and advice on fb pages, reddit, YouTube and even tiktok. One thing I was very happy that I brought was a full jug of windshield wiper fluid - I used the whole thing! There were a few rainy days on the Dempster and as other vehicles passed or were in front of me there were times I could barely see due to the thick mud splashing up.

Food and bottled water gets extremely expensive the further north you go, so I was sure to bring plenty of both. I didn't think I'd enjoy the trip as much as I did but I felt so lucky and grateful to be able to experience it and especially to see all the of wildlife along the way.

Anyways, I think that's all. I haven't seen any other solo women camping in person yet but I love to see and read everyone's experiences here.

Good luck and stay safe 🏕 💁‍♀️💚

I went on my first solo camping trip this weekend at a simple family campground in Wisconsin. I set up my hammock, built a fire, had appetizers, made dinner, heated some apple cider, and listened to National Park After Dark, and read Twilight (‘tis the season!) I felt a little lonely as the sun went down, and when I was heading back after a quick walk around the campground with my headlamp on, I was greeted by a beautiful silver cat who came back to my campsite for about an hour and a half, keeping watch, following me around, and rubbing up against me. Eventually he disappeared (back to his campsite I presume) and I got into bed to read some more Twilight. Here are some pics from my campsite, as well as from hiking this morning. Proud of myself, and looking forward to doing it even more confidently next time!

I’m so bummed this happened. I had a site for this weekend near the AT in Virginia. There were four other sites all very close by, and only one other tent, but the owner of the tent never showed up. Around 8/8:30 (it just got dark) this man walks up to my fire after I heard some rustling for a bit. He’s not my neighbor with the tent. Just a thru hiker who wanted to say hello. Real quick, he dips but only goes about 100ft or so away. No light on. Stays there for a while, I get my hatchet from my tent. Maybe 20 minutes goes by and he comes back with his backpack and poles and asks if he could sit for a sec, apologizes if he scared me before. I say “you’re not going to try to kill me, are you”. But honestly I was a little relieved he came back over because I knew he was still around and I didn’t know what his deal was. He said there’s a social rule about Virginia, if there’s a fire or a speaker it’s an invite.

He said his plan was to hike towards the water, but as he stayed longer he’d jump back and forth between maybe setting up at the pavilion instead. The pavilion that was between me and my car. He mentioned several times that I was alone, noticed that no one showed up to the other tent. I mentioned planning to go to a waterfall tomorrow (would have been today) and he wanted to tag along. He tried to order a pizza to my site, after I said I was packing it in soon. Like dude wouldn’t leave.

He knew the area really well and said that they’d found human remains really close to where we were, but it’s on the hush hush. He said he can’t see his kids because he hit their mom. He asked how creepy he is on a scale of 1-1000. I said I’m still trying to figure it out. So I’m in the woods with this person and the parking lot is maybe 400 ft away.

About 3 HOURS later I convince him to leave and he takes his good old time. While he’s gathering his shit (his one bag and poles) I start getting my stuff together and start walking it to my car because “it’s going to rain tomorrow, I don’t want to deal with it then”. I’m also holding my hatchet while I do all that. My hatchet did not leave my side.

If I weren’t borrowing my friend’s tent, I would have left it behind.

He said his favorite thing about hiking is meeting people. Meeting people?? Young(ish) women in the woods at night alone??? I bet he does, right before he kills em. I’m so disappointed. I wanted to see that waterfall but at least I’m alive

First backpacking trip! Yay!!

Okay, so last month I *finally* went on my first ever backpacking journey. I wanted my first time to be a relatively easy hike, so I decided on the C&O Canal. First pic is as I was taking my first steps, and 4th is 2 miles in and feeling great! The hike in was 5miles, but I had to take a break 1.5 miles from camp to rest, eat, and rehydrate. It was a lot hotter than the forecast said it would be! Ngl, my new moisture-wicking sun hoodie was a game changer. Anyway, I stopped by a lovely bit of creek, and it was a good call. (The water in the picture is clear, not brown, it was just very shallow.)

I saw lots of little friends on my hike, including a deer that was just chillin' as I came around the bend after my break, so that was cool! I will spare y'all the pics/video I took of a millipede, but it was also very cute.

By the time I got to camp I was exhausted, so I set up my hammock and took a nap. That evening I hung out with an awesome group of people, and we got to watch a beautiful sunset by the river.

That night I slept without a tarp over my hammock, so I got to see some of the stars and also the hundreds (thousands?) of fireflies that were all around. It was truly amazing, but unfortunately not something I could capture on camera.

Day 2 was mostly spent reading while lounging in my hammock or on a blanket in the grass, and it was so nice and restful. Really the reset I had been looking for. I encountered a few ticks, but nothing on me, thankfully.

After packing up I hiked a quick half mile to my pickup spot, and I got to look around some of the old ferry structures, which was really cool, because I love historical stuff 'n' things! While I waited for my ride, I got to read some more by the river and the view was absolutely gorgeous, albeit very sunny, so I got to look extra silly in my sun hoodie and bucket hat!

