View Full Version : Night Hiking
Hey guys;
Anyone do much night hiking?
I haven't done much; only to reach a shelter or tentsite after the fall of dark.
I would like to try an all-night hike, after sleeping most of the day. Maybe on the AT in Vermont or NH.
Anyone have any suggestions, cautions, advice?
Thanks
Arden
butts0989
04-17-2010, 23:22
a good headlight and some nerve. if you havent done it before and you're doing it alone you may feel a little on edge sometimes, but after about an hour you will quickly overcome it. personally there is nothing like getting to the top of a mountain by yourself at night on a crystal clear night, simply amazing.
Picking a nice full moon is best, usually don't need a headlamp most of the time.
Though not usually on a typical thru-hike, a winter night hike is great, especially if the ground is snow covered and a full moon - one of my favorite times to hike. Absolutely beautiful. Plus you get to hike and stay warm during the coldest time of the day.
As with Lyle, I love full moon hikes...I love full moon skis even more.
Magical!
I've got a good Petzl lamp that uses a Halogen bulb and comes with a spare.
I'm not particularly afraid of the dark. Sounds really exciting with the moon and clear sky. Maybe catch one of the meteor showers!
Guess I should make some noise in case the bears are out hunting for food that wasn't properly hung:D
Would stepping on snakes be a problem at night?
Arden
turtle fast
04-18-2010, 01:02
Depending where you are they can be great...especially when you have a full moon where you don't have to use a headlamp. However one would be amazed how active the forest is at night. I had a fellow hiker quit night hiking on the AT because they kept kicking up to many Copperheads on the trail at night. I myself have been followed by bears in Northern Michigan. Lots of Raccoons and tons of odd noises.
Jim Adams
04-18-2010, 06:51
I hiked almost 250 miles at night during my 1990 thru and it was great. You miss the occassional "great view" but you also get some that you would never get in the daytime. Your petzel will be great for that, a little heavy but it will cover a good size of the trail ahead and you can zoom to spot wildlife. use the single large battery instead of the AA's, it will last much longer and you can extend battery life at the expense of illumination by returning to the regular bulb.
I stopped night hiking on that thru after late June / early July until I reached Mass.- Started seeing way too many snakes on the trail for my comfort. Before June and north of Mass. it was fine.
geek
Thanks guys;
I was wondering about snakes. It might be hard to spot them at night, unless they are rattlers<g>.
I once had an encounter with a rattler. It let me know that I was getting too close!
Arden
Depending where you are they can be great...especially when you have a full moon where you don't have to use a headlamp. However one would be amazed how active the forest is at night. I had a fellow hiker quit night hiking on the AT because they kept kicking up to many Copperheads on the trail at night. I myself have been followed by bears in Northern Michigan. Lots of Raccoons and tons of odd noises.
Followed by bears? Sounds creepy. What do you do in situations like that?
Arden
I've been doing some night hiking and love it. It's an acquired thing - like when you first start hiking you have to really look for the blazes - after a while finding them becomes second nature.
I'd recommend learning to night hike by starting around 4:00 AM and hiking in the pre-dawn dark hours. That way, if you get confused you can just sit down and wait because it won't be too long before it's light. If you get turned around at 11:00 PM, you'll be sitting in one place all night...
Stir Fry
04-18-2010, 17:59
I tend to be up around 4 am so I usualy start in the dark. I have never had a problem, the trail is like a beakon every thing else is dark and it just stands out. On a good day I have 10 Miles under my belt by lunch. I normaly only plan 12 14 miles a day so I'm in camp early. On a section hike these seems to work for me as everything is planed out. When I do my thru in 2014 I hope this leads to good milage days. I see a lot of hikers that do not start untill later 10 or 11 am. and tthen hike like mad to get to camp before dark. Thatys there hike but I'm more relaxed my way. Try both and see what works.
TIDE-HSV
04-18-2010, 18:39
I was wondering about snakes. It might be hard to spot them at night, unless they are rattlers<g>.
I once had an encounter with a rattler. It let me know that I was getting too close!
I've had one encounter with one which didn't rattle. Snakes in the trail are mainly a problem in spring and fall - and as one goes north. In sections, the trail is somewhat in the open and usually has rocks. On cool nights when the day was sunny, the rocks in the middle of the trail are going to be a place a cold-blooded reptile can find a place to warm its blood...
Darwin again
04-18-2010, 18:58
In the heat of summer, the rattlesnakes hunt mainly at night.
I heard of someone who tried night hiking in the heat of summer and gave it up because of all the snakes out in the night. I'd expect this to be true anywhere south of Pennsylvania once it gets warm enough.
As for the LED headlamp for night hiking, if yours tend to give off a bluish light, blue blazes will appear absolutely WHITE. Beware. I know this, because in Georgia, walking at night, I took the trail to the left which was blazed blue. I discovered my error after about 45 minutes of walking, "Hey, this doesn't look like the AT" I said to myself. NO kidding, they look absolutely bone-white. :rolleyes:
SGT Rock
04-18-2010, 19:07
http://hikinghq.net/night_hiking.html
I love to night hike and agree with Lyle- pick a full moon night. I am always amazed at the eerie figures the shadows cast and how your mind plays tricks on interpreting the shapes.
Easy to see how folklore evolved............
TIDE-HSV
04-18-2010, 19:20
In the heat of summer, the rattlesnakes hunt mainly at night.
I heard of someone who tried night hiking in the heat of summer and gave it up because of all the snakes out in the night. I'd expect this to be true anywhere south of Pennsylvania once it gets warm enough.
