hiking in the dark to hunting spot

[kaboku68]

I don't have any problems hiking in the dark on dry land. However, hiking on a glacier is another thing. Civil Twilight is ok but headlamps really don't provide enough peripheral illumination to reveal if you are getting yourself into bad situations. I will also not cross glacial streams, moulins or river channels in the dark.
Working down slate chutes in the dark is also something that I wont do. I have been cliffed out way too many times to do it again. Civil Twilight is fine but I am about 1/2 inch shorter because I took a 40 ft header on an avalanche slide with a full pack coming down through the alders on a goat hunt in the dark. I never want that feeling of getting smashed and waking up all bloody and broken again.

Dry land and a game trail or even alders is ok. However, doing it solo increases your chances of risk.

Sincerely,
Thomas

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Someone mentioned it, but there is nothing out there in the dark that's not out there in the day.
The biggest part is probably mental and loss of a clear sight line in all directions.

 

[Retterath]

Thanks guys. That helps a lot. I usually hunt by myself or with my wife on short hunts. I bought the big Agnes fly creek ul tent,the eberlestock j34, and almost the whole whole line of kryptek,kenetrek boots so I'm almost ready to head out. Just need a stove and a few more things. I'm heading to alaska on a drop diy camp for caribou so will get some experience there and then plan on doing a DIY elk hunt by myself the following year. The hiking in the dark was one thing that made me a little nervous but glad you guys posted what u thought. Do you thing the j34 will be big enough for backpacking and have a spike duffel with it. Was looking at the timberline 1 but wasn't sure?

 

[bohntr]

I can't think of one hunt I do nowadays where I do not hike in the darkness to get to my spots. No issues at all.......just got to suck it up and get hard!

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I don't hunt in grizzly country but black bears don't bother me. The only thing that bothers me is cats and perhaps that I might run into little buff and he'll mock and berate me until I'm crying in the fetal position. I carry a sidearm for cats.

 

[jherald]

There are legitimate concerns for hiking in the dark, all depends on where and when. Hiking in the dark one year after a late fishing trip on a local salmon river had an encounter with a brown bear at arms length. It must have been sitting literally next to the trail, because it busted out in front of me and took off down the trail. Very exciting to see it running away in the light of the headlamp, better than running into me. I felt the water spray off the fur thats how close it was, must have been in the river after fish like I was. So, dont hike in the dark next to the salmon stream!

 

[Retterath]

where do u keep your side arm

 

[Trr15]

I'm right there with you. I grew up in central PA where black bears in the 600lb range aren't all that uncommon. Never worried for a second about them. now that I live and hunt in WY, I'm damn near terrified of grizzlies. Haven't yet had an encounter and I certainly hope I never do. Mountain lions give me the creeps, but grizz scares the shit out of me. Had I grown up in grizz and cat country, I might not have this problem now.

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.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

where do u keep your side arm

Depends on what gear I am carrying. Most of the time on my hip, sometimes thigh, sometimes chest

 

[greyghostnw]

we do not own the nite.... just respect that and carry on. the reality is if a cat wanted you he/she would kill you pretty easy day or nite. hiking pre dark or after dark provides a benefit that is huge and am always glad when i arrive at my destination extending my time. i think i would be worried at nite if i was about to jump out of a plane on d-day with shells bursting around me knowing once my boots hit the ground there was people who wanted to kill me. just like anything the more you do it the better you get, good luck.

 

[Jdog]

I don't fear it.

But I don't like it in Alaska in bear country.

That's when headlamps with mega lumens help in lighting up those green/yellow eyes at a distance.

Had a nasty brown bear encounter once on the AK coast at 1 am..he as was at 27 steps growling and woofing...not cool.

