Getting Dark

[spfleisig]

Let's say sunset on a random day in VT will be 6:45PM in October. At what time do you think you would need to pull out a headlamp to continue to hike on a typical section of the AT?

[saltysack]

When you start tripping on rocks....[emoji51]That's certainly a random question....but hears my $.02, I always move my headlamp to around my neck from rear pack pocket at my evening snack/dinner break. Depending on how clear the sky and moon phase you may not need it. I seem to night hike on every trip, this works for me. In a pinch I gave my iPhone in shorts pocket which has a light. Love my zebra light...favorite piece of gear.


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[spfleisig]

When you start tripping on rocks....[emoji51]That's certainly a random question....but hears my $.02, I always move my headlamp to around my neck from rear pack pocket at my evening snack/dinner break. Depending on how clear the sky and moon phase you may not need it. I seem to night hike on every trip, this works for me. In a pinch I gave my iPhone in shorts pocket which has a light. Love my zebra light...favorite piece of gear.


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The question is more about how many hours of "daylight" I would have to hike if I didn't feel like starting in the dark and ending in the dark. Or said another way, could I cover ~ 20 miles per day in an 8-hour period (no need to opine if I can cover that distance) and still be able to start when it's light out and finish when it's light out.

[CalebJ]

Your second post creates a much simpler question - paraphrased, you're just asking if you can still count on 8 hours of daylight for hiking. Yes.

[peakbagger]

To the first post, usually about a half hour after official sunset with a start time 1/2 hour before official daylight if is clear out. Cut those margins in rainy weather. If you are down on the east side of the ridge cut the margin further.

If you are staying in shelters, getting up in the dark, packing gear and eating breakfast will disturb other residents that may not appreciate it. If you are tenting or hanging have at it. Keep in mind in the AM in October the coldest time of the night is just around dawn on clear night. Hard to get motivated to get out of the bag in the dark when its 30 degrees out (which it most likely will be in October in VT).

[nsherry61]

So, I rather enjoy hiking at night, but I don't enjoy finding, making or breaking camp in the dark. Go figure.

October in VT has 11-11.5 hours of sun. It is generally considered "dusk" an hour before sunrise and an hour after sunset. Depending on the cloud cover and the moon you may be fine hiking longer or feeling like it's to dark to hike when the sun is not fully up in the sky.

So, if you can average 2 mph over an entire day (meaning no real breaks for most people who hike about 2 mph) then sure, you could do 20 miles in daylight as long as you broke camp in the morning with the sun. You could do 30 miles if you averaged 3 mph and didn't take any breaks.

My recommendation: If you are fit and think you can do 20 miles per day and you haven't done this enough before to know the answer to this question without asking it, plan on 15 miles per day (10 miles per day in New Hampshire). It totally sucks planning too many miles and trying to play catch-up with unexpected terrain, getting a bit lost, fighting blisters or a sore knee and it's kinda nice to have a little extra time.

[MuddyWaters]

I greatly prefer getting up early and Hiking pre-dawn to hiking after dark and finding a place to camp in the dark.

Unless its freaking cold then I'm not going to get up till suns up.

When other hikers hike pass camp in the morning when it's in the teens and still dark I'm like ......no

[Speakeasy TN]

I greatly prefer getting up early and Hiking pre-dawn to hiking after dark and finding a place to camp in the dark.

Unless its freaking cold then I'm not going to get up till suns up.

When other hikers hike pass camp in the morning when it's in the teens and still dark I'm like ......no


I couldn't agree more! A perfect hang lets me have coffee in the hammock all snug and smug! Most gear losses have to happen while everyone is in the morning scramble. Things are much less chaotic by the time of the bubble gets to Fontana.

[DownEaster]

Most gear losses have to happen while everyone is in the morning scramble.
This is very true, and an incentive to get odd-colored bits of gear so they'll be hard to miss when you follow the old Boy Scouts breaking camp routine.


Pack up everything.
Put on your fully-loaded backpack.
Take two steps in your direction for the day.
Turn around and look for what you've left behind.

An orange dry bag on the ground will be harder to overlook than a green or brown bag. And of these two options for fleece gloves, which do you think would be more noticeable when you're not fully awake?
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Ugly colors may be your preferred choices.

[theinfamousj]

Most of my gear is brightly colored for just this reason!

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[DownEaster]

Most of my gear is brightly colored for just this reason!
I seriously considered getting the gold-plated version of this knife just for high visibility:
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However, I figured since I got the regular knife on sale for $9.75, I'd be better off risking the need to replace it rather than spend $40 for the shiny knife.

[Slo-go'en]

You get to learn how to hike in failing light. It can start getting dark well before sunset when the trail is on the east side of the ridge, if there is any cloud cover to the west, how many leafs are still on the trees and so on. It can get really dark in dense stands of spruce trees.

In October I always end up doing the last few miles in the dark by headlamp. I turn the light on when I can no longer see my feet. For Bromley mountain (about mid way on the Vermont AT) on October 1st sunrise is at 6:49 AM and sunset is 6:32 PM. On October 31st, sunrise is 7:25AM and sunset is 5:46 PM
Good luck getting up at or near dawn when it's still freezing cold.

[MuddyWaters]

Most gear losses have to happen while everyone is in the morning scramble. Things are much less chaotic by the time of the bubble gets to Fontana.
I think most gear losses happen because of carelessness.
People dont have a routine.
When everything goes in its place, and only in its place, it stays found.

I travel 100-150 nights per year. Also try to spend 25- 30 or so on trail.

Ive never left behind or lost a single item.
I dont vary from routine. I dont put items where they dont belong. Things stay in my bag in hotels, or in my pack /tent on trail, not scattered about.

Ive found clothing, shoes, headlamps, knives, cigar cutter, utensils, stakes, sanitizer, etc etc etc that others seem to leave behind. Not counting what is obviously discarded.

[earlyriser26]

Depends on where you are on the trail. I was hiking the wilderness section of Maine in the middle of October one year which is about as far East as the trail goes. It was almost like you were out of the eastern time zone. Pitch black by 5 pm. Only one day of that hike was completed in daylight.

[map man]

The times when you can start seeing in the morning and stop seeing in the evening are commonly referred to as "civil twilight." That typically happens about a half hour before sunrise in the morning and a half hour after sunset in the evening (cloud cover can make a difference). The following website is handy for looking up sunrise, sunset, and civil twilight:

http://www.sunrisesunset.com/predefined.asp

[DownEaster]

I was hiking the wilderness section of Maine in the middle of October one year which is about as far East as the trail goes. It was almost like you were out of the eastern time zone.
If you look at a map, Maine should be out of the Eastern time zone and into Atlantic with New Brunswick directly to the north. You get morning light really early in exchange.

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[TwoSpirits]

As others have noted, there are different variables that would apply on any given day, but there is an app called "Golden Hour" (and several others that are similar) that can give you some good information for any particular location, any date. Apps like these are often useful for serious photographers, but it has helped me do some planning for recent hikes.

[cmoulder]

Another factor is location... a lot different if you're down in a hollow vs up on a ridge.