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View Full Version : Afraid of the dark!?!?! No Way!



Husko
11-08-2005, 23:04
Don't laugh :jump

Sure I've always camped with freinds in camp sites blah, blah, blah. I had issues growing up being afraid of what I could not see when alone in the dark.

I'm over that sort of problem when alone everywhere except when I hike and I'm all alone and camp for the night, i still get those "feelings".

Sooner or later, I'm so tired I can barely stand to care about it any longer and I finally fall asleep but, it still happens every night when I get in my tent. Some times I get out of my tent and walk around with my headlamp just to prove to myself that I'm a fool. Some times it works, other times it just freaks me out to the point of dropping like one of those fainting goats, ever see those? They just freeze up paralized on the ground legs sticking straight out lol!

Many nights, I lay awake in my tent and my ears are soo tuned they start to buzz, trying to hear every single sound possible, then have to make a bit of noise just to make the buzzing stop.

And here is another strange thing. I got my first cold sore when I was about 20 years old. I couldn't believe it! I heard so many things about cold sores and most people talk about how they are contagious from other people. A few other people including my doctor said they could appear simply by stress. I don't know how I got it that year when I was 20 but it was very unsettling.

Last year on my hike ( 11 years later) I thought I heard something out side of my tent. I got so worked up and freaked out I could barely move. And guess what I developed a cold sore on my upper lip. The thing appeared in about 15 minutes time. i could feel it getting bigger by the minute! After hours of worrying I finnaly fell asleep. I hiked out of there and withing 1 days it was gone.

I have to admit, one of the MANY reasons why chose to start hiking was to over come alot of my fears, but obviously I haven't quite conquered ALL of my fears but I'm trying.

Any of your own experiences,solutions or comments would be greatly appreciated.


Congrats! I've never told anyone else about my stupid fear . :bse

rickb
11-08-2005, 23:14
Any of your own experiences,solutions or comments would be greatly appreciated.


I prefer not to camp right next to moving water. All the "voices" in the middle of the night can drive me nuts.

Husko
11-08-2005, 23:20
Funny you should mention moving water. I love camping as close to the shore as I can get, the crashing waves of lake michigan help drown most other things that go wee in the night and put me right to sleep. heh

hammock engineer
11-08-2005, 23:32
Yeah I can agree with you somewhat. Usually tired from hiking and want to sleep.

One good story though. Last month I went on a river canoe trip. I found a camp site down a side stream. I was with one other person, but we were pretty much in a place where no one would see us (or find our bodies). I was in my hammock with the fly on. I was low enough to see around the tarp. Right after I got into my hammock and he got into his tent, we started hearing splashes. They were every 30 seconds or minute. We didn't know if they were animals, someone was throwing something at us, or someone walking across the river. We went out to look and kept hearing them. We shined our head lamps over there but could not see anything. We managed to see a couple of splashes on the other side. We determined (hoped) that they were either small beavers of muskrats. We ended up going back to bed, but kept hearing them. We looked the next morning and saw a bunch of tracks and claw marks on the other side, so they were one of the other.

In the end, a little scary at the time but a cool animal story in the end. The animals are out there doing there thing, and if we are lucky we get to see them do some of it. If that doesn't make you feel better just think back to how many people got away in the horror movies. Not too many. So if there is a rabit animal or Jason want to be, there is nothing you can be able it. So you might as well go to sleep and enjoy what ever time you have left.

CynJ
11-08-2005, 23:48
I hear ya Husko!

I don't know if its been my devouring of books of all flavors or just my overactive imagination - but I am petrified of the dark.

I'm not a religious person, and not a spiritual one either - but I do believe in good and evil - and that there are things that go bump in the night.

That being said - one of my reasonings for getting into backpacking at this point in my life is become much more self-reliant and overcome some personal fears (both real and imagined)

hikerjohnd
11-08-2005, 23:59
Unexpained noises creep me out too - but you'll get used to it soon enough. In the mean time, maybe bring some earplugs, or walkman to screen out the noises of the night. I am attached to books on tape, and an mp3 player is not pretty standard in my pack. If you can't hear the noises, you might just sleep better!