 

[crumy]

I don't have nearly as much experience as some of the guys on here but I remember my first few times of hiking in at night... Mainly because the trailhead was 5 hours away so I would start going in around 10pm to be ready for the morning hunt. Granted hunting on 3 hours of sleep is not ideal but that is probably another thread somewhere. Anyway I wasn't so concerned a about something "getting me" while hiking because I figure if "it" was going to get me it was going to get me.. not much I could do about it. What did weird me out was all the little birds that would fly up or the scampering I would hear while walking... That got me on edge bad... So right or wrong, I put in headphones. I don't hear all the noises, keep it down enough so a good warning growl might be heard and I figured if I was going to go at least I had some good tunes....

 

[tipsntails7]

Sorry littlebuf if you don't have fear that turns into complacency. Fear is a good thing as long you can control it. It keeps you aware, alert and cautious. I don't mind walking in the dark, I do it probably 70+ times a year while waterfowling. The key is to not freak yourself out. Bears don't scare me, unless it's a sow and cubs that I've accidentally snuck up on. I've had some butt puckering encounters when it comes to that. I'm afraid of one thing in the woods day or night and it's cougars, and where I'm at in california we have a s&&t load of them. They freak me out, their eyes, the way they move, everything about them sends chills up my back, which is also why I love watching them (from a distance). One of the timber managers up here has a trail cam with 5 cats in the same frame, and 2 hours later you see me walking. Talk about a photo I wish I never saw. I'll try and get a copy to put up.

Fear is good... Paralyzing terror is not. But they are closer to each other then any of us like to admit.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Respect of the animals and other dangers is good imo.

Not sure why anyone would really be scared of walking (on a trail) in the dark. Getting in your car and driving down the freeway is probably more dangerous.

 

[tttoadman]

I have been humping up and down trails at night since I was a kid going in and out with my dad. I am not really afraid of the dark, but I generally try to stay on cut trails in the dark. I carry my gun when I hike at night. I also do the turnaround about every 50 yards +/- to make sure a cat isn't sneaking up behind me. I will occasionally drag a stick along with me at night to make noise. I don't know if these goofy things really do any good, but I think it does and that is probably all that matters.

 

[tipsntails7]

Respect of the animals and other dangers is good imo.

Not sure why anyone would really be scared of walking (on a trail) in the dark. Getting in your car and driving down the freeway is probably more dangerous.

You would be surprised. I've taken a couple buddies out before that clearly have never spent time hiking in the dark, or camping for that matter. And needless to say they let their imaginations get the best of them and they freaked out, bad. Guy had a panic attack because he thought we had got lost. Another guy swore he kept seeing eyes and it was following us. It's not something you can just jump into and be fine,
If you didn't grow up doing it you need to work your way in. Fear Of the dark is probably one of the most common fears around. But it's really a manifestation of people fear of unknowing and uncertainty. If your confident in what your doing you will be fine.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I actually enjoy traveling in the dark, horses or hiking.

 

[mtnclimber]

i did it on a goat hunt last october. started hiking at 2am, got to where we thought the goats were at 6am, waited 2 hours for daylight. next year ill just hike in the night before and stay over. it was pretty freaky just because we'd never been in the area before and the mountains had a couple 3000' drop offs. we weren't too worried about bears until the day after we got off the mountain we looked up and saw a sow with 2 cubs. boy we were glad we didn't run into them at 2am in the pitch dark!

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I had zero concern until a mountain lion screamed 20 yards from my brother in law and I at 3:30 in the morning on our way to our tree stands.

 

[orelkaddict]

I've hiked countless miles in the dark and most without a seconds thought but every once in a while u get a reminder of where u stand in mother natures court. Never had a "bad" encounter myself but rather a hand full of cheap thrills. Things like dam near stepping on a grouse, walking up on a sleeping shitter (moo cow) that looked like a chunk of black log till it started scrambling to its feet. You know fun things like that! Now I have walked past 1 of my trail cameras while going in only to discover on my way out that I had a cougar 1 minute behind me that morning! Glad I didn't know then cause that would probably get me a little wound up for sure. I met a black bear 1 morning at a crest in the trail on the way in, not really sure who was more surprised at that point? If I was around grizzly country I might view things different?