I am an “elkaholic.” I’m away from camp glassing, stalking or scouting until the end of legal shooting time, and generally get back to camp after dark. A handful of solar powered yard or pathway lights are always in my camping kit. I set them up before I go hunting, and they provide just enough inviting light to guide me the last couple of hundred yards back to camp.

Different varieties of the light are available from just about all of the box stores at a reasonable price. For durability, look for metal spikes rather than plastic. Be sure to set them in sunny spots to charge during the day so they will work at night when you need them. These lights are dim enough that I doubt they are bothersome to wildlife in the least. They generally aren’t noticeable by anyone driving down the nearest forest service road, and I don’t think they’re an invitation to the less desirable human element. At the end of a long and exhausting day, the quiet glow of these lights provides a welcoming beacon back to camp. For safety around camp at night, I place lights at the corners of the tent and the guylines. When I awake in the middle of the night, preferably to the sound of an elk bugle, I know where the lines are and don’t trip over them.