[preparedmama]

...navigate your way through your house or neighbourhood in total darkness? I know a lot of you say yes but try it. Being able to make your way through your house/neighbourhood in total darkness could actually give you the advantage. If somebody was coming to attack you and you could move swiftly and quietly it would give you the advantage of escape or ambush over the people. Just a thought.

 

[sixgun]

There is usually some ambient light.Learn how to use it and it makes moving in the dark easier.

 

[Melsrogue]

ME ME ME!!! (arm waving in the air) LOL! My wife (although she can still see well enough to function) is legally blind and sometimes has black outs. We have a sleep type mask and sometimes we do it to show the kids what its like to be her when she has those days. ALOT harder than you think ..... especially with small dogs ... and kids who leave chairs pulled out. Nearly broke my toe once. Good thing to know ... as long as you dont rearrange very often :

Edit: oh yeah I forgot the tricks .... learn to count your steps ie: 10 steps down the hall , right 5 steps to door ... count stairs also ... use smells also for guidance (we usually have fruity/ plug in girly things in certain rooms) and road sounds if you live by a highway or something.

 

[PrairieGirl]

Thanks for the idea Melsrogue! I was thinking about the same concept (the blindfold and learning to navigate that way and by counting).

 

[test]

I'm with you. I love to be out after dark. When I lived in Chicago many years ago I would see coyote and deer right down town but if I said anything people would be like 'no way'. A couple years ago there was a black bear photographed in downtown Milwaukee and it was never seen again, though it's tracks were found for the next couple of weeks. I mean a bear! How can a whole city not see a bear at night? Because people lock themselves in that cage they call a house at night, turn on the lights and never even look out into the scary night.

I had a friend from Chicago come visit last summer and we went canoeing and fishing. When we decided to call it quits for the day it was already getting dark. He wondered if we could get home before it was dark. 'Nope,' I answered. Light or dark, it didn't make any difference to me. I know the feel and the sounds of those creeks that are around my home. I can tell the difference between the sound of wind through the aspen and wind through the pines. I know that there's a small herd of deer on the bank and that splash was a turtle not a beaver. I know where the best place to hunt is and can go there at 4:00 am without a light so I don't scare whatever it is I'm trying to hunt. This place is my life. I'm not a silly girl who spends all her time hiding in a lighted house, I go for walks every night. I love the dark.

One thing that being out in the dark has taught me is how to use my other senses. Only one of our senses needs light to work, yet most people only work with that one sense. I have learned how to smell the difference between a man or a woman when they walk into a room. I can feel the pressure change in a room when a door or window opens. I can sense that my dogs are getting upset long before they growl. I know the normal of what is going on around my home and notice if something isn't just quite right.

I think walks in the dark are a good thing. I'd rather have us good guys lurking in the dark than some of the other things that lurk out there.

Tury

 

[Ric_Knight]

I have practiced this so that I can get places without disturbing my sleeping wife.

 

[Brimasmom]

We went to the Audobon Society on a bat watch one night. The tourguide told us that it takes about 45 minutes for our eyes to become accustomed to the dark. Since we had around 24 bat-fearing little girl scouts with us we didn't get the chance to find out. Amazing how easily one can get around in the dark when there is a harvest moon present.

 

[Ben]

I can run through my house in the pitch black, have had to do it a few times, unless I catch an animal asleep in the floor then I can do it.

However the last time I attempted to run all out through a wooded area in the middle of no where was at an rotc camp called bear creek. It was a completely dark night we had 32 objective (glow sticks hidden all over the property) we had to gather 10 teams with +/- 5mins at the pickup point after 2 hours to complete mission. My team got 31 of the objectives. I would get the compass reading and run a decent jog until I thought I was close usually was.

Now that was 10 years ago outside my house or I should say my property it would get tough in a hurry cause of the underbrush situations, but it could be done at a walk for sure.

 

[firehiker]

like primary search training...blacked out mask, crawling on hands and knees looking for victims in a house...it's amazing how different a room is when you are crawling, especially blacked out!

 

[Mrbrownfolks]

Most people don't realize how much ambient light comes from urban development and cities. If the SHTF, it's going to be a lot darker that most people assume.

 

[MichaelJF]

Every evening spend 30 minutes in a darkroom before running outside. This allows your eyes to adjust to nightvision. Can't stand being alone with yourself in the dark? Purchase low (15 watt) level red lightbulbs. The effect of the red light doesn't negate your switch to nightvision (that we all posess, and us hardcore smokers abuse regularly with nicotine).

 

[msc]

I'm with you. I love to be out after dark. When I lived in Chicago many years ago I would see coyote and deer right down town but if I said anything people would be like 'no way'. A couple years ago there was a black bear photographed in downtown Milwaukee and it was never seen again, though it's tracks were found for the next couple of weeks. I mean a bear! How can a whole city not see a bear at night? Because people lock themselves in that cage they call a house at night, turn on the lights and never even look out into the scary night.

