This might be more for the girls out there. I know this doesn’t happen a lot, especially for NOBOers in March, but how scary is it to spend a night alone in a shelter in the woods? I have NEVER spent a night alone in the woods before, and I think I would freak myself out more than anything!! And if I ever do it,hike the AT, it will most likely be a solo. Advice? Tips?
Sorry, the girlie girl in me is coming out!!
freaked out
Don’t worry about staying alone in a shelter. The real truth is that you are probably not alone! My good friend loves to watch people in shelters from the woods. He said its like hunting in a way.
So the next time it feels like you are being watched, you probably are!! 
wheelman
I’ve hiked both the John Muir Trail and the Wonderland Trail solo and being alone at night was never really an issue for me. By the end of the day I am usually so tired that I barely have the energy to cook. And, it is usually still light out when I fall asleep when I am hiking. I don’t know how different it would be to sleep in a shelter compared to a tent though…I was always in a tent. There are always nighttime sounds that I’d hear and try to figure out what it was but I would convince myself that it was the wind or trees making the sounds and then pass out again.
I’d be more afraid of the mice in the shelters than being alone.
Good luck and don’t let your apprehension keep you from spending the night alone in the woods. It is very liberating!
Hikerchick
Haha, you’re a funny guy wheelman!
But for real …
THis is not a new topic and very common for those unfamilar withthe safety of the AT. YOU’RE SAFER ALL ALONE IN A SHELTER THEN YOU ARE IN YOU’RE CURRENT APT OR HOUSE!!!
And if you don’t believe me, you can ask all the other hikers that you will share ALL the shelters with. There always seem to be other hikers around! Hmmmmmmm … unless you thru in the off season, it’s hard to find yourself alone alone alone…
cheers and happy hiking! :cheers
Flowcefus
I think that there’s a chat site that is totally devoted to & run by women hikers…can’t recall it’s name right now, but maybe another reader can. If I recall correctly, it’s a site that is pretty secure, & gives out info to help other women hikers.
leah
It may be scary the first time but after that it is just a wonderful freeing feeling.
There is a Women’s Hiking List on Yahoo, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WomenHikers/promot
Hammock Hanger
HH?, freeing feeling of mice running over you face? Girlfriend, you’ve been out wAAAAY to long on the trail. :tongue
Dear Freaked,
Might I suggest you camp out, weather permitting, “Howdy Style”-BoyHowdy that is. He Hiked with us in '01. Standard proceedure was to eat at a shelter and then sleep out under the stars as much as possible. No noise, no citters, fresh air, no snoring, no b.o… Throw down on your ground sheet and enjoy. Mind the weather and have a quick exit to your tent on the shelter if it rains.
One night in the Blue Ridge we had a full shelter and no where to tent down the ridge so we went back up to the road and found a nice leafy area a few hundred feet off the trail. Moon was high and full, about 12am a noise woke me up. A beautiful doe deer was muching a tree at our feet. I nudged the wife and Raindog up and we watched for an hour as she walked around us just feet away. Way cool.
Bushwhack N’ Bramble
A night in a shelter alone is a pretty rare occurence on the AT, especiially the Southern half. Usually I’d be pretty stoked to have a shelter all to myself. I could spread out my gear, stay up reading or listening to my walkman, etc…
I will have to admit though that once in a while I’d get the heebie jeebies, I remember once in particular, it was really foggy out, and the shelter was really creaky. I hadn’t seen another hiker all day. I had done some night hiking too so I was feeling a bit disoriented at the shelter.
That said, the others are correct in that the AT is probbaly safer then your hometown. You’ll get used to sleeping outside and probably grow grow to enjoy it.:evil
jalan
I"m scarda being alone in the woods at night with all those wild bunnies and birdies.
:eek:
Eyepopped
Hey, look Fre-Out,
I am a 250lb male I have been in barroom brawls, cop chases, jail, and at this present moment I am writing from a war-torn country.
