How do you sleep in the backcountry?

[5MilesBack]

I was camping in Santa Cruz and got pretty hammered.

Actually this wasn't far from Santa Cruz. Can't remember what that forested section is called above SC. That's where it was probably around '92 or '93.

 

[Salix]

I'm a hardly at all sleeper in the back country. Been better in the past few years since I started using a sleep aid and ear plugs.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

This might help.

http://myfox8.com/2016/05/12/bear-attack-reported-at-great-smoky-mountains-national-park/

http://www.wcpo.com/news/state/stat...hio-teen-pulled-from-hammock-in-national-park

That's not helping either.

 

[orionsbrother]

I have had bears move through camps on numerous occasions. They got my attention. On one occasion, one was really working to get at my food pack in the tree and would not give up. He was so persistent that he concerned me.

But I'd have to say that the best sphincter test I had was on a wilderness canoe trip one fall. I was awakened right at dawn with a rutted up bull moose wandered into camp with attitude, thrashing anything and everything as he came in. Maybe I was snoring and it set him off.

 

[realunlucky]

Tylenol pm a bear will still wake you but he may already have a month full.

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[flyinsquirel]

Actually this wasn't far from Santa Cruz. Can't remember what that forested section is called above SC. That's where it was probably around '92 or '93.

It was probably Felton.

 

[slow]

We backpacked a section of the PCT a few weeks ago in SoCal. Woke up one morning and my wife was mad at me. Think she called me a butthead. Apparently, she had heard something sniffing around our tent in the middle of the night and tried to wake me. She said I mumbled something about our tent being Kevlar or bullet proof and promptly fell back asleep. I explained to her that morning that I knew there were no bears in that area, she wouldn't have heard a mountain lion, and I had a hard time getting concerned about anything else. As a rule, I sleep pretty good in the backcountry. I find it peaceful.

 

[sneaky]

Coming from the East, altitude can have a serious effect on sleep quality.

When I first moved out here from Tennessee I didn't have any troubles with sleeping. It's an individual thing, not something you can blame on being from a different region. I just think getting doped up on a cocktail of sleep aids is a recipe for disaster.

 

[mrgreen]

I usually sleep pretty good. Earplugs if I'm in a campground or with other campers. Plus a pillow system that took decades of trial-and-error (screwed up neck/ side sleeper). I find a dedicated Pee bottle to be a great help, no trying to ignore the urge because it's too wet or cold out. Just, out of the bag, go into the bottle and right back to sleep.

This weekend, leading a group of boy scouts I forgot the Pee bottle, it was wet and cold. Had a terrible night sleep, up every hour. I didn't want to get out of the bag into the rain, so it ruined my whole nights sleep.

Worst nights sleep so far, I had a group of coyotes probe my camp. No joke, about 0300 they howled closed by. Woke me like an air raid siren, then they were on either side of my camp making little "yip" noises to each other. Little bastards, I had to get up and chase them off with my flashlight.

Felt better when I arrowed one later, DRT.

 

[boom]

I sleep awesome. It might be the elevation, but I have insane lucid dreams. And I seem to remember them more often.


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

 

[Violent Hippie]

The first couple nights in the backcountry I sleep like shiat. The senses getting used to a new environment I figure . Situational awareness adjustment. Usually bye night 3 I'm good to go.

 

[Poser]

When I first moved out here from Tennessee I didn't have any troubles with sleeping. It's an individual thing, not something you can blame on being from a different region. I just think getting doped up on a cocktail of sleep aids is a recipe for disaster.

