So, what do you do in your tent in October...

[Slo-go'en]

We hike until almost done, timing it so we can make camp, build our fire (where legal) and get dinner prepped to be eaten just as it's becoming headlamp time. Then we finish our camp chores, enjoy the fire and crawl into bed around 8:00 - the new hiker midnight when the days are short.

In northen Maine, in October, it's starting to get dark about 6:30 PM and doesn't get light until 7 AM. It's even worse depending on where you are due to obstructions like ridges and dense pine tree groves. You end up doing a lot of hiking during the twilight and camping in the dark.

But what to do? Fire/read/sleep. Mostly sleep.

[hikerboy57]

stargazing.assuming a clear night.cloud gazing is boring.
pretty cool when you realize the star thats moving is a satellite

[illabelle]

I remember a fall hike in Shenandoah. We arrived at our destination, set up the tent, ate our supper, cleaned up, hung our food, changed our clothes, and went to bed. After sleeping for a long long time, we checked a watch - 10:00pm!!! UGH!!! We groaned! We tossed and turned and dozed and turned some more until it was finally over. It's funny now, sort of.

I agree with others above:
Reading material, puzzle or game, talking (if you have a partner or if you enjoy talking to yourself), hiking longer to get worn out so sleep comes easier...

[illabelle]

pretty cool when you realize the star thats moving is a satellite

Oh yeah!...

[HikerMom58]

I remember a fall hike in Shenandoah. We arrived at our destination, set up the tent, ate our supper, cleaned up, hung our food, changed our clothes, and went to bed. After sleeping for a long long time, we checked a watch - 10:00pm!!! UGH!!! We groaned! We tossed and turned and dozed and turned some more until it was finally over. It's funny now, sort of.

I agree with others above:
Reading material, puzzle or game, talking (if you have a partner or if you enjoy talking to yourself), hiking longer to get worn out so sleep comes easier...

OR eat a lot of comfort food at the Homeplace!! Zzzzzzzzzzz! :>) Come back to Daleville illabelle!!

[illabelle]

OR eat a lot of comfort food at the Homeplace!! Zzzzzzzzzzz! :>) Come back to Daleville illabelle!!

That was fun, wasn't it! So glad we could meet you and DH and T&S.
We have lots of miles to do in Virginia - probably around 400, so I'm sure we'll meet again. Our next trip will be Vermont or maybe Massachusetts - depending on how the government shutdown affects access to the trail [insert big heavy sigh], but the one after will be a bit north of you on the south end of SNP. We will have to come back to Daleville one day when it's NOT FOGGY AND RAINING!

Wait, this thread is about killing time in the tent when it gets dark early. I know, you could come along and entertain us!

[bigcranky]

I have the gift of sleeping 12 hours

Yeah, me too. I usually bring some music and maybe a small book, but I don't have any problem at all sleeping. I try to be up before sunrise so I can get some breakfast, pack up, and be on the trail at first light, to maximize hiking during daylight.

[HikerMom58]

That was fun, wasn't it! So glad we could meet you and DH and T&S.
We have lots of miles to do in Virginia - probably around 400, so I'm sure we'll meet again. Our next trip will be Vermont or maybe Massachusetts - depending on how the government shutdown affects access to the trail [insert big heavy sigh], but the one after will be a bit north of you on the south end of SNP. We will have to come back to Daleville one day when it's NOT FOGGY AND RAINING!

Wait, this thread is about killing time in the tent when it gets dark early. I know, you could come along and entertain us!

YUP... and Yipeeee!!!

I actually worried about this very thing myself... I'm glad this thread was started!

As long as there are other people around at night.. I'm good. My favorite activity at night would be a campfire & chatting, or listening to someone playing an instrument of some kind. Even singing if they're good- or bad even. (could be quite funny)

If you are alone.. well, there's good suggestions for that too. :>)

[Hoofit]

I always go for an after-dinner hike just to check out the area, maybe some side trails..... then I'll come back to the tent. In the tent..... well I'm usually so tired from the day of hiking that I am out like a light rather quickly!

Darn youngsters! Way too much energy! Try writing down your thoughts for the day, makes for an interesting journal down the road.....

[Marmaduke]

Darn youngsters! Way too much energy! Try writing down your thoughts for the day, makes for an interesting journal down the road.....

I write for a living so I tend to abandon the pen and paper while I'm in the forest.

[Another Kevin]

If it's early enough in the season that the bears are still awake, I stop while there's still enough light to get a line up a tree for the bearbag. As long as that's done, I can pitch a tent, cook and eat by headlamp, brush my teeth, hoist the bag and turn in. Finding a branch and heaving the line is the only thing I need daylight (or at least twilight) for, so if the bears are asleep, I might even hike a little ways after dark if the trail is well marked and I know I can find a tent site.

