Night Hiking

[PinkRaven]

How difficult/easy it is to follow the blazes at night with a headlamp?

Would you recommend taking the maps if I plan on doing a lot of night hiking?

I am an experienced night hiker, but I have always traveled with Map & GPS at night.

Is anyone else out there into night hiking?

PinkRaven

[Majortrauma]

I'm curious why you want to night hike. Lots of ankle risk hiking at night and following the blazes at night even with a good lamp (and lots of batteries) is not going to be easy. Some locations on the trail are marked far better than others but overall I think there's a lot more unnecessary risk.

[rocketsocks]

How difficult/easy it is to follow the blazes at night with a headlamp?

Would you recommend taking the maps if I plan on doing a lot of night hiking?

I am an experienced night hiker, but I have always traveled with Map & GPS at night.

Is anyone else out there into night hiking?

PinkRavenIf you are planning on hiking at night I would suggest.....TAKE THE MAPS please...cause hey we all get lost every now and again;)

[MedicineWoman2012]

My experiences with night hiking have involved relos , maps, gps and a full moon along with 100lumen headlamp. I was not in need of the headlamp on most of the trip but it did keep me warm the majority of the night after settling in my blood was still pumping and my tent warmed up quite well. It was much colder and difficult than my partner expected but I enjoyed the adventure and challenge to test our abilities to navigate in a new area that was rather steep. I can tell ya that we have never had any mishaps with wrong turns or going down any ravines but that evening there was a questionable episode that opened our eyes to the possiblity of setting up in a non camping area....along side the last white blaze we were able to verify in rhime ice and snow :o)

[MedicineWoman2012]

Ooops...never meant to imply that the headlamp kept me warm..it was definately the climbing before turning in for the night.

[Amanita]

My mother had a friend in college who died night hiking. Super experienced hiker, part of the school's outing club, just slipped off a steep trail into a ravine.

So my opinion has been affected by this, I would say to look closely at the trail profiles and descriptions, and not push into more difficult territory at night. It's harder to see the dangers, and a longer wait for help if something does happen.

[lush242000]

How difficult/easy it is to follow the blazes at night with a headlamp?

Would you recommend taking the maps if I plan on doing a lot of night hiking?

I am an experienced night hiker, but I have always traveled with Map & GPS at night.

Is anyone else out there into night hiking?

PinkRaven

I think Ned Flanders enjoys midnight fog walks.....

[JAK]

Definitely depends on 'where'. Full moon helps also. Finding the blazes is important because you don't want to get lost. Stop and camp until morning if lost. Done that. Footing is more important. Don't night hike where you are not prepared to trip and fall. A hiking stick or hiking sticks really helps at night, even on a wide reasonably level path or logging road type trail. Really helps alot. The three times I really like to hike with a stick...
1. When its getting dark.
2. When there is ice under snow.
3. When I'm hiking with small kids.

[Slo-go'en]

Night hiking isn't hard to do on the AT. I've done lots of it here in NE where one could argue it's the most dangerous, but in the fall when it gets dark early and your still a couple of miles from a campsite, it's got to be done. Also, during the summer hiking at night can help beat the heat. The only thing you need is a good headlamp and watch your footing! And don't expect to go very fast.

For the most part, the AT is a well defined path which is easy to keep track of. I'm not sure a map would be of much use, as you can't see any landmarks and without GPS, you will have no clue as to where on the map you are.

However, be it night or day, you have to be careful at trail junctions and watch for sudden turns, which sometimes aren't obvious and have a false trail which looks to be the right way to go. The worst is if the trail is following an old woods road and then turns off it. Then it's easy to miss the turn off and keep following the road. If your paying attention to the treadway, it becomes apparent your not on the right path without going too far astray. If not, you could end up way off track! Finding the trail after a road crossing can be tricky too.

[Zipper]

Slo-go'en makes good points. A lot of the AT is very rocky, so sometimes it helps to hold the lamp lower down - not at head level - it illuminates the rocky trail better.

I did a little night hiking but generally preferred daytime. My favorite hiking times are just at sunrise and in the "magic hour" just before sunset. The light is gorgeous at those times of day.

But full moon hiking is pretty amazing too!

