Hiking alone overnight on a mountain trail

I've been walking for four hours and I haven't seen anyone. Not one. It's been so hot today and I've gone through most of my water supplies. The mountain hut didn't really have any space. I'm Eva and I've spent the last three years of my life traveling solo to some of the world's most remote and offbeat places. From horse trekking alone in Mongolia to living in Pakistan for a year and spending the first three months of the pandemic stuck on a remote island off the coast of Yemen before making my way back home on a cargo ship. It's been one hell of an adventure. But recently I decided it's time for a change. I've been dreaming of being completely free and independent with a little nest of my own. So I bought my dream truck, a Land Rover Defender, and started converting it into an off-road overlander slash mini camper. So today in Croatia I'm about to say goodbye to Odyssey for the first time in a very long time because I'm planning to go on an overnight hike in the mountains all alone. A lot of people ask me if I'm ever scared of, you know, trekking and hiking alone. And the answer honestly is, yeah, sometimes. But not always. It's complicated. But most importantly, actually being out in the mountains all alone makes me feel alive. So this video is actually created in partnership with Tropicfeel who invited me to join their hashtag say yes campaign and, well, say yes to an adventure that makes me feel alive. All right, I'm going to pack up my car and go and meet my friend Rob, who's going to join me for the first few miles of the hike and babysit my car for the night, of course. And then let's do it. Hi, hey Rob, how's it going? Come on in. It was time to head into the mountains where I start hiking for the next two days. My defender, Odyssey, had a bit of a difficult time climbing those steep hills, but I'm pretty sure she enjoyed the views. This road is so beautiful and epic and rugged. You know, you're literally driving up the mountains along the beautiful Croatian coast. It's something else. And if that's a sign of things to come on the trek, then I'm super, super excited about it. All right, we've arrived. Let's get packing. Since I now live in my car full time, I actually have everything that I could need on me at all times. Definitely one of the best things about living on the road. Since the trek is pretty easy and moderate and the weather is summery and clear, I'm wearing a pair of trainers from Tropicfeel. First step in the packing process, I want to lay everything out on this blanket so that I don't forget anything. Because one of the worst things that you can do when you go hiking alone is forgetting something. And then thinking about whether you can survive without it. So let's get started. Toothbrush, toothpaste, sunscreen, face cream, natural soap. That's all you need for two days of hiking. Now the clothes. Again, you don't really need much. Just an extra pair of socks and some extra underwear, a warm hat. Because in the mountains, you just never know when it could get cold. Pyjamas, a pair of long trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, a jumper. And of course, very important, a rain jacket. Amazing. That's all the space that it takes up. Next up, all the tech and all the electronics. First of all, satellite phone. Not a necessity, but I like to have mine with me just in case. A big power bank. Extra batteries for my camera. And the camera, of course, very, very important. Microphone for my camera. And a bunch of cables. That's all I need. Last but not least, in order to be completely self-sufficient, the food. It's time to squeeze everything into the backpack and go. This is the moment where I usually get a little bit nervous because every hike is different. And even if you've done this a thousand times or zero times, there's always a little bit of this nervousness, a little bit of stress. I think it's a good kind of stress. All right, no more excuses. This is where we say yes to the adventure. This right here is a map of the trail that I'm going to be on for the next two days. So my starting point, where we are right now, is right here at Zawijan. And for the rest of the day, I'm going to be trekking about 14 kilometers on the Premujicewa straza, all the way down to this mountain hut right here, where I plan to stay the night. From what I've researched, it seems like the trail is kind of moderate and very much doable if you're reasonably fit. So we have the whole day ahead of us. Let's do it. Oh my God, check out these mushrooms. They're massive. They're like the size of my head. This place is wild. Silence. There's almost nobody on the trail. Just us, the trees, the bees, the wind. I love places like this. They make me feel so alive. Bye, Rob. Bye. See you tomorrow. Thanks. Rob has just turned back because he's in charge of my Defender. He's going to drive it to the other end of the trail, where he's going to meet me tomorrow. But for the time being, for the next 24 hours, I'm hiking here completely alone, which is a little bit stressful, but really, really exciting. I just love being out in nature alone. And check out these views. This is stunning. Croatia is a pretty popular destination in Europe, but all the tourists usually flock to the seaside and the beaches. There's barely anyone out here in these wild mountains. I just read on one of the signs here on this trail that the trail itself was built in the 30s. It took over three years to build it. And get this, it was built using hand tools only. No machines. It's a lot easier to film a hiking vlog when you've got a friend with you, because when you're alone, you have to keep going back and forth, leaving the camera in one spot, coming back to get it. It's a bit silly. Just come across this tiny little mountain hut that you see behind me. It's really in the middle of nowhere at a crossroad. It looks so cool. But I want to show you one really special place that's just over there. I don't know if you're thinking what I'm thinking, but if what I'm thinking is correct, then that is a loo. Yep, that is a loo. That's amazing. And that's the cliff next to it. This is the funniest loo situation I've seen in my life, and probably one of the