Hiking At Night!

[BigSur]

One time, when me and my girl were hiking in Big Sur California, it was a full moon. We were in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and as we were going down to the river bank, we both heard the most blood curdling mountain lion roar. Literally, it sounded like it was watching us, or right near us. Almost as if it was warning us to stay away or something. She looked at me and said, "Dan, I think it's time to go!"

I agreed and we hightailed it out of there back to the car so fast! Good times!

 

[ppine]

Hiking at night is risky, but can be irrestible. Some of my most memorable xc ski experiences and mule riding have been at night. Riding at night can be exciting, fording rivers, jumping logs and just finding the trail can be very exciting, especially when it is snowing hard. Is it 1988 or 1888?

Serious big game hunting almost always involves some traveling in the dark. It is part of what makes it so memorable. It is comforting to have a rifle when hiking back to camp in the dark. Once in awhile someone would have trouble finding camp and would pop off a round or two. Usually when someone was late getting in it was because they had something down.

 

[Snuggles]

I would have been right behind you BigSur. I'm too young to get eaten by a mountain lion. Glad you got out of there. I do love Big Sur. It's one of the most beautiful places I 've been to. Hiking at night? No thanks ppine. I like to see where I'm going.

 

[bsmit212]

I am headed out for a night hike this Friday. Don't have any more days off to spare this year, but want to get in a good backpacking trip. So I am leaving the ATL area around 5 on Friday and hoping to be at Springer by 7ish and then into Hawk Mnt shelter before midnight, hopefully not much past if so.

 

[Grandpa]

I've always enjoyed night hikes/rides. In the early days of snowmachines, several of us would meet for night rides. Thesnow would be crisper allowing those old heavy machines more speed and better traction. After setting up camp and eating supper, an evening "cool down" hike often lasts well into the night. I've even been guilty of returning to camp well after dark in bear country. Definately not recommended but guilty non the less.

 

[blueridgelover]

I thought I was the only one! When I was younger, I used to explore the woods around my house at night. Always made sure to have a gun with me just in case--you never know what you'll run into at night--but I never had any trouble. Walking through the woods at night when it's snowing is amazing, but it's incredibly eerie, too.

Much less brave these days! I don't visit locations at night much anymore, but when I do, I never go alone. I have a healthier sense of personal safety now, I think.

 

[Hikenhunter]

Night hikes used to be great on a full moon lit night. Hiking at night was the only way to stretch the weekend depending on the mileage that had to be covered in order to end the hike in time to drive home and get ready for work Monday morning. Getting on my deer stand before shooting light always meant hiking in the dark and you can't hunt raccoon or fox until the sun goes down. I also liked night fishing with a few of my friends. That was when I was very young and 60 pounds lighter. Now I just do less mileage on weekenders and I do not hunt as deep into the woods as I once did. I stopped chasing coon dogs through the woods at night and my friends all quit fishing at night. I still do a night hike once in a great while but from a base camp, or from a parking lot when I plan to drive home right after the hike.

 

[Cappy]

The vast majority of my night hikes or boat trips consisted of a head light and either a frog grab or a coon dog and rifle.:tinysmile_fatgrin_t We also fish alots at night. Down here in bayou country in da summer time its the only way to roll.

 

[BigSur]

I've always liked being outside at night, I don't know what it is. Ever since I was young, coming home riding my bike on a summer night or playing "guns" in the woods was so cool! I guess I am sort of a night owl, but I do like the way the mornings look.

 

[ppine]

For those of you that are night owls, I can suggest a 12v spotlight for use in a vehicle. Don't carry any firearms or try it during hunting season. After using a spot for night wildlife surveys, I used one for fun. It is easy to spot all of the fur bearing animals in your neck of the woods at night. Also deer, elk, and antelope are easy to find. Sometimes we found snakes and tarantulas by their eye shine.

 

[JimW67]

I love to night hike, but of course it depends where you are doing this. What I like most about it is to check out the stars. I prefer to hike at night when the moon is bright with little cloud coverage so I rarely use a flashlight. For me, the flashlight ruins it, though I understand why you would need one, depending on where you are hiking.

 

[blueridgelover]

My thinking runs along the same lines, Jim. I pick areas I know well and have visited during the day. Moonlight is what makes the difference. A full moon and stars makes for an incredible hike.

 

[offtrail]

For those of you that are night owls, I can suggest a 12v spotlight for use in a vehicle. Don't carry any firearms or try it during hunting season. After using a spot for night wildlife surveys, I used one for fun. It is easy to spot all of the fur bearing animals in your neck of the woods at night. Also deer, elk, and antelope are easy to find. Sometimes we found snakes and tarantulas by their eye shine.

In Ohio doing any spotlighting even without a gun from a vehicle is illegal, that's to bad. I understand why but if you have no gun what is the harm?

 

[Greatoutdoors]

A night hike sounds like fun, but my night vision is terrible and I am afraid that I might fall on my face or break something. It would be really cool to see all of the animals doing their nocturnal thing though.

 

[oldsarge]

After a freshly fallen snow and a full moon. The woods taken on an eerie atmosphere. I'm not much for the cold weather, but I'll head out on a night like that.

 

[blueridgelover]

oldsarge, that sounds absolutely lovely. Snow doesn't usually stick around long enough where I live to see it, but if we luck out with any snow this year, maybe I'll get to go for a walk like that.

 

[dinosaur]

Yup. One of my favorites is getting" lickered up and goin" out and walkin' in the woods. I bump into trees, get caught in the brush, fall down and wake up in the mornin' with frostbit fingers, my pants undone and some girl named Maybelline layin' next to me.

 

[NatureGal]

At night is my favorite time to go. But I do agree that it can be very dangerous. I never hike for long at night because it is just too risky.

 

[Barney]

I love to hike at night. First of all it lets me try all my flashlight and I'm a big fan of these. The only problem is that I have a hard time finding someone to go with me.

 

[briansnat]

I've hiked at night plenty, but never by design. It has always because we misjudged how long the hike would take. We seem to do this all too frequently in the winter. Luckily our packs always have a good headlamp and flashlight.

I've also been on a few backpacking trips where we finished the last few miles in the dark.