Do You Solo?
What sounds harder to you: Hiking for 10 days, carrying all your gear on your back? Or sitting alone for six to eight hours, with no one but yourself for company? (If that doesn’t sound too hard, think about the last time your phone died and you had to wait in line somewhere. Most people get fidgety waiting for just five minutes). Well, Yagilu 2 just did both!
Over the course of the 10-Day Hike, each camper took a solo. What is a solo? A solo is an opportunity for each person to sit alone, undistracted, for 6-8 hours in the middle of the woods. People respond very differently, as you can imagine. Some alumni have told us that their solo was the most difficult part of camp; others see it as their most profound memory.
Solo Day is usually in the later half of the 10-Day hike. The morning of, each camper prepares the things he’ll need for the day: lunch and a few snacks, at least three liters of water, and a whistle. They also bring a poncho and sweatshirt in case of cold weather or light rain. Finally, they receive a pen and notebook from their counselors. Knives and lighters may not be brought for safety concerns, and watches are handed in to enhance the experience. It goes without saying that phones and music players cannot be brought, either. These items will make sure that the day is passed safely, with the maximum chance of staying focused on the goal throughout the solo.
The leader of the hike gathers the group to frame the solo. Each leader has his own style, but the gist is the same: the solo is an opportunity for you to just plug in to yourself. Regular life is marked by constant distraction – there’s always something demanding your attention, whether school, family, hobbies, friends, or technology (and that’s not a bad thing – these are all, at least potentially, positive and productive). It is a unique opportunity to step away from all those distractions for a significant period of time and just get to hear yourself think.
Some counselors provide prompts to start the campers off. “Think of a seed and a stone in your life. A seed is something you want to plant, something that will grow and flourish over time. It could be a Midda to work on, a habit to start, or a friendship to develop. A stone is something that you want to remove, something blocking growth and impeding progress. Come up with an action plan for both the planting and de-stoning: how long will it take, what are the first few steps that need to be taken?” Other counselors suggest topics to think about, such as Relationships (family, friends, Hashem…), Life Goals (What do I want to accomplish ten years from now? How do I want to be known to those around me?), and Self-Knowledge (What am I good at? What makes me happy, and what often makes me upset?). All of these are just prompts to start the process of looking inside and getting a feel for who you are.
Everyone leaves the campsite together. The counselors place each camper in the area around the campsite, close enough to be in shouting distance but far enough to not be able to see each other. If anyone needs help, he is surrounded by his friends and the camp staff, who will come running. Of course, the campers are told to stay where they are and not wander around, so that they can be found at the end of the solo. Some campers begin by sitting quietly and taking in their surroundings. They become intimately familiar with their small section of the forest. In fact, I can still describe the areas I’ve solo’ed in, even though the solos were more than 5 years ago. Other campers go straight to their notebooks, beginning to journal about the questions posed to them. A good piece of advice I was given is to just start writing, even if you don’t feel that you have anything significant to record. This technique, known as freewriting, often allows you to record thoughts as they develop, helping put words to feelings rather than waiting for them to solifidy into fully formed thoughts.
Over time, campers get restless. Counselors once came to pick up a camper only to find him finishing up a trigonometry theorem he had devised as he passed the time. Other, less cerebral types had stripped all the branches from the trees around them; Yagilu legend claims one camper even uprooted several trees in his area. Some campers sing quietly, practice bird calls or write poetry. Since no one has a watch, it’s very hard to gauge how much time has passed and how long is left in the solo, which itself is a disorienting feeling.
When the time is up, the counselors come around to bring everyone back to the campsite. The walk back is usually quiet, in an almost solemn way. Most people are still lost in thought processing the experience they just had. Before Davening Maariv and going to sleep, the group debriefs the experience. There are Twizzlers for anyone who shares a poem with the group; others talk about aspects of the solo itself, rather than the content.
Our alumni often tell us that the solo is one of the things they use in life outside of Yagilu. While they generally don’t go into the woods for 6-8 hours at a time, they recognize the power of sitting on a problem or decision for a solid couple of hours without any distractions. They also recognize an element of the solo in days such as Shabbos, Yamim Tovim, and fast days. Each one provides an opportunity to disconnect from day-to-day life and reflect on the past and upcoming weeks (Shabbos), nuggets of religious inspiration (Yomim Tovim), or self-improvement (Fast days). The solo teaches the skills of thinking deeply and getting to know yourself, both of which don’t get nearly enough attention otherwise.
If you want to get an idea of what this could feel like, block off just half an hour for yourself and think about one of the prompts above. Let us know how it goes in the comments!