Good point, and they use heat-seeking pits to locate prey. Most strikes are defensive, but I wouldn't want one of them to make a selection error...
gunner76
04-18-2010, 19:30
When I lived in Banner Elk NC in the 70's, we would be out hiking and we could often smell the rattlesnakes before we saw them as they had a very musty smell.
I've been doing some night hiking and love it. It's an acquired thing - like when you first start hiking you have to really look for the blazes - after a while finding them becomes second nature.
I'd recommend learning to night hike by starting around 4:00 AM and hiking in the pre-dawn dark hours. That way, if you get confused you can just sit down and wait because it won't be too long before it's light. If you get turned around at 11:00 PM, you'll be sitting in one place all night...
That sounds cool. I enjoy the early AM when I'm lying there in my tent. I think I could get to enjoy starting a hike around that time:)
Arden
In the heat of summer, the rattlesnakes hunt mainly at night.
I heard of someone who tried night hiking in the heat of summer and gave it up because of all the snakes out in the night. I'd expect this to be true anywhere south of Pennsylvania once it gets warm enough.
As for the LED headlamp for night hiking, if yours tend to give off a bluish light, blue blazes will appear absolutely WHITE. Beware. I know this, because in Georgia, walking at night, I took the trail to the left which was blazed blue. I discovered my error after about 45 minutes of walking, "Hey, this doesn't look like the AT" I said to myself. NO kidding, they look absolutely bone-white. :rolleyes:
I've got the "old fashioned" Petzl lamp. It uses either a halogen or standard bulb. I use the LED flashlights in camp though; especially for reading and writing at night. They're great for battery life, but the ones I have aren't too good for use on the trail. I know LED's have improved drastically over the past few years though.
I'll try to remember what you said about the blue blazes and the LED lights if and when I finally buy one.
Arden
I would like to try an all-night hike, after sleeping most of the day.
Its not going to be easy to sleep most of the day, even for a sleepy head.:D
good luck
Panzer
Snowleopard
04-18-2010, 21:20
I've got the "old fashioned" Petzl lamp. It uses either a halogen or standard bulb. I use the LED flashlights in camp though; especially for reading and writing at night. They're great for battery life, but the ones I have aren't too good for use on the trail. I know LED's have improved drastically over the past few years though.
I'll try to remember what you said about the blue blazes and the LED lights if and when I finally buy one.
Arden
Arden, you really ought to give the newer LED headlamps a try. They're brighter, have a nicer beam pattern and batteries last a lot longer than my old Petzl zoom. Many of the newer ones have a pretty good white color, not bluish white. Even a cheap LED headlamp from Lowes or Walmart is probably better than my old Petzl.
I've done some cross country skiing at night under a full moon. Can't beat it for beauty.
Re: hiking at night: I personally would do it only on sections of the trail I'm familiar with, the best of which would be above treeline in the Whites, though I'd check with the local authorities and see if it's legal. It would be pretty easy to spot someone on the trail from the summit observatory of Mt. Washington if you used a headlamp (but that wouldn't be the same thing anyway).
Yes, about the snakes - I wouldn't do much night hiking (unless I just plain ran out of daylight) in warm weather south of the New England States. In the cold of winter it might be interesting on some of the flatter, drier sections of the trail down south, though.
MattBuck30
04-18-2010, 21:44
I did alot of night hiking during my 2008 thru hike to get away from the daytime heat. While some sections are cool to night hike in, I grew sick of having to constantly stare at my feet to prevent injury. Plus I felt like I was missing out on alot of the scenery! I definitely recommend experiencing night hikes, but dont overdue it like I did! ha
The glowing eyes of deer in the distance can be creepy as well! lol
A group of us did a night run south out of Damascus last weekend.
I had a great time, my first significant distance after dark.
Too cool for snakes, but one hiker was bivied just 6" off the trail and another was tented only a few feet off the trail. So be careful where you step.:)
I used a Petzl Tikki and it was fine by itself, but I had a Minimag tried to my belt and the two together were great.
sasquatch2014
04-19-2010, 07:46
I know that as hikers get up into NY and it is July it is hot and humid so a bunch will do early dinner and then night hike for a few hours after things cool down some. There are some parts of the trail here that are tacked with the reflective tacks on the trees making a night hike really easy. The first time you come across the tacks they can make you pause until you figure out it is not the reflection of some animals eyes. Be a bit cautious as to following only the reflective tacks though as they are also used by hunters to led to tree stands and if you follow the wrong set you could get off trail especially down in the State Game lands of Pa.
Two Speed
04-19-2010, 07:53
http://hikinghq.net/night_hiking.htmlLots of good stuff there. Been doing a little night hiking and noticed that the white LED really blitzes the night vision. After hiking under a red LED for a while I can usually douse the lights entirely. One thing that I'm having trouble with is creek crossings. Just used scoping things out and rock hopping across, if necessary. Somehow that isn't working out real well after dark.
Arden, you really ought to give the newer LED headlamps a try. They're brighter, have a nicer beam pattern and batteries last a lot longer than my old Petzl zoom. Many of the newer ones have a pretty good white color, not bluish white. Even a cheap LED headlamp from Lowes or Walmart is probably better than my old Petzl.
Thanks for the advice; I'll check them out.
It would be the "green" thing to do, considering what alkaline batteries do to the environment.
BTW; I did once try the battery pack for my Petzl, but it didn't last very long at all, and was very expensive.
Arden