What is the longest you guys/gals have hiked in the dark? My spring break is in March and one of the trip options will take me to the highest peak in the Smoky Mountain, however, the nearest shelter is 4 miles away. I would love to see sunset in the Smokies at its highest peak, but 4 miles of hiking in the dark is something I've never done. lol. The nearest tent site is probably another mile or so further than the shelter. It's a three wall shelter. If I don't do this trip then I'm take the trip that was in December issue of Backpacker (I think it was December) where you go to Big Creek and there a hidden waterfall nearby then proceed to Mt. Sterling the next day.

Here a photo, you should be able see all the photo since it a public Facebook page. I think the night time trek to a nearby tent or shelter site will be worth this view: Sunset at Clingman dome

My lengthy nighttime hikes have all been...uh...unplanned. I suppose the longest, timewise, was four or five hours after sunset. Hiking speed plunges because routefinding and not tripping over rocks and roots become paramount. I suppose with a nice, distinct trail you'd be able to maintain a daytime speed but I've not been that lucky.

A good headlamp or flashlight is key and a GPS and having the moon out are big helps.

No reason not to do the trip if you're confident about the area and route.

Cheers,

I have hiked all night several times without flashlight. Uncle Sam did the planning. We had to keep light discipline. A full moon is amazingly bright. Also, a full moon with snow on the ground is almost like daylight. The less canopy, the brighter also. Without a moon it is very dark, and you need a light.

Rick said: "A good headlamp or flashlight is key..."

And don't forget some spare batteries. Funny thing, batteries never seem to die during the day...

Hiked all night - was one of the only two Half Dome trips I will ever do, and was much more enjoyable than the daytime version - no hordes of tourists bumping into me, cooler temps, and you get to see wildlife that doesn't hang out during the day.

If the trail is clear (those in Yosemite are generally wilderness freeways) it's fairly straightforward. Cross country, you're going to be slow and hopefully paying close attention to what you're doing.

Clingman Dome is on the A.T. in the Smoky Mountain. I got about three different places on my mind. Trying to narrow it down.

I think my flashlight is better than my headlamp. lol. Say, how active are coyotes at night?

Actually, I've only done one serious night hike, about a mile and a half along a fairly level ridgetop trail. I used a headlamp, and it provided plenty of light. Like others said, the big thing is slowing down a bit and watching for roots, rocks, and other tripping hazards. The other snag we hit was that our campsite was just beyond a trail junction, on the other trail, then along a small path (150 feet or so) into the campsite. We'd been into the campsite in daylight, and it was easy to find. However, at night, it wasn't so easy - we hit the trail junction OK, turned down the correct trail, but missed the junction with the small path. Having been there before, we realized that we had to be past the junction pretty quickly, but ended up backtracking about 500 yards. No big deal, but embarrasing because we had a newbie with us who was silly enough to think she was with a couple of real experts.

She was a bit nervous about hiking at night along one narrow part of the ridge (Not that narrow - 25 feet wide or so.) At one point, she asked, "How many times have you guys done this kind of thing?" To which we replied, "Counting this time, once." At that point, she told me my parents hadn't been married.

i've hiked from nevada Falls down to Happy Isles by the light of the full moon. What's that, five miles? Memorable hike for lots of reasons---all of them good!

Coyotes are a nonproblem, day or night. I have lived in coyote country for decades and there are 9,563 other issues of more significance than coyotes. They are present in the town in which I live continually, along with the bobcats, another non-issue.

I have hiked all night on many occasions. It is easier if you are familiar with the trail, of course, but not essential. The best way is to start out at dusk and let your eyes become fully dark adapted - it makes quite a difference, as does a full moon and/or snow cover.

I prefer a headlamp but I often carry it in hand. Irregularities in the trail will show up better that way. On really smooth trails wearing a headlamp, I have lost all sense of perspective and have literally "floated" on the trail, especially on descents. You want the headlamp, however, so that it can go on your head if you need to use both hands. Use the minimum setting possible.

On even a halfway descent trail, your feet can sense the trail and you will know the instant you veer off or miss a switchback. You will get better at this with experience.

Tonight would be a good night for a beginning night hike. There is an almost full moon out and it will be up until nearly dawn. The next two nights will be even better. You might try a local trail just to get a feel for the experience. I highly recommend night hiking.

One other thing - carry multiple sources of light. You definitely want a backup. If you can ride a mountain bike in the snow, night hiking will be a piece of cake.

You saw that picture, huh? I've rode bikes at night too. It was insane! My riding partner has a really good light, it's about 500 lumen and the bike shop owner lend me one as a demo..I got to tell you, it's a blast! I've only wreck once so far and it was a wicker. I didn't see a stump on a curve and end up taking a small spill. I didn't even get a bruise from that spill.

I have hiked all night, unplanned, looking for someone who was lost. that sucks.


On the other hand, I do plan night hikes from time to time. I often "extend" a weekend by hitting a trailhead later on a friday and hiking in to a campsite, doing the campsite in the dark.

In July this year, I did something like 6 km in from the maligne lake parking lot to trapper creek campground, and it was pretty much dark the whole way (I started down the trail at 10:30 and arrived shortly after midnight.

If there is moon out, you often don't even need a headlamp. I did for this one.

Shoot, I hadn't even thought about that.

I've done several night hikes. Full Moon, Moon and Snow, New Moon. But easily the toughest was helping to get a family off the Buffalo River one night. That was a bushwhack along the river bank on a moonless night. I'd guess we did at least 2 miles before we got to them.

