Hiking The Woods Alone In Blackness

[Guest BFSleuth]

If you really want to backpack and camp by yourself, the first rule of thumb is locate your camp site in a defensible space and away from areas that are obvious attractants for predators. For example, camping next to a water source might be convenient for getting your pots or water bottles filled, but it also happens to be where prey animals come to drink and where predators want to ambush. If you are cooking meat or otherwise cooking foods that will release odors that attract predators, best thing is to cook away from where you are going to sleep before it gets dark. Do not sleep with your food near you or inside your tent, secure it in an odor proof container and hang it in a tree away from where you sleep.

Defensible campsites also mean that you select a place that is more in the open, not among dense trees or close to bushes that predators want to use for cover. They are away from game trails. Best if you have only one opening to your site, like with your back against a rock wall or boulders. Having a lean-to or other shelter helps, or build a more fortified position if you are really in bear or cougar country.

Pepper spray can be more effective than a gun if you really need protection. There are research studies that have been done noting that outcomes of bear attacks are better for those that use pepper spray than for those that use guns for protection.

Personally, I like to find a bluff, ledge, or other location where I can have a view of the area and have limited access to my campsite. The creepiest place I ever slept when solo hiking was forced on me when it was getting dark and I had to camp in the middle of an old growth forest in a small clearing under the canopy, with only a sleeping pad and sleeping bag.

[bipedalist]

Biggest thing is to have a strategy *including an escape route and bugout plan*, have an observation point, get dark-adapted, and finally, if you are among the BF is predatory crowd, you probably should not be out there from the word jump anyway (unless you are pro-kill and have backup) and you have already let the "denizen of the deep" crowd ruin your opportunity for personal discovery before you get started. JMHO

Use of red light can cut down on the loss of dark adaptation somewhat too.

And because you mentioned mountain lions, walk with a mask on the back of your head down trails and such as that does seem to offer a defense of some sort.

Don't get me wrong, prepare for the worst, hope for the best nonconfrontational approach possible.

Remember, forest and mountains are some of their preferred areas. They will not expose themselves unnecessarily to full open areas if you are a stranger and they know nothing about you as risk. Again, JMHO

Edited August 30, 2012 by bipedalist

[Guest Twilight Fan]

Your instincts are there for a reason. Because it is NOT SAFE to hike alone in the dark.

+1

[Guest thermalman]

Try setting up a perimeter string with cans or things that will go clang and make a loud noise when disrupted. The string line should be about 6-8" off the ground to catch the bigger predators trying to walk towards you. Hope this helps.

[Sunflower]

Except they watched when you strung up the cans and I'd bet they would avoid them. Better to hang old broken cameras in the trees, it's called "bigfoot repellant" and it worked for a few days at a friend's house. After a few days they figured it out.

[Guest]

Why scare your self witless? Heightened alert, dangerous territory, PITCH BLACK = more terror. I really don't think it's something to be overcome. As others are saying...fear is there for a reason. Stay in your comfort zone and hang around. Let them come to you.

Edited August 31, 2012 by MikeG
.......implied profanity removed

[AaronD]

Hanging old cameras in a tree to thwart squatches? LOL I have never heard of that before!!

[Guest thermalman]

Same AD!

I would definitely buy or rent a thermal camera to take with me, if I were going out into the pitch darkness. It would be my "EYES" of the night.

Digital version.

Thermal version.

Edited August 31, 2012 by thermalman

[Guest UPs]

I have camped and still camp every so often alone and in fairly remote areas. I also have remote property and a hand built cabin that I spend weeks at a time each year alone. I suggest that instead of trying to rid yourself of the fear, that you try and control it instead. Do not let it lead to panic as panic will lead you into making mistakes. The more time that you spend outdoors alone, the more you will learn about yourself and the easier it will be to control any of the fear you may feel. The one thing I will not do is try is to lure a bf in when alone. Regardless of what I lured in, I had a very hard time controlling my fear.

Personally, I am always armed and when I hear something, I try and find out what it is. A raccoon can sound like a bear at night. All animals should be afraid of you and your light source. A fire is a must if tent camping as it will deter animals from coming too close and also let's them know what you are. Stack some extra wood up before you go to bed and if something wakes you up in the middle of the night, go out and stoke the fire with that wood. Make sure you have some kindling to restart it from the coals and it is protected from any dampness.

A few weeks ago, I took my 10 yr old daughter on a remote one night tent camp (we were already staying in our cabin). Sometime during the night, a very weird and loud sound woke me out of a dead sleep. Very eerie and close to us. After it finally stopped, some coyotes started up a bit further away and in another direction. I got up and stoked the fire and whatever it was did not make another sound. She has a normal child's fear of the dark and I am slowly trying to help her learn how to control that fear.

The one thing that did bother me a bit with your plan is that you do not think you can get lost at night. Everything looks different at night and if a drizzle or rain limits your visibility, you can easily go the wrong way. Keep a compass on your person at all times. I have been lost for 2 days and it was not a picnic. If you are able to camp by yourself, you will feel you accomplished something when you leave.

Bigtex does a lot of night hiking alone and probably can give you some sound advice. Good luck and enjoy it!

[Guest]

If you are in an extremely remote area and/or really worried about something invading your camp, setup a defensible camp as described above and have a perimeter alert of some type. There are simple tripwire kits with spring loaded firing mechanisms available for use with specialized 12 ga. rounds. Use camo tripwire, and 12 ga. blanks, pepper spray, whistlers, or flares. A 12 ga report is enough to make anyone/anything change their mind.

