The feeling of "lonliness" when solo tramping

Interesting question. Haven't experienced an acute sense loneliness on the few overnight walks/rides I've done alone but I do think about the meaning of life once in a while. There is too much going on around me to keep my thoughts firmly in the moment. The more technical the track/trail, the more the mind is occupied. It must be quite difficult for through-hikers at times...

I don't feel lonely so much but I do get sick of listening to myself think towards the end of a long day. I've started taking a little iPod shuffle and headphones with me on multi-day hikes so I can listen to music for an hour in the afternoon. Never thought I'd do that in the bush but it's saved my sanity a few times. Also it's strangely funny having a soundtrack to go with some of those spectacular viewpoints.

Can honestly say I've never ever felt lonely when tramping. Never walked anything more than 50-or-so days but reckon it would have kicked in by then if it was going to. Instant reaction of idea of walking whilst listening to music is one of disgust ... but then can see it would get your mind out of some of those annoying thought loops that drive me nuts when the walking is too easy to distract me. But I think I'll stick to games like guessing distances, identifying plants or spotting routes over neighbouring ranges when mental distraction is required: things that get me involved in the place I'm in rather than isolate me from it as music or company do. I do however take a SW/MW radio so get to hear the news of an evening if I'm alone in the hut (which I almost always am). An hour or so of National Radio or Radio Australia whilst I cook tea probably goes a long way to maintaining sanity.

most of us spend most of our days with other people, a few days alone in the mountains isnt that much time alone in the bigger scheme of things. I enjoy the solitude while it lasts, because soon enough i'll be back with people again... you never know when you're going to bump into people on a track or at a hut or campsite, then you might find yourself wishing that you had more time alone

I don't really remember feeling lonely until we had our first child. I've only been on one solo trip since my daughter was born but I did find myself missing her at night.

Living in the bush I am often alone as my partner works away most days. Have spent heaps of time traveling and tramping alone. If loneliness ever starts to creep in, which isn't often, I stop, slowly have a good look around and just allow the beauty and wonder of it all to seep through my being. Always does the trick! it just brings me totally into the present and I have a great feeling of being blessed to be able to be where I am, doing what I'm doing. This also helps get through those cold, wet days as, to be honest, they are all part of the wonderful mix. Mind you, these days i do tend to be a fair weather tramper - part of getting older I guess.

I almost always tramp alone and have done so for many years. I love being able to totally focus on where I am going , how can I get there safely and what is going on around me. I still enjoy meeting people when I am out and have had some great conversations in huts at night. Having been employed in an emergency service for over 40 years and I find that the pressure of being responsible for the safety of my work mates and those that we are trying to assist can be quite intense and tramping has always been a pressure release for me. I do self regulate where I am going and would not attempt some of the more extreme off track routes by myself, particularly those involving substantial river crossings. I suspect like many other solo trampers I enjoy listening to a radio or MP3 player in a hut at night but have never tried it when on the move

Currently I do perhaps half of my tramping alone and it doesn't bother me being alone. Being alone gives me a heightened sense of awareness & self reliance. I used to work alone doing track, hut & bridge checks, various other forestry jobs & also solo hunted. You get used to it and enjoy it or at least I did. After 7 or 8 days alone I do look forward to meeting someone to talk to! If that doesn't happen it doesn't spoil any remaining time on the trip though. My partner says I'm usually on a high when I get back from a long solo trip and can be quite talkative.

@madpom, what brand SW/MW radio do you take along? On a couple of blogs I've seen photos of folk unravelling a long horizontal aerial - presumably to get better reception? What's coverage like for National Radio in general? Sorry this might be considered a bit off topic... (or maybe we can see the radio as a tool to help stave off loneliness).