Solitude in hiking

High Rock Lookout. You can see the tiny white cabin on top of center peak.

High Rock Lookout cabin (summer, 2009) with Mt. Rainier behind it.

When hiking alone as a deaf or hard of hearing person solitude can either be a peaceful place or a frightening one, depending on how you relate to being in the outdoors while alone, and unable to hear should that happen. It may seem frightening to some people on not being able to hear. But for me to hear with my hearing aid gives me that added dimension to my own version of what solitude is all about. And the opportunity to hear the sound of the breeze rustling through the trees and grasses, a babbling creek, roar of a waterfall, or birds chirping in the distance. And if I'm lucky hear the rattle of a rattle snake if I don't get too close (yes, I did see one and took a picture of it from 6 feet away, that's another story for another time).

I find it very peaceful, relaxing and whenever I hike to a spot high up on a mountain peak or on a ridge line area where I can see the vast distances spread out across before me. And witness the awesomeness of nature and her beauty. I grew up hiking, backpacking and camping as a kid and continue to do so as an adult.  I know what beauty is about. Nowadays, I get more of my hiking done that is work-related, getting paid to hike in the back parts of the forest as I go and get the needed survey data for my analysis. And the only way to get where I need to go is to hike.

At other times I hike when there is an opportunity to go when good weather comes my way such as hiking up to Gotchen Creek Meadows on the flank of Mt. Adams or hike up to High Rock Lookout where I hiked once before when I was a young boy at 8 years old did I actually remember that place on a hike with my mother and father, and my sister and brother that day.  Solitude is about revisiting your past as well. And I certainly enjoyed my 2 hour solitude there by myself.

I get my solitude "high" at these high places absorbing in the beauty and fresh air knowing that only a few people actually took the time to visit these altitude challenging trails. In fact, I met up with 4 older people on my trek to High Rock Lookout where one couple was from New Zealand and the other from Olympia, Washington. I had a nice chat with the people from New Zealand, especially the nice lady who had a quaint but soft New Zealand accent to her voice. I asked her to please speak up because I told her I have a hearing loss. After our brief 10 minute conversation on High Rock Lookout I asked two ladies to wave at me so I can take a picture of them as they departed on their way down the trail. One waving at me is from New Zealand.

One particular hike I fondly remember is a hike to a 10,600 ft ridge line peak that is part of the Sierra Blanca (12,003 ft) mountain ridge line in New Mexico. My hike was work-related and it was a 4.5 mile round trip hike starting at the end of a road in Bear Canyon as I hiked along Bear Canyon Creek trail inside the subwatershed.

(copy and paste Latitude and Longitude for Google Earth)
33 25' 05.20" N
105 49' 30.65" W

My hike began at 8080 ft on a 2.5 mile trail to a 10,640 foot ridge line peak where I stopped there for lunch.

(copy and paste Latitude and Longitude for Google Earth)
33 25' 05.20" N
105 49' 30.65" W

The place was an open grassy peak where to the west it drops off with trees downslope. The stop was breath-taking with a grandeur view of the Tularosa Basin valley below me where the Chihuahuan Desert is. I could see White Sands to the southwest of me to the Valley of Fire lava field almost directly to the west. And mountain chain on the opposite side of the Tularosa Basin valley could be seen. After an hour of absorbing in the beauty and fresh air, my lunch break was over. I hiked back down piggy-backing a ridge line back to my truck, a 2 mile hike where I had to bush whack my way through in some parts with downed trees. I wasn't on a trail but above the trail where I was earlier along Bear Canyon Creek. It was an awesome hike. I just wished I had brought my camera that day.

Another hike I took was the Dog Canyon hike in the desert of New Mexico near Alamogordo. My hike started at the 4400 ft elevation up to 4900 ft elevation where I did my taping for my "Adversity" vlog for hearing parents of deaf and hard of hearing children that speaking isn't something to be ashamed about. That hike was a relatively short one yet it was steep with with an elevation gain of about 500 ft, though the trail was well built and easy to hike on with some crudely made steps that were built in.  The weather was quite warm that day being that I was in the Chihuahuan desert and all that. The view certainly looked different being almost 50 miles further south from a hike I did up to a 10,600 foot ridge line peak.

(copy and paste Latitude and Longitude for Google Earth)
32 44'53.19"N
105 54'35.90"W

Solitude means different things to different people. As a person with hearing loss my solitude is about nature and the environment where I get the opportunity to enjoy the high altitude views. It's about the smell, the sound, the view and even the effort to get where you want to be will experiencing solitude be more refreshing than ever. The crunching steps of my boots on the trail. The swiping of a few handfuls of huckleberries to quench my taste buds.  A car trip cannot replace that same feeling of solitude, nor will it get you that same feeling of reward the effort it took you to a place few people hike to. The spirituality is different when you are one with nature, hiking a trail while you mull over your thoughts, alone. I have a lot of hiking ahead of me and lot places to visit in Washington and Oregon, especially next on my radar is my "super-secret" swimming hole near Tygh Valley, Oregon that I went often went as a kid with my folks who grew up nearby in Dufur, Oregon. There is solitude in hiking. When will you take yours?