I typically hike solo and most of my hikes involve climbing remote mountains. I usually get really excited about the hike, from the planning, to the trip, to the actual start of the hike. I throw on my 40lb pack and off I go, usually anywhere from 4 to 10 miles into the backcountry.
As I've gotten older, I noticed that I tend to worry a little, because I am alone, am getting older and I'm back quite a ways. My excitement turns to thinking of "What if's" and how I would deal with them because I am alone.
On this trip, I got to where I was going to camp, set up, camped overnight and climbed the 2 mountains I had planned to do. Once back at camp I decided to get up at 3AM, break camp and hike out so I could make the 5 hour trip back and still have part of the day to relax.
I broke camp and started out. After about a mile I ran into a couple that asked me to keep an eye out for this one woman that had been caught out at the top of the mountain at sunset. Her headlamp died, she had the wrong pack, so she had no food, or warm clothes. She had been out all night trying to find her way down the mountain and find the main trail and was very shaken, They gave her some food and an extra headlamp they had.
I thought I could catch her and at least accompany her out the rest of the way so she wouldn't be alone. I never caught her, even with double timing it with a full pack, as she was very motivated to get to her car and go home.
This got me thinking though, like this lone leaf, growing and pushing on, surrounded by other trees in this vast forest, that we are never really alone. There is always someone out there that wants to, or can help, even when we least expect it.
This whole experience has helped put me at ease when I hike solo now, knowing that I can go on and am confident that if I need help, someone will be there to help!

4640 X 6918 px., 300dpi, Canon EOS 90D, F/11, 1/3 sec., ISO-100, 35mm