Date: 2013-02-20
To: Night Terrors
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

As I continue to plan my thru hike, which is now only about one month away, I must admit that I have some fears. One may seem somewhat trivial to some, but to me it¢s an issue which I know at some time during the hike I¢ll have to confront. Occasionally, like about once or twice a month, I have night terrors. They regularly start with a few low moans, followed by louder moans. Shortly after the moaning begins, I will talk in my sleep, usually saying the same words several times, ¢Help me! Help me!¢ At other times, my wife has said that I sound like some kind of wild animal. And one of the odd things about these nightmares is that I know everything that is going on around me, like I¢m in some kind of semi-conscious state. If someone calls out my name, I sometimes wake up immediately; however, at other times it may take me over a minute to reach consciousness. If I¢m alone I will eventually wake up, but it¢s a struggle.Since my wife has noted, ¢You¢re going to freak somebody out one night,¢ one of my fears is having one of these night terrors in a crowded shelter on the Appalachian Trail. Not only would I quite possibly awaken everyone in the structure, but I would also be very embarrassed that I was moaning in my sleep. What might be even more embarrassing is if I¢m alone in my tent in the proximity of a shelter when the nightmare begins. I would hate to think that these agonizing sounds coming from my mouth might be interpreted in a different light by some unsuspecting fellow sojourner. A few times already on one of my section hikes, my hiking buddy Alton has had to holler from his tent to mine to wake me. It also happened in the Bear¢s Den Hostel in Virginia in 2006. Fortunately, there were only three other hikers in the bunk room that evening, and I awoke pretty quickly after Alton called my name.It also occurred at the Doyle Hotel on our section hike of Pennsylvania in 2008. The night terrors more often happen when I¢m sleeping on my back. The bed in the cell like room at the Doyle came with a sagging mattress which made it a challenge to sleep on my side. At some point during the night I slipped onto my back and the moaning began. I remember hearing myself moan for what seemed to be a minute or more before I awoke. When I did awake, I heard someone exclaim from an adjoining room, ¢What in the hell was that?¢ To this day, I¢m not sure if the gentleman was asking the question of someone else in the room with him, or if he was in the room alone. With the paper thin walls of the Doyle, I¢m surprised Alton didn¢t hear me as well from his room down the hall.When I begin my hike in about four weeks, I¢m debating whether or not I should make this sleep malfunction known to my fellow shelter dwellers. I¢ll certainly do my best to sleep on my side at all times, both in shelters I decide to inhabit, as well as when I¢m sleeping in my tent alone. If I do have one of these night terrors in a tent, perhaps those who hear me will simply think the sounds are from a solitary coyote wailing in the distance. Then they probably wouldn¢t give the moans another thought. On the other hand, if you¢re one of those nearby, please wake me. These events are no fun and may not be very healthy either. Then again one really never knows what he might see or hear when out for a walk on the Appalachian Trail.