Must be this accident: https://www.princegeorgecitizen.com...-branch-kills-man-at-paddlewheel-park-4206969
Fear of the dark
- Thread starter taws6
- Start date
new member here....i wild camp a lot...alone as it clears my mind.
i guess not believing in gods,ghosts or monsters is why the darkness never was an equation to me?.....it gets dark...it gets light.....not much help i know but there really is nothing to fear.
i guess not believing in gods,ghosts or monsters is why the darkness never was an equation to me?.....it gets dark...it gets light.....not much help i know but there really is nothing to fear.
i was really enjoying readin this thread. then i remembered that i live in a tent in the back of beyond and then i ceased to enjoy it.
There is a hell of a difference between being frightened and being startled.
I’m not frightened of being alone in my tent at night - it’s how I always camp. (There may occasionally be a friend or relatives in another tent nearby)
A sudden unexpected noise can startled me until I rationalise it, roll over and go back to sleep.
Long ago a cow tried to sleep against my little tent and popped both poles up through their holes. That was scary but it wasn’t fear of camping and it didn’t effect the rest of a trip across Ireland once we’d fixed the holes. To be fair it wasn’t all that dark.
More recently I was careless and my tipi blew down over me in the pitch dark. Again startling but not frightening. It hasn’t affected my attitude to camping.
I’m not frightened of being alone in my tent at night - it’s how I always camp. (There may occasionally be a friend or relatives in another tent nearby)
A sudden unexpected noise can startled me until I rationalise it, roll over and go back to sleep.
Long ago a cow tried to sleep against my little tent and popped both poles up through their holes. That was scary but it wasn’t fear of camping and it didn’t effect the rest of a trip across Ireland once we’d fixed the holes. To be fair it wasn’t all that dark.
More recently I was careless and my tipi blew down over me in the pitch dark. Again startling but not frightening. It hasn’t affected my attitude to camping.
Speaking of fear of the dark: I find if you do not switch on your torch and let your eyes get used to the dark, fully, this seems to alleviate the tension. I think its because you get used to the changing light at a natural rate and you can actually see instead of going from bright light to pitch black(seeing nothing) at the flick of a switch . My 10 year old will shine his torch at every noise or anything else he thinks he can hear/see but if we agree not to use torches unless absolutely necessary, he is much more comfortable. It also seems that he becomes more anxious of the darkness outside the beam of light if let loose with his torch. Practice light discipline and limit the use of torch light or use something with a low setting or even a red light.
I do not fear the dark. What I do fear is other people crawling around the environs intent on mischief.
This time of year I'm wary of deer and stags, but its only for a few weeks. Wildlife can make me jump, such as a startled pheasant, but I'm more scared in a lit town with traffic to be honest. I like being in the countryside at night, and as has been said earlier, it's amazing what you can see when you allow your night vision to develop. I like the enveloping blanket of darkness.
This time of year I'm wary of deer and stags, but its only for a few weeks. Wildlife can make me jump, such as a startled pheasant, but I'm more scared in a lit town with traffic to be honest. I like being in the countryside at night, and as has been said earlier, it's amazing what you can see when you allow your night vision to develop. I like the enveloping blanket of darkness.
fireand the realisation that your probably the scariest thing in there
Glancing at my WWGWWD bracelet I am reminded:
Hubble bubble, toil and trouble.........
(Wagglelance...sorry, Shakespeare I believe)
Cackle cackle cackle!
I am unusually pretty comfortable in the dark alone, sometimes I have have realised that I'm just not "up for it".
I'm not a Cave diver but the CDG (UK Cave diving group) have an interesting incident analysis where a common theme was that the diver was not in a fit mental state prior to the near-miss/incident. It's a bit of an extreme example but how you are feeling before you even go out in the dark can make a huge difference.
I used to dive a lot at night and the unwritten rule was if something bumps you and you don't look it didn't happen! I think a lot of my old colleagues had the advantage of very little imagination.
