Hiking alone

Howdy.  At first, don't get too ambitious with mileage, glorious destinations, bucket list trips, etc. Make your first few trips short, like 3 or 4 miles from the trailhead.

Use these easy trips to get familiar with your camping gear, fine-tune your planning, get your body accustomed to hiking with the extra weight, and get your mind comfortable spending nights alone in the wilderness.

Occupying my mind at night was my biggest challenge, especially as electronic screens became so much more prevalent in life. I prefer to stay analog when in the woods - so I take paper books, crossword puzzles, etc. I especially like to bring books about the nature & history of the particular area I'm in...makes it feel less like distraction, more like immersion.


Here's a couple good short trails in Central Oregon, as examples:

Doris Lake/Blow Lake:
www.alltrails.com/trail/us/oregon/doris-lake-and-blow-lake-via-six-lakes-trail

North Matthieu Lake:
www.alltrails.com/trail/us/oregon/matthieu-lakes-trail