Evans Peak hike: my first solo hike

October 25, 2018

With our wedding season slowing down, I remembered I never shared with you that I hiked up Evans Peak by myself this past June! To many of you adventurous souls, hiking by yourself might not seems a big deal. But I have to confess, to me it was! Especially since this difficult-rated hike needed quite a bit of time to complete! (Check out the hiking details here) I’d walk around in downtown Vancouver at 3am no problem. But the idea of walking in the forest by myself scared me a bit. The idea that I might run into a bear or get lost by myself… creepy.

So why did I go by myself? Well, my fear was obviously irrational. Bears don’t randomly attack hikers, and for the unlikely event, I came prepared with a can of bear spray. I also made a lot of noise with my hiking poles to inform wildlife of my presence, more so on my descent when both the sun and occasional other hikers disappeared. As for getting lost? Well, I armed myself with with an app to keep track of my progress. And of course Jelger knew where I was going to be, so worst case scenario, he’d have come to find me.

With this solo hike, I learned a lot about myself. It took me a fair bit of time to get comfortable with the silence and being alone. I’m so used to always having company on hikes and in nature, that it felt like a great exercise to be on my own. After a while I got into the right mood and could enjoy everything at my own pace.

To summarize my experience, here are what I consider the pro’s and cons of hiking by yourself.

Pro’s of hiking alone:

You can reach a meditative state where it’s only about you and moving around in nature
You can hike/rest at your own pace
It’s a mental challenge where nobody pushes you to “just do that last bit too”
You learn to be comfortable by yourself

Cons of hiking alone:

Sharing an experience can enhance it
If you ever get in serious trouble (because of tripping, falling or other medical issues), it’s safer to be in company who can assist or find help
Nobody there to motivate you when the going gets tough

I hoped you enjoyed reading about my experience and I know for sure that I’ll be doing this again! Evans Peak was just the beginning! Feel free to share with me how you liked your solo adventures and if you have any tips for me for future hikes!

PS: I didn’t take a lot of photos, because I was grinding away, lol. Think of this hike as the Grouse Grind, but way, way longer, lol. 😉 But I’m happy I at least took a selfie at the top!