HELP (or sleeping on the trail at night)

[joobert]

I think that I'm going to do it...... I think I will (attempt) to thru-hike this year.


But I have a big problem. I'm terrified of the woods at night. I could hike all day. It is truly the most at peace I will ever be. But the thought of sleeping in the dark woods with bears, snakes, the blair witch, coyotes, the bloody goat ghost my best friend in 6th grade swore followed her all the way to Texas from her childhood home in the woods (in Virginia, nonetheless).


Not only that, but noises. I have slept with an air filter from the mid 90s since... the mid 90s. It filters nothing now, I haven't been able to replace a filter in it for over 10 years. But even at the chance of developing emphysema I turn it on every night. Just to muffle my neighbors lightly playing radiohead on repeat.


Maybe I'm not cut out for the trail. I can hike, but the thought of sleeping in a dark, wooded, civil war graveyard terrifies the **** out of me. If there's one thing that will get me off of the trail, it's nighttime.


I've slept overnight before, in the wooded pines of east Texas, with large groups of people, or boyfriends, usually drunk. And even then, there were times (most) when I prayed that if god just let me out of my tent without what was surely either the chupacabra or a monstrous inbred hillbilly with confederate lineage outside devouring me, I would go back to church.

I grew up in South Texas where the legends of La Llorona, the Blair Witch, and Bloody Mary became one, wood (well, brush) dwelling, child eating monster. I have what has been called 'an overactive imagination' When I was 7 I watched Idle Hands and woke up hallucinating a severed hand playing spider on my pillow.That is all to say, I know it is unlikely I will find anything that terrifying, but there is a very good chance I will create it, and run far from it. I've always hated that about myself, as I profess to love nature and to hate civilization...that is until it's time to go to bed.

My dad, in a last ditch effort to persuade me from hiking, has sent me Stephen King's Girl who Loved Tom Gordon.

To be honest, I am not brave. Fear will take me off the trail quicker than anything else, and I don't know how to fight it.

Is this normal? I assume not. But is there a shred of hope that I will make it? Is there anyway to acclimate myself?

[imscotty]

The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon - great story

I am not sure I have any advice that will really help, but if I were you I would start practicing sleeping in the outdoors now, before you hit the trail. Start someplace you are pretty comfortable (your back yard?) and work your way hop from here. If being near people helps, you should have plenty of compony heading NOBO in the Spring if you camp near shelters. Or, perhaps you would feel better if you hiked with a partner, but that can create its own logistical issues. Truth is, in reality there is very little to fear, but I think you already know that.

Good luck!

[Miguelon]

Hey,

So I am really enjoying Craig M's youtube videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...gDfdcJmBe9y31n

His videos are fairly short, really well done, and in them he talks about his fear of sleeping in the woods.
If I can surmise.... he planned on tenting, found that it was tough for him to sleep in the woods, hence he stayed at
motels every 3 or 4 days (or so it seemed) to catch up on sleep. Then he started staying more in shelters. (He doesn't state it but seems the more company the less scary the woods... not sure if this is exactly how he'd put it but seems so to me.)

Good luck to you,

Miguelon

[MuddyWaters]

If a deranged drunken, inbred hillbilly is going to hack you to death with a machete in your sleep, theres not much you can do to stop it.

Put in earplugs, go to sleep. Do you really have that much to live for anyway?



What will be, will be. Not in your control. Do you worry about dieing each time you get in a car? You should. Far more likely.

[Maineiac64]

With a fear this profound you might try to slowly introduce sleeping outdoors and build up to it, maybe 1-2 hours to start, in your back yard to start. A lot of people have to listen to something to sleep, I actually listen to talk radio with an ear bud. When I'm on the trail I listen to podcasts from my phone. If you can be determined to overcome the fear knowing that it is not based on real risks and it will get better each night. You can do it.

[Engine]

Phobias don't have to make sense, in fact they often don't have any basis in logic or reality. Overcoming a deeply ingrained fear takes time and as Maineiac64 mentioned above, slowly increasing your exposure to whatever you're afraid of can serve to innoculate you against the fear agent.

I'm impressed by your desire to overcome this issue and while I know this will make little difference to you, I will clearly state their is almost nothing to be afraid of. Depending on where you live, you are likely to be in greater danger at home in bed than in the tent in a sleeping bag on the AT.

Maybe a couple short hikes of 4-5 days would be a good idea before you commit to a 6 month journey.

[Ercoupe]

If this is a AT thru hike, you will be surrounded by hikers at the start, assuming you stay near shelters. And most likely fall in with a like minded group, to share your journey. The group may change over time, but you may be more comfortable when that happpens.

It helps me to keep to a routine and keep things organized to eliminate any anxieties. I hate searching for a light in the night (Mine is always around my neck). Writing in a journal, phone home when you can, check your maps for the next day and read a book. Earplugs for the snoring. A personal pepper spray may ease some of your fears.

[ScareBear]

It seems unlikely that after a month on the trail you would still possess a phobia about sleeping in the woods. However, getting thru that first month with the phobia is the issue...

I guess "immersion" therapy at a slow and gradual pace would work. It works with plane phobias and height phobias(both of which are far more rational phobias than fear of sleeping in the woods since that is actually in our DNA...).

It also helps to talk to a professional about your fears. You may find that your fears are actually linked to an unfortunate event from your past and you just are not making the connection...in that case, you will need different therapy to overcome the fears...just sayin...

