Mist of Light

It's hard to see at night when your flashlight or headlight only produces a mist of light.

There are basically three types of night-lights, those with LED, high performance (halogen), and conventional bulbs. The main difference between the high performance and conventional bulbs is the light's brightness. High performance bulbs are very bright and consequently they drain batteries at a rapid rate. LED lights create only a mist of light and the batteries last for days of continuous operation.

When hiking at night, I much preferred to use a headlight to carrying a flashlight in my hand. A good headlight makes the night adventure much more enjoyable. I have now hiked all night using all three kinds of light bulbs and they are quite different. You might say light is light but that is not true.

On a night hike to Half Dome, I found myself losing the trail under the light of a LED headlight. It seems that the mist of light does not create enough contrast to clearly follow the trail. Without the light shadows, it's hard to see protruding rocks and even the trail. This is especially true when the trail is on light-colored granite. Using a LED light is similar to hiking in a snow white out, where everything is in a haze. On this night hike, I switched the headlight at Little Dome to a halogen type and found the beam of light made it much easier to see the trail ahead.

It might be hard for you to visualize what a mist of light looks like but if you wish to experience it, just hit the trail at night with a LED headlight.

Vernal Falls

Mount Banner

Cathedral Peak