![]() It’s a unique experience that’s magical in its own way. I wouldn’t like night hiking all the time, but it’s enjoyable for an hour or so each day. In fact, I actually enjoy hiking in the early, pre-dawn hours. Gotta get up early and do some night hiking if you want to enjoy a spectacular sunrise at McAfee Knob. I’m that much less likely to fall into the well-maybe-I’ll-just-get-a-room-for-the-night-and-hike-out-tomorrow-morning trap. Budgeting enough time to run errands and hike helps me avoid the town vortex. Hitching to town, doing all my chores, eating, digesting, and getting back to trail is typically a time-consuming experience, but if I start early enough I can do all that and still put in 20 miles as usual. If I want to explore a side trail, take a long lunch at a viewpoint, or catch a trailside nap, I know I can afford the stoppage time.Īn early start also comes in handy on days when I go to town to resupply. Even if I encounter unexpected obstacles and complications that slow me down. This is especially true in late fall, winter, and early spring, when the daylight hours are already limited.īut if I start hiking by five a.m., I know I’ll have plenty of time to hike my 20 miles and get to camp with light to spare. ![]() Enough time that I sometimes feel pressured to keep cranking and pass up opportunities to stop and smell the roses. I like to hike around 20 miles most days, and that takes time. When unexpected obstacles slow you down (such as the trail turning into a literal giant boulder jumble in Mahoosuc Notch), it’s best to have plenty of daylight hours left to tackle them. Sometimes I throw my sleeping bag over the top of the tent to make my own shade instead. on an especially hot day and had my 20 in before 10.ĭisadvantage: If you stop early in the day and you can’t find a densely-treed spot to set up, you may have to move your tent around throughout the day to keep it in shade, which is annoying. There have been times when I’ve put in a 20-mile day and put up my tent before noon. This summer has seen record-breaking heatwaves across the country, and a woman died this summer on the PCT in southern California due to heat-related illness.īy getting on trail before the sun rises, I can get five or six good hours of hiking in during the relatively cool morning hours. Not only is hiking through the heat uncomfortable to the last degree, but it can be dangerous too. When the mercury rises in summer, it’s a miracle I don’t just sweat out all the water in my body and shrivel up completely. Whether I’m slogging through crushing summer heat and 98% humidity on the Appalachian Trail or sweating away precious water in the blistering PCT desert, I HATE overheating. I embraced the practice with open arms after that and have never looked back since. etc.).īut eventually, I realized that starting before the sun was dramatically improving the quality of my hike. ![]() (“It would be worth dumping this MFer just to get another ten minutes’ sleep,” etc. I must admit that waking up to a blaring alarm clock at 3:30 a.m., an ungodly time if there ever was one, inspired some unkind thoughts toward my dear partner at the time. I was the last person out of camp most mornings during my earliest weeks on trail, preferring to sleep in and let my body wake me up when it was good and ready.īut then I met my boyfriend on trail, a pathological morning person who began dragging me unhappily from my warm tent each day to discover the wonders of the early morning start. The truth is, I actually didn’t get on the early wake-up schedule right away. nearly every morning on my AT thru-hike, I want you to appreciate the full gravity of that statement. So when I tell you that I intentionally hit the trail before five a.m. I like to sleep in and am a consummate snooze button enthusiast. ![]()
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