[chiefduffy]

I am so tired after 3 or 4 days on the trail, it doesn't bother me anymore. I do use earplugs to block out the little night sounds that get the adrenaline flowing. After a month on the trail, I cant sleep indoors anymore.

[QuietStorm]

I have the same issue. I hike solo and this time of year there are few other hikers around. I use earplugs and just accept the fact that my sleep will be fitful. I try not to go to sleep too early and try eating as late as possible. A little booze helps too.


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[la.lindsey]

1. Therapy
2. I freaked myself out a lot on my first solo trip but decided to just accept my eventual bloody murder. I was not murdered. I came to love sleeping in the woods in about 4 days.
3. You don't sound too sure about this. It doesn't have to be this year. It doesn't have to be ever.
4. Start small, get better at it, as suggested above, but don't start on the AT.
5. Therapy.


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[Venchka]

I recently discovered the 4C trail in the Davy Crockett National Forest. Discovered on the internet. I won't actually see it until next month when I actually hike and camp there. 4C is 20 miles long. The Ratcliff Recreation Area and campground is at the southern end of the trail.
Perhaps you could build some courage by hiking the trail during the day and spending the night in the campground.
Just a thought.


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[bigcranky]

I loved that book.

Ear plugs are one good solution, I still carry them. You might not sleep well the first couple of nights, but eventually I hope you'll be tired enough that you'll be able to sleep.

[Lone Wolf]

get one of these
https://www.amazon.com/Sangean-DT-40...436842&sr=1-49

[Tipi Walter]

If a deranged drunken, inbred hillbilly is going to hack you to death with a machete in your sleep, theres not much you can do to stop it.

Put in earplugs, go to sleep. Do you really have that much to live for anyway?



What will be, will be. Not in your control. Do you worry about dieing each time you get in a car? You should. Far more likely.

Good post. Like the bold highlight quote. We flatter ourselves with the extremely high value we place on our living forms. Inevitably we die. In the meantime do we cower in a hall closet and expire as a lifelong couch potato??

With a fear this profound you might try to slowly introduce sleeping outdoors and build up to it, maybe 1-2 hours to start, in your back yard to start. A lot of people have to listen to something to sleep, I actually listen to talk radio with an ear bud. When I'm on the trail I listen to podcasts from my phone. If you can be determined to overcome the fear knowing that it is not based on real risks and it will get better each night. You can do it.

I always recommend "the backyard" as the place to test everything: Gear, thermarest sleeping, cold weather, and outdoor sleeping. Sleeping outside takes some getting used to but as others have said, in about 4 days you get the hang of it. A much bigger challenge is packing up every morning at 10F. Oh and 10F days severely limit the ability of deranged, drunken, inbred hillbillies with machetes to actually get motivated enough to come outside looking for you.

[moldy]

Back when I was in the Navy, I was the guy who made job assignments for the brand new people in my squadron who just arrived on the ship from Boot Camp or school. Most of them were sent to do some time in the galley as a messcook. This one time we had a shortage of "Line dogs" who worked as Plane Captains on the flight deck. They were desperate for any help they could get. This guy was from Texas just like you. The flight deck routine during heavy flight ops, what we call "24 hour ops", could be described as "hell on earth" Loud, Fast, Dangerous. A typical launch or recovery event has 20 or more jets moving at the same time. These jets suck at one end, blow at the other. There are bombs and rockets and danger everywhere. All are taxied into one of the 4 launch catipults in what at first appears to be a random chaos. Nothing that this boy ever saw prepared him for this madness. At the end of his first day he got permission to come see me. He was in tears, he was sure he was going to die out there. l sent him back to work and that he would have to suck it up and get used to it. I checked up on him from time to time and he was doing OK. About a month later I take s stroll up on the flight deck. The next event has just started with engines fired up and here I find this same kid, asleep in the catwalk under the tail end of a turning A-6 Intruder! I grab him and ask, Don't you think it a little dangerous to sleep in the catwalk during flight ops? He say's, I'm OK, I know what is gonna happen next! He had gone from one extreme to the other in a months time. Of course, he did not know what was gonna happen next because I sent him to be a messcook the next day. So I will tell you the same thing, suck it up and get back to work, all those things you fear will go away as you get used to it. Don't get too relaxed, there are times to get up and check out that noise with the flashlight. Happy trails

[Tipi Walter]

Moldy---good recollections. "Old hands" have seen it all, Newbs want to cower and quit.

[hyperslug]

I think chiefduffy said it well. Hike yourself to sleep. If you put in big miles (which you must build up to) you will be so tired you won't worry about it, at least for long.

[Venchka]

If you're a novice fiction writer practicing your craft, well done.
You can't be serious. Otherwise you would never leave home.
Civil War cemetery? Really?
Backyard practice is good. I'm very fortunate. My backyard is in the woods. I use it for testing. You might try it if you have a backyard. Not everyone does.
I reread your first post. This should make you sleepy.
http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0068473/
Sweet dreams.
Wayne


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[cmoulder]

Yeah that first post is pretty melodramatic. Makes me wonder if this person is really interested in getting outdoors.

And good writers make it read like they're not trying too hard.

Deliverance is good reading and good watching. Make believe you're Ned Beatty and if you still want to go out then you really want it.