Did you ever get comfortable with being alone in the dark??

Too those experienced outdoorsman and survivalists, how long did it take until you became comfortable alone in the dark without having your mind play tricks on you?

Even though I love the sounds of nature, even at night, when the sun goes down, the demons in my head run wild with unrealistic "what ifs". Ive been that way since I was a kid. If Im with someone else, Im fine. I love being alone when its light out, but once its dark, I definitely like having a buddy to BS with and ask..."hey did you hear that" lol.

I grew up on a small farm, 200 acres, in NE Missouri and was the only child. Outside of school my nearest playmate was 5 miles away. I spent a lot of time alone in the dark. I began to think and still do that the dark in my friend. Coon hunting, chasing cows that got out. Etc.

I left the farm in 1961. and joined the USMC. The dark is still my friend.

An Old habit was to build a cook fire and when finished move away into a position that I could still see the camp but not be in the firelight. MY son does the same thing.

It depends on where you are. I don't have any problems being alone in the dark but the 1st time someone is in a dark woods alone and they're not used to that heightened sense of hearing that comes to you when you can't see that well it takes a bit of getting used to. You can misinterpret what you hear. Especially what sounds like footsteps...

great question

just as it is in the city, every enviroment has noises and things to get used to, i remember when i moved from the outskirts of flaggstaff into town by the railroad tracks i the trains kept me awake at night, then after a while i splet right thru the night.
The same happens now, i live very far out of the city and when there is no moon and i step out of my house at night to feed the horses it is very very dark, but after a few minutes your eyes adjust, unless no moon the i will use a small light, but the point i am getting at is you get used to it.
Living in bear country and often seeing them, i will still think, what was that stick breaking? is it that big bear? If you watch les or bear even they have a fire at night to keep the boogie man away, whay? genetics is presume our distant ancestors were hunted by very large and deadly animals, which has been handed down in our psyce for generations.
It is something on my mind at night even when on familiar trails, everything looks so different, and your senses are heightened, but do not let it stop you from enjoying your self.
I guess this is a long winded way of saying that you just learn to adapt to your surroundings, remember your first cup of coffee? how bitter it was? now i crave it in the morning ( chemicals, i need my chemicals)(a quote of george washington hayduke)
embrace it, enjoy it, live it
WE

everything that's there in the dark, is there in the daytime too

the only difference is your imagination making up for what you can't see

As said above, darkness is your friend. Use it to your advantage. You will notice your other senses will increase.

I always Have My Dog with me, He is in charge of Night Time Security,, I just sleep,, :)

That is a good question. I agree with WE, it is just something you need to adjust to. You already know that there is little that can or will hurt you (especially where you live)at night but that really doesnt play into it much when you are trying to get to sleep and there is all kinds of new noises around.

You can identify many of the strange noises as you get more time out at night and then they are not so bad. I remember the first time I heard a loon! That sat me straight up in my sleeping bag. lol!

Keep at it and soon many of those noises will be comforting...there are birds and frogs that will sing you to sleep if you let them.

Remember to use your peripheral vision at night rather than trying to look directly at something. Look slightly off to the side of the object you want to see.

Low light vision is referred to as scotopic vision (you can look it up if you want to know more. Just google it). The human eye undergoes chemical changes as light diminishes so the way we see changes as well. Our vision moves from the central part of the eye (the cones) to the periphery (the rods) in darkness (that's pretty basic. There's actually a lot more to it than that). Also, our ability to distinguish colors diminishes so we see primarily in blacks, white and gray and greenish-yellow (because of the chemical change).

Since we spend most of our vision time awake during the day, night vision is more out of the norm. And unless we live away from city lights we rarely use true scotopic vision. There's generally enough artificial light (misopic or mixed vision) to compensate.

