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cabbagehead
07-22-2012, 21:59
When you're on a long distance hike, do you alter your sleep schedule so that you hike with the most (or least) hours of daylight (for hiking), or the most hours of what you consider to be a hiking temperature?

Spirit Walker
07-22-2012, 22:02
I go to bed with the sun, wake up with the sun.

kayak karl
07-22-2012, 22:05
i see no reason to hike in the dark. no reason to sleep in the daylight (hiking or not). temperature is of no concern.

Edie
07-22-2012, 22:46
i see no reason to hike in the dark. no reason to sleep in the daylight (hiking or not). temperature is of no concern.

What he said

4shot
07-22-2012, 22:46
same as the above. when it's dark, I'm in the sack.Cold temps can keep my in my bag for awhile but I'm usually awake at dawn. never did hike in the dark...I fell enough when I could see the trail. That's why winter camping locally is tough for me...it can get dark in the woods here at about 4:30 - 5 PM in December/january, makes for a long night in the tent.

ChinMusic
07-22-2012, 23:01
i see no reason to hike in the dark. no reason to sleep in the daylight (hiking or not). temperature is of no concern.

Pretty much this. I am a night owl at home but often one of the first to hit the bag on backpacking trips. Temps are really not much of an issue.

Jim Adams
07-23-2012, 19:19
I can't take the heat...if it is too hot, I rest or camp....cool and I hike. Day or night doesn't matter much.

geek

Bootbanger
07-23-2012, 20:01
I hike during the day. I hike whether it is cold or hot. I go to sleep when the sky is dark and I am up before it is light.

theoilman
07-23-2012, 21:20
Is your sleep based on temperature or light?Neither. . . . . . Exhaustion!

Malto
07-23-2012, 21:24
Normally I will hike in all the daylight hours, early morning and late evening are my favorite. If its really hot I may nap off the hottest hours of the day and push for earlier predawn hiking hours if I need the hours to make the miles.

rocketsocks
07-23-2012, 21:40
Why yes, yes it is based on temp and light, thank you for asking.hehe.I seem to remember reading something about sleep disturbances a few years back, it included just about any and everything, Coffee to soup to nuts...I didn't know about the nuts, I guess they can keep you up too.

Maddog
07-23-2012, 21:47
i see no reason to hike in the dark. no reason to sleep in the daylight (hiking or not). temperature is of no concern.
+1 I agree with KK! Maddog:)

Maddog
07-23-2012, 21:49
Is your sleep based on temperature or light?

Neither. . . . . . Exhaustion!

+1 Again! LOL! That's more like it! Maddog:)

Miner
07-23-2012, 23:15
I get up at first light because I care about temperature. I hike fast with less energy while its cool in the morning, not so much once it gets hot mid-day. Once again, it cools off in the late afternoon which is great hiking time again. So I hike the entire day, but not because of sunlight. If that makes sense.

Tim Causa
07-24-2012, 13:10
I really enjoy hiking at night as it's cooler. My base weight is sub 11 pounds and I hammock so I'm not too worried about a heavy pack on rocks and when ever I feel like stopping, I just have to find two trees and sling up the Hennessy. I typically eat dinner right before bed, but if I eat on the trail, I can go from pack on back to ass in sack in like ten minutes.

Lyle
07-24-2012, 13:54
Of the two factors you mentioned light plays a bigger part , but other things obviously factor in as well. The ideal is to be comfortable at all temps, and to have a light source capable of expanding your day if other factors take precedence. Sometimes I just feel like continuing for another several miles after a full day of planned hike.

cabbagehead
07-25-2012, 21:56
Light is a slight factor for me. I don't like getting tan. Usually there are enough trees, or it isn't sunny enough to get a major tan. I also like to be warmest in the morning, and coldest when I finish walking. On long hikes, I often tend to walk past 12 AM. It's just what naturally seems to happen. Maybe it hast to do with me being antisocial right before I go to sleep. It would make more sense to be on an early schedule though (to save batteries). Also, in the morning I need the most light to make sure I didn't forget anything. At night I just need to see enough to know where my tent is with respect to the trail.

Drybones
07-25-2012, 22:01
Might should have a third choice...alcohol consumption.

theinfamousj
07-25-2012, 22:13
So, I interpreted this question entirely differently than the rest of you ... I thought about what I cannot sleep through. I absolutely cannot sleep if it is too hot and the air is too still. I can sleep through pretty much all else. I've been on the occasional weekend trek near the coast where night temperatures just don't drop enough until very late, and though I am exhausted, I find myself tossing, turning, and begging sleep to befall me, but it won't until the temperature drops. Then, I'm up with the sun (which generally sets about heating the air).

