Hiking in at night

[Emily T]

Now that the daylight is considerably less than a couple of months ago, combined with the fact that I don't get out of work any earlier, I'm considering hiking in to my campsite at night, after driving to the trailhead from work.
My thought is to approach only familiar territory, and, would not venture out at night in lousy weather.

What are your tips for making a hike like this a pleasurable one, rather than a "why the hell did I do this" one?

[alombard]

Hey,

I like hiking in at night. It is not for everyone, but I don't mind it at all. Just make sure you have a good LED headlamp and extra batteries. That's all I have ever found to need. Plus, like you said, it helps big time to know where you are going.

[Roland]

Hiking at night? too spooky for me

[DRIFTER]

I've hiked a long distance at night only once and it was not by choice.Since this is supposed to be only adirondack stories I will say it was in Essex county , although it looked alot like Quebec if you know what I mean! I was with a friend and we decided to hunt out about 3 miles from camp.We took a canoe across a lake and compass pointed another lake nearby.We then walked the edge of that lake to a creek and used that as our trail for quite a distance to a swamp, then splitting up with the intent to meet at dark. Upon meeting, we set out back to camp,we followed the creek to the lake and decided to sit a moment. In a minute or two , I asked my friend if he remembered an island on the lake we had come in on , his reply was .....NO ! Since I didn't either, and there was one staring at us, we both had an adrenalin moment.This always brings to mind a mountain man picture in which someone is asked if they were ever lost and thier response," lost , no I was never lost, powerful confused for a month or two , but never lost". Well, we were definitly confused ! Luckily, and this is where my little bit of advice comes in, we had a very good topo of the area , two compasses, three flashlights , a flask of sake, and a large piece of pepperoni . It seemed the creek branched off and we took the wrong one .We then back tracked to the fork and took the correct course of travel and, albeit late, made our way back to camp. I would imagine a GPS would be invaluable on a night trek , but that would be for someone else to post, as I've never used one. Don't forget the pepperoni !!!!!

[RC]

I've spent a lot of time hiking in or out of the woods after dark, but normally only in an area I know pretty well. It is very easy to get turned around in the woods and distances seem longer at nite. A good compass and Topo of the area is a must. A GPS is a great help also. Don't forget a good light and I have carried a spare every since I dropped and broke one out running/hiking near silver lake a few years ago.The woods are a little more "spooky" hiking at nite


RC

[redhawk]

I've spent a lot of time hiking in or out of the woods after dark, but normally only in an area I know pretty well. It is very easy to get turned around in the woods and distances seem longer at nite. A good compass and Topo of the area is a must. A GPS is a great help also. Don't forget a good light and I have carried a spare every since I dropped and broke one out running/hiking near silver lake a few years ago.The woods are a little more "spooky" hiking at nite
RC

Your opinion doesn't count Rich.

You've "been in the dark" all your life.

Hawk

[RC]

Your opinion doesn't count Rich.

You've "been in the dark" all your life.

Hawk

I resemble that remark

[pico23]

I actually prefer to hike at night. Especially in winter.

Think about it like this, if you start your hike at 8pm in the winter there is a better chance of being found in the morning then if you get hurt at 3pm on your way out.

I usually do an annual Algonquin sunrise hike this time of the year in celebration of the Forest Preserve establishment. I put it off by 2 weeks so my knee would have a little more time for the punishment of the descent using crampons.

But, people always ask isn't that dangerous, and in short not at all. I start at 2am and am on top of the summit at sunrise, back at the car by 10am. If I got hurt, chances are I'd be found by incoming hikers. Unless I walk off a cliff, which could happen in daylight with whiteout conditions, the trail is just as easy or hard as it would be in light. Most people don't look more than a few feet ahead when hiking in the trees anyway, so the beam of a headlamp is usually more than enough.

Finally, I used to get hazed for cycling at 2am in the morning by my co-workers and friends. Do you know how peaceful it is to go road or mountain biking in complete silence, no cars, no human sounds, you own the road, and the trails are simplified to the beam of your bike headlamps. Actually, the best way to cure the boredom of your local mountain biking trails that you can ride with your eyes closed is to buy some headlamps and go out and ride at night.

Hiking is similar and it's equally peaceful, plus, if you time it right, you can catch a sunrise and be home before most people are arriving at the trailhead.

WHen hiking, if there is any moon at all, often I'll turn the headlamp off. In minute your eyes adjust and it's pretty amazing. Full moon hikes often cast shadows, especially in winter.

[Kevin]

But, people always ask isn't that dangerous, and in short not at all. I start at 2am and am on top of the summit at sunrise, back at the car by 10am. If I got hurt, chances are I'd be found by incoming hikers. Unless I walk off a cliff, which could happen in daylight with whiteout conditions, the trail is just as easy or hard as it would be in light. Most people don't look more than a few feet ahead when hiking in the trees anyway, so the beam of a headlamp is usually more than enough.

Creepy. My first time up Algonquin was in the winter as a night hike exactly as you describe. My thinking was the same too (being found shortly after injury versus 12-18 hours passing before the next hikers arrive). Unfortunately I didn't summit in time (left the loj at 3AM instead of 2 as I should have, hindsight). Did get some nice colors in the clouds though. Same problem with Santanoni later that year, left an hour later than I needed.

