[7 / 2 / 1]
surprised I haven't seen a thread based on this, but seeing as it's probably retarded in 95% of cases I concede that I may be stupid myself
I've taken quite a liking to night hikes. More specifically, nights with full/near full moons with minimal cloud cover. poorfag so no NVGs, but goddamn are the night skies bright when you catch them with good illumination. bright enough that you don't even need a headlamp depending on how thick the veg is.
reasons I enjoy them
>colder, less effort into layering/heat management when hoofing it hard
>quiet
>nobody to spook when I walk by in kit (I like the weight)
>that midnight-to-3AM atmosphere
>that beautiful stillness, the sky full of stars, and the grayscale palette
some hikes I frequent are near enough to town that even if the skies are cloudy, the light from the town is enough to hike without a headlamp. granted, I like these less as I feel less 'lost,' but when I'm needing to blow off some steam it's nice to be able to drive 15min to a trail any night of the week to fuck around a bit.
the one downside I genuinely consider is mountain lion, seeing as they are fairly common in my area. I've had a couple run ins, from being stalked by a mother and what I assume were her cubs, to spooking one on the trail (and damn near shitting my pants :) ). this, and the fact that if you don't plan correctly/plan too much, you'll end up with no sleep, as opposed to maybe 5h on a weeknight.
I've taken quite a liking to night hikes. More specifically, nights with full/near full moons with minimal cloud cover. poorfag so no NVGs, but goddamn are the night skies bright when you catch them with good illumination. bright enough that you don't even need a headlamp depending on how thick the veg is.
reasons I enjoy them
>colder, less effort into layering/heat management when hoofing it hard
>quiet
>nobody to spook when I walk by in kit (I like the weight)
>that midnight-to-3AM atmosphere
>that beautiful stillness, the sky full of stars, and the grayscale palette
some hikes I frequent are near enough to town that even if the skies are cloudy, the light from the town is enough to hike without a headlamp. granted, I like these less as I feel less 'lost,' but when I'm needing to blow off some steam it's nice to be able to drive 15min to a trail any night of the week to fuck around a bit.
the one downside I genuinely consider is mountain lion, seeing as they are fairly common in my area. I've had a couple run ins, from being stalked by a mother and what I assume were her cubs, to spooking one on the trail (and damn near shitting my pants :) ). this, and the fact that if you don't plan correctly/plan too much, you'll end up with no sleep, as opposed to maybe 5h on a weeknight.