As to the cold sore, as I understand it, once you get one, you carry the virus forever (a herpes simplex of some kind) and stress can trigger an outbreak. There is nothing you can do about it, but Abreva really does work at shortening the duration. A tube weighs nothing and can easily be added to a first aid kit!

Happy hiking!

TDale
11-08-2005, 23:59
Last spring during a fishing trip, I was awakened in the wee hours by the distinct sound of pee-ing going out not far outside my tent. I noted it was raining, and guessed that my fishing buddy hadn't strayed far from under the extra tarp to relieve himself. No problem, plenty of water coming from the sky to wash it away, nobody camped anywhere near us.

Then I heard him snoring in his tent.

The pee-ing sound stopped, he snored, I waffled about finding my flashlight and the pee-ing started again. Now that I'm awake I realize this is a big pee, coming from something bigger than human. Bear? Deer? Bigfoot?

I quickly exited the tent, flipped on the flashlight, and wheeled toward the monster. Nothing there. I cast a wide circle looking for whatever was trying to get behind me. The pee-ing sound started again!

The tarp was sagging, collecting a nice pool in it's center. At a point the water would make it's way down a crease and produce a high quality reproduction of a large animal evacuating.

Ah, Imagination.

hikerjohnd
11-09-2005, 00:00
Unexpained noises creep me out too - but you'll get used to it soon enough. In the mean time, maybe bring some earplugs, or walkman to screen out the noises of the night. I am attached to books on tape, and an mp3 player is now pretty standard in my pack. If you can't hear the noises, you might just sleep better!

As to the cold sore, as I understand it, once you get one, you carry the virus forever (a herpes simplex of some kind) and stress can trigger an outbreak. There is nothing you can do about it, but Abreva really does work at shortening the duration. A tube weighs nothing and can easily be added to a first aid kit!

Happy hiking!

hikerjohnd
11-09-2005, 00:01
Ah, Imagination.

That's great! :D rofl!

Husko
11-09-2005, 00:10
Man I haven't laughed this much in a long time.

That was great TDale! Brought back memories of myself jumping out of the tent as If I was going to have to kill godzilla with my head lamp light and spork!

shades of blue
11-09-2005, 00:20
Fall break, 2003, I was camping in SW Virginia in the Grayson highlands...near Damascus. I was about .4 miles North of Thomas knob shelter on a grassy open area and it was around 10:00 at night. I was in my green tent (before I started hammocking) and about to go to sleep. My head lamp was off and my eyes were closed when suddenly I heard steps comming to my tent. My tent started shaking when some animal was trying to get in through the side of my tent....the wall of my tent was collapsing toward me and I was scared to death...I thought....this is it! The animal didn't come into the tent...but I could hear it breathing outside...I couldn't stand it any more, so I put on my head lamp and poked my head outside the tent....it was one of the wild ponies that live in the highlands. That horse kept me company all night, he wouldn't go away. This is a true story.

Having said this, most of the time I sleep really well in the woods. Well enought that I was able to complete my hike of the AT this summer on Aug. 18. I usually have difficulties sleeping the first and last night of a trip...from excitement on both counts. After a few days on the trail, my body becomes tired enough, and I get into the bio-rhythms of a hiker....lights out when the sun goes down. There will be things that go bump in the night...owls...coyotes ect....for the most part animals will leave you alone as long as you keep food away from your camp. Don't worry, be happy.:sun

TDale
11-09-2005, 00:43
Seriously, Husko. I found the easiest way to adjust to all those noises is to turn off your lights and sit outside the tent until you get sleepy. That nylon shield leaves a lot to the imagination. Outside the tent, you can adjust to the night sounds of your campsite without a lot of paranoia.

