Late night evacuation with kid.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

Is there a new bambino in your world yet, JB?

[Just Bill]

Is there a new bambino in your world yet, JB?

YAR!- 5/27- A.T. was born- Alana Avery Townsend. Everyone is healthy, sleepy, and more or less happy.
The first six weeks suck- but I have my little girl and a nicely balanced family (We've got two fellas, two ladies, and one each- fire, earth, water, and air).
I look forward to emulating my new hero- Farmer Chef!

[Teacher & Snacktime]

Congratulations! Try to get some sleep and enjoy your brood!

[Just Bill]

Congratulations! Try to get some sleep and enjoy your brood!

Thanks!
I'm catching up on the sleep- wifey not so much- that and she's still healing up so it has been difficult to enjoy my broad.

[Another Kevin]

When night hiking- attaching a light at your waist and/or chest- or using a chest/hand held is a better way to hike in the dark.
Wearing a headlamp means the beam crosses your field of vision and diminishes your night vision. In addition, the light itself creates a small "halo", especially if the air is moist, that is hard to see through and strains your eyes very quickly.

By keeping the light below your field of vision, your night vision is better and you won't strain to punch through the halo. And your light source is closer to your feet- getting the most bang for your Lumen powered buck in addition to reducing shadows that skew the actual trail landscape. Practice a few setups in the neighborhood to find what works best for you. If nothing else- most Ultrarunners go with some version of this setup- as far night hikers go- I'd follow their lead.

Thanks for the tip, JB! I'd already learnt to put the lamp above the bill of my cap, to keep the beam out of my eyes, but keeping it lower, like fog lights on a car, sounds like an even better plan. I'm sure that I could strap my existing lamp to the camera case that rides on the ladder straps. It'll take maybe a little getting used to, not having the beam follow my head position.

FWIW, I tend to use red lights for doing camp chores.

[Just Bill]

I know you're not a fan of the official stuff but- http://www.rei.com/product/768986/pr...-quad-headlamp
I like this for my lower lamp, with the bonus of having the red light shade (as opposed to the dedicated red light) for camp. Seems to generate 2-4 nights of hiking on a set of batteries.
That hat trick is a good one in a pinch, but I found the sore neck from having to peer down over the bill got old fast.

The band is 3/4"- so it fits on any 3/4" webbing. A sternum strap is a likely candidate for you, or you could add a lower one to the ladder straps for this purpose. The camera bag may be too bouncy and cause (excess) eyestrain.
My pack has a 3/4" webbing hipbelt so it often goes there. I found this to be a good enough light at that level. My visor is also 3/4" webbing so I can leave the headband at home and simply clip to my visor for more traditional uses.

Haven't played with it much- but many ultrarunners seem to prefer adding a handheld with a good beam for route finding. The last few night hikes I did I held my Princton tech Fuel in my hand for that purpose- but I think a Fenix model would be much better. The quad gives a nice flood light for the trail, but having a good spot beam for route finding or checking out that scary bump seems like the better second light. Two lights seems to be mandatory for any extended duration hike- waist level flood for primary and a handheld or head worn spotlight when needed. With the waist level light I find my night vision preserved enough that the second light is seldom used and easily lasts a week or more.

[Another Kevin]

You carry alphabet soup in your FAK, Kevin? I've heard of the benefits of chicken soup of course......

Sometimes I've got it in my food bag. Alphabet noodles are great for freezer bag cooking. Add dried veggies from Harmony House, some low-sodium chicken bouillon (I'll salt to taste later, the full-sodium is too salty for my taste even on the trail!), some onion powder and herbs. Reconstitute in a freezer bag and throw in some pouch chicken for the last few minutes. Maybe not as good as what I make at home, but a lot better than canned, to say nothing of instant. Add some sort of bread (bagels and baguettes carry well, as do things like pita or naan), and maybe some freeze-dried fruit or something, and it's a meal.

Or if I don't mind dirtying my pot, I might pack dehydrated potatoes instead of the noodles, float some reconstituted Bisquick on the top and set it to simmer on the stove. Chicken and dumplings is great on the trail.

And I wished that's what I'd brought in Harriman; I didn't realize I was dealing with the spice-intolerant!

I don't carry any medicines in my FAK that I haven't used at least once on the trail, on myself or others. I carry just enough to get someone off trail, so for a weekend trip, that means four tiny pill envelopes, with a few tablets in each. I haven't put it on a lab balance, but I suspect that the kit of drugs is less than an ounce.

