It was 7:30 pm at Bastrop State Park and the last family called to say they were “20 minutes out.” Austin Families in Nature is an outdoors group that aims to teach parents and their children about ecology and conservation through hands-on experience in nature, by spending quality family time together. And this night, they were coming to Bastrop for a night hike. When everyone was fully present and accounted for (one family was indeed late arriving) we counted 8 adults and 7 children.
Steve Moredock and I had agreed to lead the hike in place of the park’s interpreter, Mick Haven. It would be the first time for both of us. Steve and I are part of a small army of interpretive hike leaders for LPMN that cover Bastrop, Buescher and Lockhart State Parks (and now McKinney Roughs Nature Park), but all of those occur in the mid-morning hours, in full daylight. In running through the traditional planning steps, it was soon apparent that the challenges of a night hike were different. Minor emergencies on the trail would be complicated by the dark. Because the park is officially “closed down for the night” who do you call if someone gets into trouble? Hikers who decide for whatever reason to leave the group and return to the trailhead on their own could potentially become “MIA,” being unfamiliar with the trail under an inhibited sense of direction. Changing trails on the hike route (which is routine during daytime hikes) becomes a critical step—take the wrong turn and you could find yourself wandering the forest alone in the dark. Then there’s the issue of keeping everyone together and accounted for, something we pretty much take for granted in daylight. Oh, and the most obvious difference of all—its dark at night—what do you talk about and what do you show them? Will it be like a kindergarten fire drill with everyone taking baby steps, flashlights in tow, while holding hands?
To be certain, I’ve had plenty of experience with night hikes under difficult conditions, but that was in the mountains of Vietnam with a trained group and all the proper equipment to take care of ourselves. . .not much help in this case. So, Steve and I put our heads together (with a little coaching from Mick) and staged a dress rehearsal. This allowed us to fix in our mind those parts of the trail where footing was tricky, pick out stopping points for presentations and rest stops and generally get a feel for what to expect. The reality is that humans can see amazingly well at night—even the darkest of nights—without supplementary light for navigation. Of course reading or showing a point of interest does require an additional light source. Problem is, it temporarily destroys your night vision. A red lens minimizes this loss, but it still takes time to readjust.
Okay, so that leaves us with the dilemma of a program. What did we want our hikers to get out of the experience? We wanted them to experience the park through the eyes of a number of the nocturnal animals who live in the forest. And it would have to be done emphasizing senses that weren’t diminished by the dark—primarily touch, smell and hearing. We considered the use of rubber raccoon poop but decided asking someone to taste it might be. . .well. . . pushing it. So with the help of Mick’s little bag of hiking props, the decision was made to discuss skunks, opossums, raccoons and owls. Being fresh out of skunk musk, we used pelts, a skull and an owl call. Now we’re ready, bring ‘em on!
As it turned out, Mick’s engagement had a last minute cancellation, so our group was more than well covered with three hike leaders. For the sake of the kids, we discounted the existence of bears, mountain lions and wolves in the park. We welcomed everyone to the park, gave a brief history of the place, mentioned the fire, covered the necessary safety precautions and headed out. This group was superlative. . .everyone stayed on the trail except when we stopped for a presentation, light and noise discipline was excellent; no failures to follow directions, no disciplinary issues, no accidents and full attention throughout. The kids were smart, interested and engaged, while the parents participated fully and everyone asked a lot of questions. I was the only person on the hike to fall down even once! The hike distance was about a mile and time on the trail turned out to be 1 ½ hours—I’ve had daytime hikes that took longer. At the end we accounted for everyone, answered remaining questions and thanked everyone for spending a night in the woods with their children. I truly wish there were more organizations who did what they do. By 9:30 pm, everyone was safely on their way back to Austin.
I find leading interpretative hikes very fulfilling, and I know most everyone who does it feels that way too. But there is something special about a successful night hike. The stars overhead, the cool evening temps, viewing the burned silhouettes of once mighty pines against the firmament from the forest floor, the heightened sounds of the night—all serve to remind that life is made up of moments, and moments like these last a lifetime for children. Many thanks to Steve Moredock for his incessant love of hiking and to Mick Haven for giving us the opportunity. If you think this is something you might find appealing, let me know. . .I’ll pretty much guarantee it can be arranged!