Damn right I got nervous while hiking on the AT, it is normal feeling, it is your natural gut instinct to be wary,
fear is your friend until it takes control of your thinking and actions. It took me quite awhile to adjust on the trail. And Hammock Hanger is totally correct about the freeing sensation. I cannot perceive-(SP) what it is like for a female on the trail. I do greatly admire you girls for having the courage! When I hiked and came apon a female I never knew what to do because my size is intimidating and I am sure they felt uncomfortable so I always tried to just keep on keeping on. Ah Hell, I even scared some of those young men.
That is why I perfer winter hiking a- the freeing feeling b-I wont scare to many people c- always room in the shelter for me. ENJOY, BECAUSE LIFE IS TOO SHORT…
1/4 of the way
Freaked Out. I’m a solo, section hiker. I have hiked from Springer to Pearlisburg. As a school administrator, I can only get out for about 10-14 days a year in July. In the summer months there are few hikers and no thru hikers, at least up to where I have been hiking. As far as ‘how scary is it to spend a night alone in a shelter in the woods’. Well, I don’t like mice, in the summer months in the southern states, shelters are over run by mice. Staying in a shelter by myself can be spooky. Mice are running around all night long, the mice are trying to get into your food, clothes etc. I sometimes use my hiking poles fully extended to knock the mice from the rafters. Because it is so warm at night, staying inside your bag is not an option. Mice are scary. Some shelters can have as many as a dozen mice running around. I would rather sleep in my tent, next to a shelter. There was a night next to Stan Murray Shelter. I was in my tent, it was totally dark outside, with no moon. I was exhausted from a long day of hiking. Then it started, a sound that I had never heard before, it keep moving around, circling my tent. It seemed to get closer and closer. I got one of my hiking poles in one hand and a small little knife in the other. I was ready for battle. The high pitch sound continued. I was actually yelling, ‘Get out of here.’ The sound continued, there was nobody around for miles. I had not seen anyone for 5-6 hours. It was scary for me. The sound continued and seemed to get louder. From the sound of it, I figured it was a large animal. It wasn’t bothered by my yelling. And as the night got long, so did my imagination. That micro thin tent covering would be no match for what was out there. The noise continued and from exhustion I must have fallen asleep, with the knife in one hand and my hiking pole in the other. I actually put a couple of holes in the side of my tent with my new weapons. When I awoke, the sound was gone. The sun was rising and I was still exhausted. The sound, I still don’t know what it was. Someone suggested that it could have been a Whip-o-will. I can’t wait until I see an over crowded shelter. But, I’m guessing there could be some scary hikers hanging around. :eek:
Bilko
I spent four months and hiked 1500 of the miles on the AT, starting from Springer March 1st. In those for months I only spent one night alone in a shelter, there are so many hikers out there at that time it’s a pretty rare occurance. I was 22 when I hiked and only felt spooked twice in all that time.
When you are hiking as a thru-hiker you make so many friends that even if you are alone in a shelter, you know that there are half-a-dozen hikers in town waiting for you, another half-a-dozen that will catch up with you the next day, and for me I had another half-dozen paternal feeling older hikers around that worried if I was slower than anticipated.
It’s a great community of people, you’ll make a lot of life-long friends, and if you hike at traditional times you will really never be ‘alone’!
Grassy Ridge
http://www.trailforums.com/index2.cfm?action=detail&PostNum=5543&Thread=1&roomID=22&entryID=44448
Backtrack
I hike alone on trails that sometimes I’d be lucky to see two or three other folks. I don’t particularly like the night time but I’m usually so beat that I don’t have trouble with the dark, spooky environs.
When I took my daughter, 8 years-old at the time, hiking. I tied a bandanna around the face of a flashlight and turned it on. It wasn’t so bright with the bandanna covering and so I could get some sleep. And she was comforted by it. - But bring some extra batteries if you would like to try this. A green bandanna provided the most soothing glow. After awhile she got used to it and we no longer needed the night light.
