Fear of the dark

JAG009

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 20, 2010
2,407
2
Under your floor
Wow 32 pages about being scared of the dark? Seriously? Bushcraft UK needs to MAN UP!
Just switch of your damn torch,or at-least use red filter, let your eyes adjust and you will be able to see loads.....

Josh can i ask you if you have ever been solo camping and how often you do go on your own ?


Jason
 

JoshS

Member
Nov 16, 2010
38
0
Outside
Yes I have been solo camping, in the UK and in New Zealand. More often I go with other people though.
I would have thought that having a hair shaving sharp GB hatchet and knife nearby would provide reassurance.
 

JoshS

Member
Nov 16, 2010
38
0
Outside
Hey too old for that, 21 now!
I suppose you are one of the "country people" who like the outdoors but have deep seated fears of the UK's most dangerous animal... COWS
 

JAG009

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 20, 2010
2,407
2
Under your floor
Well Josh when you have been going away on lots of solo trips at some point something is really creep you out ... its happened to me once or twice ..so when it does happen to you and your supper cool about it ..then come back and tell the folk on here to man up ...but me thinks you will change your tune



Jason
 

JoshS

Member
Nov 16, 2010
38
0
Outside
Sure I understand getting creeped out, but what exactly are you scared of? There are no lions or tigers. The most scary thing has if you are going be some nutter/psyco/criminal, and they will run when you pull out your big blade. I would be scared if there was a gang of louts looking for trouble. Otherwise, throw another log on the fire? Maybe grab your air rifle/catpault and go nab some bunnies? then you can be the scary one :)
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,815
1,511
Stourton,UK
Hey too old for that, 21 now!
I suppose you are one of the "country people" who like the outdoors but have deep seated fears of the UK's most dangerous animal... COWS

21 eh. The voice of experience. Spend weeks doing obs metres from people who would kill you as soon as they find you. Dug into brambles, skips, car boots and fields in unfamiliar territory where your friend is the dark and you have armed back up and personal sidearms with you too..... And then you come back to familiar territory where you are at home, in comfort, outdoors within a mile of home and scared of something that isn't normal. Then, maybe then, you would qualify in replying with your statement. But then, you wouldn't. It's not fear of the dark. It's fear of someone who is willing to do you harm and bugger the consequences. A sharp axe and a knife won't do you much good when you face the unknown while you are trapped in a two skin nylon tube. Especially when that unknown may be more than one person and with bigger axes.... or worse. Imagine that. Just imagine what could be out there on that night. Then you get up courage and and you go to face the person which you know that is just the other side of that thin skin of tent. And you get out and no one is there despite the impossibility of that scenario due to the familiarity of the area and the terrain that is impossible to move from without noise. You do that, and then maybe you can reply with that glib uneducated statement of yours.
 

JAG009

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 20, 2010
2,407
2
Under your floor
Sure I understand getting creeped out, but what exactly are you scared of? There are no lions or tigers. The most scary thing has if you are going be some nutter/psyco/criminal, and they will run when you pull out your big blade. I would be scared if there was a gang of louts looking for trouble. Otherwise, throw another log on the fire? Maybe grab your air rifle/catpault and go nab some bunnies? then you can be the scary one :)

Am not scared Josh i have solo camped loads of times over many years and will do many more .... but trust me when your lying down in your shelter and in the middle of the night a red deer roars a few feet from you ..trust me on this your heart will skip a few beats and the famous words will be uttered WHAT THE #### IS THAT ... thats even when you know what it is ....
Anyone who says they have not felt a bit of fear when out on there own from time to time is lying .......because it is in built in the human psyche and it called the fight or flight reaction


Jason
 

JoshS

Member
Nov 16, 2010
38
0
Outside
Animals make noises at night. Its natural to want to know WHAT is making that noise. If you are cocooned in an tent and cant see anything, sure its going to make your imagination run wild. Maybe next time try a tarp then you can see out the sides.
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,815
1,511
Stourton,UK
Am not scared Josh i have solo camped loads of times over many years and will do many more .... but trust me when your lying down in your shelter and in the middle of the night a red deer roars a few feet from you ..trust me on this your heart will skip a few beats and the famous words will be uttered WHAT THE #### IS THAT ... thats even when you know what it is ....
Anyone who says they have not felt a bit of fear when out on there own from time to time is lying .......because it is in built in the human psyche and it called the fight or flight reaction


Jason

Isn't that the truth.

