Thank you for all the feed back and links to other info.

I agree. You have to take a very measured approach to night time travel.

Blake

www.outdoorquest.blogspot.com

One of our little informal training exercises with the Oregon Grotto was to climb in a select lava tube cave a couple miles, then kill the lights and try to find our way out. It is almost impossible not to lose your nerve and start flinching after bumping your head a dozen times. Such a complete absence of light does enhance your hearing, in unsettling ways until you get used to it. Climbing over the breakdown was a real pain.

It was a good exercise. But not for the faint hearted. 2 miles underground in the dark took the better part of 6 hours, and that in a cave we were already familiar with. In big chambers, it is dangerously easy to get completely turned around, and start back down the way you came.

I think there is a big difference between hiking through the dark on an established trail vs doing actual land navigation in the dark.

When we do long day mountain ascents in the fall and early spring, it is not uncommon to set out in the early dark am on an established trail. However we are typically equipped with the proper lighting gear which includes headlamps and handheld flashlights when needed.

On the other hand, land navigation at night and not on any trail is not something I do as there are far too many chances of getting injured or worse.

It really helps a lot if you have been in the area previously, preferably during the day

I don't see any problems with navigating in the dark?

I do. As has been previously pointed out, you only do movement at night if you know EXACTLY what you are doing or the alternative is certain death.

Cross country navigation is hazardious enough in daylight. PARTICULARLY in broken terrain. doing the same thing at night multiplies the risks by an order of magnitude. that is why survivors are encouraged to STAY PUT.

Soldiers around the world, most especially in the U.S., do night land navigation as a matter of course. It does take practice. It can be more dangerous. It is not impossible.

I find the greatest problems with night navigation is always present when I started getting over confident in my abilities.

Lots and lots of feedback - thank you.

I wanted to learn some of the considerations the hiker/hunter must mull over before launching out at night.

The short section on www.landnavigation.org is worth looking at

Blake

www.outdoorquest.blogspot.com

There is one more point to make about night travel which pertains especially to deserts and other hot places. The relative coolness of nighttime can make that the most feasible time to travel, and this can be crucial if water is scarce. In most desert situations, you will frequently have an open sky and the amount of light available to dark adapted eyes is surprisingly bright.