Night Hike, Bright Hike!
        The conditions Friday night were perfect for a night hike through the forest at West Point on the Eno.  Although some of the younger hikers wore shorts, most of us bundled up for the 46 degree chilly night and took to the trails.  We left behind our flashlights and navigated with nothing but the light of the moon and the night vision monocular that Chris brought along.                                                                                  
          As we started the hike, we were sure we heard the footsteps of a deer running through the leaves just across the bridge.  We all got quiet, but the deer was on to us...there was no chance it was going to let us spot it.  Before we could blink, it ran for the hills!  As we hiked into the woods, our eyes slowly adjusted, and with the help of the moon it felt like we were in a spot light.  Like many nocturnal animals, the rods in our eyes picked up low levels of light and allowed us to see objects and movement.                
          As we reached half way, I passed out some slips of colored construction paper with the hope of proving that our night vision does not see colors.  I challenged everyone to guess the color of their slip of paper and even allowed them to compare to the paper of people around them.  I thought for sure the moon was going to help us cheat...I was keeping my fingers crossed that the moonlight didn't stimulate the cones in our eyes too much allowing us to see the color.  We put the paper in our pockets  and didn’t look at it until we got back to the EE center.                  
          Upon returning to the EE center, we all pulled out our paper and to my surprise, almost nobody guessed right.  I would have put money down on my guess that my paper was green, but in the light it was blue!  Many nocturnal animals have eyes that are adapted to night vision, it’s a good thing an owl doesn’t need to know what color the mole is that it swoops down to catch!                                                                    
          Thanks to everyone who attended, perhaps you will take a night hike again and spot some wildlife...just remember to stay quiet and leave your flashlights behind!     
          Our next night program will be on March 9 and will be a Moonlight Paddle.  Contact us if you are interested