As a teen , a friend and I went hiking through the fields. We found a big tree and pitched our tent and went to sleep. We both woke up to the strangest sounds. Coyote? Fox? Skunk? We got our flashlight and slowly unzipped the tent to find we had been surrounded by a herd of cows!
Yep, 2:00 one morning, I heard big noise, brush cracking in the woods surrounding me, getting closer and closer. Okay, I got my flashlight. “What is that!” It was cows. Heh, heh…
Heard a noise camping under a big tree? branch cracking and falling was the first thing I thought of. Avoid camping under trees. Widow makers they call them in Australia … and a bolt of lightening can split a tree in a second…you wouldn’t know what hit you.
Getting good sleep is the biggest hindrance to hiking enjoyment for me. A pee bottle is a game changer for me. Nothing worse than going out inti the cold air in the middle of the night. Makes it difficult to go back to sleep. And a quilt makes it much easier than a sleeping bag to use the pee bottle.
Good stuff Rev. What works for me @ 73 yrs. young, is to hike till I'm tired and sleep in a Hammock. I only sleep about 5 hrs. at home but in the hammock I get that 8 hrs. I also don't have to crawl out of a tent in the morning. Thumbs up for the pee bottle.
I was out one weekend several years ago and woke to the sound of a grunting bear about 4 am. Being as quiet as I could, I got my head lamp ready slowly and quietly opened my tent, looked around, without the light, listened for the grunting for about 20 minutes heard the noise and determined it was a couple of ducks about 100 yards away and not a bear. It's funny what you imagine in the middle of the night. Even a mouse sounds like a life threatening animal.
I'm in the middle of Canada, and have been in the bush since I was younger than 10. Around here everyone comes face to face with bears. The resulting high pitched scream is enough to scare them away. I've had staring matches with a wolverine (they're bloody scary!), but just stood and looked at him and lived to carry on. Wolves are always all around you here when you're in the bush. If you ever see one, see if you can your camera and take a photo. It's really, really shockingly scary when a cougar presents itself to you. But they're only trying to drive you away from their den. Walk away backwards slowly and you're ok. What does bother you around here are mice, squirrels, whiskey jacks, racoons, and sometimes skunks. I had one crawl up on my sleeping bag once and go to sleep! Pretty awe inspiring experience! :>)
First night is always the worst. But I found if I camp near running water I stand a better chance of sleeping. My worst night was when we decided to set up our tents right next to the trail near a trail entrance point on a road. About 11:00, a car load of teenagers came driving down the trail. Imagine waking up to headlights coming towards your tent. I came out real fast. They drove by, but all I could imagine was them drinking, then driving back out. 😳....no sleep that night. I will never again camp by a road accessible site.
Trying to fall asleep with a troop of Baboons barking is really difficult! The sound is sooo crazy loud! And one is never quite sure why they go on like that? #IDontSpeakBaboon 😅 #AfricanHikingProblems At first it sounded like a war cries, then I heard baby baboons screaming and the trees were shaking as they scrambled about. I still don't know what on earth they were yakking about, and I didn't fall asleep for a REALLY LONG time afterwards. 😅 Thank you for a great video Rev! I'll be back for the next one.
Hi Rev, I enjoyed your opening theme song. I do get tired at the end of day no matter if I was hiking or not. Your body is telling you that you need rest. I’m 64 and I get tired a little easier than I used to. I do enjoy a good meal so when ready to pitch my tent, I make sure that I eat well. I do appreciate all your suggestions and you are an inspiration to a lot of us. Bless you 🙏
🤣🏕My buddy and I were camping in Jasper Nat'l Park way above the townsite in bench country. Full moon and we were woken up to a shadow on our tent wall, coyote? wolf? it was just letting us know we were in it's territory and relieved itself on our tent fly. Whoa Nelly!!! I've even been followed by a small family of coyotes for about five minutes. They disappeared pretty quickly. I felt very very vulnerable, but nothing happened. Thank-you, Hiking Rev.
@@peterjohnson6273 We were spooked but not like that. I've read Theburge's Wolves and Wilderness (Dent, pub.) it took that wild wilderness fear out of me, about wolves anyway. They know you're there anyway.
@@TheHikingRev Your'e too funny HikingRev. Your beard. 😂 Again in Jasper but bushwacking up to Signal Mtn to the Skyline Trail. Nothing phases my brother. Pitching 3 tents in the middle of a game trail, with bear scat present not long before. I'm shaking in my sleeping bag. 'A come-on Gar, go to sleep!' I love my brother. Nothing happened.