Finding yourself in the woods at night means you are suddenly relying on a sense that you rarely use and are certainly not accustomed to. "Things" that you would easily spot in daylight suddenly become fuzzy, indistinguishable or outright unseeable! Little wonder than our fears kick in and we huddle a bit closer to the fire. We are, afterall, somewhat blind at night and much more vulnerable relying solely on sensory perception (hearing and smell) that we don't normally rely so heavily on. So all of our senses are messed up.

Once you understand what is taking place visually and how to compensate (partially) for it then you can rest a little easier and learn to carry a bigger gun (joke).

very interesting. is there a way to improve night vision?

Think about our senses - Vision, Hearing, Smell, Taste, and Touch. They all function at various levels.

Think of them in terms of survival "resources."

Vision is the "longest-range" sense. Think about it - you can see stars tens of thousands of light years away. Most of the time, even in low light conditions, you can identify what you are seeing. Our ability to "process" what we are seeing is almost always nearly instant, so long as we are paying attention to our surroundings. In or near total darkness, our "fastest" sense goes into standby mode. Most animals, particularly those who are "color blind," have much better night vision simply because their eyes are packed with rods rather than cones.

Hearing takes over as our next "primary sense" in total darkness. Readily distinguished or common sounds, such as speech, a siren, or running water, are instantly processed. Unfamiliar sounds or those we cannot trace to a specific source - such as the sound of a branch breaking - alert us to activity with an undetermined cause - a warning of possible danger. "Exercising" your sense of hearing is worthwhile. Hearing aid devices, even if not worn regularly, may be of great benefit in the woods. Consider these statistics for adults in the United States:

Number of adults with hearing trouble: 34.8 million
Percent of adults with hearing trouble: 15%
http://deafness.about.com/cs/earbasi...mographics.htm

The sense of Smell follows in this order. Smoke, fuel, other commonly recognized smells may place us on alert. Smells commonly recognized by some will be totally alien to others. How many of us here can identify the smell of a bear and identify it as such without using any other senses? How about the smell of an apple orchard?

The sense of Touch comes into play, but only at the last second. If you feel gravel slipping under your feet or the sensation of cold water, or even worse, the teeth or claws of an animal, you're already in a situation you need to extract yourself from quickly. The sense of touch (cold, wet) also alerts us to the need for shelter, but often is associated wth other senses as well.

Lastly, the sense of Taste is valuable to a much lesser degree, such as in determining edibility of an item. Nonetheless, bitter items may be quite edile and pleasant tasting items may be highly poisonous. Dogs love licking anti-freeze. Taste serves only as a last resort warning and generally can't be reiled on without using other senses (vision and/or touch) to identify the source.

Great Posts Rick and Ken !!

yes when i was a kid.

after growing up tho i kinda realized i was the biggest meanest bastard around.
and most likely all the zombies,Werewolfs and trolls are uncomfortable with me being around not the other way around hehe.

on a more serious note
when i am in the wilderness at night i feel it is very serene.
especially in the winter there is this majestic silence.
i grew up like that far from roads and neighbors on a small island.
when i moved to the city i thought i would go mental i had not learned to block out all the noise.
now when i am back home i find the wilderness magical.
when i walk through the forest its like passing through a veil and entering another world.
sometimes i am thinking to myself how many years has passed since there was humans here last?.
most likely its been years which is a really cool thought.

-edit just added the stuff below-

its amazing how sharp your sense of smell and hearing can become during night.
in the military we had some demonstrations of this with light and sound at night.
a "unofficial test" with someone lighting up a cigarette when they thought they were safe.
made several smokers who had not smoked for about 1.5 days stressed out to put it mildly.
the odd thing was that the smokers noticed it first.
i think the reason i did not notice was that i was busy being hungry cold and bored to appreciate the other senses.

You were a large metal file growing up? That's wild.