I also noticed that she was less spooked when we camped near a brook.
bc
I remember my first night out alone. It rained off and on all night, and I, too, hiked in after dark, so the site was a little disorienting in total darkness. No moon, no stars, just darkness.
I laid awake in my tent for hours, alert and ready, lest a nearby bear might find a nicely bundled snack wrapped in nylon. I would not go into the night so easily! Then I heard it, that unmistakeable “SNAP” of a branch breaking or in my terror addled-mind, of bones breaking. Could there be a deer kill? Was that a bear or mountain lion scavenging a carcass? “SNAP” again. Only closer. I grabbed my knife to protect myself, the smell of freshly minced garlic still lingered on the 3 inch blade. I would not go so easily. Another much louder “SNAP” as the beast got closer. It must be a large male, I thought. A bear of such power that cared little if it’s prey heard it or not. Beads of sweat formed on my brow as my heartrate shot up fueled by the rush of adrenaline.
In a blast of fury, I grabbed at my flashlight, not to be taken so easily, I would at least see my would-be attacker. I ripped the tent door open and peered under the vestibule, knife clutched in white-knuckled terror. There, less than 3 feet away two gleaming eyes stared back at me. I roared in fury, terror, and a hopeless sense that this would spook the beast. And it did. I watched in shock as the furry little butt of a 15 pound possum waddled away from camp, clearly not eager to tackle such fierce prey as myself.
The fact is your imagination will amplify a mouse to the size of a mountain lion espcially if you’re awaken in the middle of the night by the unfamiliar sounds of the woods. But only the first time. Every other solo trip I’ve done, I’ve slept like the dead, confident in my own safety in the backcountry. Just don’t sleep with your bear canister or bear bag in bear country. Use common sense!
And the folks like Wheelman and his friend? I doubt he’s ever spent a night in the woods. Freaks rarely go into the backcountry unless there’s a road to get there and it’s more than a half-mile from said road.
You might not sleep very well your first night, but after that, it’s a just a walk in the Park. And yes, as Hikerchick said, it is very liberating and confidence-building.
Enjoy and happy hiking!
Cap’n
i too remember my first night in the woods. alone. i wanted to pee my pants.
tray mountain shelter in october of 2000. every branch and every rustle was a bear inching closer to me.
that was the first of many nights that i’ve been alone in the woods. i would venture to guess that i have now spent hundreds of nights alone in the woods.
it isn’t so bad now.
i’ve gone as long as five days without seeing anyone in the woods, day or night.
it isn’t so bad now.
ps- cap’n is indeed a grand storyteller and you should check out his journal at www.trailjournals.com/capn
grizzly adam
View the opportunity to unfurl in the reflective solitude of the backcountry as a moment to cherish and enjoy, leave your fear at home or just leave it period. My most treasured backpacking memories are those that I experienced with the wilderness as my sole companion.
The animals you meet in the backcountry, for the most part, don’t wish to eat you; they want your food so put it someplace where they can’t get it. Learn about stealth camping; animals two-legged or four-legged look where they expect to find you and rarely find stealth campers.
There those who wonder why I choose to go out alone, but those who know me well understand that were the unthinkable to happen while I am out by myself, it would be in a moment of Love. Can anything be more powerful than that?
ponytail
Hi, I am responding to this because I am the next in succession in my family to go hiking. My sister, Slow Barbara, went last year on the trail and my brother went this year. They both went solo and were never disturbed by any evil forces, mean people or distempered critters. In fact, their most challenging times were only when their equipment broke. I am hoping to go this coming summer. I like what Quarter of the Way said. He seems like one of the most sensible people I have ever ran across on reading these trail journals. I believe he must be a very good person to be so aware of how others may feel. If I had a brother, I would want one just like him. I am now consumed with worry that he is in a war torn country. I will pray for him every night. See you this summer. Sincerely, no trail name until I am on the trail.
Slow Barbara’s Sister