51
votes
Accepted
Are there any advantages while backpacking to hike during the night and sleep during the day?
There are several reasons, though not all of them would apply for one's usual holiday trip.
Remaining unseen
Obviously, during night its dark and this gives you a fair bit of cover if you want to ...
- 707
30
votes
Are there any advantages while backpacking to hike during the night and sleep during the day?
The main advantages are:
You don't need sunscreen
Even with a full moon, the night sky is awesome
Things look (and sound) weirdly and wonderfully different in moonlight
In summer, the temperature ...
- 24k
22
votes
Accepted
How can I find north from the stars without recognizable constellations?
What you will want to do is to find which way a star is moving. The way to do this, is to line up two objects pointing towards where the star is currently at, like so.
Then wait 15-20 minutes for the ...
- 69.4k
16
votes
Accepted
What should you do if your sleeping bag gets soaking wet at night?
First - do everything to prevent getting a wet bag!
A wet sleeping bag must be a nightmare - the best solution is to make sure this never happens to you again!
Before I use a new shelter somewhere ...
- 11.8k
16
votes
How can I overcome irrational fears of being out in the dark?
I am not a psychologist or anything in that field, and I have never been afraid of the dark. Just lucky, I guess. However, I will try to be helpful.
My impression from limited reading about ...
- 24k
14
votes
Accepted
How to cross rivers or streams at night or in darkness?
Don't, unless you know the route very well and are sure the rivers can pose no danger.
Travel the day before so you arrive to the trailhead before it gets dark, then spend the night at the trailhead. ...
- 27.3k
12
votes
Accepted
What do I need to consider when rock climbing at night?
General advice for climbing at night:
Don't do it if you are new to climbing.
Avoid it, even if you are not new to climbing.
Be prepared for it on long routes, even when you are not expecting to be ...
- 7,491
12
votes
Accepted
Help identifying this animal
The Bengal slow loris is found in the extreme north east of India, including Arunachal Pradesh. Most of the slow lorises are found further east.
I've seen other slow loris species in zoos, and the ...
- 26.7k
11
votes
Are there any advantages while backpacking to hike during the night and sleep during the day?
Better sights
In some situations, there might be some beautiful things that can only be seen during the night.
This includes Northern lights (Aurora Borealis), but also some places might brag about ...
- 211
10
votes
Accepted
Do flashlights (torches) with multi-color capabilities have any applications for usage in the great outdoors at night?
Just found this and thought it rather interesting and adds just a little something more to the already great answers posted.
The following is from the Flashlight University: LED Colors and Uses.
...
- 9,609
10
votes
What do I need to consider when rock climbing at night?
Route finding might be a problem:
If the approach is not obvious (from what I read about Snake Dike, it isn't), you could waste much time blundering there, looking for cairns and what not.
You could ...
- 4,563
10
votes
Do wolves hunt on moonless nights?
There are usually some light sources, even on a moonless night there are stars. Even with thin cloud cover it is not that bad, it blocks some light but also reflects some. Only a really overcast night ...
- 1,287
9
votes
What should you do if your sleeping bag gets soaking wet at night?
I'm going to assume that you're too deep into the bush to bail and get back to civilization, and that your bag is all that's standing between you and hypothermia. In this situation, you have to get ...
- 53.6k
9
votes
Accepted
How can I overcome irrational fears of being out in the dark?
I think it’s quite normal to feel at least a bit scared when running in the dark. Especially when it’s pitch-black forests with all kinds of noises and you know the closest settlement is several ...
- 676
8
votes
Accepted
Does the two sticks and a star method of finding north work the same way in both hemispheres?
TLDR: It's the same in both hemispheres.
To keep the explanation simple consider someone driving south at night across the equator in Africa . The person sees a star ahead and it's moving to the ...
- 69.4k
7
votes
Accepted
Are Oxygen shortages possible in closed bivouacs?
If you put a plastic back over your head, you are going to suffocate. A good bivvy bag should be designed such that suffocation is not an issue. However, breathing into a bivvy bag is a terrible idea ...
- 1,972
7
votes
How to cross rivers or streams at night or in darkness?
There are a couple of things you will want to do.
Headlamps are essential as you will want the full use of both of your arms.
The darkness will make it more difficult, mostly because you be able to ...
- 69.4k
7
votes
What do I need to consider when rock climbing at night?
Depends on your headlamp. I use a Petzl Ultra Vario headlamp for caving that can cast a beam 200m, so when I've got that on I can see pretty much the same as climbing during the day.
I've climbed at ...
- 53.6k
6
votes
What should you do if your sleeping bag gets soaking wet at night?
Years ago I was caught in a totally unexpected and sudden blizzard/snowstorm. I started out the trip at 85–95°F (30–35°C) in August so I was totally unprepared for cold weather in ...
- 1,319
6
votes
What are the pros and cons of using a red colored light source for hiking at night?
The linked question on biology.SE actually is for many aspect already the answer, one just needs to convert the findings to the outdoors/hiking. I will first reiterate the most important anatomical ...
- 21.7k
6
votes
Are there any advantages while backpacking to hike during the night and sleep during the day?
This is an edge case, but I'll add it nonetheless:
If you are hiking above the polar circle during summer, hiking during the 'night' will give you the rare chance to experience the wonder that is the ...
- 13k
6
votes
Are there any advantages while backpacking to hike during the night and sleep during the day?
Some types of wildlife might be easier to see (with flashlight) at night than by day: odd as this sounds I have seen this first-hand hiking in Borneo. During the day I spotted relatively few animals, ...
- 161
5
votes
Do flashlights (torches) with multi-color capabilities have any applications for usage in the great outdoors at night?
I know that some animals find hard to see red and they can't differentiate between red and green very well so I'd assume green and red have the same application (used in dark places) with red being a ...
- 2,338
5
votes
What are the pros and cons of using a red colored light source for hiking at night?
Red filter for headlights has some specific applications.
It's highly used for hunting and military operations as it doesn't have a strong/long light beam so you can only see very short distances. ...
- 2,338
5
votes
How can I find north from the stars without recognizable constellations?
Since you didn't limit the star(s) used, I'll give an example using the Sun. During the day, put a stick in the ground such that it casts a shadow. Mark the end of the shadow with another stick. Wait ...
- 3,697
5
votes
How can I find north from the stars without recognizable constellations?
I like the idea of the iphone (or Android) time-lapse photography; that'll work even if you have no reception for your phone (download it before you go), but your GPS will work anywhere.
Failing that,...
- 151
5
votes
How would navigation be different while hiking at night?
I think there is a difference to understand, the difference between Navigation and Orientation.
While on a hike, I rely lesser on a compass, but more on landmarks that I am almost certain to see all ...
- 31.7k
5
votes
How would navigation be different while hiking at night?
I've done a lot of night-walking in a wide range of conditions. I don't think there's any inherent difference between daytime and nighttime navigation - if your daytime skills are solid you shouldn't ...
- 11.8k
4
votes
How can you prevent kids getting lost at night while camping?
Any system which relies on preventing kids form exploring while outdoors seems to be both self-defeating and unlikely to work.
My advice is to talk to them about what they should do if they do get ...
- 6,212
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible