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Dreams on trail and off

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    • Dreams on trail and off

      Does your sleep/dream pattern change when you're on trail? 13
      1.  
        Yes. I dream less/sleep deeper while on trail. (5) 38%
      2.  
        Yes. I dream more/sleep lighter while on trail. (4) 31%
      3.  
        No, my sleep pattern is about the same as sleeping in my bed at home. (4) 31%
      Hey y'all! I've got a curious question for you.

      Do you all dream regularly? My hiking connection comes in the next part of the inquiry...do you dream as regularly when you're hiking/camping?

      My AT sleep was nearly always so deep and satisfying that I dreamed very little. Now that I'm back into the societal swing of working a couple of jobs and fitting life in around work, my nights are riddled with dreams...not nightmares luckily. It's enough to make me question if that's a common phenomenon that others experience.
      www.appalachiantrailclarity.com - Life on the A.T.

      Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.

    • It varies for me. Sometimes I dream of my legs and feet hurting during a hike. Or dreaming someone demands to know what I'm doing out on the trail, but the virtual flat shovel to thump them with means my dreams change to soomthing else. I've dream of the stars, of the moon rise when the moon was new. In town, I dream of going hiking, working on my web sites, getting stuck in line somewhere while someone tells all of us nearby their shoes are too tight. I toss and tirns due to aches and pains... some years/months I don't have any, some I have several.

      Bathroom reader trivia books had an article in the past few years that most people have between 1 and 14 dreams a night. And we remember 1 to 4 dreams the next day. About 1 to 4 of them are nightmares, the rest are pleasant or have to do with work or life situations.

      Matress shorter than I am tall tends to reduce my sleep and make it harder to endure.

      LIstening to new age music like that played on the Hearts of Space show can make my dreams nice and my sleep restful.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.

    • Don't recall specifics, but I do remember having odd dreams on the trail. Not bad dreams, just noticeably different. I also sleep light and wake up multiple times at night. I've tried adjusting my sleep system but have never been able to get that perfect night's sleep. It's not a big deal as I usually just go right back to sleep, but I do recall waking up many times at night. The worst was after a hike with a very uncomfortable rented pack which gave me a very sore back. I woke up in the middle of the night and it was completely dark - I could not see my hand in front of my face. I thought maybe I had gone blind. The easy solution was to turn on a light, but I had clipped my flashlight to the peak of my tent and sitting up to reach was going to be excruciatingly painful. So I layed there probably for 30 minutes trying to decide which was worse, the pain of sitting up or worrying about being blind. I know it's stupid, buy your mind plays cruel trick on me sometimes when camping.

    • I also wonder if long bouts of sleeping outdoors have an effect when compared to a shorter 2-3 night outing. I feel like when sleeping there night after night, outdoors was so comfortable. Life was so easy and perfunctory on trail that there wasn't a lot of anxiety or questions flowing through your mind to interfere with sleep. But the first couple of nights, as with any new bed or sleeping arrangement, some adjustment time is needed.
      At home, though my bed is comfortable as hell, life permeates my sleep. In the wild, though the ground is less comfortable than my memory foam mattress, I slept like a baby most nights.
      www.appalachiantrailclarity.com - Life on the A.T.

      Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.

    • I just remembered that aboard ship, when I was reading the Lord of the Rings one volume per trip over to the Med, there is a passage where the 7 walkers are leaving the elves, and the canoes make a gurgling sound as they move across the current. A few night later the ship was moving along rather quickly, and then turned while we were asleep. It made a gurgling sound against the hull such that I immediately understood what Frodo had heard on that canoe in Middle Earth.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.

    • twistwrist wrote:

      I also wonder if long bouts of sleeping outdoors have an effect when compared to a shorter 2-3 night outing. I feel like when sleeping there night after night, outdoors was so comfortable. Life was so easy and perfunctory on trail that there wasn't a lot of anxiety or questions flowing through your mind to interfere with sleep. But the first couple of nights, as with any new bed or sleeping arrangement, some adjustment time is needed.
      At home, though my bed is comfortable as hell, life permeates my sleep. In the wild, though the ground is less comfortable than my memory foam mattress, I slept like a baby most nights.
      Interesting. My comments above would be for short section hikes as I have not yet had the chance to do a LASH or thru. Maybe I just need to give it time. I could sleep out in the back yard every night for a few weeks, but my wife would think that to be very odd.

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      it takes me about 5 nights out before I sleep good. I've slept the best next to streams. I dream about the trail on and off the trail. It's a sickness I hope I never get over. :)
      One of my bicycling buddies is also an avid canoist. She mentioned last month the most restful night's sleep is for her to anchor her canoe in a slow current, arrange a blanket and pillow in the canoe bottom, and drift off to sleep. Frogs, sounds of water, and on occasion a breeze through the trees provide a white noise conducive to sound sleep.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • Dan76 wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      it takes me about 5 nights out before I sleep good. I've slept the best next to streams. I dream about the trail on and off the trail. It's a sickness I hope I never get over. :)
      One of my bicycling buddies is also an avid canoist. She mentioned last month the most restful night's sleep is for her to anchor her canoe in a slow current, arrange a blanket and pillow in the canoe bottom, and drift off to sleep. Frogs, sounds of water, and on occasion a breeze through the trees provide a white noise conducive to sound sleep.
      I don't recommend this in the South Florida, especially the Everglades. :/
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • odd man out wrote:

      twistwrist wrote:

      I also wonder if long bouts of sleeping outdoors have an effect when compared to a shorter 2-3 night outing. I feel like when sleeping there night after night, outdoors was so comfortable. Life was so easy and perfunctory on trail that there wasn't a lot of anxiety or questions flowing through your mind to interfere with sleep. But the first couple of nights, as with any new bed or sleeping arrangement, some adjustment time is needed.
      At home, though my bed is comfortable as hell, life permeates my sleep. In the wild, though the ground is less comfortable than my memory foam mattress, I slept like a baby most nights.
      Interesting. My comments above would be for short section hikes as I have not yet had the chance to do a LASH or thru. Maybe I just need to give it time. I could sleep out in the back yard every night for a few weeks, but my wife would think that to be very odd.
      LMAO! Brings new meaning to being in the doghouse. ;)
      www.appalachiantrailclarity.com - Life on the A.T.

      Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.

    • odd man out wrote:

      twistwrist wrote:

      I also wonder if long bouts of sleeping outdoors have an effect when compared to a shorter 2-3 night outing. I feel like when sleeping there night after night, outdoors was so comfortable. Life was so easy and perfunctory on trail that there wasn't a lot of anxiety or questions flowing through your mind to interfere with sleep. But the first couple of nights, as with any new bed or sleeping arrangement, some adjustment time is needed.
      At home, though my bed is comfortable as hell, life permeates my sleep. In the wild, though the ground is less comfortable than my memory foam mattress, I slept like a baby most nights.
      Interesting. My comments above would be for short section hikes as I have not yet had the chance to do a LASH or thru. Maybe I just need to give it time. I could sleep OUT in the back yard every night for a few weeks, but my wife would think that to be very ODD.
      Might be appropriate since you are "ODD" man "OUT". :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General