One thing about hiking and navigating at night to consider are the benefits of using natural illumination as much as possible. Ideally I like to hike from the day through dusk into the night so my eyes are as dark adapted as possible. This helps in perceiving distant land forms by which one might be navigating.

It is surprisingly bright at night if one is fully dark adapted. Under ideal conditions (full moon overhead), have been able to comfortably read a newspaper. A light should be readily available, of course, but use the dimmer settings first. Of course, I honed my night hiking skills when "dim flashlight" was a highly redundant statement. The only other kind available was a nonworking flashlight.