Why I Like Hiking At Night

This reminds me of the Nathaniel Hawthorne quote: "Moonlight is sculpture, sunlight is painting"

I hiked at night once. Every sound was a cougar.

You are the reason I had the courage to do my first night hike alone in the Smokies for a sunrise. It was AMAZING. I was so nervous at the trail head and my heart was pounding until I got out of the rhododendron bushes, but I just kept thinking of all the times I watched you night hike on the PCT. Seeing the stars and the moon and having the trail all to myself was so magical. I'll never forget it! Thank you for inspiring us all.

Night hiked recently on the longest day /shortest night to see both the sunset and the sunrise with just a few hours of darkness in between. Magical experience.

I just came back from a short walk in the dark, just in my neighborhood. I heard an owl and this alone was worth walking in the dark!

I like hiking at night without a light. Your eyes adjust quickly and I can see better and farther. With a light it limits my sight to the illuminated area. I’m also not viewable from miles away by everything.

Why I like to night hike: THE FRICKIN STARS

One of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had in the wilderness occurred in the dead of night just to the east of Mt. Adams in Washington state. I had been hunting for 5 days and was lucky enough to take my first elk. I field dressed her and then went back to my truck, about 2 miles away. I drove closer to the kill sight and hiked back to start breaking down the animal. It was cold, in the 20's with about 8 inches of fresh snow covering an old clear cut with about five years of growth. As the sun went down, I knew there was a New Moon and would be completely dark soon. The night was completely clear, quiet and calm.What I didn't count on was the illumination provided by the stars, the snow covered ground and the mountain, which was pretty close. I had a small lantern and a good headlamp to guide my work, which took about 5 hours including multiple hikes back to the truck while packing out the meat. As I was working, bent over, I stood up to stretch my sore back. The immense beauty of the star filled night, the close proximity of this huge 10,000 foot mountain, and my absolute solitude, suddenly dawned on me. I was utterly alone, many miles from the closest town, out of cell range the entire week, and in the wilderness. It was beautiful and it gave me a new perspective on many things, on our planet, its beauty and vulnerability, of my place in the world and my small contribution to our society. I also thought of my vulnerability. There are many predators in the Cascade mountains; Black Bears, wolves, cougars, Bigfoot? It was a great experience, a first for me. I have repeated that same feeling many times since and I recommend it to anyone with a sense of adventure. Ancient societies used to have rights of passage for young men to go out into the wilderness alone and survive, learn and grow up a little. Can't wait to go night hiking. Great post.

I love night hiking up the Middle Sister (Central Oregon Cascade Mountains) in August to watch the Persid Meteor shower.

I'll add one bit of night hiking advice: When you know the batteries in your headlamp are pretty low, change to your new batteries while it's still light BEFORE the old ones go dead. Turns out those little pluses and minuses inside the headlamp can be tinier than you thought!

Night hiked for my first time and it was pretty cool!

Does anyone else love how Dixie says Night Hike?

Few things in life are as magical as walking the forest by the light of a full moon (or any moon light for that matter). On moonless nights under a clear sky, it is amazing how much light the stars provide.

Nice video, have hiked over 100 miles at the Grand Canyon and probably 25% of that was in the dark. The Canyon is a special place after sunset, it is almost like hiking through an Ansel Adams photograph. I am glad that most people don't like to night hike since the feeling of having a trail all to oneself is pretty special. Happy trails!

One of my favorite moments last year was a late night solo hike at Daniel Boone National Forest, in pouring rain and the most dense fog I've ever seen. Using a headlamp was really disorienting, with the fog becoming a million points of glimmer. My chosen trail was an old closed forest service road, an easy path amidst rugged terrain. Everything I needed for a return to comfort right on my back. On another night hike last year I saw my first copperhead. On another night I watched a very distant but spectacular thunderstorm. Last year was my first time out with a backpack in over 35 years, and I spent about ten weekends out enjoying DBNF. Thanks Dixie, your great content really helped get me out there! It all started when I thought "I wonder what backpacking gear is like these days..." And as a newbie, solo, and old, I make every choice the safer one, but LOVE night hiking on a familiar trail.

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful videos!

Wow another great video!!! great job

While out one night, in a foreign desert, I counted 121 falling stars. There were more, I just got tired of counting. Texas

I've hiked in the back-country every morning before daybreak for the past 30 years. It's magical and energizing. Early morning is the best time to see wildlife.

Very cool vid! Thanks for sharing!!