Hiking The Woods Alone In Blackness

[Guest Cervelo]

Norse,

If your talking to me.....Huston we have communicate issue.....we are on the same page.

Paranoia is a mental health issue, it would be the only other issue that would top panicky as the least likley traits I would want a person to have in the woods.......

[Guest]

I always open carry in NPs, just makes it a little hard to strike up a conversation LOL

On the other hand.. you could rub elbows with another open carrier, and strike up a great conversation .

Where I live (unfortunately), one is in danger of having that piece taken away from them (Always being outnumbered) , and possibly used on them.

Edited September 30, 2012 by imonacan

[Guest MrMudder]

Update:

Wow, what a boring non-squatchy weekend. I've decided to stay one more night since I'm laid off for another 3 weeks. And since it's a full moon, why not. I'll camp closer to home in my neck of the woods 15 miles south next weekend. That's where all the weird stuff happens. I've had 3 hrs of sleep today, so hopefully the coffee and JD keeps me awake until 4am at least. Gonna finally turn on Coast To Coast tonight. I've had the ol' Emerson 4AA AM/FM weather radio off at night.

[Guest]

If your afraid to be in the woods alone at night but want to be in the woods alone at night it's easy to over come this fear and anybody can do it. The best way to overcome this fear is by going to the area in the daytime and become familiar with the area and learn whats there. Then step 2 is go there on the full moon, it will be light enough for you see the boggie man if he's around. A few nights before and after the full will work too and should give you plenty of light to see. Its the darkness your afraid of and your mind telling you something is about to jump on you and have it's way with you don't help none. If you will do this you will become over time less afraid of the dark spooky woods and the things that live in it. But the smart thing to do is take someone with you, and make sure it's someone you can out run.

[Guest]

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!

Some good information here, but this is the best post so far... The biggest issue to overcome is your own imagination. And really the only thing on two legs you should fear ain't BF......

Edited October 7, 2012 by Amahnee

[Guest]

I didn't read far enough before I typed my big mouth... Norse is spot on too!!

[Guest]

I live within a stones throw of the woods from my back door.

There is no way I'm going strolling around in there after dusk.

What am I afraid of? We have black bears and m-m-m-mountain lions.

I'm don't want to be eaten. I don't have a gun otherwise I might be braver

I get the heebie jeebies in the dark and weird spots of the little loop trail that's in there even in the daytime.

I would go out there with lots of people say, 4 or more but my wife and I are content to sit in our house

and listen to a pack of coyotes celebrate God knows what.

Edited December 5, 2012 by SummitSquatch

[wiiawiwb]

First and foremost, I'm a hiker and not a fan of hiking in the dark even with a thousand people. Too much risk of injury at least in the mountain region I hike. It's thickly vegetated, wet and is up and down all the time. That lends itself to a eye, ankle or knee injury during the day much less in the soupy blackness of night.

I never carry a firearm but don't have a problem with anyone who does.

I'm less worried about the alone thing than the possibility of injury. My area does not have any risk of running into a grizzly and almost no chance of cougar. So, unless a sasquatch is coming for me, I'm safe from predators. Enduring the darkness is a mental game and that's not always easy to overcome. It only happens with time spent in the woods. The strange sounds, which are all unknown and just have to be a monster, one by one, become known sounds. I gladly accept each victory.

You never want to lose "the edge". That's very healthy. You also don't want to keep the fear. That will eat away at you like strong acid on paper. Embrace the night and the next time you hear a sound use it to play a game of idenification. It will redirect your mind into a positive place.

Edited December 5, 2012 by wiiawiwb

[Guest]

If your afraid to be in the woods alone at night but want to be in the woods alone at night it's easy to over come this fear and anybody can do it. The best way to overcome this fear is by going to the area in the daytime and become familiar with the area and learn whats there. Then step 2 is go there on the full moon, it will be light enough for you see the boggie man if he's around. A few nights before and after the full will work too and should give you plenty of light to see. Its the darkness your afraid of and your mind telling you something is about to jump on you and have it's way with you don't help none. If you will do this you will become over time less afraid of the dark spooky woods and the things that live in it.

I like that approach.. and try to get somewhat familiar with an area, before sitting out there, at night. You still, probably won't see the boggie man(s) though.. even when scouting around in the daylight .

The biggest danger, is when you choose an area off trail to sit out, and then have to walk back to camp, in the dark. Taking a fall and getting injured, is a real possibility. I've taken a couple bad ones. Having to carry someone out, or worse yet.. leave them them there and get help, is not something you look forward to.. but always have to keep that in the back of your mind. I never trail blaze at night, while out solo.