Common sense aplies. Don't use them where people might trigger them. Never use these anywhere where there is even an astronomical possibility that a human would be near the discharge when triggered. Make sure there is an obstruction free line of sight to the sky. Don't forget about the line yourself. Don't get the rounds that throw showers of sparks 200 ft., those are what they use to purposely start fires.

Going camping alone in a remote area is unwise at best. Another person could mean the difference between life and death.

[AaronD]

And it's never a bad idea to have a gun with regular ammo--NOT for shooting a squatch, but maybe so you don't become some hungry grizzly's meal.

[Explorer]

I used to backpack alone into wilderness.

It was a thrill, exciting, and quite an adventure to rely on your-self.

As I get older and hopefully wiser, I realize that it was not safe (or smart).

Upon reflection, when I was hiking to my destinations, I was not totally aware of all surroundings (too much stimuli and information to capture, integrate, digest, and analyze). I was more in unconscious mode (thinking analytically about maps and destinations and looking at spectacular views whenever I stopped).

If I hiked as a Buddhist, I will never make it, since I would be absorbing and contemplating everything around me.

Nonetheless, on these solo backpacks, something could have been on either side of the trail (BF or mountain lion) and I would have missed it.

You will never see the mountain lion that will get you.

Not matter how small the odds are of being hit by a mountain lion, you are increasing the chances by walking alone at night.

I have been lucky with bears, have run into them at night 4 times but they ran away or left without bothering me. I was alone in the 1^st and 2^nd item below. The other times there was a 2^nd person with me.

My four bear encounters:

1. Trinity Alps, CA. Night before backpacking trip (midnight or 1 AM) I was sleeping in my SUV at the campsite with the tail gate open. A bear climbed into tail gate of my SUV (where I was sleeping) and was touching my feet with its nose. After I woke up, turned the light on, saw the bear and screamed, it ran away.
   
2. Big Bend NP, TX. Camping on a tent near top of Chisos Mountain, bear came at night and tried to get food from bear box. It could not get into bear box so then it circled my tent at least 4 times before it left. I was scared and grateful that it did not want to check me out (I had no food in my tent and practiced proper bear country practice of changing clothing after cooking/eating).
   
3. Gila Wilderness, NM. 5 day backpack with a friend deep into the wilderness. One day after sunset, we surprised a bear in the trail. He ran away down the hill.
   
4. Ansel Adams Wilderness, CA. On the last day of 3 day backpack, I and friend decided to bag a peak too late in the afternoon. We ended up hiking at midnight back to the car and ran into a huge bear blocking the trail. We made a lot of noise and stood our ground, until the bear left.
   

I don’t carry weapons (knife or guns).

Planning a trip soon to the Marble Mountains in Northern CA and am considering to buy bear spray and do not want to go alone.

FYI, below is a link to the stats on fatal bear attacks in North America (Grizzly and Black bears). I think another interesting list would be of non-fatal bear attacks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America

I have only done one BF search at night (10 PM to 5 AM) in the high Uintas this past June. I and a friend hiked up a canyon trail (about 3-4 miles and ~500 ft up). Used night vision and stopped every 15 min to scan area. We had no wildlife sightings. But, I would not have done that solo. The terrain was so thick that anything could have been hiding there. NV was very helpful; but it has its limitations (and I don’t have the handy 3Gen goggles instead I use the Yukon Ranger). Nonetheless, it was so quiet that we could hear every branch or twig that fell or cracked.

Thus, my advice is to at least have 2 people in a night search. Maybe that is not much safety margin, but your buddy will help you calm your nerves when you hear stuff at night that are just dead branches falling (and vice-versa).

[Guest SquatchinNY]

Remember: If Bigfoot wants you, it doesn't matter wether you can see him or not.

[Guest BFSleuth]

No doubt being out in the darkness can play tricks with your mind and create sources of terror behind every unseen bush. I remember coming off a climb of Bonanza Peak in the North Cascades it became pitch dark, with no moon, just as we descended from the open boulder fields and glaciers down into the forest. Not having planned for such a long day we didn't have flashlights or headlamps. Fortunately we found the trail and were able to hike down by aid of starlight peaking through the canopy here and there.

Then we started hearing rustling sounds of animals on both sides of the trail and mild fear started to rise to the level of barely contained panic. Suddenly I stepped on something in my heavy mountain boot that was obviously squishy and giving, like I'd just stepped on a leg or an arm!

I didn't want to give way to full blown panic, and didn't say anything to my climbing partner, but kept marching on down the trail.

Then I stepped on another squishy thing and heard more rustling in the bushes!

Pretty soon it seemed like the entire woods was full of animal noises in the bushes....

"Do you hear that?", I asked my friend.

"Yeah. Keep moving."

We kept going down the trail, trying to hike as silently as our clodhopper boots would let us. Suddenly something leapt out onto the trail. I nearly jumped out of my boots.

Then something else jumped into the trail, and another, and another....

Turns out it was toad mating season. The woods was full of toads the size of dinner plates. Pretty soon it was almost impossible to not step on them as they hopped on and off the trail.

Toads in the alpine environment. Would'a thunk?

[Guest]

Mudder, read "the Gift of Fear" - not all fear is pointless. It's a skill and helps keep us safe.

Find some new friends who are more into the outdoors, and then go with them.

Go armed and learn to shoot beforehand.

Always tell someone exactly where you are going and when you'll be expected back.

And, I'm beginning to think... bigfoot finds US, we don't find bigfoot. Do something interesting and let him come to you, if you are where you think he might be nearby.