I've spent more time outside in various places in South America and Africa these last twelve months, and through my life as I spent many years growing up in Kenya when my father was doing business there. In my lifetime I've heard lions a few metres away from me as I've trekked alone away from camp looking for snakes. Foolishly looking for snakes in the dark. You hear a gutteral growl of a lion that is between you and safety and accept your fate and luck within a heartbeat. Terrifying just can't convey what your mind and body go through when you know you are hearing a sound very few people live to hear. But I'll tell you straight. Nothing is more frightening than another human being that is acting unnaturally and in an environment where they shouldn't be at night with the intent of goading you. You know what a lion wants. What it does, and what may prevent it from carrying out those primeval intentions. All that goes out of the window when you are dealing with humans and their intent.
 

JAG009

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 20, 2010
2,407
2
Under your floor
Animals make noises at night. Its natural to want to know WHAT is making that noise. If you are cocooned in an tent and cant see anything, sure its going to make your imagination run wild. Maybe next time try a tarp then you can see out the sides.

I use a tarp and what you are using for your shelter make no difference at all ,,,,,
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,815
1,511
Stourton,UK
Animals make noises at night. Its natural to want to know WHAT is making that noise. If you are cocooned in an tent and cant see anything, sure its going to make your imagination run wild. Maybe next time try a tarp then you can see out the sides.

Maybe you should read the whole thread before commenting on a subject you know nothing about. I camp in tarps, hammocks and, well... nothing. I've probably spent more time alone outdoors than you've spent time outside of school at 21. My job as a zoologist is studying animals and I know every single noise every animal makes in the UK and track species that are considered impossible to track. I have PNG's with me most of the time. Through experience outdoors and through intense military training, my imagination can't run wild anymore. It's actually something I regret when outdoors sometimes. Especialy when with my little one. Imagination is a great thing, but mine has been conditioned out of me over the years,
 

JAG009

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 20, 2010
2,407
2
Under your floor
Isn't that the truth.

I've spent more time outside in various places in South America and Africa these last twelve months, and through my life as I spent many years growing up in Kenya when my father was doing business there. In my lifetime I've heard lions a few metres away from me as I've trekked alone away from camp looking for snakes. Foolishly looking for snakes in the dark. You hear a gutteral growl of a lion that is between you and safety and accept your fate and luck within a heartbeat. Terrifying just can't convey what your mind and body go through when you know you are hearing a sound very few people live to hear. But I'll tell you straight. Nothing is more frightening than another human being that is acting unnaturally and in an environment where they shouldn't be at night with the intent of goading you. You know what a lion wants. What it does, and what may prevent it from carrying out those primeval intentions. All that goes out of the window when you are dealing with humans and their intent.


To true i would rather wild animals any day ..than some nutter with a wild look in his eye ....and thats just me looking in the mirror :)




Jason
 

JoshS

Member
Nov 16, 2010
38
0
Outside
Yeah if there was a lion I would probably **** myself. Or if there was somebody trying to kill me. Otherwise, no.
If your having trouble sleeping then you need to hike more and tire yourself out. Then I guarantee you will sleep like a log
 

coln18

Native
Aug 10, 2009
1,125
3
Loch Lomond, Scotland
hey you bad boys stop picking on Josh haha, im with him, nothing to be scared of, no wait, i go camping with big Jason, theres a scary thing for you first thing in the morning haha
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,815
1,511
Stourton,UK
Yeah if there was a lion I would probably **** myself. Or if there was somebody trying to kill me. Otherwise, no.
If your having trouble sleeping then you need to hike more and tire yourself out. Then I guarantee you will sleep like a log

Seriously, read the thread. Fatigue isn't an issue. I'd suggest not ***** yourself when in the company of lions. You'd get killed quickly. Life is an experience, some people live more in a year than others do in eighty. Your are on the verge of experiencing things, but you haven't yet. You can't give advice on things before experiencing them. Go read the thread and find what it's about before giving out your lifes worth of accumulated knowledge and advice. At least you'd know what exactly you were commenting on. You can't review a book before you've read it. That's daft.
 

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