How Night Hiking Works

I have a couple of trickster cousins who think it's hilarious to switch off their headlights while driving in the dark. Hiking at night doesn't plunge you quite as terrifyingly into pitch blackness, but even experienced hikers can feel uneasy and off-balance in the woods at night.

Loss of visual acuity heightens all the other senses. Snapping twigs sound strangely magnified. The forest's pine scent develops rich, earthy undertones. Reflective surfaces -- rock faces, dunes and lakes -- loom unexpectedly out of the blackness. Heightened awareness is one of the things advocates love about night hiking. However, those who find themselves hiking in the dark unexpectedly say the experience can be terrifying. Santa Fe attorney and avid hiker Debbie Ramirez found herself on a night hike after misjudging the time it would take to descend from Mount Whitney. She said, "I could see the trail, barely, but I had no idea what was lurking in the woods. It was pretty scary."

The human retina is made up of rods (which help us see in the dark) and cones (which are concentrated in the center of the pupil and work best in bright light.) Understanding how rods and cones differ is the trick to being able to see in the dark [source: American Optometric Association]:

Learning how to see in the dark is essential to staying safe on a night hike. But what about those creatures Debbie Ramirez felt lurking in the woods? Is it really safe to hike at night?

James Vlahos, who hiked the 211-mile John Muir Trail at night and waxed eloquently about the experience in his 2011 essay for National Geographic Traveler, says that "hiking at night isn't as dangerous as it may sound, but it's probably not well suited for novice hikers."

This is because hiking, even under normal light conditions, requires a number of skills, including physical, orienteering, first-aid, survival skills. Once a hiker has acquired this basic knowledge, he or she is probably equipped to hike safely at night. However, there are a few safety tips that even experienced hikers should bear in mind:

Speaking of gear, will night-hiking provide you with the excuse you need to invest in those fancy infrared goggles you've been coveting?

Experienced hikers are usually pretty proud of their backpacks. They pare them down to the barest of essentials, imagining themselves as modern-day naturalists like John Muir, messiah of the Yosemite mountains, who reportedly hiked alone for weeks on end carrying nothing but a stale loaf of bread [source: Vlahos].

It's no surprise then that experienced night hikers like James Vlahos spend little time talking about their gear. In fact, when they do make mention of essential items like headlamps, it's to caution hikers against overusing them. (Take note: ruining a hiker's night vision by accidentally shining your flashlight into his eyes is about the worst breach of etiquette you can make on a night hike.)

This doesn't mean that would-be night hikers should rush out and buy expensive night vision monoculars or infra-red goggles, however. You are certainly welcome to invest in these, but they are definitely not a night-hiking necessity. The fact is, a night hiker's pack is about the same as a day hiker's pack. Both should include basics like tools for navigation (map, compass), extra layers of clothing, light source, batteries, small first aid kit, matches, water and snacks, rope, a multi-tool and a tarp that can serve as an emergency shelter. There are a few items, however, that night hikers can't live without.

Think you're ready for a night hike? Learn how to choose an epic night-hiking destination next.

In the daytime, most hikers are interested in the payoff at the end of the trail: the summit view, the colossal waterfall or the historical remains. At night, the sky itself is often the star of the show. The full moon bathes rock formations in eerie, red Martian light in places like Bryce Canyon's Powell Point. Stargazers revel in the fist-sized stars they find on night-darkened summits and hilltops. Sunset hikers are startled in places like Carlsbad Caverns as bats take flight for a night's hunt.

It would be impossible to list all the amazing places to night hike, so here are a few different things to consider when choosing your night hiking destination:

Learn more about navigating the Great Outdoors, including an anecdote about my first real encounter with stars, next.

Several years ago, I was vacationing in Jekyll Island, Ga., and I couldn't sleep. After tossing and turning for a couple hours, I shrugged into a sweater and headed out to the beach.

A city girl like me rarely bothers to look up at the night sky. It's usually orange and depressing, a haze of smog and streetlamps. I'd never seen anything like the night sky I discovered in Jekyll Island. These weren't just stars; they were great, crusty swaths of universe: Stars upon stars upon stars, some big as fists, some tiny as diamonds. I could literally feel the energy streaming off of them.

Lying on my back in the starlight, I felt about a million things all at the same time: infinitesimal and macroscopic, all alone and completely connected. Writing this article made me smile to remember my occasional nocturnal wanderings, like the one in Jekyll Island. I loved discovering that there is a whole dark-sky movement dedicated to controlling light pollution and protecting the few areas of truly dark sky that remain in our world. Visit the International Dark-Sky Association to learn more.

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