Having trouble sleeping is a super common symptom of altitude. Next to headaches, it likely the most common symptom. On top of that, my ability to sleep well tends to be easily impacted by other factors: stress, excitement etc. Since sleep is such an important part of acclimation and I have no time available on these trips to dedicate to the acclimation process, it just makes things a lot more enjoyable to ensure that I get a full night's worth of quality sleep. I take melatonin nightly anyway when home. I take it just before going to bed so it takes about 3 hours or so to release. That ensures that I stay asleep as I'm prone to waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep. Your body releases melatonin once you enter a state of REM. Supplementing a small amount helps you enter and stay in the state. This is also when you body releases growth hormones.
I use Advil PM in the backcountry to help deal with any altitude headaches and aches and pains of sores muscles and inflamed joints. The NSAID in that tends to knock me out quickly, but the effects don't last very long at all, maybe an hour or 2. I think about Chamomile tea more as "bedtime coffee." its kind of more of a ritual that I rely on as a way to let my brain knows its about time to go to sleep. In the backcountry, I drop a big fat serving of a butter in it, too, to get some extra fat for the night. As for the edible, I tried that for the first time last year and it worked great. I eat a pretty small amount, like 10mg THC -just enough to take the edge off and help the body to relax. I have a hard time winding down mentally.

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

For the first few trips every year... the first night is always bad for me. I toss and turn and usually get pretty wired. 2nd night on Im settled in and sleep really well. By the time September comes I sleep like a baby.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I eat Magnesium to help me sleep and on day 4 of a week long trip I was awakened by low growls and heavy breathing. We were camped next to a little creek in the eastern Sierras at about 10,800'. I was way groggy and could not find my flashlight or bear spray but did have my .44 magnum. Then it hit the tent and as the wall pushed in on top of me I fired 3 rounds point blank thru the tent. I remember seeing the flash and watching the powder burn the wall of the tent, smoldering like a cigarette. The ringing in my ears was all I could sense. I was dazed and just sat there for several seconds...then started looking for my flashlight again...holding my S&W 329PD the entire time. I finally located my light and unzipped the SS2 Tarptent. I got out on the opposite side from where the tent had collapsed. There, laying dead next to the tent was my buddy Gary with two bullet holes in the center of his chest. He must have been pranking me, I thought. I am thinking, "This can't be! This isn't happening!!" Then I woke up and heard Gary snoring away in the next tent. it was an upsetting dream...never took Gary for granted again after that. Thought I'd shot him dead.

 

[Mtslackcountry]

^^^^^^

Jesus bud.... That's one messed up dream

 

[xcutter]

I eat Magnesium to help me sleep and on day 4 of a week long trip I was awakened by low growls and heavy breathing. We were camped next to a little creek in the eastern Sierras at about 10,800'. I was way groggy and could not find my flashlight or bear spray but did have my .44 magnum. Then it hit the tent and as the wall pushed in on top of me I fired 3 rounds point blank thru the tent. I remember seeing the flash and watching the powder burn the wall of the tent, smoldering like a cigarette. The ringing in my ears was all I could sense. I was dazed and just sat there for several seconds...then started looking for my flashlight again...holding my S&W 329PD the entire time. I finally located my light and unzipped the SS2 Tarptent. I got out on the opposite side from where the tent had collapsed. There, laying dead next to the tent was my buddy Gary with two bullet holes in the center of his chest. He must have been pranking me, I thought. I am thinking, "This can't be! This isn't happening!!" Then I woke up and heard Gary snoring away in the next tent. it was an upsetting dream...never took Gary for granted again after that. Thought I'd shot him dead.

That ain't right. You totally had me. LOL.

 

[Elkoholic87]

With my eyes closed.


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[Trial153]

I am sound sleeper, when I am ready to sleep....I sleep. Backcountry or anywhere for that matter.

 

[Gumbo]

For me it is kind of weird. I don't really sleep well at all, I just lie there dozing in and out of sleep in a peaceful daze. At home it would drive me nuts but when camping I love it. I probably sleep hardest during a midday nap in a sunny or shady depending on the temp.

 

[W.D. Crawford]

I sleep okay, kinda 50/50. Biggest fear falling trees and lightning. Worst night sleep, this past archery season thought I was hearing rodents getting into my food, got out of the tent to shoo them off, get back into bed almost asleep, rustling in my ear! What the..... grab the head lamp, go out side lift the corner of the tent, and two beetles are doing their version of the rut. I grabbed my boot and promptly ground them into powder. Thirty minutes later Elk bugles maybe 200 yards away. It was a long night.