[Del Q]

Not necessarily on point with this thread but.................

.........not sure if any of you experience this "magnet" feeling, that the AT after days/hours just PULLS you along, the white blazes fade away as you continue to trod along NOBO or SOBO. I have found it to be a nice feeling and helps me flow with the trail we all love. Different at night?

Have spent a good amount of time in the woods at night, but not on the AT...........am looking forward to a foray into night hiking,

[Toli]

Night Hiking is AWESOME!!! I've been up and down Blood Mountain at least 5 times this year alone, but when I did it(Twice now) in the dark, it was a new trail again :D... I use Hiking poles and have a 140 lumens headlight...

[Heald]

I got into night hiking by hiking thru winters on the AT. The short days. In most cases I honestly prefer it. This was not always the case, but the last several thousand miles I've covered I found myself very much enjoying hiking until 1 or 2am, before throwing down and sleeping in the ditch of the trail. There is just something very appealing about it, at least to me, and a very few others.

[10-K]

I night hike just about every time I go hiking and I really like it.

My favorite "night hiking" is waking up around 3:00/3:30 and hiking in the dark and watching the sun come up. I've caught some amazing sunrises hiking in the pre-dawn hours.

[JAK]

I agree with the whole magnet feeling thing, and the full moon. There is a certain rush you get at night. It's a different experience. I wouldn't hike the entire AT in the dark, but I wouldn't hike the entire 2100 miles without experiencing some night hiking now and then, especially around full moon time. It's something I am more likely to do in winter though, when nights are shorter, and the sun reflects the full moon so well. First quarter works also, for hiking until midnight, and the third quarter is good for getting up before dawn. Night skis by moonlight is awesome, but a good trudge over the snow can work also.

It is sometimes easier to walk over the snow at night then trudge through it by day.

On a side note, not an expert but when snaring rabbits, it is much harder at night unless you hide the glare of the snare wire. Also, as our rabbits are actually snowshoe hares aka varying hares, and when it gets down to 0F their long ears freeze to conserve heat, so you have to make the loop bigger when its 0F. Unlike rabbits, and humans, the ears thaw out just fine without falling off.

[JAK]

I meant to say its much harder to snare a rabbit under a full moon. Certainly easier by night than by day, of course.

[Shadowalker]

I recently did some night hiking Oct. n Nov. of 2011 from the Delaware Water Gap area Pa. , South , The area being really rocky and with some steep Trail areas was enjoyable , but with the leaves filling in the rocks , Every step was a test in these areas , Also one of the evenings it was freezin rain after 5:00 pm when it got dark , I kept going til 10:00 when the Wind blew in Fog on the ridge I was on , I was in a very rocky area and could not see at all to continue , I was weighing my option of having to stay put without setting my tent up for the night in the freezing rain , When Mother Nature blessed me with more wind , Blew the fog back out long enough for me to hightail down the Trail , The 1st area I came to I could put up my tent I did , And put my tarp over it , It was a mix of freezin rain till morning . I dodged a bullet that night , It would have been a long night tryin to sleep on those rocks.

[Half Note]

On night hikes I've done, I've always found it best to not use a light and let your eyes adjust. You'd be surprised how much you can actually see.

[coheterojo]

I have to agree. My night hikes tend to develop when I just keep hiking past sunset. There's still light for quite some time and, by the time it disappears, your eyes (well, mine anyways) are able to adjust.
Everything takes on a different flavor at night. The colors disappear and everything turns to shades of black, white and gray. Sounds and smells all become more pronounced.
Whatever fear of the dark I may have possessed long ago is replaced by the joy of being able to experience the magic and wonder of the forest at night. I only turn on the headlight when I absolutely have to although night hiking with a headlamp has its good points too. Spider eyes on the trail look like thousands of little diamonds in the leaf litter. Making big miles in the cool of night to beat the heat of a sultry summer's day......I ramble.

DAMN!!!! I wish I was out there right now!

