Afraid of the Dark?

[Malarkey]

Are you afraid of the dark? Sometimes this can be a real problem to some people when spelunking. I wouldn't want to go alone but I can control my fear.

[catspa]

Just out of high school, my old buddy Phil went off to Marine Corps officer school, and when he came back he had a T-shirt with the USMC crest and the slogan "Now the dark is afraid of me."

I find the dark of a warm summer night kinda comforting sometimes, and peaceful. Other times, when it's raining sideways and below freezing, not so much. But dark is a problem with an easy solution - lights are smaller and cheaper than they've ever been, so you can carry a spare (or two)...

Parker

[georgia_outdoors]

I'm not afraid of the dark, but I can see how it would be problematic to rock climbing/spelunking... or even camping, for that matter, lol. However, afraid and stupid are too different things, and while I am not afraid of the dark, I am not stupid enough to wander around aimlessly in it. Everywhere I go after dark, I go with a partner.

[catspa]

I'm that stupid, sometimes I just go out for a walk at night. But it's rarely 100% dark, usually there's a little bit that your eyes can get adjusted to. One time I borrowed my buddy's night vision goggles, that was fun.

Now, caving? That gets 100% dark and then some. However, it's an opportunity to use your other senses to their fullest.

Having no partner, I go alone. But the silver lining is, no partner means nobody to shine their light in my eyes...

Parker

[Grandpa]

I'm certainly not afraid of the dark. The dark can't hurt you.

It's all them creepy crawly ghouls and critters waiting to pounce on you that bother me.

Actually, I love the dark, especially moon light walking. I shouldn't admit it in here because it is probably the single most dangerous thing I do in the wilderness, but I love to hike at night, even in bear country. For me it's a time to tune the other senses. The smells, the sounds, the hair on the back of my neck are all so much more pronounced hiking at night. Indeed, I feel much more alive at these times.

[outwest]

I am more of a night hawk by nature so for me its okay to deal with though I have never went spelunking even though its on my to do list before I die. The idea of using more of just the sense of eye sight is great too, seems many people these days take all of them for granted.

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


Yes, I've been spelunking, exactly one time...many decades ago. We went by flashlight, of course. In much of the area you could not walk upright...and in much of it you had to crawl on your stomach...through openings I would never fit through today. Boy, were we foolhardy back then.

We would pause every so often to take a picture...sometimes of us, sometimes of the bats clinging to the cave ceiling. The cave entrance was just a smallish hole in the ground, and rapidly became approximately horizontal. Old Timers said it ran for miles, but even back then, we had no desire to explore it that far back.

Regarding darkness, I'm about the only thing that goes "bump" in the night. I rarely roam at night without a good flashlight...except if/when I wanted to sneak up on someone. Then, it's a bit tricky to walk with your arm(s) outstretched to keep branches away from your face. I've done that a couple of times, when I knew the area well.

[Barney]

Of course, it is not the same when our main sense is useless, which is why we are afraid - my theory, at least. With a partner I have no problem; by myself, a little bit.

[oldsarge]

Generally no, but if I were deep in a cave some where and my light went out and it was pitch black then I would be spooked a bit. No so much the darkness but being freaked out about finding my way out of there.

Has anyone been in total darkness to where you could see you hand in front of your face? I'm talking for a considerable amount of time too.

[ppine]

It makes sense that fear would part of spelunking, and over coming it is a required skill.

There have been a few times with no moon, that traveling in the dark has been pretty scary. Sometimes coming back to hunting camp is difficult when solo in bear country. I have ridden mules with no moon at night and jumped over logs and waded some pretty deep rivers that are unnerving. I remember a time in Idaho elk hunting when my Dad came back in the dark all shook up because he saw some very large, unusual tracks going straight up a steep hillside (probably bear tracks). He told us all the Sasquatch stories he had heard growing up in western WA. My grandfather talked to some Swedish miners at Spirit Lake near Mt. St. Helen's that claimed they were kept awake all night by a family of Bigfoot, throwing rocks at their cabin.

I also think that backpacking solo is not for everyone because of the boogeyman factor.