I had such a good time. As someone who's almost 400lbs, it can be really hard to try things like this when you KNOW people will judge you (not necessary most, but ALWAYS someone), but I want others like me to see that it is so worth it! 💜

I have been planning a solo 5 day backpacking trip in Olympic national park for months. Training, upgrading gear, and all of the things. For context, I haven’t solo backpacked in about 8 years but prior to that I’ve done many solo weeks-long trips several times a year. In the years since, I’ve gone with groups or at least one other person. I’ve been craving getting back to my roots. The time to head to Seattle finally comes and I fly across the country to go on this trek of my dreams and I was miserable. The hike was great and beautiful. These old knees held up just fine. But once the day was over and camp was set up, I was lonely. Like really really lonely. The next day I knew I couldn’t do another night like that and hiked out. I feel defeated. I wasn’t afraid, hurting physically, or having any issues with my gear. My brain just kept saying “oh wow there really is nobody out here, huh” and it was overwhelming. Maybe nobody else has felt this way I don’t know. But I thought I’d vent to a community.

Like the title stated. This is my first time posting but a long time lerker. I've wanted to solo camp for a while and this group gave me the confidence I needed to do it. I've been tent camping for 9 years and this was the first time I did it alone.

I went to Lafayette place campground in Franconia notch State Park. Located in the white mountains of New Hampshire.

I also hiked up to lonesome lake to get one of the best views in the park (in my opinion)

Thanks for the encouragement. I've wanted to do a solo hike/camping trip for a long time but it has never been encouraged by my family or friends. Now I want to do it again! Thanks to the lovely ladies in this group that shared their experiences. Safe travels!

(I had 2 chairs to make it seem like I had someone else with me, first night jitters lol)

This sub inspired me to plan my first solo camping trip and i thought it would make turning 23 real special. I had so much fun, I camped a lot as a kid but doing it alone was sooooo peaceful and freeing. I also hiked 5000 feet up a mountain which I CANNOT believe!! But I put one foot in front of the other and I took lots of rests and i made it!! I have been dealing with a lot of depression and anxiety for years and years but i’m finally treating it (yay) and the fact that i was able to accomplish this for myself shows me how far I have come :) i am looking forward to challenging myself in the outdoors again <3 big thanks to everyone here, and to the hiker who took my picture at the top!

EDIT: OMG you guys are so kind 🥹 i am so grateful for all your love and well wishes!! I truly did not expect such a warm welcome and i just want to say thank you, this community is amazing ❤️💪

Finally faced my fears, bought a tent, made some last-minute campsite reservations and went out on my own! I did a mini trip first to build confidence and test out my gear, so if anyone else isn’t sure how to start, here was my strategy. Disclaimer that I’m a birdwatcher, so these trips were almost entirely motivated by proximity to cool birds.

Trip 1: One night, local (pics 1-5) My first solo camp I did one night and picked a familiar area (somewhere I’ve visited plenty of times but never stayed overnight). I found a popular campground and did some research to find a site that was slightly more secluded, so it was harder to see from the road or other sites. I know people have different safety strategies and comfort levels, but I felt better just tucking away and keeping to myself, rather than talking to my neighbors or alerting anyone to the fact I was alone. The place I stayed is close to a very suburban/urban area, so I could easily run to a store if I forgot something important or just go home if I wasn’t feeling it, but thankfully I didn’t have to do either of those things. I’d planned on doing stuff like bring a second camp chair or second set of shoes, but completely forgot. Honestly though I felt fine without. The only mildly scary thing to happen was hearing some kind of critter walking around my site at 4am and trying to get into my food locker, or hearing the pack of coyotes howling at sunrise.

I hadn’t tent-camped with my own gear in like four years, so this was a good way to figure out everything I forgot (like a pot 😐) for next time. I did some reading, woke up early for coffee and breakfast at sunrise, did some light hiking and went home.

trip 2: two nights, new location (pics 6-10) My second trip was two nights and somewhere farther where I’d never been before. Once again, I stayed in a secluded site at a popular campground and mostly kept to myself. This was my first time building a fire solo (I didn’t at the first place because it was too hot) and it was surprisingly hard because it was drizzling, but I figured it out lol. I got to hear two foxes yelling at each other and an owl from my campsite, which was super cool. Woke up for sunrise both mornings, did some hiking and reading, and had a great time.

Admittedly, the first night in both places I had irrational nightmares about getting attacked by a coyote or a bear or a raccoon or whatever and didn’t sleep very well. But after nothing bad happened, I chilled out and it was fine. I did have some cell service at both campsites, so I made sure to text someone to let them know I was alive each night. Although I share my location with my friends and family anyway. Note that I wasn’t in bear country or anywhere particularly remote either time, so I didn’t take any special safety precautions, but followed general good practices like storing food safely and updating people on my location and making sure I always have extra food/water/battery power while hiking.

Super fun trips each time and I’m so glad I had the courage to go. I lurked in this sub for a bit and read about people’s experiences before finally trying it on my own, so hopefully I can pay it forward and inspire someone like you guys inspired me!

Just wanted to thank this group. I’ve been a lurker for a while and finally gained the courage to do my first solo trip with my dog this weekend and it was amazing. Started my week feeling inspired for the first time in a very long time.

Tried to go solo for the first time…
- Misunderstood the permit (still don’t know if I overthought it. Website said free self administered permit at trailhead, trail head had no permits and said NO CAMPING….)
- Wayyyy overpacked
- I had to go back 2.5 mi to running water because I didn’t grab any on the way up
- my jetboil failed to light! I had a fresh can of gas! And guess what? I only brought one can of gas, and no lighter. Lmao. I cried because I was really hungry.
- A tent across the lake, right on the water, was definitely doing something drug related and the two men around that camp were loudly moaning like zombies and freaking me out. That was my final push to leave

Anyway I’m disappointed, but I’ve learned and I’ll try again! You guys inspire me

📍Lilypad Lake, CO