Staying Up Late? - Page 3

TroyS · 01-25-2012, 09:38 PM

There are times that we would sleep quite late and there are times when we turn in early. It's only when we're camping when we don't enforce any bedtime curfew for the kids 'coz we want them to enjoy as much as they could. Besides, it's just like what dinosaur said, camping is when you can get to enjoy what you would like to do.

Subaru Camper · 01-27-2012, 11:56 AM

Typically while camping I will stay up late. True beauty seems to reside in the still darkness and calming crackling of the fire. Most nights my group likes to stay up until the wee hours and go on 1 or 2 night hikes playing flashlight tag and other juvenile games.

Nature does not hold you to an itinerary (unless in a survival situation) and remembering this can really allow one to relax and let go.

Now, when we go kayak camping is a different story. We are usually to bed pretty quick as the daily paddles usually take the brunt of our energy.

As most all have stated I have no issue waking the next morning regardless of the amount of sleep garnished the night before. Forget the Red Bull, I'll take natures natural energy any day!

Outdoor City Boy · 01-28-2012, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgia_outdoors

We like to stay up late when we camp. We enjoy the nighttime air and the fire, and we love to gaze up at the stars. Even though we stay up late, we still get up relatively early and do all the activities we had planned for the day, and no one's ever complained of feeling too tired to enjoy the trip.

Exactly... Sitting up at night time and just enjoying the fire with a loved one is an awesome experience.

Bumpkin · 01-28-2012, 06:57 PM

I'm a night owl anyway. Add a campfire, music, a few beers, and good conversation and I'll stay up as late as I can. The relaxing evenings are something I definitely don't like to cut short.

ppine · 01-29-2012, 11:57 AM

I like the sentiment in this thread. Do what you want, and try not to miss anything. I love to stay up late, get up early and have active days. But I am older now and something has to give. On longer trips I take some great naps, and have easy days built in for sleeping late and making big breakfasts. Lying around time is not wasted. That is why it is called outdoor re-creation.

This talk reminds me of a great moon light night in my back yard. It was the Lewis and Clark party in 2006, 200 years to the day when the boys were returning home. After buffalo and planked salmon my Dad was in town and we were the only two left by the fire. I was watching my mule Judith in the moonlight. I put a halter on her and brought her up to the fire. She finished some of the hors d'oevers. I cracked a beer and she drank out of my hand. Partying with Dad and my best mule. One of the great times of my life.

Hikenhunter · 01-31-2012, 12:44 AM

usually I am the last to hit the rack and the first guy up in the morning.

ChadTower · 01-31-2012, 09:38 AM

I don't entirely agree with some of this. Maybe it's because I have kids with me when I camp. You have to keep kids on something resembling their normal schedule or the next day can be difficult. And nature does keep you to her schedule if you have excursions planned. You have to work around the expected weather, you have to work within daylight hours, and you have to stick roughly to the plan you left with someone. Even if it's just an afternoon out and back, if you have kids, you have to be 100% dead certain on daylight and then add 25% for delays en route.

JeepThrills · 02-17-2012, 10:56 AM

I like staying up late as well. There is something almost magical about the glow from the fire and the darkness of the forest surrounding you. Everything seems more "alive."

Grandpa · 02-17-2012, 11:30 AM

Too many variables here for one correct answer for me. I'm like everyone else, it's all good. If I am worn out from a long trek, I want to get to sleep before Tank or his snoring will keep me awake.

When I am hiking alone, I love to go exploring after camp is set up and may not make it back until the wee hours. I love evening walks, even if they extend to midnight. When friends are with, nothing like a fire and comraderie to enhance the evening. With a full moon or no moon, I love just kicking back and watching the night sky, but if a cold front moves in I'm headed for the down bag. When there is a hot springs nearby, a moonlit dip is always in order. After a good hot dip, a full nights sleep is about guaranteed.

Tomorrow is not in the equation. That is why the watch and the cell phone are left behind. That is why my pack always has a couple of extra days rations. When soloing, the next camp is where ever I decide to stop. When hiking with a group, I have passed to many spots worthy of just sitting and admiring for a while, just to get to some specific destination. Only the comraderie of good friends or the training of my grandkids makes group hiking worthwhile. In any case, it's all good.

TroyS · 02-19-2012, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChadTower

I don't entirely agree with some of this. Maybe it's because I have kids with me when I camp. You have to keep kids on something resembling their normal schedule or the next day can be difficult.

For me, I guess it's on a case to case basis. Apart from wanting our kids to have fun during camping trips, another reason why we don't usually enforce a curfew is because we don't need to. There are times, especially after a long day of hiking and playing and just goofing around, they fall asleep quite early, giving me and my wife some quiet time together. And usually, we're usually the ones they wake up. Of course, there are those occasions when it's the other way around and it can be quite hard to wake them up or make them go to bed.