Until he died my cat would come with me sometimes (he always does now). He was a chicken and ended up standing on my head going "What the frak was that?". I was then either chuckling or trying to get his claws out of my scalp.
“Dad there is something outside!”
Once he was asleep a hurricane would not disturb him.
I'm not a Cave diver but the CDG (UK Cave diving group) have an interesting incident analysis where a common theme was that the diver was not in a fit mental state prior to the near-miss/incident. It's a bit of an extreme example but how you are feeling before you even go out in the dark can make a huge difference.
I used to dive a lot at night and the unwritten rule was if something bumps you and you don't look it didn't happen! I think a lot of my old colleagues had the advantage of very little imagination.
Until he died my cat would come with me sometimes (he always does now). He was a chicken and ended up standing on my head going "What the frak was that?". I was then either chuckling or trying to get his claws out of my scalp.
“Dad there is something outside!”
Once he was asleep a hurricane would not disturb him.
I really enjoyed reading this thread from the beginning to end. I do believe some things have no rational explanation. My Mother tells a story when my brother was a baby she heard footsteps upstairs whilst she was sat on the sofa with my Dad. Knowing no-one else was in the house they both went to investigate and saw my brothers lips were Blue and he was struggling to breath, he was okay after calling the doc I can't recall what the reason was. My Mothers Grandad had passed away that day and she thinks it was him letting them know something was wrong with the baby which I like to think was true.
I've had one or two weird experiences. Back when I was a homeless 17 Yr old, I used to sleep in several open straw filled barns in the area. I had a favourite which I always felt very safe in. One night, I settled down in my little nest, but felt uneasy, I just could not put my finger on it. Nothing was around to give me any reason to worry but I just could not shake that feeling. Eventualy, soon after midnight, I packed up my few belongings, got on my little moped and moved to another barn about 4 miles away, settled down fine, just as a thunderstorm started. I went to sleep, and awoke the next morning feeling fine.
I went into the local cafe to get a cup of tea, as in those days I had no stove. I was told the barn I had origionaly been in, had been hit by lightning and burnt down. I later learned the strike, and the fire had started, had been in the very corner of the barn I had been snuggled down in.
Another time, about 15 yrs ago, I decided to have a night off from mummyhood, and spend the night at a local camping barn. I was the only occupant. (Not for the first time)
I started to feel very twitchy. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but, I could not shake the feeling I was being watched, that had started as I neared the barn. I lit the fire, made a meal, and put the little radio on that I carried for company. The feeling just stayed with me, and my instincts told me to get out and go home, so I packed up my stuff and started for home in the pitch black. Now I felt sure I was being stalked fro. Just the other side of the hedge. I tried telling myself it was my stupid imagination, but I made it home, i covered that distance very quickly!.(about two miles)
A few days later there was a report of a big cat being sighted only 3 miles away from the camping barn, an hour or so earlier, on that very night.
I went into the local cafe to get a cup of tea, as in those days I had no stove. I was told the barn I had origionaly been in, had been hit by lightning and burnt down. I later learned the strike, and the fire had started, had been in the very corner of the barn I had been snuggled down in.
Another time, about 15 yrs ago, I decided to have a night off from mummyhood, and spend the night at a local camping barn. I was the only occupant. (Not for the first time)
I started to feel very twitchy. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but, I could not shake the feeling I was being watched, that had started as I neared the barn. I lit the fire, made a meal, and put the little radio on that I carried for company. The feeling just stayed with me, and my instincts told me to get out and go home, so I packed up my stuff and started for home in the pitch black. Now I felt sure I was being stalked fro. Just the other side of the hedge. I tried telling myself it was my stupid imagination, but I made it home, i covered that distance very quickly!.(about two miles)
A few days later there was a report of a big cat being sighted only 3 miles away from the camping barn, an hour or so earlier, on that very night.
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