Hairbear
07-26-2012, 05:14
both taken into account really i like the up before the sun and munch breakfast as i moving thing i get to see more animals as the sun is just climbing into the sky,but if its real cold sometimes i will linger till the sun warms thing a little and eat a warm breakfast

ferdEggmont
07-27-2012, 20:16
neither, it was based on how my body felt.

Stir Fry
07-27-2012, 20:56
I start hiking in the dark a lot. When I wake up at 4:30-5:00 I almost never stay in the sack. I tend to get going.
The only thing I hate about being the first out in the morning is
"SPIDER WEBS".

This habit has also driven me away from shelters. I hate packing up and having to worry if I'm bothering some one.

Papa D
07-27-2012, 21:07
In the summer, I like to wake up about 4:30 - usually there is light in the sky - I make coffee, eat a bar, pack up and go - it's great if I'm hiking by 5 am which virtually insures "10 by 10" - - I rarely make this though - I just did 170 miles - mostly in the whites and usually made "10 by noon" - - still on the fast side. By 4 pm, I start thinking about dinner and thunderstorms - - it's good to be camped by 5:00 or 5:30 pm and sleeping by 8:00 pm. I also trek a lot in colder months - the schedule changes for this - I usually start by about 6am. It's interesting to think of sleeping based on "temperature or light" - I typically sleep at night and hike by day - - when winter trekking, it's obviously coldest very early in the morning - maybe 3am - at that time, I'm typically still in my bag.

cabbagehead
09-05-2012, 19:30
I finished a trip on Saturday. It was a little more than a week on the AT in VT. I took a bus to Hanover NH and walked south. It was hot. I would start hiking between 7 AM and 2 PM. I would often take a 1 hour nap when it was the hottest. I would then hike until around 12 PM. The latest I hiked to was 3 AM.

Papa D
09-05-2012, 19:45
Muy schedule usually just shifts a little to the early side:

on a typical home day, I wake at 6:15 am, (and either run or workout or not) and then pretty much start the day at 8:00 am and finish the day about 6:00 pm, eat dinner, hang out and go to bed around 10:00 pm

on a typical hiking day (barring really truly extreme weather), I wake at 5:00 am, begin hiking by 5:45 am, snack during the day, eat dinner about 4:30 pm, and am usually close to sleeping by 8:00 pm

other than in circumstances that are extremely cold - such as temps below zero, deep snow, driving rain, etc. , weather and temperature usually don't factor much into the sleep schedule

Wise Old Owl
09-05-2012, 20:16
Because I hike alone and sometimes with groups I adjust now. Heat is not a factor - cold is.

EXAMPLE: I shut off the heat pump prior to Labor Day and discovered I had a filter failure - and ordered one asap. the wife wants a constant 72 degrees. She cannot sleep otherwise, I am happy up to 32 - then it sucks. I actually spent a night sleeping on solid ice a few years back, "poor pick of location" I wake with the light about an hour after sunrise,,, still a party animal at night...hense the trail name.


Oh another thing - its not temp its Humidity - low 72 with huge humidity can kick anyone out of bed... imagine a bivy without enough vent - chicken in a boil bag.... No kidding... and if black flies and mossies are out ... life sucks blood. (Canada)

Deadeye
09-05-2012, 22:16
Pretty much go to sleep when it gets dark, wake up with the sun. I might take a mid-day nap in any temps, and if it's real hot, I may spend more time at breaks soak my legs in cold streams. I do like the early morning cool temps and interesting light play. I like watching the world wake up.

Del Q
09-06-2012, 21:32
Different spin I guess..............at home I get up early, many days I am on a local trail at 1st light, at work before 9am

On the AT there are times when I sleep really well and other times not...............but when I do get GREAT sleep, its awesome. Like 9-10 hours of solid rest. Rare for me, love it.

My average is about 12 miles per day, to increase I can drop 20 lbs and continue to get in better shape. Pack is at about 30lbs all in.

All good.

johnnybgood
09-06-2012, 22:10
Pretty much go to sleep when it gets dark, wake up with the sun. I might take a mid-day nap in any temps, and if it's real hot, I may spend more time at breaks soak my legs in cold streams. I do like the early morning cool temps and interesting light play. I like watching the world wake up.

What Deadeye said. I like getting as many miles in before noon so when a mid afternoon nap is in order I have hiked 10+ miles already.

middle to middle
09-06-2012, 22:36
Ben there done that !