I’m excited for you, and a little jealous! Report back if you find time, I’m interested in hearing if you felt comfortable and secure or if being alone caused you to feel anxious. Either way, I’m sure this quick trip will let you know if solo forays suit you.
Well, yeah, you could sprain your ankle…but why would you have no clothing, no food and no light?
If, like the OP, you know enough about hiking safety to take a buddy, you know enough about safety to carry a backpack filled with the right supplies for that specific hike.
The problems arise from naivety. The OP is exactly the opposite–somebody who knows what he is doing and carefully considers the safety aspects before he starts.
No need to be overly cautious. Go hiking, go alone…just carry the right gear and know your abilities.
And be aware that the people who have to come rescue you will charge you for the service. 
There are loads of true stories about extremely experienced backpackers or hikers who just had one step which may, objectively, have not seemed dangerous a prima facie, but turned out fatal. Shit happens, sad as it is, but c’est la vie. Nothing against their skill, but anything can happen (IMHO especially on snow).
ETA: and fuck that “need the hiking boots” shit 
Love the approach shoes. J/K, obviously.
List of people who have circumnavigated the globe. Solo. Includes one individual who only has one leg.
Just sayin.
The real problem in this situation is not being alone; it’s having light clothing and being unprepared for the weather, maybe slightly exacerbated by not bringing enough water and by turning around far too late (food is irrelevant for anything less than three days or so).
I mean, really, how could a partner have helped here?
I’m assuming the partner is in the same shape (too few clothes, no water), because otherwise, the moral isn’t ‘always hike with a partner’, it’s ‘hiking with a partner can be easier because you can split carrying stuff’, which is very different.
If it’s too far to the trailhead for you to hop/hobble there, how quickly could the partner get out and return with help? Could they return and find you before morning? If not, then you’re dead anyway, right?
For the OP: I’m happy solo hiking, camping and backpacking. In deep winter, I won’t solo more than a short few miles hike, and if I was more than a days walk from a moderately well -traveled road or trail I might decide not to go solo (the season and other things are going to factor in). At least, that’s the decision tree before I got knee issues. I wouldn’t solo very far these days until I’ve gone at least that distance and difficulty recently without my legs falling apart, but that’s probably a decent rule of thumb in any physical state.
My wife and my sister both do a lot of solo stuff. Depends on the environment, eg/ they don’t solo hike in bear or mountain lion areas where, male or female, hiking alone is not recommended. They don’t hike alone in remote wilderness either, where spraining your ankle can mean a long, long wait for help to happen by. They’ve both gone on solo camping tips too.
They both always make sure someone knows where they’re going and when they’re expected back.
The friend will go back a lot faster than you can hobble, and they can get help for you and direct them right to where you are so you minimize how much time you spend getting exposure (especially if you haven’t told anyone where you are or when you’re expected back).
I’ve done some solo hikes myself, in Northern Manitoba where if I got turned around and lost, there was literally no one between me thousands of miles of untouched forests. It occurred to me on one of these hikes that if I took a wrong turn, I was likely to never be found again, so decided to be more careful with that.
The point remains, in the kind of places the OP would be hiking – state parks near densely populated urban areas, and trails that join up to the Appalachian – you can hardly go 10 minutes without seeing someone on your average saturday in the summer.
Oh, yeah, that’s different than hiking in the northern wilderness. I’d still say hike with someone in case you get hurt or sick, but if there are people all over who can send a ranger back to help you, that’s probably good enough.
I’m adding “outdoor adventuring solo” to the thread title so people have a better idea of the topic.
Ellen
A few years ago, I spent 24 days hiking solo through Southwestern National Parks. At the time I was over 60, out of shape and totally inexperienced. The only time I got into serious trouble was in Horseshoe Canyon (yes, that’s where Aron Halston had to amputate his right arm). Not only was I solo, but nobody knew I was going there. And I did not encounter any other person the entire day. This was a HUGE mistake, and could have cost me my life in several ways. My physical and mental endurance was rigorously tested, and I’m amazed that I survived that day at all.
I’m the person that will rescue you when something happens, if we find you in time. I’m on the Board of Directors for our local Search and Rescue organization and also a search team lead. We mostly do urban searches (lost kids, wandering elderly, evidence), but also do mountain search and rescue and civil emergency response.
The majority of our mountain terrain search and rescues involve single people who were injured (the rest are usually just lost). About half to 3/4 of those result in recovery missions instead of rescues. Often, someone falls and breaks or twists something and is just off the pathway, and they don’t have cell phone reception, as is usually the case in the valleys or lower spots of the mountains, and sometimes even up top.
The people who survived had something close to the ten essentials, as listed near the beginning of the thread, so were able to get through at least one night. You can almost bet that you’ll be out at least one night if something happens and you can’t call for help, even longer if you didn’t give anyone a clear plan of where you were going. Keep in mind that if you’ve strayed off a well known pathway, even if you can use your cell phone, you may not be able to accurately describe your location.
I bought my husband a SPOT for Christmas and it was one of the best investments we’ve made. Check it out if you want to go solo. It’s not very expensive and is a HUGE peace of mind, plus, it’s satellite, so much better coverage in the back country. Another tip is that text messages on cell phones may get through if a call doesn’t, even better if you happen to be moving around a bit (which you’re not really supposed to do if lost, but if you’re moving around making an SOS or something, or heading towards a valley or clearing for better line of sight).
If you are determined to go solo, take at least a few hours of survival training, be prepared, and make sure you’re the type of person that has the will to live through a few days in the event that something goes wrong. You might also want to check on the way rescue works in your area - do you pay, is it volunteer, or is it covered by the government? Here, it’s usually covered by the province, through it sounds like they are trying to change that. In some jurisdictions, if you don’t take reasonable steps to ensure your safety in the backcountry, you can be charged thousands of dollars for a rescue, so make sure you’re ready for that too, just in case.
