It's Only a Matter of Time, Or is it?

max.patch · Feb 17th 2016, 9:47pm

i'd say the "at specific" idea is a failure.

perhaps a different background color would help.

IMScotty · Feb 17th 2016, 9:49pm

Manatees! Yes, snorkeled with them at the Three Sisters Spring, Crystal River last winter. It was great, the kids loved it.

Visiting any of the Springs is great fun. Florida has a lot of natural beauty, go where the Floridians go.

I enjoy the Everglades, but it might not be for everyone. Don't go there in the summer time, the mosquitos will tear you apart.

Something I have always wanted to do but have not gotten around to yet is the Everglades Wilderness Waterway. This would be a week long paddle trip through the Everglade wilderness. You sleep on 'chickees.' Here is more info...

nps.gov/ever/upload/Wilderness_Trip_Planner_2009.pdf

Rasty · Feb 17th 2016, 10:05pm

max.patch wrote:

i'd say the "at specific" idea is a failure.

perhaps a different background color would help.

This and will always be the cafe.

Wise Old Owl · Feb 17th 2016, 10:26pm

REstart.

Wise Old Owl · Feb 17th 2016, 10:41pm

Astro wrote:

SarcasmTheElf wrote:

Drybones wrote:

Da Wolf wrote:

for most thru-hikers it is

I suppose you're right.....get to the next camp spot before dark.

That's because most of the fools never figure out how wonderful night hiking is.

What is so wonderful about night hiking?
I usually only do it when I am trying to get a head start in the morning or it ends up taking me longer than expected in the evening.

Well for starters its not a timed event. But until you do it, perhaps you are missing something - perhaps a good time or a survival skill.

Here is my take on night hiking... I ran into a "unexpected event" in the pine barrens where it was clearly too cold for Rugby.. about 1 or 2AM the temps dropped below 32° even though there was no snow or anything. He wimpered way too much, he would not stay on the pad or under the "wrap" - no clouds and a full moon. So I took a look and it was 7+miles back to the car. So as long as he is moving and I we were warm. I packed the hammock and we "bugged out." The faster we moved the warmer we were. Rugby was very happy to move and not complain. We got back to the car I heated it by running the engine and woke up around 6-7AM apparently it was much colder in the teens. But the night hike was memorable - the owls hooted and the other animals coughed - and the low in the sky moon made much of the trip in the woods reasonable. This was a confidence builder.

rafe · Feb 17th 2016, 10:58pm

JimBlue wrote:

sheepdog wrote:

do snakes eyes glow in the dark like other critters?

Cat eyes reflect so their eyes can gather more light, as they are night hunters.
Snakes don't need it as they are scent hunters and can see part way into the infrared/heat part of the visible spectrum.

"Cat eyes reflect to gather more light." Hmmm. The reflection we see is exactly the light that doesn't make it to the cat's retina. So how does that help the cat? EDIT: Ok I looked it up. the reflecting layer is behind the cat's retina. Wow, learned something new just now.

Sarcasmtheelf · Feb 18th 2016, 12:07am

max.patch wrote:

Drybones wrote:

max.patch wrote:

Astro wrote:

SarcasmTheElf wrote:

Drybones wrote:

Da Wolf wrote:

for most thru-hikers it is

I suppose you're right.....get to the next camp spot before dark.

That's because most of the fools never figure out how wonderful night hiking is.

What is so wonderful about night hiking?I usually only do it when I am trying to get a head start in the morning or it ends up taking me longer than expected in the evening.

night hiking is inefficient; your mph is reduced making it a poor use of time.

Are you by chance an industrial engineer?

cpa; my opinion is anecdotal based on personal experience and not from a textbook. although i'm sure an engineer would agree.

I frequently night hike with an engineer, he enjoys it as well.

I suspect that the flaw in your theory is that you are incorrectly using distance as the metric to gauge efficiency. The Enjoyment itself is in fact the operative metric.

A.T.Lt · Feb 18th 2016, 5:56am

I think I hike faster and more efficient at night. Probably because with a head lamp you have more tunnel vision. Not taking in whats around you and just focussing on the path thats illuminated in front of you. No distractions.

Drybones · Feb 18th 2016, 7:37am

rafe wrote:

IMScotty wrote:

I've night hiked in the Rainforests of Costa Rica. Trust me, the snakes are out at night! Never saw their eyes glow, but the spiders.... Millions of glowing spider eyes were staring back at me.

Oh, and if you are into glowing eyes... check out the gators in the Everglades at night. Yikes!

What's good to see in Florida? Ignoring all the Disney and theme-park crap.

Grandkids

Drybones · Feb 18th 2016, 7:43am

Drybones wrote:

rafe wrote:

IMScotty wrote:

I've night hiked in the Rainforests of Costa Rica. Trust me, the snakes are out at night! Never saw their eyes glow, but the spiders.... Millions of glowing spider eyes were staring back at me.

Oh, and if you are into glowing eyes... check out the gators in the Everglades at night. Yikes!

What's good to see in Florida? Ignoring all the Disney and theme-park crap.

Grandkids

And granddog.

WanderingStovie · Feb 18th 2016, 11:35am

If you spend months hanging out in the woods and don't come away with a deeper understanding and appreciation of nature, you miss something important. If you walk at night, you probably miss things you would notice in daylight, but you might see something nocturnal if you are lucky. So far, I have not. I would like to go back and see Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park in daylight.

Dan76 · Feb 18th 2016, 3:08pm

Astro wrote:

SarcasmTheElf wrote:

Drybones wrote:

Da Wolf wrote:

for most thru-hikers it is

I suppose you're right.....get to the next camp spot before dark.

That's because most of the fools never figure out how wonderful night hiking is.

