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Walking under a full moon is the silver lining of long fall and winter nights.
At this time of year, darkness rules. And we might as well embrace it. Sure, my kids play soccer under blazing lights. But sometimes you need to experience what the darkness has to offer. And what better time than during a full moon?
Several area nature centers offer guided night hikes. Three Rivers Park District runs the most complete program, "Walk While the Moon Is Full," a series of night walks, canoe excursions and other events led by naturalists at parks throughout Hennepin County. Each month features a different pin, and you can make a game of collecting all of them.
"There is the specialness of being out in the dark, the quiet, the use of senses other than sight," said Gary Saxton, supervisor at Baker Near-Wilderness Settlement at Baker Park in Maple Plain. "We live in cities with artificial lighting, and most people just don't take the opportunity to get into a real natural setting at night."
Last Sunday, I took my three children on a full-moon hike organized by Jodi Hiland, founder of a year-old family outdoor club called Happy Trails. About 20 adults and young children gathered at twilight outside Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield. A few preschoolers grabbed sticks and ran around excitedly. It was dark after all, and it felt like everyone was staying up well past bedtime.
Just before 7 p.m., we started down a path into the woods and then across a
Then, we spotted the moon, a cream globe dangling like a Christmas ornament from a low bank of tattered gray clouds.
"The full moon!" my 7-year-old-son announced dramatically. "Ahg! Werewolves!"
And he thundered down the boardwalk into the dark woods.
That fear of the dark and tinge of scariness is part of the appeal of hiking at night. And children aren't the only ones who feel it.
"It's surprising how many parents are nervous about darkness," said Hiland, who plans at least two more night walks this fall and winter. "That's part of reason I do this.
"I want to let the parents get back in touch with something that's lost for most of us in our urban and modern world. I think it brings us all back to something very ancient within us," Hiland said.
My favorite part of the walk was when our family dropped back from the main group and turned off our flashlights. With the moonlight and the glow of urban lights in the sky, it wasn't really that dark and our eyes quickly adjusted. The 7-year-old could see well enough to climb a tree. We smelled the marsh. We heard rustlings. We felt an urge to be quiet.
If we were to do it again, we might try a naturalist-led night hike with a bit more structure. Our 3-year-old and 7-year-old had a good time with Happy Trail's loose format. But the 10-year-old was bored. It would have helped if we had brought a friend.
Or we might head off with just our own family during the next full moon.
That's what Wisconsin author Frances Hamerstrom describes in her book, "Walk When the Moon Is Full" (Crossing Press, 1975), the inspiration for the Three Rivers program. It describes 13 moonlit walks she took with her two children during one year and the discoveries they made.
The book opens as the children were getting ready for bed and asked their mother, "Do we have to go to bed early every single night until we are old?"
Their mother set her mending aside and looked out the window.
... Then she said, "No," in a faraway tone. Both children looked up at the sound of their mother's voice. "Why should children go to bed early every single night until they are old? I say, 'No! '"
"The moon is full. Put on your sweaters and snow pants and overshoes. You can pull them right over your pajamas. Find your mittens. I think they are drying by the stove with mine. Just a moment, I'll tell your father we are going for a walk."
Maja Beckstrom can be reached at 651-228-5295.
THE SCOOP
What: Full-moon hikes
Where: Various parks and nature centers
Target audience: Anyone who can stay up
Crowd pleaser: Seeing the outdoors in a new (moon)light.
Avoid: Using flashlights all the time. Turn them off and let your eyes and other senses adjust to the dark.
Tip: Change the mood. Run around and be loud for a while, then get quiet and look and listen carefully.
FULL-MOON AND NIGHT HIKES
What: Night walks with Happy Trails Family Nature Club. Club founder Jodi Hiland leads free, monthly outdoor walks and adventures, including several night walks. Sign up for a newsletter to get dates as they are scheduled.
Cost: Free
Info: happytrailsclub.net
What: Full Moon Hike with naturalist
When: 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 3 and Jan. 29, 2010
Where: Lebanon Hills Regional Park, 860 Cliff Road, Eagan
Cost: $5 person
Info: Register at 651-554-6530 or www.co.dakota.mn.us
What: Walk When the Moon Is Full
When: 6:30 to 8 p.m. Nov. 2
Where: Richardson Nature Center, 8737 E. Bush Lake Road, Bloomington, and Eastman Nature Center, 13351 Elm Creek Road, Maple Grove
Cost: $5 per person
Info: 763-694-7676, 763-694-7700 or threeriversparks.org
What: Winter Solstice Night Hike and Bonfire
When: 7 p.m. Dec. 18
Where: Dodge Nature Center, 365 W. Marie Ave., West St Paul
Cost: $7 person, $20 family
Info: 651-455-4531 or dodgenaturecenter.org
DISAPPEARING DAYLIGHT
If you've been caught off-guard by early sunsets and been thinking the days have suddenly gotten shorter, you're right. Daylight disappears at the fastest rate around the time of the autumnal equinox, which was Sept. 22.
In Minnesota, we've been losing more than three minutes of sun every day since early September. By comparison, we were losing less than a minute of daylight in July just after the summer solstice. During the past two weeks alone, we've lost 45 minutes of light, as the Earth tips on its axis and angles the northern hemisphere toward the darkness of space.
The good news is the rate of change is slowing. By December, we'll be back to losing less than a minute a day. And then the days will start to lengthen, slowly at first, and then more quickly as the vernal equinox approaches.
