[pct-l] Fear of the dark

[Lindsey Sommer]

It's a funny thing, I'm in graduate school right now and got to go camping this past weekend for the first time in about 6 months out on the California coast. As I was going to sleep there were two animals off in the woods having a pretty heated fight, and I found the sound oddly comforting :)

And I am usually the biggest wimp in the world when it comes to night sounds. This after camping my whole life and working as an archaeologist in the field for many years.

Maybe I'm getting to that safe in the woods point, maybe...

On Feb 7, 2013, at 8:54 PM, Scott Williams <baidarker at gmail.com> wrote:

> Great post Eric.  I love the night sounds.  After a long time on trail,
> they are supremely reassuring.  Ah, it's night and I'm safe in the woods.
> I never felt that way in cities.
> 
> Shroomer
> 
> On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 1:59 PM, Eric Lee <saintgimp at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> C wrote:
>> I'm seriously scared to death of the dark and the fact that there are
>> animals that could rock my world...I hear a lot about protecting the bears
>> but anyone have a fool proof way of not having bear encounters...so i got
>> get messed with...i havent really been camping so where do i hide...how
>> much
>> smell is too much...i heard some people bring firecrackers?  Really??
>> 
>> You could remind yourself that the statistics are very much on your side.
>> The continental US averages less than one (!) fatality per year due to
>> bears.  Compare that to the ~20 per year due to domestic dogs, ~30 due to
>> lightning, ~50 per year due to bees, or the ~32,000 fatalities per year due
>> to automobiles.  In terms of objective risk, bears are way, way, *WAY* down
>> on the list of bad things that could happen to you.  Black bears in the
>> continental US are usually very shy animals and prefer to avoid
>> confrontation.  You have to go seriously out of your way to provoke a black
>> bear enough to be dangerous.  (There are extremely rare exceptions, like
>> there are with everything, but they're so rare they don't matter in any
>> practical way.  Grizzly bears are a separate issue, but you don't have to
>> deal with them on the PCT.)
>> 
>> But numbers don't really matter when you're lying there in the dark, do
>> they?  We humans are notoriously poor judges of absolute risk.  We'll
>> cheerfully hurdle down a two-lane highway at 70 miles an hour, missing
>> oncoming traffic by mere feet, implicitly trusting that the other guy isn't
>> going to sneeze at the wrong moment . . . then twitch at every little sound
>> when we're safely on the trail and away from those death-trap machines.
>> We're way too comfortable with familiar risks (even if they're actually
>> quite dangerous) and way too terrified of unfamiliar risks (even if they're
>> really quite benign).
>> 
>> So knowing that, the best thing you can do is practice.  I'm not naturally
>> comfortable with the dark myself, but living in Seattle and having a
>> full-time job and family, most of my training hikes this time of year occur
>> in the dark.  Over time I've slowly gotten more accustomed to the dark and
>> these days, while I can't say that I really enjoy the night, I'm ok with
>> it.
>> 
>> Try going out to a trail (or park, or whatever is practical for you) around
>> dusk, find a comfortable place to sit, and just let the darkness fall
>> around
>> you.  Listen to the natural nighttime noises, enjoy the smells, and
>> discover
>> how much you can actually see once your eyes adjust.  If you practice that
>> awhile you'll be more familiar with the dark and your fear will subside.
>> If
>> we can't conquer our stupid irrational risk assessment circuitry, at least
>> we can make it work in our favor.  :-)
>> 
>> Eric
>> 
>> 
>> 
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