Amen! Keeping the light off allows your eyes to become dark adapted, which takes about 30 minutes from the last time you saw white light. At least carry a RED led light if you must use a light. Red won't effect night vision. Once you get past the creepy factor, night hiking is fun, cooler in summer, and you'll likely make sense of your surroundings better. Practice makes perfect as there is always a heightened "cautiousness" when hiking at night. Night hiking can be peaceful, mysterious, and exciting all at the same time.
Using a headlight, any color, tends to give you tunnel vision, causing you to focus all your attention on the beam and not what's around you. Keep the thing off unless you really need to see, and use RED instead of white.