Hi Rev, I fully agree. The best way to fall asleep is being so tired that nothing else matters than hit the sack. Thank you for posting. Good content!! Cheers, Henk
Thanks for another great video. Back in 1988, when I was 28, I bicycled from Montreal to Mexico City, via Alaska, mostly camping wild. I had coyotes outside my tent in the Baja desert, and a black bear mum and 2 cubs scraping on my tent in northern British Columbia, 2am and totally alone off of a disused logging track. Switched on my bike lamp, and radio Australia (short wave in the mountains) and heard them walking away, then got out my tent to see them disappear into the forest. I had an involuntary bowel movement, then lit a Canadian Pacific Railway flare and a quick camp fire! Then lay awake until dawn. All the comments have brought back fond memories! Cheers Rev!
You called it, Rev. The first fatal mountain lion attack in decades occurred in northern California this past weekend. Clearly details will emerge as there was a survivor to the attack as well. Very sad story, but it is good for everyone to stay aware and give wildlife as wide a berth as possible.
I usually sleep very well when I'm out on trail. It's the fresh air, puts me right to sleep. But then the nocturnal animals and birds start talking about me, plotting my demise, and that sometimes wakes me up. One time I had a red squirrel knocking on my tent to let me know I had pitched up right on top of his stash 😂 one other night I am pretty sure there was a porcupine on each side of my tent, sniffing and snorting, wondering how to get in. I just lied there very still, so as not to startle them and get my tent full of quills! 😲😂
great advice and suggestions! I find white noise in my earbuds is a great addition. I'm happy to know I'm not the only one who uses a pee bottle. and a good nap even for about 20-30 minutes is super helpful. Thanks Rev
“I have turned to the Dark-side.” 😂 Yes I have a Durston X-Mid Pro 1 and I love it. I’m going to do a video review on it soon. I still love my Plex Solo but prefer the Durston. 😁
I find it to be helpful if I can elevate my legs and feet a bit when I'm having a mid day rest. I use my backpack for this if nothing else is easily available.
When I travel I find it hard to fall asleep. But when I'm hiking, by the time I hit the sleeping bag, I'm exhausted! I have to stretch a bit to relax, and then I'm out cold. I sleep better in my tent than just about anywhere else. I love the nature noises - owls, frogs, insects, other night birds. A sprinkle of rain, or even a steady drizzle. Just love it.
I sleep for 4 hours max at one time so I go to sleep between 10 and midnite. I listen to books on tape and downloaded stuff on RU-vid. Also, the more miles I hike the more hyped I am at the end of the day. I just don't get tired.
Hey Rev, My wife and I are FAITHful followers of your channel. She is embarking on an AT thru hike shortly and at 67 years young, I am so proud of her. She is questioning her starting out with four days of food weighing in at 4.5 pounds bringing her backpack weight up to 29 lbs. Her weight is 132 lbs. Your thoughts.
Absolutely have trouble sleeping on the trail. Especially the first couple nights. You provided a couple of great tips , things I had not thought of like deflating the pad. Can't wait to try them out.
Thanks Rev, it amazes me that when I get to camp after a hard day of hiking, how long it takes for me to fall asleep. Sounds counterintuitive, but I usually takes a while to nod off. Not sure why. Good Video today.
I'm not too afraid of nature, I know that nothing is really out there to get me, but damn, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of people. There's a lot of whackos out there and I know it's rare to come across them on the trail, but whenever I hear footsteps that I can tell are almost human in nature, my hair stands right up.
Great tips as usual Rev. Have you done a video on the foods you eat while on the hoof? Eating while hiking is something I'm interested in to get more miles out of the day or at least make food on trail less complicated.
Josie…I’m going to do a video soon on that very subject! Most hikers are more interested in the food they eat on trail and camping than they are about why they’re out there in the first place…TO HIKE! 😁
Great tips! Sub'd! Sometimes I will take a photo (or a few) of the campsite and surrounding area if I forget where certain landmarks/obstacles are after dark and need to get up for some reason. Also, I stow a headlamp with my tent so that when I get to camp and open my tent bag, it's the first thing I see and I can put it on and not waste time searching for it.
