any tips for not being scared shitless while solo night hiking? i overnight camp a lot and have night hiked with friends which isnt scary at all but i recently acquired a pvs14 and have been going out alone at night and its been terrifying im worried about obvious shit like falling off cliffs or breaking an ankle and i have bear spray for hostile beasts but theres some unnamed thing i fear seeing through the tube that makes my hair stand up on end ive started wearing a silver cross and carrying a small bible to mitigate this but it doesnt help much, any pointers?
got a little drunk before going out tonight and it helped a bit
>>2865860>theres some unnamed thing i fear seeing through the tube that makes my hair stand up on end>ive started wearing a silver cross and carrying a small bible to mitigate this but it doesnt help much, >any pointers?Quit being a schizo little bitch. Skinwqlkers don't exist and even if they did, you little cross ain't stop us.
>>2865860Our anniversary is Halloween so the woman and I listen to old timey radio horror shows and walk through the woods by kerosene lantern light. I keep a gun on me because I'm scared as fuck of night critters and keep pepper spray for the small critters just in case they get a bit too bold.This passed Halloween a couple of raccoons were fighting and screaming in a tree as we were walking by at the end of our walk and scared the fuck out of the woman more than the shows lol. Didn't help I saw them against the sky and said "They're above you" while pointing up and passed her. She screamed and ran lol.
>>2865884shes just like me
>>2865860Wear some cheap IR night vision the first few times you go out so that you can associate the mysterious creepy sounds with identifiable objects and animals and learn their source so that you can maintain a mental map of reality when you go out in darkness Or maybe just stop being such a bitch
>>2865860If you're hiking alone, you must ditch the prey mindset. Own the woods, or at least your immediate area. Tell yourself "These woods are mine. I am the scariest thing out here." It's okay to feel fear, but don't freeze, but keep moving. Carry a heavy fuck-off walking stick, channel your ancestors; they survived the dark places and you will too.
>>2865860Carry a gun or big knife bro
>>2865914this is good advice
When I solo backpack camp I get scared of ayylmaos. My gun belt is separate from all my other clothing and it never comes off even if I'm otherwise naked.
>>2865860You should be scared, you're putting yourself in danger. There's a lot of awful shit out there and it tends to come out at night. That's the point of the exercise, really; you're overcoming the fear, not letting it stop you from taking that risk.
Just don’t be a little bitch. Pray to Christ and keep your wits about you. Don’t get high or drunk. You’ll be fine. Also, always carry a lil 9mm in your pocket. Pocket carry is always the best carry. For animals you can shoot around them and they’ll run away. For moon crickets you can aim for the teeth
>>2865860bro, get a mouse pistol. humans too stupid/mind broken to charge you after you start filling them with 9mm were going to kill you either way. animals too big to be hurt by 9mm want to run away from you anyways. just make noises in the woods. its the small fuckers that are the most dangerous. snakes and bobcats, etc
>>2865860Does anyone else sing to feel better when walking at night? I usually hum Scotland the Brave and I feel alright.
Are you guys actually afraid of the dark? You realize humans are the scariest thing on the planet, right? The only thing dangerous in that moment in the middle of the night is likely another human, one who probably doesn't have NVG lol
>>2866106Other humans and hungry bears that just came out of hibernation
>>2866106We're glass cannons, we have the upper hand in the day and prepared but caught unaware various creatures can 1 shot us (snakes, bears, big cats, large or numerous wolves)
>>2866111ThisThe most dangerous thing in the woods is generally another human. Notwithstanding regional predators like Grizzly or mountain lions.Where I am, there's only black bears. As long as you properly hanging your food if backpacking, there's nothing to fear at night in the woods near me.However, dense pitch black forest can be eerie, but that's also kind of the point in going out there at night.
>>2865860just put on your headphones that way you cant hear the leaves crunching
>i have bear spray for hostile beastsCool, good luck trying to spray a charging bear in the dark
>>2865860night hike with your dick out to scare ghostspee and shit all over your territory
>>2865878I’m gonna fuck any skinwalker that crosses my path
>>2865860believe you are the apex predator of the forest. which, personally, i am.
>>2865914>they survived the dark placesThat's because they stayed inside.
I usually get drunk
Mostly LARP responses here. "Just do x" is pointless advice in the moment. Yes, you need to "channel your ancestors" and "own the woods" and so on, but you also can't rationalize your way out of this fear. The thing you're feeling is primordial, it overrides and exceeds reason. You may be walking in well trod forests with clear understanding of predators - it won't matter because the feeling comes from the primordial forest, the primordial earth, from pre-modernity, pre-civilization. The only thing that you can do about it is:1. Exposure: You need to go out alone a lot. This doesn't completely resolve the thing you're feeling but it does blunt the flight response. 2. Acceptance: Over time recognize the feeling as innate and absolute. It's there because it needs to be and it makes more sense that it's there than not. You have to, again over time, "let it in". It isn't the same as being "prey".You feel comfortable with others because it is equally natural and provides natural and psychic defence. Being alone is extreme exposure to what's there and what isn't and there's no getting over it completely.
>>2866672Pre emptive defensive rape