My first mountain climb ever was Sleeping Beauty (Lake George) as a night hike to watch shooting stars. I was as comfortable then as I am now. Have yet to feel uncomfortable at night, even after losing the trail a few times on various night hikes. But I always bring headlamp and spare batteries, as well as a small secondary light so I have light to change the headlamp batteries if needed. This is especially important when in the winter the batteries don't tend to hold their charge as long.

[pico23]

Creepy. My first time up Algonquin was in the winter as a night hike exactly as you describe. My thinking was the same too (being found shortly after injury versus 12-18 hours passing before the next hikers arrive). Unfortunately I didn't summit in time (left the loj at 3AM instead of 2 as I should have, hindsight). Did get some nice colors in the clouds though. Same problem with Santanoni later that year, left an hour later than I needed.

My first mountain climb ever was Sleeping Beauty (Lake George) as a night hike to watch shooting stars. I was as comfortable then as I am now. Have yet to feel uncomfortable at night, even after losing the trail a few times on various night hikes. But I always bring headlamp and spare batteries, as well as a small secondary light so I have light to change the headlamp batteries if needed. This is especially important when in the winter the batteries don't tend to hold their charge as long.

Kevin thats funny, I think people either like the night or hate it. My wife doesn't mind finishing in the dark but for some reason feels unsafe starting in the dark. Last year she joined me for the Algonquin hike and as we were going to sleep she said, "i have a bad feeling about this, I don't want to go." Odd because she never flips out when we paddle in the dark or hike out in the dark. Actually, she is usually the calm one as I'm complaining how we need to pick up the pace to make camp or where ever before dark.

My brother on the other hand, actually was terrified of hiking in the presidentials at night. They (a friend and him) whined about how dangerous and terrifying it was for months. Only recently did he start to minimize his reaction. Now he says it was because i had us split into 3 segments while there was some whiteout so we wouldn't miss any of the trail cutoffs while hiking cairn to cairn. Of course we hiked from 1pm (my fault, left my boots at home and had to drive 50 miles back home, so it added 100 miles to the trip) till 12am (6 hours in the dark) but after about 9pm it was a beautiful starry night.

Of course I've always felt comfortable at night like you, so that is a helpful start.

one other thing, if Emily is taking her camping gear, there is even less chance of a disaster. For instance, if she gets lost, she already has food and shelter.

[sky]

It's really nice starting in the dark......when you do you get to watch the woods "wake up" as your hike progresses.

Never done the 2am summit stuff though. That might be fun.

[oldsmores]

Hiking at night takes a little getting used to, but I really like it. I do tend to try to stay on major trails if I know I'm going in in the dark. It is pretty easy to get disoriented. Unless it's a well-broken trail, one patch of woods looks a lot like every other patch by the light of a headlamp. My b-i-l and I ended up making a miserable winter stream crossing one night about 20 yards from a perfectly good bridge that we just missed in the dark.
The one thing that's really kind of disorienting (at least to me) is hiking in heavy, blowing snow with a headlamp. You're walking into an illuminated area that's moving all around you, kind of like swimming through a school of fish. It also cuts visibility considerably.

[Bill I.]

Usually, if I want to get up north Friday night but I don't have time to get anywhere that night, I'll stay at a roadside campsite near my trailhead.

Setting off at night is fine if you're going a short distance, you're on a clear trail, and you know you have a campsite waiting for you. I hiked into Kelley Point on the NPT in the dark last year, and once I paddled the length of Little Tupper Lake in the dark, navigating by the silhouette of the islands against the starlight. It was a novel way to experience a place that was quite familiar to me.

If you're expecting to get to a lean-to well after hours, and there are people there ahead of you, don't count on a rosy reception. I've been on the receiving end of this--awoken at 4:30 am by three bickering overnight hikers--and was not happy.

[Snohm Eizer]

My brother and I both hike in at night all the time, solo or together. In winter, as stated above, we usually do not even poer our headlamps on. This was driven out of necessity in the early days, since we would usually get up there late on a Friday night. But now its just another standard style if we are going in heavy instead of a dayhike.

And if you have a good imagination, you can really see some interesting things!

[Wldrns]

And if you have a good imagination, you can really see some interesting things!

It doesn't even take much of an imagination, just an open mind. But an imagination may heighten a new experience!

Whenever I get the chance, I'll arrange for a group I'm with (usually scouts and/or just their adult leaders) to go on a night hike from our campsite. It's a whole new experience for most. It has to be a relatively "safe" trail to minimize accidents. One of my favorite places would be a trail along a body of water - Hitchin's Pond is great for this. I tell them to separate themselves by at least 20 feet, no lights and absolutely no talking allowed... this is a personal journey. At the end I ask them to share what they saw and heard. I get comments like... the sounds of frogs, rippling water waves, the swishing of feet through grass, night hawks, crickets. Visuals like... shadows of distant hikers, reflections of stars on the water, meteors, satellites, fireflies. Impressions like... spooky and scary, confidence building, eye opening and enlightening. Being forced to use more senses other than vision of brightly lit familiar scenes creates exciting experiences they may never have had before with something that is always there. They just never experienced or noticed it in this way.

Sgt Rock has a short article on night hiking. It's a good site for other interesting stuff too (especially for hammockers).