Traveling at Night
Traveling at night is a risky undertaking and one I don’t generally recom
mend. The greatest—and most obvious—danger here is that you can’t see
where you are putting your feet, so you risk stepping on a poisonous snake,
or falling and injuring yourself. Furthermore, unless you know the area like
the back of your hand, your ability to see in the dark—a fork in the trail
or a possible shelter—is almost nil. And most predators are more active at
night than during the day, so you may be exposing yourself to the possibil
ity of attack. Finally, traveling at night may force you to sleep during the day,
which is the time when rescuers (if there are any) will be looking for you.
On the rare occasion when you absolutely must keep moving at
night, it can be safe to travel on certain flatwater rivers or lakes. However,
I would recommend this only if you are proficient at canoeing.
The main exception to the “don’t travel at night” rule is when you are
in the desert, where daytime temperatures may be too high to allow a safe
journey. Nighttime travel in the desert can be glorious; when the tempera
ture drops, the heavens open up above you, and you can use the stars or a
full moon for navigation.
I have traveled at night in the Amazon jungle. As I stepped outside
of an old, abandoned native hut in the failing light, I looked up to see a
large jaguar staring back at me. I knew it would take me a while to follow
the dense jungle trail back to my destination, a tiny Waorani village, but
I weighed the risks and took my chances. Using the light from my video
camera to guide me and with the jaguar on my heels the entire way, I
finally made it back to the village (which, incidentally, was surrounded by
a chainlink fence . . . to keep out jaguars!). I learned the next morning that
my stalker had been a male jaguar weighing more than 200 pounds.
stroud’s Tip
When traveling, take particularly good care of your feet.
If you have extra socks, change them regularly, and avoid
walking in wet footgear.(^224) | Survive!