May 16, 2010 9:45 a.m.

Jim Dilley Greenbelt Preserve
Laguna Beach, CA

May 16, 2010 9:45 a.m.

I tried hiking alone for the first time today. I got about 200 yards down the Lake Trail, freaked out and legged it back to my truck.

It’s one thing to hike with a group of people or a friend. It’s another thing to walk alone down a city street. But, to walk alone, off the grid is something else entirely.

It wasn’t a fear of rapists or murderers that sent me running back to the comfort of civilization, but the sense of alone-with-my-thoughts-ness. No TV or radio or mindless chatter to fill the empty spaces.

Walking along in the wilderness—even with my trusty cell phone—showed me with stunning clarity what it means to be a vulnerable bag of meat without horns or claws or a protective shell and to risk becoming lost or hurt with absolutely no one else for miles around.

But I’m going to try again next week. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make it at least 400 yards down the trail.