in the last few weeks my mind has been swimming in ideas for ways to get extra miles and make things easier and lighter. a few things i noted the other day, night time walking is not so easy, and map cases are heavy. i saw in a store the other day a bottle of map sealant that sealed water from getting onto the paper. i thought it would be great for rainy weather especially on long distance hikes where maps need to be used for long periods of time. i also noted that at night i can see plenty good whats around me but not so much the trail. i thought it would be nice if i could at least see my feet. then i remebered that the photon microlights come in UV. you could very easily add some UV paint to shoes and the baskets of poles. negligable weight but you could see your shoes much easier. you can attatch the light via velcro to your hat brim and can extend many known trails into the night.

i know this isnt usually what is discussed here. but its these kind of things that i like small additions that are weightless but assist in the overall simplicity.

you completely right about this issue, the reason i brought it up is simply that im into UV stuff. i was just looking in a store the other day and saw UV/ glow in the dark shoelaces and thought that it could make night foot placement easier. however a brighter torch may be just the way to go. i may still give the Glow in the dark shoelaces a try because they could infact still be useful. this is the value, i think, for having this forum. It shows other peoples technique and helps everyone find a more comfortable style.

i intended this thread to try and gather some thoughts about other small techniques which assist in making life more simple and comfortable. i know a lot of this sort of stuff is nitty grity type but its things like ryans article about his camp/ morning routine that make me drool. i like to know what people think is the best way to do particular things, and i thought that would be rampant in this techniques thread. thats just my 2c. i do have a couple of other things that i'll put up soon enough, but id like to see what response there is first.

as for the 4mph trick, i dont think i could keep up the walk for that long on the trail. i do think i could run and fastwalk to an average of that speed. the 40 the other day was on really level ground for the most part. i hunted around on the internet for techniques involved with ultrawalking and general race walking form and learned a lot about how to minimise stress on the body and ways to aleviate the pain,which is inevitable. two days ago i put down about 4 miles on level ground at nearly 5mph, without a pack. that was quite a work out.

Edited by nihilist37 on 05/25/2005 06:46:19 MDT.

I don't presume to tell you what you can and can't see at night. Certainly I can't look through your eyes. I can only share my experience with traveling at night, and ask you if your experience is similar.

Being in the military (and formerly being a paratrooper), I've done my fair share of humping through the woods at night, pitching tents at night, pulling guard at night, etc. The first time I ever put up a tent in daylight, it was actually difficult; I was so used to putting it up by "braille."

One thing I noticed about myself is that I see differently at night. I can't see directly ahead of me; it's kind of a blurry mess. But I can see around this center "blind spot," and by shifting my eyes more rapidly than during the day, I can form a sort of composite picture of what lay before me.

This of course presupposes no artificial light, which plain ruins your night vision. Just a few months ago I spent some time at a camp near the city of Ba'qubah. For tactical reasons, it's a "blackout" camp, which means NO outside lights, not even flashlights. After leaving the Mess Hall after dinner, it was so dark you couldn't see a thing (the Mess Hall is lit in a normal fashion inside). But after a few minutes adjustment away from the doorway, I could see quite well; not detailed like during the day, but in the "general" manner I described.

I've never tried the "glow in the dark foot" trick. I probably wouldn't either, because I'd get smacked in the face by branches too often. That happens often enough anyway.

So I guess I'd have to ask you how and what you see at night, and if you've ever tried, not so much really adjusting to the darkness, but adjusting to how your eyes see in darkness. If you've noticed that you can in fact see in the manner I described (most people can, I'm told), perhaps you could use it to your advantage at night.

Phil