I admit, I had a bit of a freak out the morning that my 4-day solo hike began.

As I drove the 3 hours to the starting point of my walking journey, I fully expected a typical last minute wave of anxiety.

Vancouver Island is a nature and outdoor lover’s paradise! With many ways to actively explore its rugged beauty, spending time deep in the forest on a solo walk is my idea of a soul filling adventure.

There isn’t a common denominator or single reason for wanting to travel solo. I asked a couple of people in my life about their solo travel motivations and, along with my own reflections, discovered three very different reasons for solo travel.

With a 4-day long distance hike planned, I asked a local certified pedorthist and manager of Walk the Coast, one of my favourite locally owned shops, about when to get new hikers, different types of boots, what to pay attention to when trying boots on, and how to take care of your feet once on the trail.

I’m embracing the growth and novelty motives in my life at home. For me that means lots of learning and trying something new. I’ve decided to lean into the idea of solo travel.

Being fully engaged in life means being fully present, focused, and aware. It means not missing out on amazingly extraordinary moments or beautifully ordinary moments. For slow travellers, it means experiencing more travel bliss.

Studies of travellers have shown that anticipating a trip can make you happier than the trip itself. Travel planning builds anticipation.

Your travel experiences have shaped who you are. We preserve and can revisit our travel memories to reconnect with the elements of those experiences that have had an enduring impact. Remembering the feelings from our travel past can also shape our future choices and increase our travel wellbeing.

Our feelings of wanderlust can be inspiring, depressing, purposeful, anxiety-ridden, expansive and/or downright frustrating. Understanding those feelings can highlight how to satisfy your wanderlust in different or unexpected ways.

If someone asked what would make me happier, my answer (pretty much anytime, any day) would include travel planning or travelling.

Traveling brings up many feelings. At the end of the day, however, people who love to travel, love it all and the complexity of it is part of the draw.

Call it “nature” (personality traits) AND “nurture” (experiences) -motives are completely unique to you. They get you excited about a particular trip, shape your decisions and cause certain memories and experiences to stick with you long after the trip itself.