Sprucing Up Your Night Hike

Friday, October 14th, 2011

For the casual hiker, even the title of this article alone might have raised a few flags. “A night hike? How on Earth would you do something like that?” If you’ve been one of those hikers who looks to make their way back to a car before the sun totally sets, you’re missing out on half of the day. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few ways to spruce up a night hike – and make it a lot less scary.

-Bring someone with you.

Night hiking can be a bit creepy – after all, you’re out there in the wilderness with nothing but silver moonlight and the sound of a million bugs you can’t even see. But if you bring someone with you – such as a family member or a close friend – the entire dynamic changes completely. Instead of looking to avoid the environment, you’ll start asking yourself how you can make it more interesting.

-Bring entertainment.

A way to get your mind off of the, for lack of a better term, “nightness” is simply to bring something that can entertain you along the journey. Yes, you’re traveling, and yes, there’s no light out, so you’ll have to get a little creative. A glow-in-the-dark frisbee, for example, will give you something to do with every step that you take. If you’re out in the night alone, you can use this frisbee as a way to inspire yourself forward: throw your frisbee to one spot on the trail, and work towards getting to that spot. Before you know it, you’ll be home free.

-GPS.

While GPS isn’t exactly fun (unless you’re a true navigation nerd like myself), it will brighten your spirits up to know exactly where you are at any given time. It takes away the worry typically associated with navigating by night, helping to put your mind at ease even when it’s tough to find visual landmarks to navigate yourself back home. A GPS watch can be worn around the wrist, and an LCD display will make it easy to read. You’ll also be able to stay ahead of the weather with an advanced GPS watch, keeping an eye on the barometer to see if rain is going to fall soon. That’s something that you typically can’t get with the naked eye at night.

-Practice.

Night hiking can be a bit creepy the first couple of times you try it, but with experience, it becomes the norm. If you’ve ever done any type of exercise at night, you know what kind of eerie focus the lack of stimulation can give you. It’s simply not the same as the day. But if you’re consistent, you’ll eventually be as comfortable hiking at night – even by yourself – as you are in the daylight.

Photo Credits: grabadonut