Indian cities are crowded places. Cars, buses, and autorickshaws, many packed with people, fill the streets, with cyclists, pedestrians, and animals adding to the mix. Like offices in the U.S., multinational work spaces trend towards smaller desks, close together. Many employees (including myself) commute by group transport, where you work a scheduled set of hours and share cabs (essentially a fleet of minivans) for going to and from the office. At home, it is still common for multiple generations to live together, or, for single professionals, to live in a guesthouse with many other single professionals. So, I imagine that the characteristics associated with the concept of privacy in India are very different than in the U.S. Bowling alone would be a foreign concept in more ways than one.
Thus, it wasn't surprising to me that the most common question I received as I shared my plans for departing India was whether I would be hiking with a group. Even in the U.S., this has been a common theme. The element of the hike that many people immediately see as the biggest hurdle is not the physical aspect but is rather the mental one, and particularly the challenges of solitude.
It's difficult to find people compatible enough to go hiking with for a period of months. That said, the popularity of the PCT has increased dramatically in recent years, to the point that the Pacific Crest Trail Association, which issues permits for long-distance hikes, has introduced this year a limit of 50 permits per day for hikers starting from the Mexican border. The month of April is just about full (given historic weather patterns, April is a typical departure month for northbound thru-hikers, though with the current California drought, earlier departures are more manageable given the lack of snow in the Sierras). Inevitably, then, I'll run into plenty of other hikers along the way, possibly at multiple points.
In working overseas for so many years, and with three cross-border moves in the past three years, I've grown used to traveling on my own. As others have noted, you have the advantage of being able to set your own schedule without having to compromise or negotiate with others. The challenge, as my questioners have implied, is that you're alone with your thoughts for company (particularly hiking in the wilderness).
I hit the trail today, on my own, a little later than planned, but still on a not fully booked day for PCTA permits. I'll see who I run into...