I had a friend from Chicago come visit last summer and we went canoeing and fishing. When we decided to call it quits for the day it was already getting dark. He wondered if we could get home before it was dark. 'Nope,' I answered. Light or dark, it didn't make any difference to me. I know the feel and the sounds of those creeks that are around my home. I can tell the difference between the sound of wind through the aspen and wind through the pines. I know that there's a small herd of deer on the bank and that splash was a turtle not a beaver. I know where the best place to hunt is and can go there at 4:00 am without a light so I don't scare whatever it is I'm trying to hunt. This place is my life. I'm not a silly girl who spends all her time hiding in a lighted house, I go for walks every night. I love the dark.

One thing that being out in the dark has taught me is how to use my other senses. Only one of our senses needs light to work, yet most people only work with that one sense. I have learned how to smell the difference between a man or a woman when they walk into a room. I can feel the pressure change in a room when a door or window opens. I can sense that my dogs are getting upset long before they growl. I know the normal of what is going on around my home and notice if something isn't just quite right.

I think walks in the dark are a good thing. I'd rather have us good guys lurking in the dark than some of the other things that lurk out there.

Tury

I absolutely totally nod in agreement with you Tury.

 

[GMDSS]

A few years ago, we had a blind cat. He would navigate by walking in straight lines form land mark to land mark that he could feel. Rug edges were useful, as well as the echo of his MEOWW as he walked. He was pretty quick about it, and we took a lesson from him. I can navigate the place in the dark by feeling rug edges and turning at the appropriate time. Now, I must say that it is easier to do when I can “let go” of where I think I must be. That is to say that the “map” of the place is drawn internally, sort of like the computer keyboard keys. If you think too hard about it, you get lost and cannot type. All sorts of missssspel;linmgs take placeee. Learn to trust your internal map without thinking. Or, geez……..have a tactical flashlight at the ready at all times like I do. Even if it is a small Streamlight or small Sure Fire. That would have been the cats preference also, I think.

 

[birdman]

Do it almost every night when I go to bed, to a point. That point being there are LED's on the microwave, stove etc and there are streetlights at a distance that provide a little bit of ambient light. I typically shut off all the lights, then navigate my way around to lock all the doors. It never ceases to amaze me how dark it is when I go to bed and how easy it is to see when I get up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water... (i.e. night vision) The only place I can remember being that was truly black was a cave outside Albany. That was one scary adventure.

Allan

 

[Highpower]

I tend to have good night vision. But bright lights hurt my eyes. My optometrist told me it was because people with lighter colored blue or green eyes are more light sensitive. So have better night vision. People with darker colored eyes are less light sensitive but the darker color also blocks some of the available light from getting to your retina.

 

[Guerrilla]

I have all the grace of a crippled hedge hog in our camper, but fortunately a high pain tolerance. A fox was screaming on the driveway and I wound up falling down the stairs from the fifth wheel loft, punt kicking a boot across the camper, and nearl kicking out the door but still managed to get out the door, naked; with a rifle in under 20 seconds, and once outside, I could see fine, we have all the stars up here, and full moons are like bonus days. But no, I can't navigate our camper in the dark.

And yes, I warn people about naked with rifle when they say they might drop in sometime, tell empty to honk down the driveway. Neighbors think it's hilarious..

 

[farmerswife]

My husband has bad eyesight, since he was 8.but has he got night vision and a half.He shot a wild cat in caught in a trap at midnight last week,in pitch, the cat was not still be any means.
I personally need more practice

 

[speedofl33t]

Once when I lived in the countryside I went to the movies and saw a horror film. Then I was biking home. Was ok as long as I was on the bigger road with lights. Then for the smaller one. Total darkness. Had to walk. And not too fast. Only way I could navigate was because the sky was somewhat and then I mean minimal difference brighter ahead of the road as compared to where there were trees. Else I could only navigate by knowing I was still on the road by the sound of my own foot steps. Bit freaky.

I assume it would be similar for my neighborhood. As long as there is no moon. It's weird how the moon makes a difference so much.

In my own place.... Well lets say I navigate just fine since I don't have lamps where they should be and I have to cross the room before getting to the lamps. And I have the bad habit of rarely replacing broken bulbs.

 

[Straight Razor]

Do it and done it, especially after three hurricanes....

 

[OriannaKnight]

"I have practiced this so that I can get places without disturbing my sleeping wife."

And I deeply appreciate it too... and I do this too. I can pretty much go anywhere in our apartment (expect my sons disaster area bedroom) in complete darkness... I've always practiced wandering around in the dark... when I was a kid it was a game and I never stopped doing it.

I don't think I would do very well in our neighborhood, but we just moved here. I know the area pretty well and I know I could navigate it on foot and in the dark, but not as quickly as I would like.