I was doing just that last February. The campsite was ready for me to crawl into tent and bag, the food was hung. I had a wee nip beside me and was just leaning against a tree letting the nightsounds of wind and stream lull me to sleep.

HOO!

One big, honkin' owl let out one big, honkin' hoot not 50 feet away. And about the time I got myself cleaned up,

EEEEEEEEE

whatever tree rodent he was hunting let out a death scream even closer. Took me hours to get sleepy again.

Nothing like getting back to nature, nosiree. But the fact is, nothing is out to get you out there. When in doubt, pursue those noises, make bigger noises and essentialy convice animal and man that your nothing to trifle with. (disclaimer: do not pursue this tactic in grizzly country)

Husko
11-09-2005, 01:51
Thanks for your post CynJ. Certainly true how books, stories, movies can influence your perception of current circumstances.

I've actually left my campsite many times and waited till sunset and then until it was completely dark to walk maybe 15 minutes back to camp with my head lamp. (Can't say I'm not trying heh) Still get the jibbies though.

My hiking pretty much amounts to a 8 day outing twice a year in an area where I usually see only about 6 people once the entire time. I have a pretty good feeling after the first 2 weeks on the AT trail I should have a pretty good handle on things. (I hope :eek: )



It makes me happy to hear of similar experiences alone in the woods. Keep them going, it's very entertaining!

DLFrost
11-09-2005, 03:45
I prefer not to camp right next to moving water. All the "voices" in the middle of the night can drive me nuts.
Yep. Had to warn my brother about that when we hammockcamped by a stream in the Smokies last year... "You're gonna hear voices like they're talking almost out of hearing range. You'd swear someone said something. Just ignore it, it's gurgling water in the creek." Next morrning he thanked me for warning him cause he could swear someone was talking and he almost got up to check. Dem woods, dey's hainted.


At least once a year I like to get up to Clingmans Dome tower after dark to watch the sunset and see the stars. Lots of times I've gone up after dark.

So one night it's 3AM and I'm up in the tower by myself getting ready to head back to the parking lot. Suddenly, down below in the woods I hear something large taking an extended piss (begging pardon). Or, at least I figure it's something large because the water being unloaded is of copious volume, and whatever he is sure taking his time doing it. The only thing to decide at that point was how long I was going to wait until I went down there and found out. But I never did see em though... Probably a bear or a buck, but at that time of night it could be Bigfoot or ALEYUNS.

Doug Frost

ffstenger
11-09-2005, 05:50
I'll never forget the night of my first bear encounter ! I was hiking with 4 friends on the AT near Rockfish Gap in SNP. We saw a sow with 2 cubs earlier that day, and bear scat and other signs were everywhere !!! It took a long time for me to get sleepy, then I woke to the sound of a bear just outside of my tent..... when I recovered from my initial shock I realized that it was just the guy in the next tent turning over in his sleeping bag...... I've never been afraid to camp in bear country since then, they just don't bother me. I can't use ear plugs though, I just have to be able to hear if the boogie man might come after me :dance
Showme.

Hurricane Tom
11-09-2005, 08:50
This is a great thread and I'm glad to hear others' experiences. Last year on an overnighter near Hughe's Gap my buddy and I were hammock camping on our very first overnighter. Our hammocks were set up about 30 feet apart and sometime way up in the morning I woke up to the sound of a heavy huffing sound. I was absolutely certain that if I turned my head I would be staring straight at a bear. After about 5 minutes I finally realized that if it were a bear, I would have smelled it by now. I summoned up every ounce of nerve I could and turned to look. Turned out my buddy snores and in the dead of night in the middle of the woods, sound carries really well!