Hasta la proxima,
Flaco

[4eyedbuzzard]

Not a big fan of night hiking, especially so on unfamiliar ground. A couple of years ago my daughter and I were hiking the AT NOBO towards Holt's Ledge (NH just past Hanover area by the Dartmouth skiway) where the Falcons nest in the cliffs. Just south of the nesting area the trail appeared to go straight - and it did - right off a 100' cliff. The double blaze was really faded and only because we slowed to look at a fire ring there and say, "hey what a nice sunset spot / campsite" did we look around and see that the trail actually turned sharp left there. I know of several other places the trail appears to go straight and unless you catch the blazes you'll walk right off the edge.

[Bronk]

The times I had trouble with night hiking were when there were road crossings and you had to "find" where the trail continued on the other side of the road...much harder to do in the dark. And the problem there is if you can't find where the trail goes you're basically stuck camping next to the road until daylight when you can see where you're going...and camping next to a road is not a very good idea.

[nitewalker]

How difficult/easy it is to follow the blazes at night with a headlamp?

Would you recommend taking the maps if I plan on doing a lot of night hiking?

I am an experienced night hiker, but I have always traveled with Map & GPS at night.

Is anyone else out there into night hiking?

PinkRaven

i find night hiking rather easy. i figure any miles i do at night are only bonus miles on top of my day miles. its obvious nite miles will be slower than day miles so at night i usually go slower to try and avoid injury. most times when i nite hike i plan on stealthing somewhere along the way but there are occasions when trying to push for a shelter leads to some nite hiking. hiking at nite seems to get the adrenaline flowing pretty good. i find myself to be more aware of the noises off in the woods but also i feel more carefree at nite. i basically get a natural hi from hiking at nite. if i do hike at nite its usually only till 10 or 11 pm or so. i try not to make it a habit but when it hapens i roll with whats dealt to me. i guess my only advice for nite hiking is to go slow, know where your at, know your terrain and pay attention especially when you come to intersecting trails...oh yea i never use my gps at nite or even the day. i find my trail skills outweigh the need for a gps. i always have my maps...

forgot to mention the full moon effect. hiking under a full moon is wonderful and well worth some nite miles. i find when i hike with a full moon i can never fall asleep. i toss and turn all nite long. in general nite hiking is a blast...

[Jim Adams]

I did about 250 miles of the AT at night in 1990...not hard, enjoyed alot of the views, (surprising how "not wilderness" you are in) and cooler temps but watch for snakes on and along the trail in summer.

geek

[Nooga]

The times I had trouble with night hiking were when there were road crossings and you had to "find" where the trail continued on the other side of the road...much harder to do in the dark. And the problem there is if you can't find where the trail goes you're basically stuck camping next to the road until daylight when you can see where you're going...and camping next to a road is not a very good idea.

I agree with Bronk as this has been my experience. Also at night it is harder to dead reckon as it is difficult to judge your pace. But I guess this is only important if you are hiking to a specific camp site. I agree with others that under a full moon, night hiking is fabulous.

[protargol]

HYOH, but I think all the concerns about night hiking and getting lost are overblown. I just finished a fairly late SOBO and ended up doing night hiking almost every day. I did two 24 hour hikes and although your pace goes down, it's very possible to maintain a constant pace and know how far you've gone by time alone. I could count on a 2.5 mph pace if I didn't take breaks, and I was doing 3-3.5 during daylight hours.

You need pretty good moon and cloud conditions to hike without a headlamp I found though.
I found that my feet "knew" where the trail was, and if I got off trail, the leaves would just feel different. Side trails tended to not get equal wear, but this may have just been a benefit of hiking in late fall.

Following the blazes was never too hard and I never used a map or GPS, just my AWOL guide. The only tricky times are when it's raining and you get to large open spaces. Large road crossings and open fields can be hard to find the blazes, but I only once got so turned around that I couldn't back track to where I came from and had to wait it out until morning. Look for the most worn path and chances are it's the AT.

If you're going SOBO, and you're not sure of where to go next, I would check the NOBO blazes and see where they "aimed". This usually pointed in the right direction well enough that I could figure it out. Also, if I was worried about getting lost and not being able to back track, I'd drag my bear bag line behind me as my bread crumb path.

As for the fear of falling off the cliffs, my advice is don't walk off cliffs. Easy enough to do, and you're rarely so close to an edge that a slip will send you to peril.

[lemon b]

If your young go for it. Skip the headlamp. Depends where on the trail as far as getting lost.