Snoring in the Shelters
New Zealand’s Hut System
I’ve been in New Zealand now for 3 weeks. If you’re unaware, New Zealand has an extensive system of backcountry huts throughout the country. These huts serve a variety of purposes but their main priority is conservation. By keeping campers in shelters, New Zealand protects its land from unofficial campsites popping up on its fragile soil.
Just like on the Appalachian Trail, these shelters have a culture behind them. You’re expected to clean up after yourself. Courtesy to other hikers is expected. And that’s where we come to the topic of snoring.
Here’s What I’ve Heard
I first got a bad impression of this topic when I watched Dixie’s Appalachian Trail Culture video that said snorers should just stay out of shelters. She said that it was “not fair” for snorers to keep others awake in the shelters and therefore they should tent outside the shelters.
On the other hand, I saw Reddit posts and other sources that said the shelters were for everyone. If someone was a light sleeper, that was their own problem and they should bring earplugs.
I found myself wondering, ‘Where was the line of courtesy?’
Anxiety and Sleep Loss
I can speak for myself and my husband and our experience in these huts in New Zealand. Frankly, the whole experience created a load of anxiety and sleep loss for me. My husband would typically fall asleep and snore loudly first and I could hear our bunkmates’ reactions. This included frustrated tossing/turning to selfish attempts to wake him up, not realizing they were keeping everyone else awake. One woman got so fed up with her lack of sleep, she finally grabbed her whole sleep system and went into the kitchen area.
My husband would describe the same behaviors when he heard my snoring in these huts. This created a fear of falling asleep for me. I wanted to be considerate of my bunkmates. Yet, I also wanted a good night’s rest. We tent-camped whenever permissible. But some trails did not allow this. After about a week, I began to dread these backcountry huts and the nighttime experience I would have in them.
These huts, just like the AT shelters, are made of wood. So every sound echoes, creaks, and moans. That pain in your side that could be relieved by turning over? Not without waking at least 6 people. Midnight bathroom break? Plan on interrupting half the shelter’s dreams to do so. But if you’re a heavy snorer, rest assured your bunkmates will have no rest. Not without earplugs or some heavy sleep drugs.
One night at the Luxmore Hut could only be described as a Symphony of Snoring followed by a Fugue of Flatulance. I seriously heard 5 farts in a row from 5 different adults and simply had to chuckle to myself. I was in a summer camp situation with a bunch of full-grown adults and their aging bodies.
Serenaded by Bullfrogs
But wait a minute. We hear all sorts of sounds in the woods: coyotes, owls, cicadas, crickets, and frogs. Why don’t we find them unbearable? It’s probably because we see them as part of the tapestry of nature and therefore beautiful. But a snoring camper with sleep apnea? It’s not exactly what anyone goes to the woods to hear. But regardless, humans are a part of nature, too, to some degree.
A funny story I remember is when my mother and I went camping and found ourselves surrounded by hundreds of bullfrogs. Their low, characteristic croaking (or “jug-o-rum” sounds) serenaded us to outright laughter. We were reminded we were surrounded by a bunch of amphibians trying to score mates as well as establish territory over the wetlands we were in. There’s just something about that “jug-o-rum” that reminds you of a horny amphibian. These sounds were loud and obnoxious, and they went on all night. But these ridiculous sounds didn’t bother us even though they were keeping us awake. Why?
Snorer Bias
Now, let’s talk about snorers for one sec. When you picture a snorer, what do you see? You probably picture someone old, overweight, or someone with sleep apnea. My point is people don’t associate snoring with…let’s call it ‘the beautiful people’. And is that one possibility why this bias against snorers in the shelters exists? Perhaps it’s simply because people get a bit selfish when it comes to sleep, knowing it’s essential to our health.
But think about it. Can someone really help that they snore? No. Nobody does it on purpose. Do we exclude anyone else from shelters for something they can’t control? Disabilities, race, gender, sexuality? No. So why snorers? Because it’s easier to exclude what we perceive to be the minority for the convenience of the majority. But history has told us time and time again this is not the right path to take.
Most of the behaviors I witnessed were microaggressions such as trying to wake the snorer or talking badly about them the morning after. Microaggressions are destructive and difficult to spot sometimes. It’s as simple as when another hiker shows frustration, impatience, or dislike at the presence of another. But that’s not the inclusive, supportive environment everyone sets out to find in the woods. After witnessing these behaviors in the New Zealand huts, I knew I didn’t want to be a part of such behavior or inflict such behavior on anyone else.
Some Solutions
- Earplugs
- Simple. Lightweight. Cheap. They won’t drown out the sound completely, but they help a lot.
- Sleep drugs
- Be careful with these as they can be addictive and cause long-term sleep problems.
- Sleep elsewhere
- Yes, I know I just turned the tables. But it makes sense when you accept that the shelters should be for everybody and if you can’t sleep in that environment, then you’re the one with the problem.