My three best ever: on Catalina Island waking up to Buffalo standing next to my tent; in the Trinity Mountains deer passing through camp and just standing there; Eastern Sierras on a bright night and the shadow of a bear snuffling past. A buddy of mine camps with a pee bottle, but I'm not keen on that idea. Besides, when I get up in the night, might see a shooting star or the Milky Way. Nice video, thanks! I might switch out my piece of Tyvek for the Gossamer gear pad for a nap throw down or sit pad. I use the Tyvek for a tent doormat, sit pad, lie on piece, gear cover, etc.
Hey Mike. Those sound like some great animal encounters. I’m with you on looking at the night sky except when it’s cold and raining. The Gossamer Gear thin light pad was the game changer for me.😁
Morning Rev, good advice and I always look forward to your videos. I don't have difficulty falling asleep per se, but staying asleep much more than 4 -6 hours or so. I've been like that for years, on the trail or off. Good day Rev!
It’s a softly inflated pad but hard pillow for me. The pillow has a bungie to keep it in place on the pad if I move. I lay out an emergency blanket (ultralight and compact when folded) on the floor of the tent before putting anything inside. The folded emergency blanket fits in the bag with my Thermarest. It not only effectively increases the R-value of my pad, but if my arm flops onto the floor, it is not resting directly on the cold ground. This not only reflects heat upwards, but also reflects light, so torches only need to be on the minimum power setting inside the tent because of the reflected light.
Excellent advice Rev. Your videos are well done, educational and inspirational. Like you a good night sleep is important to me. I also use the Gossamer Gear foam pad and an air mattress, however, I like my Gossamer pad on top of my air mattress. I helps keep out the ground cold, but for me I like the feel of the pad as opposed to the feeling of the air mattresses. I do bring eye covering to help going to sleep while still daylight and ear plugs as well, although I’m typically the one snoring. I just started laying my tent out, flat on the ground, and lying on it to feel the slope of the ground. Sleeping on ANY slope or angle is terrible. And a pee bottle, yeah, that’s a must. I hope you are doing well and I hope to run into you one day on trail. Take care.
Yes, less air in pad allows your pad to conform to your body. One thing is std pad widths are too narrow. I bought a wider Klymit pad and shortened it.
Good info! Living in Colorado, I find myself above 10,000 ft at the end of the day, on most trips. I recently found using a FLEXTAIL GEAR mini pump, @94 grams more enjoyable than huffing and puffing when I am already tired. They even have a built-in lamp you can use for reading in the tent. I never have a problem sleeping after a long day on trail.
Some of my best naps in the Adirondack, when hiking, were up against a big ol’ tree. Now, unfortunately , the fear of ticks and Lyme disease has ruined that peaceful experience.
the clothes vs quilt temp rating can be tricky. wearing extra clothes can only bring so much extra warmth compared to extra insulation in a quilt plus extra clothes could end up being heavier than a warmer quilt... for example a 10 deg quilt by EE is only 6oz heavier than a 30 deg quilt from them... doubt you'll find clothing that weighs 6oz and give you an extra 20 deg warmth....
My 10 degree quilt is considerable heavier than my 30 degree. Way more than 6 oz. Plus, I don’t bring extra clothes. I’ll just wear, if it’s cold, things I already have with me, ie Puffy, socks, rain pants, beanie, rain jacket. 😁
Great points Rev...Thank you for sharing. Do you carry Bear Spray? Just curious. Also, where do you keep your Backpack and do you hang your food supply and trash?
You’re welcome. Fred. I do not carry bear spray. If I were hiking in Grizzly country, I would. I keep my backpack in the vestibule of my tent. I also keep my food and trash in a Locsak Opsak food storage bag in my backpack. a.co/d/ggrUncF (unless required to carry a bear canister.)
I'm 64 and love camping and have been doing it all my life . I'm thinking of trying backpacking but wonder if I'm getting past my prime to start something like this. What do you think.
Hey Carolyn. The only thing that will hold you back is your health. Age is just a number. I was 67 years old when I completed the Pacific Crest Trail. 5 1/2 months basically living out of a tent. At the end of May, I’ll be going to Ireland to hike the Ireland Way. You can do it!😁
I never sleep very well hiking or camping. My worse night was in an empty campground in Missouri - something canine stalked around my tent all night long growling. Utterly terrifying for me and my then eight-year-old son. I think about it every night while trying to fall asleep in the woods. I use a small rectangle of memory foam from an old mattress as a pillow. Good tips, Rev.