[nastynate]

I learned the headlamp on chest/ handheld in the hand from trail runners as well and it works great. I think that method is the best for technical night hiking.

[Another Kevin]

I know you're not a fan of the official stuff but- http://www.rei.com/product/768986/pr...-quad-headlamp
I like this for my lower lamp, with the bonus of having the red light shade (as opposed to the dedicated red light) for camp. Seems to generate 2-4 nights of hiking on a set of batteries.
That hat trick is a good one in a pinch, but I found the sore neck from having to peer down over the bill got old fast.

The band is 3/4"- so it fits on any 3/4" webbing. A sternum strap is a likely candidate for you, or you could add a lower one to the ladder straps for this purpose. The camera bag may be too bouncy and cause (excess) eyestrain.
My pack has a 3/4" webbing hipbelt so it often goes there. I found this to be a good enough light at that level. My visor is also 3/4" webbing so I can leave the headband at home and simply clip to my visor for more traditional uses.

Haven't played with it much- but many ultrarunners seem to prefer adding a handheld with a good beam for route finding. The last few night hikes I did I held my Princton tech Fuel in my hand for that purpose- but I think a Fenix model would be much better. The quad gives a nice flood light for the trail, but having a good spot beam for route finding or checking out that scary bump seems like the better second light. Two lights seems to be mandatory for any extended duration hike- waist level flood for primary and a handheld or head worn spotlight when needed. With the waist level light I find my night vision preserved enough that the second light is seldom used and easily lasts a week or more.

Actually, that Princeton Tec lamp looks interesting. It isn't one of the ones with a horrible battery pack in the back of my head, and it takes 3 AAA batteries. (I refuse to take a device on the trail that can't use drugstore batteries. I can even charge my cell phone off a AA-powered device.) Still, my hardware-store headlamp has 'strobe', 'flood', 'spot' and 'red' modes, so it seems to do just about everything, at a weight penalty of a few grams, so replacing it isn't a super-high priority. Before I experiment with a different one, I want to see how this one works out mounted lower.

My camera bag is, I suspect, smaller and more stable than you think - it's about the size and shape of half a brick, and it's mounted pretty stiffly on my left-hand ladder strap. Tying to it wouldn't bounce very much, I reckon. But I've got various bits of webbing and elastic to work out something else.

I've not noticed a stiff neck with the hat trick, but maybe it's something I'll notice only once it's gone.

I don't know how well a handheld lamp would work for me. Remember that I use poles. I know you and Lone Wolf don't like them. Neither of you has my knees.

I don't do that much night hiking. I do a little in winter, because daylight is scarce. And I seem to wind up night hiking because of one thing or another every time I go with Snacktime. I don't actually think the kid makes me do it; it's just something that follows him when he's with me. Nevertheless, I walk to and from work in the dark in winter, with about half the walk being on an unlit bike path, so my headlamp sees a lot of use then. I'll try out your suggestions when the days are shorter.

And we're drifting the thread pretty badly, so I'll shut up now.

[rocketsocks]

I learned the headlamp on chest/ handheld in the hand from trail runners as well and it works great. I think that method is the best for technical night hiking.

I often affix mine around my waist, don't like all the bugs flyin around my face at night dive bombing my light.

[FarmerChef]

YAR!- 5/27- A.T. was born- Alana Avery Townsend. Everyone is healthy, sleepy, and more or less happy.
The first six weeks suck- but I have my little girl and a nicely balanced family (We've got two fellas, two ladies, and one each- fire, earth, water, and air).
I look forward to emulating my new hero- Farmer Chef!

Wow. Congrats, JB! I still remember my youngest bouncing along the backpack carrier on the AT singing a song only she could understand in time with my footsteps. Enjoy those little ones! And eventually.....sleep.

To the OP - right on! Go superDad! In the end everyone came out ok and your son will remember you carrying him out for a long, long time. I still remember being sick on a family vacation and having to be pushed around Union Station in a luggage cart waiting to change trains. These kinds of trips are the ones they remember and smile.

[mad4scrapping]

YAR!- 5/27- A.T. was born- Alana Avery Townsend. Everyone is healthy, sleepy, and more or less happy.
The first six weeks suck- but I have my little girl and a nicely balanced family (We've got two fellas, two ladies, and one each- fire, earth, water, and air).
I look forward to emulating my new hero- Farmer Chef!

Congratulations!