Originally posted by ShaftAlmighty:

*Avoid caves until you have upgraded Troll Armor. That is my personal advice. Until you shore up your base and supplies, you won't really have a need for what's in caves.

Caves (and their entrances) are still useful as temporary camps. Enter a cave in stealth mode by the right side, and stop several seconds to assess whether it's inhabited or not.

Originally posted by CritMasterFlex:

Do NOT explore at night. Sleep through the night if you can.

By the coast, some flat rocks are almost always safe to light a campfire and wait here until dawn, cooking the meat of the day and just resting. Deep in the land, if surprised by night, look for those locations in this order:

1. Known caves or burrial chambers with no denizen inside (in main room for chambers): you can safely set up a campfire, cook and rest until dawn;
2. Unknown caves or burrial chambers: stay outside under stone cover, and don't set up any fire, just stay quiet in stealth mode and go "afaik" until dawn. Night spawns won't see you if you hide in the entrance of a burrial chamber, for example;
3. A cluttered place, either by trees or rocks, preferably in a hollow, so as to break a maximum of lines of sight from night spawners who are reasonably far away. Backed to a large stone is better. Stay quiet and stealthy.