By K. Graham Thomson
Hiking in daytime can be good fun, but hiking at night can be really thrilling.
A fine clear night in autumn or spring is the right sort of night for a hike, for you
older chaps; Night Hiking is too tiring for youngsters, of course. If you live in a town,
take the last train or bus into the country on a fine night, and you will have the most
enjoyable adventure you could wish to have.
The whole secret of making a success of Night Hiking lies in our Scout Motto: Be
Prepared. Here are some of the things to Be Prepared for :
1. Be Prepared for rain. A light hat of some kind is well worth the trouble of carrying
in your rucksack ; and you need a rucksack for night hiking ; I am going to tell you all
the things you will need to put in it. The hat comes in useful for sitting down on for a
rest ; grass and ground are damp at night.
2. Be Prepared to feel cold when you halt for a rest or some eats. Carry a sweater or
pullover in your rucksack, and a pair of woolen gloves. Put them on when you halt, and
pack them in the rucksack again when you move on. You will thus feel the benefit of them
during the halts, which you won't if you wear them all the time.
3. Be Prepared to feel hungry. The fact that you don't feel hungry when you are asleep
in bed, is no proof that you will not feel hungry when you are awake and out of doors. In
fact, you will feel hungrier than ever, because of the exercise and the keen night air.
Moreover, eating at intervals breaks the monotony, and makes something interesting to
do-most fellows find it interesting, anyway !
4. Be Prepared to feel thirsty, too. Though you won't really feel very thirsty, you
will feel the need of a hot drink now and then. Vacuum flasks are cheap enough nowadays-in
fact, you can get quite good ones if you save enough coupons ! Take a flask or two full of
hot tea, coffee, or something of the sort-and remember that most flasks hold about four
very small cups full, and therefore two flasks are better than one, if two or three of you
are hiking together.
5. Be Prepared to go somewhere, and not merely wander about within a mile or two of
home. Plan the route carefully before the night, so that you get to some interesting place
by dawn, preferably a hill top. Plan also to arrive back at a railway or bus station in
time for the right train or bus to take you back home, especially if you will be due at
school or office at the usual hour in the morning. (But it is best to start on a Saturday
evening, so that you have most of Sunday for resting.)
6. Be Prepared for breakfast. If you do not want to take food and spirit stove and
cooking utensils with you, and make your own breakfast, you can usually arrange to get it
at some farmhouse or hostel, towards which you should direct your route and this must be
dealt with when you are studying the map beforehand.
But you will be wise to write in advance to the farmer or hostel warden, or go to see
him and tell him how many of you to expect, what you will want, and when you will want it.
Then be punctual.
Cleanliness
7. Be Prepared to get dirty. If you do not actually get dirty, you will feel as if you
are dirty when dawn comes. Anyway, a good wash will brighten you up no end before
breakfast, and in your rucksack should be soap, towel, and toothbrush, with any necessary
extras for the toilet which you feel are worth carrying. If you are going to break your
fast at a farm or a hostel, ask in advance for hot water for washing (and shaving, too, if
you have reached that stage !), or you may find that none is available.
8. Be Prepared to meet with difficulties in finding your way. The countryside looks
very different at night from its daytime appearance-which is one of the many pleasures of
night hiking. However familiar you may think you are with the country through which you
are going to hike, by day, you will find it very different and puzzling in the darkness
and silence of midnight. So take map and compass, and do not forget a flashlight with
which to read them, and the signposts by the wayside. It is very tiring shinning up
signposts with a box of matches between your teeth, and trying to keep a match alight in a
wind while you decipher faded lettering on its arm.
So much for the things to Be Prepared for; and if you remember them all you will have a
happy and comfortable time on your Night Hike. Be careful about crossing moors or open
fields by night ; it is easy to stumble into a bog, get lost, or fall into a quarry. Carry
a whistle if you are going into such country; then, if you are accidentally disabled, blow
it. You soon lose your voice shouting for help, and the sound of a whistle carries much
farther than a shout.
Have an Aim
It is not necessary to do much cross-country hiking at night. The roads, congested with
motor traffic all day, are almost deserted by motorists after midnight, and so are both
more pleasant for walking along, and less dangerous. Side-roads and country lanes with
sometimes a footpath, sometimes a short stretch of main road as connecting links, can
provide perfectly good routes for Night Hiking.
Some sort of occupation or objective may be selected for a Night Hike, if you like.
This may be the conquering of a hill or mountain, a visit to a ruined castle or abbey, the
taking of photographs of some such place, the making of a nature log of night birds and
beasts seen or heard, practice in tracking, estimations, signaling, or starmanship, or
even a swim in some safe river or lake.
At certain times of the year, according to the tides and the moon, there is the
phenomenon called a Bore or Aegir on certain rivers, such as the Trent and the Severn, and
often this reaches a favorable observation point in the small hours of the morning. To
reach that point at the right time to witness this remarkable natural stunt makes quite a
good objective for a Night Hike, if you live within reasonable distance of a river on
which it occurs. You will need to find out at what time and on what dates it may be seen,
by inquiring of the river authorities.
Night Scouting
