Afraid of the dark??

[Scott85]

I hate using a headlamp.

 

[Bigjay73]

Navy seals are no match for the badasses on HT. Being afraid is normal, doing things in spite of fear is what the vast majority of us do when we take 3am hikes whether we admit it or not.

 

[DFS]

Navy seals are no match for the badasses on HT. Being afraid is normal, doing things in spite of fear is what the vast majority of us do when we take 3am hikes whether we admit it or not.

When you add wind for whatever reason that is when I notice it.

 

[Bigjay73]

Wind is bothersome to me in daylight lol

 

[Hem]

I still think there is a difference between being afraid and on edge.

 

[D_Walt]

Wouldn’t say I’m scared of it, but I do get the heebeejeebee’s from time to time. Has never kept me from going where I want to when I want to.

I damn sure don’t like dark and foggy. I was once hunting on a ranch in south Texas when I was a teenager, wandered through an old, unkempt, unfenced graveyard on foggy evening right at dusk. Started noticing headstones, just enough light to read them, most from the 1880’s & 90’s. 0/10 stars, do not recommend. Have not liked dark and foggy ever since.

 

[DFS]

I still think there is a difference between being afraid and on edge.

Agreed I voted yes but I do it all the time. Quartering my deer out this year with coyotes howling at point blank I was laughing to myself thinking I bet we could have a formidable fight right now. Couldn’t imagine had that been wolves.

 

[MTTW]

To clarify, I don't consider it dark if I have a head lamp even if it is off. True darkness is no artificial light available. I spend many hours per year walking at night with a headlamp at my disposal, solo. I used to use it minimally but after a bear encounter in daylight I rarely turn it off now. The headlamp is like a pacifier; it has a calming effect even if it is off because I have it available.

 

[Hem]

Agreed I voted yes but I do it all the time. Quartering my deer out this year with coyotes howling at point blank I was laughing to myself thinking I bet we could have a formidable fight right now. Couldn’t imagine had that been wolves.

Im on edge all the time in grizz country, snake country, urban areas.
But I do it.
At this stage I'm too old and afraid to jump out of a plane, cliff jump on skis, probably a chit ton more if I think about it.
Im not afraid of the dark in principle.

 

[jimh406]

I don't think it's being better or tougher than a Seal. They'd probably tolerate it more with conditioning or different experiences.

Just another example ... in high school, the Boy Scout Explorers spent the night in an underground cave. No lights allowed after bedtime until wake up time. There were hundreds of us and also leaders. I don't remember anyone being afraid. I do remember losing all concept of time.

 

[Gerald Martin]

I’m not scared of the dark. Just the things that might be in the dark.

I do find that my unease in the darkness lessens significantly when I’m not hiking in grizzly country.

 

[grizzly63]

I think most of the SEAL footage I have seen, they are all using night vision equipment. You are not allowed to use that when hunting. Not really a fair comparison. Having no light enhancing equipment on while holding the LBE of the trooper in front of you in 0 visibility conditions on uneven ground or rutted trails with complete silence is challenging. Having even a little natural lighting helps tremendously. The terrain and obstacles make a big difference as well. Most people can easily walk across a CRP field in the dark. The challenge comes when the rooster blows up between your legs. Knowing its likely going to happen in advance helps you not gets so startled. In 0 visibility its ok to turn on a light to avoid hurting yourself. The fear of grizzlies probably helps the odds for tags in dangerous areas.

 

[gouch]

I wouldn't count being afraid of grizzlies in the dark the same as being afraid of the dark.

 

[PoleX]

My dad was a big western hunter who grew up out west. We ended up in Ohio and I pretty much only deer hunter Ohio growing up. When I was mid teens my dad made a deal with me. If I wanted to go on a bear hunting trip with him to Canada, I’d have to stay a night in the woods with nothing but the cloths on my back. So he drove me out to a state section after dinner and picked me up the next morning at sunrise. It seems silly looking back but I know it gave me a lot of confidence when I first started exploring the west in college. His justification was basically, things can get uncomfortable in the backcountry and you need to be able to calm down and think logically and be mentally prepared for those situations. I think the biggest risk was getting bit by a tic but I certainly didn’t sleep much that night. I’d probably be considered child abuse now but I kind of feel like I need to make my son do that someday lol.

 

[Hunting Wife]

I love being outside in the dark. Mostly I love the night sky. The Milky Way, meteor showers, northern lights. Midnight snowshoeing is glorious. I prefer to go without a light, and just let my eyes adjust. I also feel like my ears pick up more when I don’t have a light to distract me.

Between hunting, working and recreating I spend quite a bit of time outside at night. I can occasionally give myself the heebee jeebees but generally I’m more worried about people than animals. That said, I’m not too keen to return to a kill in the dark in griz country. Probably waiting for daylight to do that unless absolutely necessary.

