[pct-l] This Year's Going to Be Awesome! Woo!

[Eric Martinot]

Yes, night hiking is a great way to reduce water use, plus lots of fun.  Did most of Hat Creek Rim at night with probably 2 liters less water than daytime, for example.

But I disagree with Robert about the trade-off against injury.  I night-hiked parts of SoCal and also hot parts of NoCal and never had any problem with stumbling or injury.  I think the type of lamp you use makes a big difference. I found the Princeton EOS lamp had a great circular beam that lasted about 10-12 hours on one set of AAA on the "medium" setting, easy to walk all night without paying much attention.

The main trade-off for me was less heat/sun/water, versus prolonged sleep deprivation.  I hiked late afternoon through late evening, then before-dawn through late morning, but never could sleep more than about 2-3 hours during afternoon naps.  Only 4-5 hours per night plus afternoon naps wasn't enough, and sleep deprivation became serious enough to reduce enjoyment of the trail.

Eric

Robert Henry rrh.henry at gmail.com 
Thu Jan 23 16:24:24 CST 2014
	
Amplifying a little on what Barry said...

HIke at night, get some sleep, then get up before first light and hike at
first light.  Sleep during the day.

When night hiking, you are trading off hydration issues against injury by
fall as you stumble along.