Why you have to try night hiking under a full moon
I started walking by moonlight as a teenager in the streets and fields near the city. I later discovered that if I timed my mountain outings to coincide with a full moon, I could hike every night. The two main motivations for doing this are the adventure and mystery of night walking, as well as the practical advantages it has.
Moonlight trekking: a unique experience
It is a great experience to walk in the stillness of the mountain on a full moon night. The first time I did this on a backpacking trip was on a five-day hike. Every night I slept beside a lake, under the shelter of a rock, in the shelter of a hut, waking up when the cold bothered me. Then I walked easily for the rest of the night in the moonlight.
This meant getting up between two and four in the morning and walking the rest of the night. I was moving around during the coldest part of the night, so I was wearing a sleeping bag lighter on this trip. In fact, since there wasn't a cloud in the sky during those five days, it simply slept in the open airwithout a tent or tarpaulin every night. Most afternoons I would take a nice quiet nap in the sun to catch up on my sleep.
Walking at night means you won't meet other people on the trail. Crowded trails weren't really a problem where I was, but I liked hiking in the moonlight. But it can really be something to keep in mind for avoiding the crowds in many of the Parks -Sometimes it's good to have the trails and the mountain itself all to yourself.
You can walk many kilometres at night, without any problem with the high daytime temperatures in many places.. This should be borne in mind if our route passes through places where temperatures rise above the high thirties during the day. When the sky is clear and the moon is full, or during the three days of its fullness, the moonlight is bright enough to walk in fairly open terrain. In areas of dense forest you may need a torch to help you. Likewise on very cloudy days.
If you try, plan your trek around the full moon (if you can). Be aware of the time when the moon rises. About an hour after moonrise, you will have enough light to walk, unless it is too cloudy (something else to check).
When walking in the moonlight, I could clearly see animal tracks in the wet ground along the shores of the lakes.
Lakes reflect the moon, owls descend almost soundlessly, and animals move through the bushes as you pass. The many shadows hide things, but you walk over them, leaving these little mysteries unsolved. Trees and rocks take on a different and more marked appearance than during the day. Walking in the moonlight is a beautiful and unique experience.
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