My favorite, by far, was the Full Moon and Snow hike. I never even turned on my headlamp.

Well...I've done a number of them. But of the ones I can remember reasonably;

1) with my sons boyscout troup we did about 4 miles in on our way to Whale Peak in the desert. We left on a Friday late after school and arrived at our parking spot around 7:00 pm or so in the winter. It was a clear night and no trees until we got to our camp for the night. Very cool, basically a jeep trail so was very easy to follow.

2) Looking back at my old maps, this one was 8 KM in the San Pedro Martir in Baja California Norte. We had a late working day trying to get these guys caught up so I left the campsite alone just as the sun was setting. In this area, we were mostly using animal trails to get around. I was lucky and the moon rose early. Not too rugged with moderately open ponderosa forest not unlike Arizona at 7000ft. I remember I got into the main camp after 9...there was a large fire going with Tequila going round. And there was still some hot food in the mess tent. I was very happy to get back to base because Joe (I still remember the guys name) snored sooooo loud that I had to jam toilet tissue in my ears and sleep 100 yards away to get any sleep at all. I felt for his partner.

I've been in alpine zones where the moon was bright enough to see colors. Amazing!

Cheers,

I often go up to a ski park at night and start skiing around 11:00pm, trying for a campsite by midnight. I go cross country with a head lamp and a gps, but if theres bright moonlight I turn the light off. When I was a boyscout we always felt that you can better at night without a light by letting you night vision take over. You really do see a lot more than with a headlamp that makes you eyes close down because it is so bright where its pointing. I mean you will obviously see that one spot more clearly with the headlight pointed at it, but you will miss the rest. Its like sitting by a campfire - the trees are lit and the surrounds are dark, but turn off the lights and the trees become dark and the surrounds become dimmly lit.

Anyway I ski in a mile and a halh maybe, stomp down the snow if its too loose, then pitch my Bibler,Jim

When hunting I have carried meat out after dark and did not like it one bit. It was not a good idea but I did not want to make the extra trip.
I would not hike after dark without a good dog in bear or cougar country, even with the dog it is dangerous. Literature about bears you get when you camp warn about being out and about after dark.

Anyone ever drive at night in the woods without headlamps? I have had to do that a few times in the Army as well. That is much scarier than walking, even with nods.

Definitely better to be in a group when hiking at night. Especially if you have raw meat strapped to your body...in Griz country.

sk

I've done a good bit of coon hunting. For those of you who aren't familiar with that odd hobby, it involves going out in the dead of night and turning the dogs loose. Then going to where ever the crazy coon decides to lead the dogs, usually the steepest most briar covered, rocky, wet, muddy, creek filled, impossible area around for miles. I've been up the side of mountains where you had to use small saplings as hand holds to keep from sliding down them, and had to go over and around boulders bigger than a bed all while carrying a water pack with a rifle strapped to it. There were times we'd be out from 7 or 8 till 1 or 2 in the morning. A head light is an absolute must. I'm also a big fan of the mini maglite (the two AA model) with the nite ize (i think thats how you spell it) led conversion bulb. The brightness is about right, and the light spreads and patterns well at close distance for those times you need a hand held light.

It can be pretty slow going sometimes, but very doable. Its unbelievable how bright a full moon can be if you're out in the open and give your eyes time to adjust too. I also agree with what was said earlier, you dont really want the brightest light out there for your walking. Coon hunting requires SUPER high power lights (to the point that the battery mounts on your belt and looks like something you'd expect to power a small vehicle) to spot the coons when they're up the trees, but those bright lights are about useless for actually moving through the woods with out a dimmer because they flood the area with so much light you really cant see anything.

The most important thing is to be sure you're familiar with the area and have plenty of batteries. I'm a big fan of led for things like that. LED lights, unless you buy fairly expensive lights, tend to not have good distance to them, but just for walking you dont need major distance out of your light, you need good spread. LED also gives good battery life, impact/fall resistance because there's no filament to break.

Things look MUCH different at night. I also suggest a walking stick or trecking pole even if you dont typically use one. I cant tell you how many times half or more of our group would fall dealign with a particlar creek crossing, or going on a short very steep incline that was a bit slick, that I had no trouble at all because of my pole.


As far as coyotes go I suggest you find a show on tv about people hunting them and see how skittish they are. They are one of the easiest animals in the world to scare off usually. I mean to the point that they are a very hard to hunt even while using wounded animal calls and decoys that look like a wounded animal flopping around on the groun, because at the slightest hint that something isn't right, they bolt.

Maybe it's the era or the generation, but as I read down the threads, I was listing in my mind things that ought to be said (carry your light low, try to aclimate your eyes, find out when there's a moon, etc.)and I get to Oldranger and he's got them all plus a few.

One note, the trail from the dome to the next shelter south is pretty much all down hill as I recall, and fairly clear trail, much of it in meadow open to the east. Should be good to go if there's a moon early. Also, I've done it south to north, up the hill, and it still didn't really feel like four miles. Maybe recheck distance.

One of the times I did it, it was early morning after a light freezing rain. The sun was bright and coming across so that each pine needle was crystal bursting with light. I'll never forget it!

Also, don't forget that there is a road right from the top into Gatlinburg. And, check the guidebook, I think there is a campsite just to the north.

Have a good trip (actually hard to miss in that area). Best, jcp