Final Thoughts
Look, I’m on both sides of the fence here. I snore, but I’m also bothered by the sound of snoring. I wear earplugs and I try to avoid disturbing others’ sleep when possible by sleeping elsewhere.
To answer a question you may have in your head, I will not be using the shelters on the AT. I can’t afford to lose any precious sleep to this issue. But I had to bring up this topic because I feel for the other hiker snorers who want to use the shelters but don’t feel welcome.
For the hikers who are welcoming to all, snorers, farters, and all, thank you for your humanity. For the rest of you, I urge you to practice some empathy. Step into the shoes of your sheltermates. You may not be the one losing the most sleep in this situation.
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Comments 11
The final night of my shakedown hike we were in a shelter with a S N O R E R. A LOUD one. All night long. Honestly, I had to laugh at the situation. But because of that experience, I knew to buy ear plugs before heading out for my thru-hike.
Bring earplugs if you are planning to share sleeping arrangements with anyone. I learned this on my first mission trip. Same holds for shelters. Having said that, as a horrible snorer I have a tendency to avoid sleeping in the shelter because of my snoring.
I used to have bad sleep apnea and loud snoring and wore a cpap machine for many years. Wearing this awful contraption forced me to sleep on my side because of the long elephant trunk that extends from your nose. These days I no longer wear my cpap but I still sleep on my side because I was trained to . . . and for the most part I no longer snore or stop breathing. Pretty amazing. All along, all I had to do was sleep on my side! If you snore, give it a try!
Ever try sleep tape? Look into it, James Nestor wrote a great book titled Breath, the new science of a lost art. He also has many video’s on sleep taping. I’m a snorer. I tape my lips shut every night since listening to his book. it’s amazing-the benefits are numerous. Cloth first aid tape is light and cheap. Pass it on. 🙂
It wasn’t till recently, only a few years back. When the trend of “brings ear plugs” started.
It was always a unsaid “rule” ,out of respect that snorers slept out of the shelters.
2000 section VA/MD no snorers
My 2008 lash to ga-pa . Hardly any snorers in the shelter, if there was one. It would be addressed.
2015 lash. It was a mix between the ” bring ear plugs” to “snorers stay out ”
Now it’s, the shelters are for snorers.
This is a tough one. I understand why it seems unfair to penalize someone for something that is not in their control. At the same time, last year I walked the Camino de Santiago and there were quite a few sleepless nights listening to snorers. I tried earplugs, noise-cancelling earbuds, pillow over my head and anything else (other than Ambien). I am generally an easy-going live-and-let-live kind of guy, but I will admit that after a long day, it is frustrating to be awake at 3 am because someone in the room is snoring loudly. It is especially frustrating when there is one snorer in a room (or shelter) with 10 other people. It probably seems petty, but part of what makes it difficult is knowing that the snorer is getting a good night’s sleep while preventing anyone else from sleeping.
I don’t think that there is an easy answer. For myself, I don’t think that there should be a rule, written or implied, excluding snorers – that seems inconsistent with general hiker culture. That said, if I were a snorer, I don’t think that I would expect other people to lose sleep because of me – demanding my ‘rights’ at others’ expense also seems inconsistent with hiker culture.
Same for me. If I was a snorer, I would certainly not want to impose MY snoring to others (particularly in a context where people have had a tiring day walking, like on the Camino of Santiago which I walked in 2018). I would be the one who has to find arrangements, and not the other way around. Simple question de savoir-vivre.
The shelter is open to all people (except in the Smokies). But if you are a loud snorer, you should be mindful of others and seek an alternative. Probably the most important factor in a thru hike is getting proper rest and snoring can be a very real problem. As in kindergarten, we should try to be nice and find a solution where all parties benefit.
Some people can’t wear ear plugs as it makes them feel nauseous and or dizzy. That said, if you snore see both your physician and your dentist. Many people can eliminate snoring by wearing a dentist prescribed mouth guard that is custom made. I have bad seasonal allergies and if I don’t take antihistamines on a daily basis I snore. I feel that it is a privilege to stay in a shelter and this privilege comes with the responsibility to be a good neighbor.
As an occasional snorer myself, I can see many sides to this. For respect and inclusion, I would not expect or ask snorers to sleep elsewhere. What I have done, and propose others w/ issues to do as well, is build up a tolerance for listening to snoring. Not all snoring is the same, so it is not an easy task, but I purposefully put myself in the presence of snorers when I’m out; e.g., sharing hotel rooms or common rooms. I found that building even a slight tolerance to snoring can help turn someone else’s snoring into a free white noise machine. If you’re in the right mindset, meaning you’re not already on-edge, you could use the snoring to help lull you to sleep, similar to the bullfrogs.
Ear Plugs. From the comments made, nobody has ever slept in a Open Squad Bay in the Military or deployed on a Navy Ship. EAR PLUGS LADIES. I have done that. Now I use a CPAP because I’m 61. Snoring is very disturbing, I understand. Stop WHINNING and adapt and Overcome.