What is so wonderful about night hiking?
I usually only do it when I am trying to get a head start in the morning or it ends up taking me longer than expected in the evening.

I enjoy night hiking due to usually lower temps, far less folks on popular trails, and as an extension of hours available to hike. Typically I prefer solo night hiking unless the accompanying partner is known for extreme light discipline. Having a nearly full moon during a night hike is a memorable event.

However as a previous poster wrote, daylight hiking allows for a fuller appreciation of a trail's wonders.

Drybones · Feb 18th 2016, 5:43pm

My favorite "day" hike was a 9 mile night hike with torrential rain in the Dugger Mt. wilderness, had been raining for several days, 6" streams became 5' streams with fast moving water...it was different and not boring.

Wise Old Owl · Feb 19th 2016, 10:03pm

I kind of wish I had pictures of the "April Fools Hike" in the pine barrens. A huge favorite as the leader of the group won't tell you where you are going... and it isn't always a trail, its mostly bush wackin.

Blue Jay La Fey · Feb 20th 2016, 11:27am

max.patch wrote:

while the internet troublemakers succeeded in stirring up the forums, they created a real world problem. well meaning people would actually call and write the atc and ask those same questions as they honestly did not want to void their status as thru hikers. the atc did not want to be put in the position of telling one person that their 4 days off was ok and tell the next that their 5 days off was not. so they added the calendar year caveat (note-without looking i do not recall if the atc said "calendar year" or just "year". i have used calendar year in my response as that is what you referrred to).

Possibly the best post I've ever read. I've tried to explain this in the past however you have blown mine out of the water.
I've always wondered (not) if you get to hike for 366 days and still be a cyber thru if it's a leap year.
The other one i liked (not) is the whole slack pack weirdness. Cyber thrus seem to want a pack weight minimum.

I also like the thread drift in this one, to night hiking and then to snakes, fabulous.

Astro · Feb 20th 2016, 11:32am

Sometimes I think thread drift maybe what we do best.

Traffic Jam · Feb 20th 2016, 5:56pm

A.T.Lt wrote:

I think I hike faster and more efficient at night. Probably because with a head lamp you have more tunnel vision. Not taking in whats around you and just focussing on the path thats illuminated in front of you. No distractions.

I think it's an illusion. It seems like I bike and run faster when it's dark and when it's light, I feel very slow. I have nothing to support this theory but it interests me.

Astro · Feb 20th 2016, 6:21pm

TrafficJam wrote:

A.T.Lt wrote:

I think I hike faster and more efficient at night. Probably because with a head lamp you have more tunnel vision. Not taking in whats around you and just focussing on the path thats illuminated in front of you. No distractions.

I think it's an illusion. It seems like I bike and run faster when it's dark and when it's light, I feel very slow. I have nothing to support this theory but it interests me.

Perhaps fear of the unknown is a motivator.

Drybones · Feb 20th 2016, 8:18pm

TrafficJam wrote:

A.T.Lt wrote:

I think I hike faster and more efficient at night. Probably because with a head lamp you have more tunnel vision. Not taking in whats around you and just focussing on the path thats illuminated in front of you. No distractions.

I think it's an illusion. It seems like I bike and run faster when it's dark and when it's light, I feel very slow. I have nothing to support this theory but it interests me.

It's the thought of what might be in the dark that motivates you.

Dan76 · Feb 21st 2016, 9:50pm

Drybones wrote:

TrafficJam wrote:

A.T.Lt wrote:

I think I hike faster and more efficient at night. Probably because with a head lamp you have more tunnel vision. Not taking in whats around you and just focussing on the path thats illuminated in front of you. No distractions.

I think it's an illusion. It seems like I bike and run faster when it's dark and when it's light, I feel very slow. I have nothing to support this theory but it interests me.

It's the thought of what might be in the dark that motivates you.

What might be in the dark is why I'm out in the dark.

Socks · Feb 21st 2016, 10:33pm

I like night hiking cause during the day the stars are hard to see.

Drybones · Feb 23rd 2016, 5:57pm

Got a short night hike planned for Friday night to Blue Mountain Shelter (2.1 miles)on the Pinhoti, continue on Saturday and Sunday. The shelter at Blue Mountain is a little unique, has a second level and "runways" on the sides entering for cooking and such.

JimBlue · Feb 23rd 2016, 10:07pm

Drybones wrote:

Got a short night hike planned for Friday night to Blue Mountain Shelter (2.1 miles)on the Pinhoti, continue on Saturday and Sunday. The shelter at Blue Mountain is a little unique, has a second level and "runways" on the sides entering for cooking and such.

Oh, I thought you were going to say there were runways for the mice.

Dan76 · Feb 24th 2016, 8:45pm

TrafficJam wrote:

A.T.Lt wrote:

I think I hike faster and more efficient at night. Probably because with a head lamp you have more tunnel vision. Not taking in whats around you and just focussing on the path thats illuminated in front of you. No distractions.

I think it's an illusion. It seems like I bike and run faster when it's dark and when it's light, I feel very slow. I have nothing to support this theory but it interests me.

When I was running regularly, I had a similar thought. However when biking at night, I'm slower as I don't want to ride beyond the bike light In the event I need to swerve or suddenly stop.

WanderingStovie · Feb 24th 2016, 8:55pm

Sounds like you need a brighter light.

Dan76 · Mar 4th 2016, 5:25pm

WanderingStovie wrote:

Sounds like you need a brighter light.

I rarely ride on a street at night so the light is adequate. However while trail riding at night, don't ride at the same speed as during daylight hours.

Socks · Mar 4th 2016, 5:31pm

I like that there are shelters about every 10 miles for me to pee behind, hehe. Have a good hike dbones.

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