Boldly Go Solo

My friend Elaine was hesitant to admit that she was glad I didn’t join her on her recent trip out West. But no insult taken. I understood that it meant she’d had a fabulous time.

She went out to Utah a few weeks ago without knowing a soul. All packed and ready for a biking and hiking trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion national parks 

After walking the switchbacks of Walter’s Wiggles, hiking the ups and downs of Peek-a-Boo Loop, taking a ride part way down the Grand Canyon on a mule named Fancy, and waking up to snow one morning at Bryce (in June!), she was tight with a group of people she loved spending time with. She didn’t need no stinkin’ friends from home! No sir.

The two guides, Dave and Mike, were great, she says, concocting elaborate  gourmet spreads for lunch, including fresh fruit and chocolate. They went out of their way to please the guests, creating new bike routes on the fly when the snow or other unexpected events cut into their biking time.

Everyone ate dinner out together. Elaine had a
biking partner who wanted to do the long routes that she loves. She had her own room in comfortable and
homey lodgings made of stone or logs. This group was so in tune that people cried when they had to part at week’s
end.

Elaine had thought about going with friends. She ran it past me to gauge my level of interest. Deep down, though, she wanted to go on her own. She knew that if she brought someone, she would have felt obligated to do things with her. "I would worry, ‘Does she want to do this or that? Does she
want me to call her for breakfast?’ "

All those stresses were gone. Instead, Elaine could
pair up with anyone at any time. Or, as she joked, "I was totally free
to move about the cabin."

It was liberating. She was happy. She bonded with
many of the other guests, several of whom live in the Washington, DC,
area where she resides. She plans to keep in touch, and bike, with
several of them.

Elaine is not new to the solo travel experience. But
other trips, mainly ski trips, were geared toward singles. With dozens
of people eyeballing one another and forming cliques, the atmosphere
was competitive and stressful.

Not so, in Utah. There was no "drama" on this trip.
Just fresh air, beautiful scenery and good people. "I don’t know how
anything could beat it."

Photos: By Elaine

1. Elaine and new friend at Bryce.
2. The guides goofing off, pretending to fall.
3. Hiking the Narrows.
4. Home, sweet temporary home.