Another time we were hammocking at the AT/Overmountain Trail cross. About 11 o'clock I'm still staring at the rain fly and this shrill screach erupts in the trees above us. Then it turned into the sound of a baby crying. Then it hooted! Then more hoots came throughout the woods. That night, the "Hootie Cats" were born. They've haunted me ever since....http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif

rickb
11-09-2005, 09:21
While I hesitate to let anyone in on this secret (perhaps you already know), the snort of a deer sounds more like a bear, than a bear sounds like a bear. At night the snort of a deer is a dead ringer for the sound a grizzley makes just before he charges. Trust me on that. I haven't heard any charging grizzlies, but I have been scared by enough whitetails to be quite certain about this.

I also believe in the "next animal down" theory, with regards to russling sounds while you are in your sleeping bag. Not sure of the methodology of the original study, bet in my own experience it almost always holds true.

Basically, if you hear something as big as a bear moving about on the other side of your tent wall, the creature is almost certainly no larger than a fat raccoon. Think you hear a raccoon? No doubt its just a skunk. If you hear something the size of a skunk, its almost never bigger than a squirrel. A squirrelly sized sound? Why that's a mouse, to be sure. A mouse? Probably a small toad.

Of course if you hear a Bigfoot (they are out there, you know), nothing anyone can say will help one sleep. :)

Rick B

Smile
11-09-2005, 09:54
Yeah I saw bigfoot once.

Turned out to be a tree stump at the end of a long exhausted day in the dimming light of evening, pretty cool actually what the mind can create! He never moved except when I moved, that was my first sign.....:-)

HarleyHogPit
11-09-2005, 10:26
Husko, I too must confess one of my worst fears. SPIDERS!!!

NIGHT 1
Last summer one of my friends and I decided to do a three day hike on the trail which I had never done before. During the first part of the walk I noticed all of thousands of spiders and spider webs all along the trail and I stopped to examine each one of them. The first night my friend and I set up our tent at an empty camp site. I couldn't sleep and I had to pee so I grabbed the flashlight and set out to find a good spot to go. On the return to the tent I was walking quickly because it was scary out there, in the dark, all by myself. I had the flashlight shining on the ground and as I neared the tent I raised the flashlight just in time to see the huge spider web spanning from one tree to another with the hugest mama smack in the middle of it. I ran right into it. I screamed at the top of my lungs. As I was flailing around trying to remove the DANGER from my body my friend jumped up in the tiny Wal-Mart pup tent and was trying to rip free to come and save me. He was screaming in panic "what's going on?" I was still freaking out something crazy and I finally said, "I ran into a spider web". He was not a happy camper. He said "I thought you were getting eaten by a bear".

Hold on, I don't want to lose you now the story gets better.

NIGHT 2
My first experience sleeping in a shelter under the stars with nothing protecting me from the dreaded 8 legged creatures that hunt in the night (not to mention the abondance of mice) was a disaster. I did not get one single wink of sleep the whole night. Again I had to go to the bathroom but this time it was not the pee calling. I decided not to risk it out in the open woods this time. I went to the outhouse but I noticed all of the spiders eyes glowed green as the light hit them. As I approached the outhouse I heard the scamper of a small animal on top of the restroom facility. I jerk the flashlight up just in time to see a huge spider slurping up into the tree on his thread of death. Good thing I examined the door handle before opening it because there was a small spider taking up residence there. I opened the door with a stick and shined the flashlight in to what looked like hell. It was a haven for every spider known to man as well as any creapy crawly you can imagine. Nature was calling however so I pressed on. As the door shut beind me I began to sweat like never before. I was soaked. Sweat was dripping from my nose. My pores opened up like tiny waterfalls yet I pressed on. I was so stricken with fear I could not go to the bathroom. All of that work for nothing. It was intense, a rush really. HAHA. Next time I will take my chances in the wild.

My story may sound slightly exaggerated but it felt every bit as intense.

On the walk to our final destination I realized that I wanted to hike the AT. I loved it. I was comletely out of my element and comfort zone. I gonna do it. I can't wait. Maybe in the process I will shake one of my greatest fears.

Just Jeff
11-09-2005, 12:06
Yeah I saw bigfoot once.

