Actually one was designed by a female thru-hiker. The prototype - a salad dressing bottle !!Originally Posted by jjozgrunt
““Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees....” ― John Muir
Ear plugs are my best friend while sleeping along in the woods. I also pack some advil pm if i need a little help dozing off.
I can't remember the first time I slept alone in the woods, so I can't give any tips except that, if you think about it, there are 100,000 times more people injured or killed by people than are injured or killed sleeping in the woods. So, if you are alone in the woods, you are exceptionally safe.
About the scariest moment I had in this situation was when I heard this first time ever noise and it kept repeating itself. I discovered later that I had forgotten my cell phone on and it was the warning sound that it was shutting down.
My scariest moment was camping, with the military so not really camping, near the Thailand/Malaysia border. Me and my buddy woke to the loudest roar ever, that sounded like it was just outside our hutchie/fly. I will never forget my first wild tiger roar and didn't sleep a wink all night.
"He was a wise man who invented beer." Plato
HAHA, nice!
My advice would be to research how many people have ever been attacked or killed camping in the woods and figure there are tens of millions of people out there every year and then you will realize, just based on the numbers, that you will wake up just fine in the morning.
I can help with that with regard to thru hikers.
There have been at least 5 thru hikers who have been murdered by a complete stranger on the AT itself-- each of whom was many hundreds of miles into their thru hikes. Only 1 long distance section hiker has been murdered on the AT proper.
More thru hikers have been attacked, of course. But not many.
No thru hiker has ever been killed or seriously injured by an animal on the AT.
Of course the trail has seen a lot of thru hikers, so these numbers are considered to be small by the hiking community. Reasonable people can disagree on whether that number should raise any concerns or not-- my opinion on that is in the minority. Also, it should be noted that with the possible exception of the long-distance section hiker killed a few years ago (few details have been published in that case because the killer was never caught) all of the confirmed incidents on the AT were at a shelter, and not during the contemporary NOBO bubble.
My strategies...
Sleep near a stream, the sound of the water is soothing and drowns out other noises.
As soon as a negative thought or image creeps into your mind, replace it with a positive or humerous one.
Bourbon
For me sleeping near a stream is not so great.
I not only hear voices in the water, I hear complete conversations.
Ok, just kidding about the conversations but by god some of the voices sound real.
Ear plugs help me muffle all the unfamiliar sounds out. Like the deer that bedded down 30 yds from my hammock. Got up to go to bathroom and the deer exploded out of there nearly giving me a heart attack
I enjoy sleeping by a stream, but will say I know exactly what you are talking aboutBeen there done that, the more intently you listen, you think, hey who said that...
That's interesting! I hear the exact same thing in the water? I wonder what that is??
Take Time to Watch the Trees Dance with The Wind........Then Join In........
Pretty much assures a damp-ish night too. At least more condensation, and unpleasant humidity in warm weather.
Earplugs give me a great nights sleep. People will ask me "aren't you afraid that ...(insert bear, mountain lion, etc..). Unless an animal is chewing on me a bit, I really don't care if its out there.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 11-03-2014 at 22:10.
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