Solo Overlanding

[AVH]

I’d love to hear everyone’s opinions on solo overlanding. I’m planning a trip from Florida to Utah and back through Colorado and will hopefully include as many trails as possible, like Hurricane pass, California Pass, Rimrocker, and White Rim (I have permits and reservation for WR). As of now I have scratched Imogene from the list as from what I have read it is not for solo travel. I’ll be heading up the first 2 weeks of June so there is a chance some of the passes might be closed.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on driving and camping these roads alone.

Pretty confident in my rig which is a Jeep JKU with Metalcloak lift, winch and more.

 

[MMc]

I mostly travel solo since my wife passed. You have to think twice about tackling somethings, i have been stuck by myself with out seeing a soul for 48 hours. I like the the hole self-reliance thing. I do carry a inreach to be able to text my 89 year old father. It has a SOS feature that i do not think I'll use. Solo is great because your are not worrying. about anybody else. The down side is problems you are your and you on your own to solve. If I roll my truck I have to figure a way to right it and fix it. Snap a axle or a A-arm it's still on me. My last trip was cut short because the starting module was acting up, Baja isn't the place to be with those kind of problems. You'll meet more people for sure.

 

[SWLands]

I did a lot of solo last year and loved it. Went for a week without seeing a soul - I just went bush and base camped by myself. I am very comfortable being alone in the wild. Indeed I need time alone - it isn't the same even with just one other person.

I have a 2020 4Runner, Icon stage 6, winch, armor and it now has 30,000 miles on it - not likely to break yet. I have turned back from some trails as I won't push it - if I had a buddy I would have gone further. I have a zoleo and I send a check in every day. I am not a mechanic - if it breaks I will look at it, but probably would need someone to rescue me. Which is why I don't go on anything sketchy. And after a year I am not that inclined to get sketchy except for short stretches even in company. I don't want to break my truck. The joy for me is being out with nature. National Parks are mostly too crowded for me now - the scenery may be exceptional but if I am in stop and go traffic the experience is depressing. That was Zion last year.

On Imogene there will be a number of other people. I might consider chatting with some people and see if I could tag along - my 4Runner is way more capable than my skills. But I would be very gentle about raising the issue - best if they saw me as a solo and invited me, lol, and in chatting I got a sense that they knew what they were doing.

I am booking up a lot of group trips this year. I still have a few places I want to go I will want company - like Coyote Flats and Funnel Lake above Bishop. I am sure I could solo it, but I would be happier with another set of eyes I suspect.

 

[AVH]

Appreciate the feedback. Pretty excited to do this!

 

[AZ WANDERING BEAR]

I do most of my trips solo and prefer it for a large number of reasons. I'm actually teaching a class at Overland Expo West on going solo. I've done most of your list solo, though with the exception of White Rim (a fantastically scenic trail if you love sandstone) you will have plenty of company. Reliability is key. Having thought through the most common scenarios such as tire changes solo is required. Intentionally moving slower and more deliberately helps too. The payback is a far more intimate interaction with your trip and yourself. And amazingly you will always rise at the perfect time, nor feel any guilt for spending more or less time at a viewpoint. In other words, it is YOUR trip. Hope you have a great time.

 

[Advtres]

I have done a lot of Motorcycle adventuring alone, and some trips with the 4runner solo. For the most part I usually find I am not alone alone, people stop by to say hi, you meet people at different stops along the trail. I agree with others, I do not push the rig envelope when I am by myself, last thing I want to do is use my inreach to call my husband to save me… ( he so loves it when i do that, said no one ever…)

Just have all the gear you need to self-recover and you will have a great time!

One thing that helps me, especially at night, or making dinner is having an audio book.

You are going to have a blast!

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Do yourself a favor and get a spot or inreach. It could be a life saver if something goes bad. Other than that, enjoy the trip!