It does not bother me the ways mentioned. Winter nights can be very long here and away from the towns very little ambient light. My problem is more of a sensory deprivation thing. We have become so used to constant stimulation that being left alone with nothing but our own thoughts is irratating. I have gone to great extremes to build attenna's that would recieve radio stations and I one case I worked a gold claim that the only thing available was two beta tapes. One was the Elephant Man and the other the Blues Brothers. I must have seen the Blues Brothers a thousand times. I also work outside often in areas with light plants and diesels running all around me and very cold. I often think it is like being in outer space in an artificial environment in a space suit. You also get vitamins from the sun and people get bad attitutes in winter. I am just begining to be rejuvinated by the sun this spring. We get the same amount of daylight, we just get it all at once in the summer.

You were a large metal file growing up? That's wild

? i think something is lost in my translation i dont understand.

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Originally Posted by Rev.Moonshine

You were a large metal file growing up? That's wild

? i think something is lost in my translation i dont understand.

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http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Bastard%20file

aha thanks justin.

I have had occasion to be with many people spending their first night "alone" in the bush. When we camp with hammocks it is fairly normal that the camp gets a little spread out. We're all near but not actually with anyone in the immediate sense. Most of the guys don't sleep that first night, strange surroundings, first night in a hammock etc. It is amazing to me how the local field mice transform themselves into pumas and jaguars after dark.

I tell them EMBRACE YOUR INNER BOOGIEMAN. Nothing out there has a 16 inch steel tooth like they do.

I think it is important for kids not to be left to their fears in the dark. I set my hammock up next to my daughters for the first few times we went out to the jungle. It was a big deal the first time she slept all on her own 30 feet away from me. I remember that night she called me over all afraid because she heard a cougar upon the ridge behind camp. Of course I walked over with my 120 lumen Surefire Z2 Combat light to blast the ghosts off the ridge and show here there was nothing there. I lit up the ridge and there staring back were a pair of GIANT EYES! It was just an owl. The next night a semi-wild horse wandered into camp and poked his head under her tarp to sniff her in her hammock. At that point we knew that the THING crashing through the brush was just a horse so it wasn't a moment of terror for her.

I enjoy the night, being armed helps alot. I'm not an easy meal out there.

Mac

It's always fun to throw rocks into the brush at night when you're with people afraid of the dark. Get your kicks where you can.

Sorry Moonshine. I have a warped sense of humor some times. Okay, most of the time.

I live on several acres off a dirt road surrounded mostly by woods. No street lights, etc. Im comfortable at night outside on my property because I know whats what after a few years. I know where the bears live on the hill, I know where the deer cross, I know that was probably a possum and that weird sound is a mating call of a frog lol. When Im somewhere else (even 30 minutes away) Im outside my comfort zone. Ive camped before, mostly in maine, but always in groups.

I have almost no peripheral vision...but I do have a huge dog who is both a complete puss and often decides to bark as if its a bear alert when its nothing more than a pissed off squirrel...how reassuring lol. I know he would defend me in a pinch...if he was awake and felt motivated enough.

Im not sitting there all night huddled in a corner clutching my pistol and knife or anything, but I just found it odd that after all these years when its dark and Im in a new place outside, the inner 5 year old in me comes out and my initial analysis of a twig breaking is a psycho stalker who has been following me for miles, not a rodent lol.

Id definitely just like to find peace in the night, some people seem to do it very naturally...I guess it will take me more practice.

I have a gun for two legged predators. I definitely don't worry about four legged predators in the woods.

Probably the most unnerving sound are by the water during certain times of year. The loudest of all is the frogs.

If you know what is making the sound it isn't scary.

I am sometimes scared at night in the woods. But im not scared of any animals or anything....its people. Im afraid of some crazy serial killer running around or some mutated demon creature. If humans didnt exist i wouldnt be "scared". I mean if a bear walked up to my camp i would be scared, but not in the creepy, spooky way, but in the oh crap im going to die way.

Nothing in the night that is'nt there in the day
except werewolves, vampires, wookielars, wendigos, bearwalkers etc....
I guess I'm a day walker from now on.

Try fruits from the bill berry family ( blue berries etc...) to improve your night time vision, they used them for night fighter pilots in WWII. (takes a while to build up in the system

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Originally Posted by Alaskan Survivalist

It's always fun to throw rocks into the brush at night when you're with people afraid of the dark. Get your kicks where you can.