The only time in recent memory I can recall getting fairly spooked in the dark was calling coyotes at night in the Breaks a few years ago. I had been set up and calling (with the thermal) for a while, and started hearing a weird, high pitched kind of sound coming my way. Kind of sounded bird like, kind of domestic cat like but I was dozens of miles from any human house or facility. I had no clue what it was, but instantly had a prickly back-of-the-neck feeling I didn’t like. I do a lot of bird work and was positive it was not any of our bird species. It was clearly on the ground and coming towards me, but I couldn’t see anything with the thermal. I started backing up to see if I could get a better vantage but there was apparently enough cover and terrain that I still couldn’t see anything. This went on for 10-15 minutes. My best guess was it was inside 75 yards and I couldn’t see anything. It eventually started circling around me, to the point that it was going to be cutting me off from the truck so I said F it and looped a hasty semicircle back to the pickup. I kept scanning around myself as I went, and never could see anything but holy shit, I had a really bad feeling.

Next morning googling trying to figure out what the hell that was. Came across some videos of Mountain lions “chirping”? Didn’t know that was a thing, but damn if that doesn’t sound like what I heard. I’ve never heard that sound before or since. My lizard brain was sure sending alarm bells, even though the sound itself was pretty non-threatening. But I did not like the way it was moving and circling around me out there. So whether it was that or like some little harmless rodent, I have no idea but yeah, freaked me out at the time.

 

[Bullshot]

Things can be scary in the dark that might not be so serious seeming in the light of day. It's not a deep woods story but I was def scared in Idaho one year, tent camping with two buddies off the side of a dead end FS road. At about 3 in the morning, I woke when I heard an ATV or similar vehicle drive by slowly and pass camp. Then another. I began hearing hushed voices coming closer and continue right around our trucks snd trailer and into our campsite. They were not using lights. I never turned a light on or made a noise but sat in the dark and listened. I couldnt see a thing outside the tent screen. I nudged my buddy awake and told him to grab his 9mm, I was prepared for some shit to go down (who would be crazy enough, other than up to no good, to be poking around someones camp at 3 am during hunting season when everyone is likely armed). My heart was racing, but after a few more tense minutes, the voices dissipated, and I heard a motor of atv continue on away. Other people are the most scary thing in the woods most times.

 

[Nuts]

For those who have heard it I believe most would agree that a Bobcat scream is the scariest sound in the woods. Its sounds like a woman being brutally murdered. The first time I heard it was 30years ago sitting at a campfire with my wife. There was no google and I had know idea that sound existed. Bobcats were moving into our area. and I had never seen one. As we sat by the fire talking that scream erupted very close. I launched out of my chair and ran the 50yds to the cabin. My wife still claims I ditched her. My defense is I ran to hold the door for her. I have heard it since and even though I know what it is it still goes through you

 

[TransplantHunter]

I voted no - but sometimes I get spooked. I think it comes from a previous encounter and now sometimes I get hyperaware when traveling alone in the forest at night.

The long story, about a decade ago, I was climbing Antero Peak here in Colorado solo in late October. This hike is a pretty long day mileage wise so I decided to get up early and crank out some of the milage in the early morning light. I drove to the trailhead the night before and slept in the back of my wife's Rav4. Upon waking up, I had noticed that it had dropped about an inch or 2 of light fluffy powder. The kind of snow that just kills and sound. You couldn't hear anything and it just made traveling in the dark creepy. Anyhow, as I was hiking up the trail, I got a sudden feeling of being watched. I looked around, using my headlamp to look for eyes, etc - nothing. I kept hiking but kept getting this real bad feeling. Anyhow, the sun came up, I went to the top, came back down and right where I had that feeling, there were mountain lion tracks. The cat had followed me for a good half mile and I never saw him.

So, while generally I am not afraid of traveling in the forest at night, every now and then I remember that scenario and get creeped out.

 

[MarvB]

Never afraid of the dark…often concerned about what’s in it though…

Our place abuts a couple hundred thousand acres of BLM, wander through it in the dark all the time…no problemo. Drop me off in downtown Portland you’d be hearing a different story all together!

 

[Bullshot]

For those who have heard it I believe most would agree that a Bobcat scream is the scariest sound in the woods. Its sounds like a woman being brutally murdered. The first time I heard it was 30years ago sitting at a campfire with my wife. There was no google and I had know idea that sound existed. Bobcats were moving into our area. and I had never seen one. As we sat by the fire talking that scream erupted very close. I launched out of my chair and ran the 50yds to the cabin. My wife still claims I ditched her. My defense is I ran to hold the door for her. I have heard it since and even though I know what it is it still goes through you

Thank you for saying this. I had this happen when I was hiking in to a deer spot as a late teen / young twentysomething. Blood curdling screaming sounded like a woman being killed violently about 50 yards ahead of me in the dark. Almost like "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" in the most loud, high pitched and painful and horrified scream. Terrifying. I yelled out WHAT THE F$&@ IS THAT!!!! just to hear my own voice! Took me a long time to figure it out and get over it. To this day it still sends shivers down my spine.