About 10 years ago I was doing some patrolling during an exercise, and one of the guys had a gilly suit. Then these two hikers came along...we all hid in the woods and he laid down right beside the trail. Like 2' off the trail. As they got closer, he stood up. Didn't say anything or make any noise...just stood up and walked away. They were about 4' away and didn't see him until he moved. Man, you should have seen those guys! I think they shat bear scat in their pants!

I guess I feel bad about it now, but it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen at the time. And he really did look like bigfoot in that gilly.

We talked to them and all had a good laugh, though.

toeknee
11-09-2005, 15:59
great thread. I'm planning my first hike this spring and i'm probably going alone. I've been pretty nervous about getting freaked out out there all alone. Thanks for making me realize that i might get freaked out and be alone but that I won't be alone in getting freaked out.

Footslogger
11-09-2005, 16:22
I've gotten pretty used to strange noises in the night over the years. But I do remember vividly an experience from the military in 1968 that will stay with me for the rest of my life. We were on a survival course and dropped off at 0'dark hundred in the middle of nowhere, expected to find our way back to a marshalling point by morning. I had a compass, some matches and a canteen.

There was enough of a moon and the night was relatively clear so you could see light between the trees to navigate but the ground was as dark as the ace of spades. I was putting one foot in front of the other rather carefully when all of a sudden I stepped into a hole and sank up to my mid calf. As my foot bottomed out all I could hear in the dead silence was the rattling of a snake directly below me. I didn't know whether it was actually in the hole and I had stepped on it or whether it was just laying on the ground and I had startled it. I stood motionless for what seemed like several minutes (but in reality was probably a nanosecond) and then used my other foot/leg to jump as high and fast as I could to get some distance between me and my nocturnal serpentine acquaintence. I continued on that night, feeling like I was walking on rice paper.

Needless to say I've never since been fond of bushwacking at night.

'Slogger

tlbj6142
11-09-2005, 17:44
Twice on the same trip (once in the middle of the night and once the next afternoon) I heard this loud, and rather close, scream. The one at night had to be within 30' of my hammock (which was quite deep into the woods off the trail), the day time one occured during lunch break after I had been sitting in an open sunny spot (several blow downs in one area) for 10-15 minutes in the otherwise shaded woods off the trail about 100'.

I'm still not sure what it was, but I suspect it was a deer? Or a mother bear (I saw a mother bear on the last day of the trip)? It definately sounded like something had just unexpectly discovered me and was warning others. Rather than trying to scare me off.

Though the night occurance did scare the crap out of me.

D'Artagnan
11-09-2005, 17:59
Bobcats make a spooky sound -- could that have been what you heard?

Seeker
11-09-2005, 18:41
funny... my biggest fear is other people... animal sounds you get used to... it's people i don't know that i don't trust. i second the post about animals sounding like they're 'one up'... very true. and a deer sounds just like a person walking through the leaves to me... anyway, regarding being hypertuned/hyperalert, i'm that way for the first couple nights out. after that, once my sense of smell comes back (you'll know what i mean if it's ever happened to you. i can't really explain it if it hasn't... you just get to the point after a couple days out where you can smell animals, rain, water, and people), i relax a lot more... sort of like getting an extra sense to watch over me while my eyes are closed... hearing and smell instead of sight and hearing... hope that makes sense.one of the things i like about a hammock is that i'm up off the ground, away from the mice, snakes, and spiders, and can lift my head to see quite a ways off, without there being tent walls in the way (unless i'm battened down for rain).sort of a funny story about night sounds... i had won one of those free trips to a weird country uncle sam was giving away a few years back... to africa this time... the locals wear those cheap flip flops and robes, and a few had been caught recently sneaking into our camp and stealing rations, cans of gas, and tires. it was about my 3rd night in country, when i woke up and heard this soft 'flip-flop' noise coming from around a corner. it started and stopped a couple times... so i reached down, cocked my pistol, and started to draw a bead in that direction... around the corner comes the flip flop noise, and lo and behold, it's wearing one of those robes like the locals wear... i tightened up a little on the trigger and was just about to fire a warning shot and say 'freeze, A-H' when i realized the figure was about 6' tall and well fed/stocky... hmm..... that didn't jive with the short starving locals... then i looked over at the cot next to me.... it was empty, and my buddy, who'd wrapped up quickly in a sheet (it was hot... no sleeping bag), was just coming back from taking a whizz... he wasn't too happy when i told him what had happened, but he put his boots for future trips...

