Hiking at Night-Time
Over the holiday weekend I was able to go on a few different hikes, including one at night. I met a small group of people at the Sourland Mountains, in Hillsborough New Jersey. The Sourland's Planing Council has been planning to begin night hikes over the summer. They will be a hike supervised by members of a boyscout troop from the Hillsborough area. My father works on the planning council for the Sourland Mountains so I was able to tag along during the trail run for the hikes.
Owl Watching
The goal of the night hike is to be on the look out for owls. Being that owls are a nocturnal animal spotting them on a hike during the day is very rare. Hiking at night you are more likely to see them in performing their nightly rituals. We met the hiking group at 9pm on Friday. It was really warm and the bugs were out so I made sure to load up on bug spray. The people giving the hikes explained to us that we may bring along flashlights, but using them would most likely cause the owls to hide.
Hiking in the dark
Not like the Blair Witch Project
During the first quarter of a mile or so I must admit I was a bit afraid. It was very dark and you lots of noises were going on. I couldn't get the images from a few scary movies out of my mind for a little bit. After my eyes finally adjusted to the dark and the women in our group stopped turning on her flashlight every two minutes the hike became very exciting. During the day, when your vision isn't impaired you may not notice all that is going on around you. In the dark you must rely on your other senses. There were sounds I had never heard before and we even got to see an owl on the hunt for prey. We had people of different hiking capabilities within our group so the hike was at a slower pace than I am accustomed to but the slower pace allowed me to take in all that was going on around me. If you are ever able to take a hike at night, I highly recommend it. Just don't forget the bug spray!
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