 

[Lumber]

I solo mostly in Nevada in the BLM lands. I love being able to set my own schedule, not feeling guilty about getting started late or stopping early if I'm tired. Plus the wife and kids have no desire to go so... I have an Inreach JIC, winch, tracks, recovery gear, lots of water, tools, etc. I'd like to have a portable welder too but the specialty ones are expensive and you need a couple of batteries so not sure about that in the future. I used to go in my lightly armored '15 Grand Cherokee but I just finished (never really finished) building a '99 Cherokee which will be my main OL vehicle now. Always have paper maps in case you need to walk out and as much water as you can reasonable carry. I always assume I may have to self rescue or walk out of a bad situation so I plan accordingly. Oh and for food I usually just bring a bunch of MREs. I can eat them cold if I don't feel like breaking out a stove or if I just want to eat in the car by the side of the trail. I'm not big on the gourmet cooking outdoors so those are fine for me.
I really don't like bears so I usually stay East and South of the Sierras. I do always take a firearm but mainly for the 2 legged predators more than anything. For sleeping I really like the Aussie swag bag on a cot. They're basically single man tents made of waterproof canvas. These are great for camping out of a vehicle because you can leave your sleeping bad, pad, pillow, etc. in the swag, roll the whole thing up and throw it in the back of your rig. They're warm, dry, quick to assemble and convenient. Another advantage to solo overlanding is you have a lot less crap in your rig which is always a good thing.

 

[MMc]

One of the downsides of going solo is you don't have anybody to remember the experience with. I plan to do the Pan America solo, so I guess I'm OK with it. in the 80's I would meet guy surfing solo that would be I Baja for weeks and weeks, didn't quite understand it. Now I am one.

 

[North American Sojourner]

I’d love to hear everyone’s opinions on solo overlanding. I’m planning a trip from Florida to Utah and back through Colorado and will hopefully include as many trails as possible, like Hurricane pass, California Pass, Rimrocker, and White Rim (I have permits and reservation for WR). As of now I have scratched Imogene from the list as from what I have read it is not for solo travel. I’ll be heading up the first 2 weeks of June so there is a chance some of the passes might be closed.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on driving and camping these roads alone.

Pretty confident in my rig which is a Jeep JKU with Metalcloak lift, winch and more.

"Pretty confident in my rig" says it all. If you're "Confident in yourself" you're good. Have a good trip.
Zim

 

[AVH]

Do yourself a favor and get a spot or inreach. It could be a life saver if something goes bad. Other than that, enjoy the trip!

Agreed, I have been looking at options for Sat community

 

[AVH]

I’d love to hear everyone’s opinions on solo overlanding. I’m planning a trip from Florida to Utah and back through Colorado and will hopefully include as many trails as possible, like Hurricane pass, California Pass, Rimrocker, and White Rim (I have permits and reservation for WR). As of now I have scratched Imogene from the list as from what I have read it is not for solo travel. I’ll be heading up the first 2 weeks of June so there is a chance some of the passes might be closed.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on driving and camping these roads alone.

Pretty confident in my rig which is a Jeep JKU with Metalcloak lift, winch and more.

"Pretty confident in my rig" says it all. If you're "Confident in yourself" you're good. Have a good trip.
Zim

Lol. I prefer my vehicle to be more capable than I am, one less thing to worry about.

 

[AVH]

One of the downsides of going solo is you don't have anybody to remember the experience with. I plan to do the Pan America solo, so I guess I'm OK with it. in the 80's I would meet guy surfing solo that would be I Baja for weeks and weeks, didn't quite understand it. Now I am one.