tlbj6142
11-10-2005, 11:09
Bobcats make a spooky sound -- could that have been what you heard?Maybe. I'm told they are in the area as well. This occured in the Cranberry Wilderness (WV) in late July of 2005. If I heard the sound again, I could identify it. But I can't really describe it since it happens so fast and only once per instance.

sierraDoug
11-10-2005, 23:04
I think the answer is to watch "The Blair Witch Project" video the night before your next big trip.

Marta
11-10-2005, 23:11
I think the answer is to watch "The Blair Witch Project" video the night before your next big trip.

The guy I work with can't figure out why I never, ever watch horror movies. "I sleep alone out in the woods," I told him.

SGT Rock
11-10-2005, 23:34
You know what is funny, dressing up all in black then sneaking into a camp and making scary noises. :D

You should be afraid. BE VERY AFRAID!!!!!

Just Jeff
11-11-2005, 00:01
Hrm...same trip, we found a group of kids from a science club camping out. Gilly snuck into the camp making this awful screeching noise. It almost scared me and I knew who it was!

So he went around their camp (about 6 tents) stomping, screeching, knocking the firewood together, etc. One kid was pretty scared, and one of the dads just told him to shutup! Poor kid.

Finally Mike started unzipping a tent and poked his gilly-covered head in - the hood hung way down over his face if he pulled it in, so you couldn't even see his face. All of the sudden we heard a THUNK...OH SHHT!!

The kid threw a lantern right at Mike's mouth! Like one of the big old-school lanterns with the 2lb square batteries! Mike came running back gushing blood from his both lips...didn't quite need stitches, though. Got what he deserved, I guess!

Like I said, I feel bad about it now, but I was young and dumb and it was pretty damn funny at the time!

Husko
11-11-2005, 00:33
lol omg!

While in my state of being in my little tent, if someone were to do that to me I would be dragging him to the nearest hospital with a titanium spork in the rear, and hog tied with the elastic band that is normaly used to keep the flashlight on the top of my head in hope of getting him medical attention ASAP LOL.

Husko
11-11-2005, 00:40
That is of course if I dont faint! :eek:

The HotDog
11-11-2005, 17:07
Finally Mike started unzipping a tent and poked his gilly-covered head in - the hood hung way down over his face if he pulled it in, so you couldn't even see his face. All of the sudden we heard a THUNK...OH SHHT!!

The kid threw a lantern right at Mike's mouth! Like one of the big old-school lanterns with the 2lb square batteries! Mike came running back gushing blood from his both lips...didn't quite need stitches, though. Got what he deserved, I guess!


Finally, I thought I'd never stop laughing. I might just have to get one to use on my Boy Scout troop.:dance<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/> </v:formulas> <v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/> <o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style='width:30pt; height:24pt'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:/DOCUME~1/JONATH~1/LOCALS~1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.gif" o:href="http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/images/smilies/dance.gif"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->



My biggest phobia at night is Bigfoot Mainly because I believe he exists in a lot of ways but yet he doesn’t in so many other ways.
after reading Just Jeff's post I'll just start telling myself Its some idiot in a ghilly suit.<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style='width:12pt;height:12pt'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:/DOCUME~1/JONATH~1/LOCALS~1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_image002.gif" o:href="http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]-->;)<!--[endif]-->