We have learned through experience, a pre walked out trail blaze into an OP position, marked with reflective thumb tacks on trees (enter and exit reflectives, on each side of the tree).. is the way to go. Much easier, to get back onto the main trail, in the dark.

[Bigtex]

Here's a night vision trick.......maybe someone has already suggested this, and sorry for the repeat if so:)

There was a guy I used to hike with, and he was an x special forces Marine, the kind of guy you definitely want on your side. Anyway, he said to do it this way; enter the dark forest, conceal yourself as best, and sit for 30 minutes. He would preach to me to wait 30 minutes for the full effect, not 29. By that time, your natural night vision is in full force. He said once you get moving, and if something required light, infra-red is best. However, completely close/cover your dominant eye and squint the other eye first, then hit the light - see what you wanna see, switch it off, and open your eye without losing any night vision capabilities.......this really works, and is amazing - gotta give it 30 minutes!

PS.......I met the Marine dude on the old Forums, and his name was Dantellus........lost touch with him, and haven't seen him on the new Forum, great guy, does anyone know how to get a hold of him?

[Guest]

That trick is very effective, and always glad to hear from someone using the technique.

I learned it (from others), while enjoying another hobby (amateur astronomy).. where total dark adaption, is crucial. Can't see those faint fuzzies in the eyepiece, without learning it.

Another one, is "averted vision" which works at night through optics, and also during the daytime. The trick is, to not look directly at what you are looking at, but to observe it slightly off center. You can actually see a bit more detail, because you are using the most sensitive area of the eye. I've found it also helps, while using NV optics.

http://en.wikipedia..../Averted_vision

[salubrious]

The Apache had scouts that were known as 'fire backs' because they sat with their backs to the fire so their night vision would not be impaired.

[Guest]

We hike "lights out" when squatchin a lot and I don't love it. When we are in Florida we have to worry about snakes because they are everywhere and I don't like snakes. Some of the guys were out this summer and almost stepped on a huge diamondback rattlesnake. They said they couldn't believe how big it was and thought it was probably 6 feet long.

Here is a story about a giant cottonmouth that was just killed fairly close to an area we have been out in. The snake is almost 7ft long and 87lbs. There are so many different kinds of venomous snakes in Florida and a lot of them.

http://www.actionnew...tz6Gy0YIwA.cspx

[norseman]

Here's a night vision trick.......maybe someone has already suggested this, and sorry for the repeat if so:)

There was a guy I used to hike with, and he was an x special forces Marine, the kind of guy you definitely want on your side. Anyway, he said to do it this way; enter the dark forest, conceal yourself as best, and sit for 30 minutes. He would preach to me to wait 30 minutes for the full effect, not 29. By that time, your natural night vision is in full force. He said once you get moving, and if something required light, infra-red is best. However, completely close/cover your dominant eye and squint the other eye first, then hit the light - see what you wanna see, switch it off, and open your eye without losing any night vision capabilities.......this really works, and is amazing - gotta give it 30 minutes!

PS.......I met the Marine dude on the old Forums, and his name was Dantellus........lost touch with him, and haven't seen him on the new Forum, great guy, does anyone know how to get a hold of him?

I've gone through a four day school taught by a Recon Marine and the info Dantellus has given you is good. The only thing I see wrong is that Infrared is a non visible spectrum of light.

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

I think what he told you was that RED light doesn't ruin your night vision.

Standard protocol during Nam when a patrol leader needed light at night was to throw a rain poncho over his head, make sure the red lens was on his flashlight and turn it on under the poncho and read or do whatever it was he needed to do. The red lens protected his night vision, and the rain poncho concealed the light so he didn't give his position away to charlie.

Another interesting tid bit is, as any avid varmint hunter knows, coyotes cannot see red light. If you use a white search light it will spook them, but they cannot see it if it has a red lens on it at all....

I had a red heeler once and I would entertain myself by bouncing a white flashlight beam around on the bank above the house and watch her chase it all over trying to catch it.

[bipedalist]

That trick is very effective, and always glad to hear from someone using the technique.

I learned it (from others), while enjoying another hobby (amateur astronomy).. where total dark adaption, is crucial. Can't see those faint fuzzies in the eyepiece, without learning it.

Another one, is "averted vision" which works at night through optics, and also during the daytime. The trick is, to not look directly at what you are looking at, but to observe it slightly off center. You can actually see a bit more detail, because you are using the most sensitive area of the eye. I've found it also helps, while using NV optics.

http://en.wikipedia..../Averted_vision

It can also help to use peripheral vision if directly approached by a BF at night, that is if you plan on standing your ground and trying to pick up as much as you can from that experience..... YMMV.