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Dusk on a forest trail, hiker waiting at a sheltered spot

It is getting dark on a hike and I have no headlamp

The sun is low, the way is still long and you have no headlamp – now is the moment to decide whether you can safely go on or should stay put.

First

  1. Use the remaining daylight: decide now whether you can safely finish the route.
  2. Do not keep walking in the dark in steep or unknown terrain – falls are the biggest danger.
  3. Save the phone battery for navigation and emergency calls; use the torch only briefly.
  4. If in danger, injured or cold without equipment: call the local emergency number (112 in the EU).

Call emergency services if

  • Injury or illness
  • Signs of hypothermia
  • Dangerous terrain without a safe place to stop
  • A group member is missing

Emergency numbers for Austria · Change region

What is happening

The trip has taken longer, a break went on too long, and suddenly the sun is low. In forests, gorges and on north-facing slopes it gets dark much earlier than in the open, and dusk turns into darkness faster than many people expect.

Your eyes adapt to the dark, but it takes time – about half an hour for full adaptation. Every glance at a bright screen or lamp undoes part of that adaptation. At night, roots, steps and the edges of paths blur, distances are hard to judge and junctions are easily missed.

The greatest danger is not the darkness itself but falls, getting lost and cooling down. Anyone descending steep or unknown terrain in the dark risks missteps in places that would be harmless by day. Anyone standing still cools faster at night. The phone torch helps but costs battery you need for navigation and emergency calls.

What matters: decide early while there is still light; go on slowly on an easy, familiar path; in difficult terrain stay put, set up a safe spot and let someone know or call for help. An unplanned night outdoors is unpleasant, but with protection from wind, wet and the cold ground it can often be got through well – a fall in the dark, on the other hand, can quickly be serious.

Step by step

  1. Phase 1

    While it is still light

    • Estimate how long the light will last and honestly check whether you can safely finish the route.
    • Send your location and tell your contact person about the situation.
    • Put on a warm layer and eat and drink something.
    • If you are going to stay: look for a spot and set it up now, not once it is dark.

  2. Phase 2

    Walking on at dusk – only on an easy, familiar path

    • Walk slowly with short steps and place your feet deliberately.
    • Let your eyes adapt to the dark and do not look into lights or bright screens.
    • Look slightly to the side of an object: in the dark you often see more at the edge of your vision.
    • Keep the group close together; one person walks at the back.
    • Use trekking poles to feel your way and switch on the phone light only at difficult spots, with the screen dimmed.

  3. Phase 3

    If you stay put

    • Choose a safe spot away from edges, stream beds and rockfall.
    • Set up insulation from the ground and protection from wind and wet, put on all your clothing.
    • If in danger, injured or cold without equipment, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU) and give your location.
    • Switch the phone to power-saving mode and keep it warm.
    • If you hear searchers, answer with whistle or shouts in series of three.

  4. Phase 4

    In the morning

    • Only set off once it is light enough to see the path safely.
    • Inform your contact person and, if involved, the dispatcher.
    • Start slowly: after a cold night, muscles are stiff and concentration is lower.

What to watch out for

  • Darker earlier in the forest

    Under trees and in valleys it is often already dark while the sky still looks bright. Plan by the light on the ground, not in the sky.

  • Bright screens

    A bright screen partly undoes your eyes' adaptation. Dim the screen and use red light if possible – it disturbs night vision less.

  • Missed junctions

    Waymarks and junctions are hard to spot in the dark. Check your position regularly, especially at forks.

  • Battery in the cold

    Cold and torch use drain the battery fast. First send your location and tell someone, then use the light sparingly.

  • Moonlight is unreliable

    A bright moon can give a lot of light, but clouds, forest and the moon's phase change that quickly. Do not rely on it.

  • Getting cold while waiting

    Temperatures drop at night, and without movement you get cold quickly. Put on layers and insulate before you start to freeze.

Common mistakes

  • “Quickly getting down” through steep or unknown terrain.
  • Draining the battery with the torch before telling anyone.
  • Taking a shortcut in the dark.
  • Letting the group string out.
  • Putting off the decision until it is completely dark.

Prepare in advance

  • Always carry a headlamp with full or spare batteries – even on short trips.
  • Check the time of sunset and set a turnaround time.
  • Pack a power bank and charging cable.
  • Carry an emergency blanket and a warm layer.
  • Practise sharing your location on your phone beforehand.

Special consideration

Children
Many children are afraid of the dark. Hold their hand, talk to them calmly and give them a small job, such as looking after the whistle.
Dogs
Keep your dog on a lead; a light-up collar helps you see it in the dark.

Sources

  • Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 9th edition · The Mountaineers Books, 2017
  • FM 3-25.26 Map Reading and Land Navigation · Headquarters, Department of the Army (USA), 2001
  • Astronomical Applications Department – sun and moon data, phases of the moon · U.S. Naval Observatory
  • Wilderness Medical Society Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Out-of-Hospital Evaluation and Treatment of Accidental Hypothermia: 2019 Update · Wilderness & Environmental Medicine (Wilderness Medical Society), 2019

Your situation

Terrain
Light
Weather

Matching entries

0 rules apply

No AI decides here. Every recommendation is based on a visible rule.

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Basics for this situation

Why: Always applies to this situation – regardless of your answers.

All rules of this situation (5)

  1. [not active] If Terrain = Wide, familiar path

    Move slowly with short steps and in a tight group; let your eyes adapt to the dark.

  2. [not active] If Terrain = Steep, trackless or unknown

    Find a safe spot and spend the night there or call for help – do not descend in the dark.

  3. [not active] If Light = Phone only

    The phone torch drains the battery fast. First send your location and tell someone, then use the light only at difficult spots.

  4. [not active] If Light = No light at all

    Stay where you are and make yourself heard: whistle or shout in series of three.

  5. [not active] If Weather = Cold / frost or Rain

    Protection from wind and wet and insulation from the ground first, before it is fully dark.