Yes I agree 100% but you also get to exactly what you want :) I’ll come back and irritate everyone with my YouTube videos lol

 

[AVH]

I solo mostly in Nevada in the BLM lands. I love being able to set my own schedule, not feeling guilty about getting started late or stopping early if I'm tired. Plus the wife and kids have no desire to go so... I have an Inreach JIC, winch, tracks, recovery gear, lots of water, tools, etc. I'd like to have a portable welder too but the specialty ones are expensive and you need a couple of batteries so not sure about that in the future. I used to go in my lightly armored '15 Grand Cherokee but I just finished (never really finished) building a '99 Cherokee which will be my main OL vehicle now. Always have paper maps in case you need to walk out and as much water as you can reasonable carry. I always assume I may have to self rescue or walk out of a bad situation so I plan accordingly. Oh and for food I usually just bring a bunch of MREs. I can eat them cold if I don't feel like breaking out a stove or if I just want to eat in the car by the side of the trail. I'm not big on the gourmet cooking outdoors so those are fine for me.
I really don't like bears so I usually stay East and South of the Sierras. I do always take a firearm but mainly for the 2 legged predators more than anything. For sleeping I really like the Aussie swag bag on a cot. They're basically single man tents made of waterproof canvas. These are great for camping out of a vehicle because you can leave your sleeping bad, pad, pillow, etc. in the swag, roll the whole thing up and throw it in the back of your rig. They're warm, dry, quick to assemble and convenient. Another advantage to solo overlanding is you have a lot less crap in your rig which is always a good thing.

The two legged ones are the biggest concerns lol.

 

[AVH]

I have done a lot of Motorcycle adventuring alone, and some trips with the 4runner solo. For the most part I usually find I am not alone alone, people stop by to say hi, you meet people at different stops along the trail. I agree with others, I do not push the rig envelope when I am by myself, last thing I want to do is use my inreach to call my husband to save me… ( he so loves it when i do that, said no one ever…)

Just have all the gear you need to self-recover and you will have a great time!

One thing that helps me, especially at night, or making dinner is having an audio book.

You are going to have a blast!

I like the audio book comment, I was wondering what to do without being able to binge watch Netflix lol

 

[Peanuts]

Prefer the solo trips tbh. Something about the solitude and reflection. For me, the biggest thing is knowing your gear inside out. Practice winching, learn how to apply first aid, take a basic auto mechanic course. Anything that will increase confidence and adaptability in the face of unforseen issues.

 

[Jk.Overland]

I’d love to hear everyone’s opinions on solo overlanding. I’m planning a trip from Florida to Utah and back through Colorado and will hopefully include as many trails as possible, like Hurricane pass, California Pass, Rimrocker, and White Rim (I have permits and reservation for WR). As of now I have scratched Imogene from the list as from what I have read it is not for solo travel. I’ll be heading up the first 2 weeks of June so there is a chance some of the passes might be closed.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on driving and camping these roads alone.

Pretty confident in my rig which is a Jeep JKU with Metalcloak lift, winch and more.

I am going late July or August for a solo trip from Mississippi out to Moab Utah. I have some people I am meeting there but I plan do Hurricane pass, California pass , and Imogene. A friend of mine did it solo last year without any issue.

 

[Lumber]

I like the audio book comment, I was wondering what to do without being able to binge watch Netflix lol

I bring my Kindle and usually stay up too late reading in my tent. Of course I don't have to worry about getting up late because it's just me.

 

[Lumber]

I am going late July or August for a solo trip from Mississippi out to Moab Utah. I have some people I am meeting there but I plan do Hurricane pass, California pass , and Imogene. A friend of mine did it solo last year without any issue.

That sounds like an awesome trip! Good luck and have fun.

 

[Tundracamper]

Well, being as I’m doing a similar trip solo, but a few weeks earlier (sans CO), I’ll let you know:). I went to SE UT last summer and I enjoyed it enough that I’m going back by myself this May to hit the remote places I missed last summer (we did all the NP). This trip, I may do some of Capital Reef and Canyonlands, but tbose are not the focus. It’s a magical place!

Since I don’t have a winch, I’m not terribly hesitant about turning around if something looks too challenging. Hopefully, that will work in my favor this trip and I won’t overestimate what I can do. Mainly going for the scenery as I don’t have a ton of interest in rock climbing, etc.