Great post, EmAnJ, and thanks for the link to the Spot. Though I seldom go off trail and most rivers I float are on public rather than state land with frequent houses/cabins/farms on either or both sides, the Spot is something I definitely need.
Do you mean Vasquez?
But as others have said, if you’re on a state park type trail that’s clearly marked and well traveled then you are probably good to go by yourself. If you are on a backwoods wilderness trail then a partner is probably a good idea.
Actually, standard recommendations have been 3 people so you have one to stay with the injured party and one to go for help. With one buddy you’re left with the question of staying to assist someone who needs medical attention versus going out to get more advanced medical help and rescue.
This discussion also tends to ignore the benefits of hiking alone - peace and solitude, seeing more wildlife, time to think by yourself, ability to set your own pace, etc. It comes at a cost of safety (although I’d like to think it’s less expensive than most folks think if you are trained, equipped, and experienced) but it has a big plus side as well.
Just wanted to also post a quick cautionary tale for those who are saying that if you are on frequented trails, you’ll be ok if something happens. Of course, you take the risks you are comfortable with, and injuries on busy trails often end up just fine.
A few years ago in early spring an experienced woman headed out from home on her cross country skis with her yoga mat and intentions on following the trail for an hour or so to a clearing that she often went to to practice yoga and meditate. It was a fairly warm spring day. The trail she was on is very popular and is part of the route that our Olympians and locals use daily, so pretty safe. She had also left her travel plan at home and indicated when she would be back.
She didn’t come back later that morning as planned. By the afternoon, seach and rescue was involved and out looking for her, as were folks that frequent the trail. We knew where she was going and the trail she was taking. Keep in mind that this is early spring, when the sun goes down around the dinner hour, and searches are called off once the sun goes down.
A hasty search was done up and down the trail (a couple of people head out on the trail to do a quick search for the person). No luck. Search teams were organized and spread out from the trail in a line. In situations like this, you have to find a balance between the urgency for rescue with the need for accuracy. In this case, the sun was going down, it was getting very cold, and we needed to find her as quickly as possible, as she likely wouldn’t survive the night. Teams were instructed to look, yell, and listen. As the sun started going down, a 20 minute warning came over the radio. We were going to search for another 20 minutes, and then it would be called off for the night.
One team, relatively close to the trail head, decided to focus on the yelling and listening. Walk a few steps, call her name, listen for 15 to 20 seconds, repeat. Time was ticking down. The team lead, at the end of the line, thought she heard something. She hollers for the team to stop and yells the woman’s name. She hears something again. Starts running in the direction of the voice.
They found her with minutes to a search call off. She was not 20 feet off the pathway with a broken femur.
What had happened is she slid on some ice (typical in spring) and off a very steep section of the pathway in to some trees, about a 15 foot drop. She broke her leg and was in a lot of pain. She had her cell phone with her - no service. After she gathered herself, drank some water, and ate some food, she folded up her yoga mat and sat on it. She started dragging herself towards the parking lot, a few kilometers away, and somehow ended up deeper in to the brush and away from the trail. She did this for hours, through a creek, through snow that was 5 feet deep, over fallen trees. We couldn’t see her because she was far enough off the trail and low enough to the ground that she was within the brush, and she was a moving target. It was windy enough that we couldn’t hear her calls for help, and it covered the ski tracks heading off the trail. Keep in mind that search teams will never get 100% probability of discovery (how likely it is we’ll find the victim) in searches, and you can miss a person in certain situations (deep snow, heavy brush, wind, darkness, etc.). When she was finally found, she was so weak from the physical exertion and hypothermia, she only had a few hours left.
She was prepared for a day trip, was experienced, had her cell phone with her, and left her travel plan, yet came minutes from death. I’m not saying that this will happen to you, but it does happen, and doesn’t always turn out for the best.
EmAnJ, I keep a whistle, pepper spray, multi-tool and cell phone within easy reach at all times; around my neck during rougher terrain/water. Goes without saying I have food/water/all weather jacket/first aid kit as well, but are there any other lightweight “must have” items you recommend for trips longer than a couple hours? Flares? Air horn?
I can’t stress enough how much I love this time alone, and that I’ve successfully hiked, paddled, and camped alone for more than half my life with no emergencies. But for the peace of mind of those that love me, anything else I should toss in a dry bag?
Is it just me, or did she completely screw the pooch in this story by leaving the trail? Wouldn’t you have found her almost immediately, otherwise? Isn’t “stay on the trail” pretty much, “help I broke my leg in the woods 101”?
Orange garbage bag and some survival skills/lost person behavior training. The orange garbage bag is for both warmth and visibility. Basically, you cut out a hole for your head, get in, and sit down. It’ll keep some warmth in, and make you really easy to spot. You’d be surprised at how hard it is to see people, even from the air.
Knowing how to behave if you do become lost is important too. We have certain profiles we use when deciding on a search method (depends on age, ability, mental awareness, type of terrain, etc. - they all behave differently when lost), so if you know what we’re looking for, it’ll help. For instance, don’t move around! Have you heard about the Quebec man who is suing because he and his wife got lost and his wife died? One of the main reasons they didn’t find them in time is because he built an SOS (which was spotted by air) and then left. He kept moving around! Knowing what to do and what not to do is important.
Also, the aformentioned SPOT, if possible, as well as spare batteries for it. Seriously, the SPOT is so worth it, it should be mandatory! I can access a web page that shows updates every 10 minutes of where my husband is in the back country on google maps. He has buttons for letting me know he’s ok, alerting me or others that something has gone wrong, or calling the authorities because something has gone really wrong and they need to be rescued. Worth every penny and more, especially for MY peace of mind.