I carry a Sea to Summit pack bucket. If it's not brutally cold (say, above about 25 F), then I might boil up a couple of cups of water and throw it in with a half bucket of cold, and have warm water so that I can bathe with a bandana and a pack towel in the tent. Presuming that I have dry stuff to change into, I might even wash socks, boxers and t-shirt at the same time. Good wicking gear will be dry by morning if it's hung up in the tent vestibule or pressed out under my sleeping mat with whatever body heat makes it down there to dry out the moisture.. While washing, keep the bucket in the vestibule, with the door partly unzipped, or (a) there will be condensation problems, and (b) you'll spill it. all over the tent floor.

I find that a bath is a morale booster. It's not even too badly chilling if you're out of the wind, washing with warm water, and have a warm sleeping bag to crawl into afterward. And I don't mind sleeping with peppermint Dr Bronners in the tent, so there's no need to put my soap in the bearbag. So after I warm the bucket of water, I quickly throw in the pot and stove and hoist, and then go back to the tent to wash up. (Note to self: remember to do this before bathing, so that you won't be the weird wet naked guy dashing outside in the cold to retrieve a bearbag to add the pot and stove. Don't ask how I learnt this lesson.) The fuel bottle stays inside with me to keep it warm.

Next, I might read a little or do a sudoku in the sleeping bag, but after a day's hiking and the relaxation of getting washed up, I'm more often asleep before the second bounce.

Zzz,,, (Interruption to adjust fluid levels) ...zzz...

I can wind up waking up in the small hours, because I might have gone to sleep near 8pm. No big deal. I can retrieve the bearbag by headlamp. I tie a white rag or a bright bandana in the line so that I can find it easily predawn (or if I need to get it down in the night to retrieve medication or something). I putter about with oatmeal and coffee, or even make a muffin. Then I clean up and pack, treat water if there's any nearby, and get rolling. I might wind up hiking an hour or so by headlamp until there's enough light. That might even get me to a nice east-facing overlook in time to watch the Sun rise.

Being mostly a weekender (and occasional short-sectioner), this describes an ideal night. A lot of the time, I'm too keyed up to sleep well the night before I leave for a trip, so there's the possibility that I'll actually sleep through to daylight the first night on the trail. This routine is more often the second night of a long weekend or the third night of a short section.

[QHShowoman]

I find that a bath is a morale booster. It's not even too badly chilling if you're out of the wind, washing with warm water, and have a warm sleeping bag to crawl into afterward.

Are you kidding me? I look forward to backpacking and camping so I DON'T have to shower/bathe on the regular!

I echo what others have said:
I bring a book or a reading device. I will make a fire and watch it burn until I get sleepy or run out of firewood, whichever happens first. Then I will head to bed. If I am tired, I will usually go straight to sleep. If not, I will read some more or listen to music (if I brought a player with me) until I get sleepy. But I love the "down time." If I am home, there is always something to be done before I can turn in -- I enjoy having the ability to just relax and "do nothing" out in the wild.

[da fungo]

Another Kevin:

Nicely written post.

[T.S.Kobzol]

I just came from a short weekend on Mooselookmeguntic lake. I kayaked, found a nice campsite on an island. Sun set around 7PM. I was cooking dinner. when the sun was going down. During the rehydration of the meal I walked around and took some photos, then ate. Then I went into my hammock and alternated between listening my mini pocket radio and reading my kindle. I think I went to bed around 9:30PM. Woke up at 6 to a dense fog. Had a blast orienteering during 60 minute paddle in a pure fog.
1244264_665197276837883_1690208338_o.jpg
1275102_665197490171195_156248396_o.jpg
1273391_665197450171199_1735409038_o.jpg

Read my kindle and listen to my radio



Bumblebee Tuna

[Malto]

Fall is an ideal time to night hike. While many poo poo it, it can be incredible. Hike until 9pm then go to bed as normal. There are few things cooler than walking through the forest and hearing owls, seeing far off lights from a small town and feeling the cool air of the night. time for a fall night hike!

[Rasty]

Fall is an ideal time to night hike. While many poo poo it, it can be incredible. Hike until 9pm then go to bed as normal. There are few things cooler than walking through the forest and hearing owls, seeing far off lights from a small town and feeling the cool air of the night. time for a fall night hike!

I'm the opposite and start at 4 and walk into the light. Easier for me to break camp then make camp in the dark. One of those flip a coin decisions were both are right.

[OzJacko]

I missed most of this summer due to an ankle injury (related to fishing, not backpacking). So, now I'm thinking about doing the 100 mile wilderness in October. With it getting dark around 6:15 by then, that makes for a long night in the tent. What do you all do in there? I'll be going alone, so don't get too creative.

If I told you, I would have to kill you.....

[HikerMom58]

Another Kevin:

Nicely written post.

Does he ever write a bad post?? Nope.

[hikerboy57]

If I told you, I would have to kill you.....

wait a minute. when did you spend a long night in a tent.

[Malto]

I'm the opposite and start at 4 and walk into the light. Easier for me to break camp then make camp in the dark. One of those flip a coin decisions were both are right.

I also do that. Generally i do prefer hiking into the light. Fall is the one exception.