hiking in the dark to hunting spot

[Retterath]

I haven't done a ton of backpacking in or even done much hunting in the mountains but i know your best chance of seeing elk and deer is walking in a couple miles before the sun is up and glassing at first light and sitting and glassing until the sun is down then hiking back to trailhead or spike camp. Does it ever make anyone nervous about hiking in the pitch black in the mountains, i have done it where i live but not no 2 hr walks in the black, or am i the only panzie out there that thinks of something happening when I'm out there hiking in the dark, and yes i use a head lamp just was a question i had? thanks guys and I'm sure I'm going to get some funny reply's.

 

[ssliger]

I'll admit it, I'm a pansy. I think my problem is in my head. I have no problem walking in the dark in the morning cause I know it's gonna get light. But in the evening I don't like it.

 

[Shrek]

I was fine with hiking in the dark until I saw some grizzly prints in the trail. I had known in my head that they were around but at that moment I knew in my heart and it hasn't been the same since. Just got to suck it up and know you're gonna die from something someday.

 

[whitingja]

Mind plays tricks on you as well as movies I've seen. But remember your safer out there than walking in the city. The more you do it the easier it gets. A really high lumen headlamp helps alot as well as a sidearm with confidence.

 

[Brock A]

Hiking in during the night is a good way to maximize your time on a hunt. Especially if you have a long way in. Its also a great wag to get ahead of the guys at the trailhead that are scared of the dark ;-)... Like littlebuf says "nothing out there in the dark that isn't there during the day".

 

[gelton]

If you want to be in the prime area at first light then that usually means hiking in at dark and same for the evening hunt.

This is especially true if you are fighting a crowd. I happen to know some of the guys that hunt around me and they head up the mountain at 4:30 am but they also truck camp. Backpacking in allows me to sleep longer and still get away from the crowd.

What drives me crazy is walking through deadfall in the dark. Sometimes the headlamp doesn't shed enough light over and around the dead timber and you end up taking the wrong step.

 

[Shrek]

..Like littlebuf says "nothing out there in the dark that isn't there during the day".

Yeah, but come daylight I might have the chance to see the problem and take a detour. I still hike in the dark but in grizzly country it just isn't fun. I hike in the dark around here and the two legged predators are the only thing to watch for and I can handle those. If I hunt alone again this fall I may pick an area that is grizzly monster free.

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

I prefer going in at night. It's cooler temps I can get ahead of others in the area and if I need to move camp I'll do it at night to save time actually hunting. I work 4-10's so during season I'm hiking in the dark on Thursday nights every week to get to camp.

 

[Brock A]

I work 4-10's so during season I'm hiking in the dark on Thursday nights every week to get to camp.

I take advantage of this too when I work 4-10's. You add a full day to your otherwise short weekend hunt.

 

[littlebuf]

your a step in the right direction already for getting over your fear and becoming a expert mountain hunter by being here on rokslide. now all you have to do is spend thousands and i mean thousands of dollars on all the gear you see on here, or get recommended to buy because its the next great thing that will push you over the top into super human hunter status. once your there you should stop being scared of the dark and it will start being scared of you.

seriously, if one of these guys dies up in the mountains you think a lawyer out there will be able to find a way to sue this web site for liability? could i be named in a class action suit just because im a member? im starting to get kinda worried....

 

[Shrek]

your a step in the right direction already for getting over your fear and becoming a expert mountain hunter by being here on rokslide. now all you have to do is spend thousands and i mean thousands of dollars on all the gear you see on here, or get recommended to buy because its the next great thing that will push you over the top into super human hunter status. once your there you should stop being scared of the dark and it will start being scared of you.

seriously, if one of these guys dies up in the mountains you think a lawyer out there will be able to find a way to sue this web site for liability? could i be named in a class action suit just because im a member? im starting to get kinda worried....

Damn Littlebuf , were talking about hiking in the dark and if it creeps us out and you come with an attack on members , members spending , and talking about lawyers and lawsuits. WTF is your problem ?

 

[littlebuf]

Damn Littlebuf , were talking about hiking in the dark and if it creeps us out and you come with an attack on members , members spending , and talking about lawyers and lawsuits. WTF is your problem ?

oh this threads not a joke? my bad, i didnt know it was serious

 

[mt100gr.]

The dark really makes my imagination work overtime. All my senses seem amplified. Noises seem close and big. A deer crashing off through the brush gets the heart rate up. Flushed a grouse at about 3 feet one morning last year...that got my attention. All my hunting takes place in grizzly country. That they are around is a fact...along with lions and wolves...I just convince myself to keep putting one foot ahead of the other.

I have definitely run into some bears and the more I encounter, the more "comfortable" I get with it. (Maybe I should say "decreases the pucker factor ever so slightly") lions on the other hand, are a bit to sneaky and way to curious for me to ever be comfortable with. If we only knew how many cats had seen us in the mountains....

 

[gelton]

Damn Littlebuf , were talking about hiking in the dark and if it creeps us out and you come with an attack on members , members spending , and talking about lawyers and lawsuits. WTF is your problem ?

He is having flashbacks to his "ever feel guilty fanboy thread" I find it amusing, wind him up n watch him go.

 

[SHTF]

One thing I havent seen mentioned here which is why I enjoyed hiking in the dark last year was the fact that your light will light up the eyes of Deer and Elk you wouldnt normally see in the tree line. Its great to see the Elk watching you as your watching them. =)

 

[justin davis]

No. I lived my entire life in the mountains. Been camping and adventuring in the dark by myself since I was 7 years old. Nothing really to be afraid of where I live other than people. The lions and bears will leave you alone.

 

[mt100gr.]

Odds are they will leave you alone, but don't get complacent. Respect them and their abilities to make a living in places we only visit for short periods of time. Know how to handle encounters and don't let your guard down.

 

[Shrek]

I don't have the least bit of fear of black bears , respect that in the right conditions they could attack , but not fear. Grizzly bears on the other hand scare the chit out of me. Probably because all I've ever seen is some tracks and heard all the horror stories. If I was around them more and ran up on some without incident I'd get over myself.

 

[pacific-23]

Put me in the afraid of the dark category. However a guy did get chewed on by a brown bear a mile away from my house getting an early start in the dark...

 

[Ryan Avery]

Lilbuff looks like bigfoot and was raised by wolfs. Don't mind him.

Just like everything else the more you do it the easier it becomes. I've trekked a lot of miles in the dark. Only trouble I've had was with a cow and calf moose that didn't want to share the trail.