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Well, I would never do something like that. Especially when they are 12 year olds talking all night in their tent. I would never throw big rocks into the bushes close to them. I also would never sneak up on them and scare the crap out of them.

As for being alone in the woods at night, you generally get over it on the second or third night. Especially if you are really tired. And, like Justin said, I usually have my dog with me on solo trips. If she starts barking, then I get worried, otherwise, I sleep.

In response to the OP: it's never bothered me to be alone in the dark, just be more careful if you're moving around. Sounds are sounds, you just notice them more in the dark and there's different animals moving around than during the day

In response to the question in post #10: try a flashlight

When I was in 5th grade we stayed a week at the 4H camp ground. It was a pretty cool week that included a couple of night walks. The kid in back had a flashlight and about 20 minutes into the walk he stuck the flashlight in his mouth and lit his face up from the inside out. A kid about 5 people ahead of him turned around, saw him and fainted. That was followed by a lot of screaming, which was followed by a lot more screaming and a lot of crying. It was a lot of fun.

The only place I've been that I was not comfortable in the dark is the Central American Rain Forest. Insects, arachnids and unknown bugs rule the night there. Interestinly bug comes from bugge in Middle English and means "hobgoblin" a creature that goes about at night raiding the camps of wanderers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Beans

An Old habit was to build a cook fire and when finished move away into a position that I could still see the camp but not be in the firelight. MY son does the same thing.

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Thats me,still have the fire for light,but your not close enough to it to loose your night vision.But I still think that no matter who you are,how comfortable you are in the woods,there r times that you become uncomfortable,it's human nature.

The only thing I get scared about at night in the woods is having to move in the dark.

Yes, darkness is your friend. In both vocational and avocational activities over the years, I was fortunate to recieve a lot of training and experience in night operations and activities in general; e.g. how to improve your night vision (as above). Even as a child, I spent enough time out of the house during hours of darkness. I don't recall being scared (for no valid reason). All it takes is some experience and some preparation; sound familiar? Ok, don't even start on night jumps and dives!

But what about the Sesquaches, and Hootnannys, and Freddy Cooger, and the bats that get into your hair and suck your blood???


Did you realize that when they poll most backpacking forums for the most important piece of equipment in the pack that the flashlight is always #1?

I was scared the first time I went Solo in the woods. Good thing someone had dropped that 14 year old boy off, or I would have packed up and went home!! After that time, when I had no choice but to stick it out, it got easier every time after.

I kinda like the dark, seems like a cloak.
Of course I am generally armed pretty well, at least with a big light.

I guess I can't really remember being afraid unless you count the time that my hunting dog, sleeping on the floor next to my bunk, in the little trailer, started a low growl at something thing outside........that scared the carp out of me........what was it?.....don't know....didn't go look.

That a very valid question though, part of your inner self preservation reflexes.
Trust your gut, if it says something is amiss, might just be.

I got pretty used to the dark growing up. Up until I was 7 we had an outhouse. It probably wasn't 100 feet from the house, but to a kid in the dark it might as well be a mile.

As I got older I often walked through the woods to my grandma's house at night without a flashlight. Probably only 100 yards actually passing through the woods (the entire walk was longer), but it took some guts.

When I camp, night noises don't bother me anymore. But once when me and my brother and I were camping as teenagers I could have sworn a bear walked by us in the night. When you are 16 and armed only with a pocket knife, and no adult within 5 miles, that can be a bit unnerving.

These days, I kind of like the dark. It is easier to hide in. Like many have said, I am far more worried about the two-legged "animals" than the four-legged ones.

Hunter, I don't get too concerned with the dog starts a low growl. When I worry is when the dang thing crawls behind ME and cowers there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rick

Hunter, I don't get too concerned with the dog starts a low growl. When I worry is when the dang thing crawls behind ME and cowers there.

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LOL, I hear ya.......That would major a concern!

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