Agreed.  Like I said, in summer it gets dark late.  When it is dark, a
flashlight is usually sufficient.  When I was young, I thought I needed
all the accoutrements of camping sold at stores.  The older I got, the
less I found I needed.  Backpacking will teach one a lot about what is
and what isn't needed when camping.  David McNeely

On Sat, Oct 31, 2009 at 8:23 PM, Loren Busch wrote:

> RE: Lamps and Lighting
> All this discussion of lamps, bright and otherwise prompts me to make
> this
> suggestion.  For illumination around you camp at night I think you
> will find
> that less is more. Just enough to be comfortable but not so much as to
> blind
> you.  Once your eyes become even a little bit accustomed to the dark
> very
> little light is needed.  And in fact very bright lamps like the
> typical
> Colman mantle lantern are usually much brighter than needed.  And
> being
> blinded by such lamps is even a small hazard when you need to walk
> away from
> the immediate area and it takes your eyes several seconds to begin to
> adjust.  Try going to a gathering of amateur astronomers some night, a
> star
> party.  Any white light, no matter how dim, is strictly forbidden,
> only low
> level red light is permitted.  You'll be amazed at what you can see
> and do
> in very low light.  And think about how nice it is around a campfire
> when
> illumination levels are really quite low.  So next time you are
> thinking
> about trying to illuminate the whole township when camped think about
> turning it down a little.  I think you'll enjoy the night even more.