[BULK] - Re: [pct-l] Sleepless on the trail

[msaenz at mve-architects.com (Mike Saenz)]

In my experience, what usually keeps me up at night are:
1) Simple excitement of being on the trail and anticipation of hiking
deeper into the wilderness the next day.
2) Comfort shock of not sleeping on my bed, showered and slid under
loose covers without clothes.
3) Noisy campmates (snoring, rustling, etc.)
4) The wind flapping/slapping my tent nylon.

The solutions:
1) The first night out: oilcan.
2) Comfort: thick Thermarest, fleece blanket, 72" girth sleeping bag, 2
quart platy-pillow, etc...
3) Noisy campmates: pitched tent outside the "snore zone"
4) Windy conditions: I keep a pair of earplugs in my dity bag.

I also pack a chair kit for my Thermarest. I'll be reclining in my tent,
re-organizing my gear in my pack and sometimes going over maps of where
I've been and where I'm going before I lay down to sleep. I pack a
candle lantern for night time conversation (much easier, better and
cleaner than a campfire), so I tend to stay up a bit later after the sun
sets.
Sleeping with clothes on (my long underwear and socks) just takes a
night or two to get used to. Whether or not the temps require this isn't
the point, it keeps my bag clean. Liners restrict my 72" girth bag. I
think the wide bag alone is the key to a good night's sleep.
I sometimes get some flak for pitching my tent away from the group. But
I steady snore will keep me awake. I snore too, so I try not to inflict
this upon others. Besides, waking up and crawling out of my tent without
seeing anything else "human" is a treat for me!
The earplugs are great when it's windy or in heavy rain (the sound of a
light rain, however, is soothing to me).
All in all, for me, the key is comfort. I'll pack the extra pounds to be
comfortable in camp! Without a good night's sleep, I won't enjoy the
next day's hike as much. Especially at high elevations. For me, a good
night sleep cures (or acclimatizes) me of a light touch of altitude
discomfort.


M i c h a e l   S a e n z
McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc.
A r c h i t e c t u r e    P l a n n i n g    I n t e r i o r s
w  w  w  .  m  v  e  -  a  r  c  h  i  t  e  c  t  s  .  c  o  m

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Steve
Peterson
Sent: Friday, October 01, 2004 6:48 PM
To: Cathy
Cc: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [BULK] - Re: [pct-l] Sleepless on the trail

No, not thinking of scary things (or even non-scary things). Most
evenings I'm 
pooped from hiking and you'd think that would be enough to knock me out,
but I'm 
just not drowsy, if that makes any sense. I think I've tried every sleep
pad out 
there and I'm loathe to go back to my old, really heavy Thermarest, but
that's 
about what I'm ready to do unless I hear of something better. The most
sleep I 
got this time was about 4 hours one night; the other nights were about
two. 
First night off the trail, but not in my own bed, I slept for about ten
hours. 
Amazing what the human body can do on very little sleep (at least for a
while).

Pillow-wise, I found this year that boots (turned on their side) got me
the 
height I needed and various other items from my pack (when I wasn't
wearing 
them) gave me the padding I needed, so I consider "the pillow problem"
more or 
less solved, at least until I switch to trail runners. (Yes, the smell
is bad; 
no, I don't think that was what was keeping me awake :-))

Cathy wrote:
> Hi I have a three quarter thermarest, inflates to 1 and a half inches.
Its
> great, what I have found is when I have the proper pillow, height
wise, it
> makes all the difference in the world--or are you thinking about
what's out
> there that is scary?
>          Ground Pounder Bill
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Peterson" <steve_peterson@sbcglobal.net>
> To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
> Sent: Friday, October 01, 2004 4:22 PM
> Subject: [pct-l] Sleepless on the trail
> 
> 
> 
>>Does anyone else have trouble sleeping on the trail, even after a
couple
> 
> of
> 
>>weeks? If so, what do you do about it?
>>
>>After my 11-day trip I figured I just wasn't out there long enough,
but
> 
> after my
> 
>>16-day JMT trip I'm doubting that's the answer. Someone on the trail
> 
> suggested 2
> 
>>Tylenol PM per night (which is lighter than a thicker Thermarest), but
I'd
> 
> be
> 
>>interested in other solutions, too. I'm not drinking caffeine at all,
but
> 
> I am
> 
>>eating chocolate; hate to have to make a choice between chocolate and
> 
> sleep,
> 
>>though.
>>
>>_______________________________________________
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>>pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
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> 
> 
> 

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