riskiest. Would you dare? I don't think I will. But this hut is good news for me, because I think there is a water well inside, which means that I can replenish my water. It's been so hot today, and I've gone through most of my water supplies, so I'm really happy. So as you enter this hut, it's really interesting. Basically, you can sleep here if the weather is bad, or you can just grab some water from the water well, you can also light up a fire here in the stove. And people have left all sorts of useful things here for trekkers and wanderers. So we've got a candle, a little notepad, there's disinfectant, the thing you use to make fires, all sorts of things. So in case you're in an emergency, you can rely on shelters like this to keep you safe. Let's try out the well then. There's a bucket at the bottom, and you just pull it up. Here we go. Wonderful cold water. It's everything I need right now. Oh my god, there is no beverage more luxurious than cold, fresh spring water in the mountains on a hot day. This is it. I really find that the kind of peace that you experience when you're out trekking in the mountains and in nature, and even when you're going through little sketchy patches like this one, it still feels so peaceful and so good. And so fundamentally satisfying, you know, like this is what we were built to do as humans, walk across distances. Be at one with nature. After five hours of trekking, I'm about to arrive at the mountain hut where I'm going to be staying the night. It's so super cute. Coming to show you guys. If you're a hiker, you'll know just how good it feels to arrive at a mountain hut at the end of a long day of trekking. It's basically like a little oasis out in the wilderness where you can find shelter, food, and cold beer. After five hours of walking, I am starving and ready to eat all of this. All right, guys, I think it's ready. I know this may not be the most gourmet meal you've ever seen in your life, but to me right now, after hours of walking, sitting in a mountain hut, it actually is. Simple, simple things. So good. And this is just a simple and perfect ending to a simple and perfect day. Of course, not everything went according to plan, such as my sleeping situation. So it turned out that the mountain hut didn't really have any space to spare in the standard rooms in the dormitories. But the ladies here at the mountain hut were so kind and they didn't want to turn me away. So they gave me access to this spare room with a mattress. This is where I'm going to be spending the night. And honestly, maybe it's not ideal, but I'm just grateful that I have a place to stay that's not outside. But I'm safe here in the mountain hut, safe and warm for the night. So, all right, I guess it's time to get cozy. See you in the morning for another day of trekking. It's just after 7am. I had a really good night of sleep. Got my big breakfast here. Life is good. Actually, it was pretty comfortable to sleep on that mattress, believe it or not. I had the window open the whole night and the sounds of the forest coming in. And this morning I've been looking at the map and it seems like I have another five hours to go. Five, six hours, which is really not that much. And it makes me think that I wish I had more time to do more of this trail for like four days, five days. I guess I'll have to come back. For now, I'm going to focus on getting to my final destination for today. All right, back on the trail. This is the start of the next leg of the journey and the sun is fully out. So I better get changed before setting off. She's so cute and so graceful. Wow, wow, wow. I can't believe I'm seeing this. Take a look. I'm on top of the mountain and there's a view of the sea stretching out just behind me. This is incredible. I've never seen anything like this before. One thing that really struck me just now is that I've been walking for four hours this morning, four hours, and I haven't seen anyone. Not a single soul, not a single person, not one. It's just been me, the whole way, nobody else. Which, I mean, personally, I love, but it really makes me wonder, is trekking really that unpopular? I mean, this place is so beautiful. You'd think there would be more people coming here to enjoy it, but apparently not. Everybody's there over that hill on the coast enjoying their holiday. Just 10 kilometers away, but nobody comes out here. I was meant to cover about 24 kilometers or 15 miles that day. And, spoiler alert, I didn't actually see anyone at all during that entire time until finally running into my friend Rob later in the day. I've just arrived at a pretty major crossroads and I need to make sure that I find my bearings. So I'm going to take a quick look at the map because right about here is where I'm going to have to turn off the main trail and go off onto a side trail that will eventually, hopefully, take me to the sea. So this is an important moment and I have to make sure that I get the route right. I am somewhere right here and so I need to turn off here which is somewhere in that direction and then keep going down and down and down towards the sea which is also somewhere in that direction. I'm almost there. I've got like just over one kilometer left but suddenly the terrain has become much rougher than before. So we've got these little stones everywhere. That makes it a little bit more difficult to walk because you have to be really careful not to slip and I don't know if you can hear the difference in sound but once again, just like seven months ago in Albania, also on a solo hike, I lost the dead cat on my bike. Finally, I knew I was getting closer and closer to my destination. The path was becoming flatter and I could almost smell the salt of the sea in the afternoon breeze. How's it going? I'm done. Let's go to the sea. This was the plan all the way along to do a trek from the mountains to the sea so that at kilometer 40, which is now because I've walked 40 kilometers, I can jump straight into the sea. You ready? This is so exciting. I know this jump promised to be epic but ended up looking a bit anticlimactic but trust me, the cold water on my body felt absolutely amazing after such a long trek. It's perfect. This is it. This is what it means to be alive.