View Full Version : Daylight Saving Time advantage
illusionistG
03-18-2007, 12:34
Just curious....now that we have a week under our belt with the early start of DST, are we seeing thru folks hiking longer into the day thus increasing the daily mileage? If this is the case, are we seeing more folks further north than we usually do per mid March ?
When i am hiking, i dont think about what time it is much, other than to estimate when it will get dark and where i want to stop. I tend to get up when it is light and hike the same amount of time.
Logically, daylight savings time should make no difference to thru hikers. Hikers have always hiked by sun time, not clock time.
illusionistG
03-18-2007, 19:47
Logically, daylight savings time should make no difference to thru hikers. Hikers have always hiked by sun time, not clock time.
That's the point. Since it gets darker later this Mar. than in the past year's Marchs are hikers deciding to push on to maybe the next shelter or campsite with available daylight into 7:00 - 7:30PM. Thus maybe an increase in daily mileage that would otherwise be curtailed at 5:30-6:00PM.
Would love to hear from a couple of "Thru's" to hear if it's changed their planned schedules.
TIDE-HSV
03-18-2007, 19:52
this is intended to be a serious question...
RiverWarriorPJ
03-18-2007, 19:52
Logically, daylight savings time should make no difference to thru hikers. Hikers have always hiked by sun time, not clock time.
Exactly........you'll end up more than likely start later.....so....same ground hiked..
TIDE-HSV
03-18-2007, 20:03
puzzling. I thought everyone got up at sunrise, went to bed at sundown (or a little later), ate when hungry and crapped when necessary. I thought that was the point of it all. I can't ever remember looking at a watch except to see how long something's been boiling...
saimyoji
03-18-2007, 20:27
You missed the point...the extra hour gives you an extra hour each day to get more stuff done. Hence making it earlier this year gives you that much more time to get even more stuff done. Some how this is all supposed to help the economy.....for us it just means more hiking time.
Right? :-? :rolleyes:
freefall
03-18-2007, 20:28
Logically, daylight savings time should make no difference to thru hikers. Hikers have always hiked by sun time, not clock time.
It takes some adjustment to get used to sun time.
Actually, if a hiker is coming from the "working" world, they are used to a day that is, at least to a point, defined by their job and shift worked. Take me for example. I lived and worked in CO before my hike last year. I was a) used to Mountain Standard Time and b) I worked a modified 2nd shift that had me work from 3pm till 3am daily. If I then slept the cursory 8 hours (which most that have ever worked nights will tell you is almost impossible) I would not get up until 11am MST ( which is 1pm EST).
Yes, our internal clocks tell us to get up when the sun does and to go to sleep when the sun set but once you factor in the "real world" it doesn't fly. We (most) defy our internal clock and get up by some annoying little buzzer thing. ( I wonder how many premature deaths can be indirectly attributed to alarm clocks?)
It took me a month to overcome the change from MST to EST and my working 2nd shift. So, Once daylight savings hit, I did indeed have an extra hour in the evening to hike and it made a difference. That is, I used an alarm to wake me up in the beginning. I often would lay awake long after other hikers went to sleep but eventually overame this as I grew accustomed to EDT in April.
That's the point. Since it gets darker later this Mar. than in the past year's Marchs are hikers deciding to push on to maybe the next shelter or campsite with available daylight into 7:00 - 7:30PM. Thus maybe an increase in daily mileage that would otherwise be curtailed at 5:30-6:00PM.
Would love to hear from a couple of "Thru's" to hear if it's changed their planned schedules.
That would depend on how quickly the individual hiker got used to the time change ( and eliminated it all together by getting on biological time).
In the end, it all comes down to how quickly a hiker can overcome their battle with the alarm clock. In the beginning they should benefit from the "extra hour" but eventually, it becomes a non-issue. Those that live on the east coast ( or in EST) and work a job that starts in the early morning have it the easiest as far as time transition.
I personally have to replace my alarm clock frequently. I become accustomed to the noise and ignore it then move it to a different location. Even then I end up wearing out the snooze button. So, eventually, I get a new alarm that has a sound I am not used to waking up to.
Now, if you were say, from Hawaii, and started a winter hike of the AT in say November, you'd be golden on the daylight issue. Get all the morning camp chores done before the sun even breaks the horizon, hiking by sunrise...:D
Midway Sam
03-18-2007, 20:32
You missed the point...the extra hour gives you an extra hour each day to get more stuff done. Hence making it earlier this year gives you that much more time to get even more stuff done. Some how this is all supposed to help the economy.....for us it just means more hiking time.
Right? :-? :rolleyes:
There is no "extra hour". I mean, the sun isn't up an hour longer all of the sudden. All that happens is that humans adjust their time pieces so that the little hand is pointing to a different number when the sun comes up and when it goes down.
freefall
03-18-2007, 20:32
puzzling. I thought everyone got up at sunrise, went to bed at sundown (or a little later), ate when hungry and crapped when necessary. I thought that was the point of it all. I can't ever remember looking at a watch except to see how long something's been boiling...
You my friend, live in a "perfect world". ( unless you were being sarcastic, then, nevermind:D)
The world would be a much better place if we ran on biologic time rather than manufactured time. :-?
saimyoji
03-18-2007, 21:24
You missed the point...the extra hour gives you an extra hour each day to get more stuff done. Hence making it earlier this year gives you that much more time to get even more stuff done. Some how this is all supposed to help the economy.....for us it just means more hiking time.
Right? :-? :rolleyes:
There is no "extra hour". I mean, the sun isn't up an hour longer all of the sudden. All that happens is that humans adjust their time pieces so that the little hand is pointing to a different number when the sun comes up and when it goes down.
.....:-? :rolleyes:....
You missed the point...the extra hour gives you an extra hour each day to get more stuff done. Hence making it earlier this year gives you that much more time to get even more stuff done. Some how this is all supposed to help the economy.....for us it just means more hiking time. Right? :-? :rolleyes:
As hard as it may try, Congress has been unable to change the hours of daylight -- only the time those hours are recorded on our watches. That means that those who walk during the daylight hours and do camp chores and sleep before the sun rises and after it starts to fade, won't notice any difference, no matter what Congress may decree.
The few hikers who insist on getting up by watch time, not sun time, will have more hours to hike. I doubt if all the rest of us -- 99.99 % -- of the total, won't notice the difference.
That's the way with laws.
Weary
saimyoji
03-18-2007, 22:34
As hard as it may try, Congress.....
Not sure the tone of your reply.... my reply to MidwaySam was to repeat my sarcastic thinking guys to show I was being sarcastic....not sure if I need to do that here.....:-?
...oh well...:o
TIDE-HSV
03-18-2007, 23:51
the disconnect just occurred to me. I haven't set an alarm clock in at least 40 years. Since I'm up at least as soon as daylight each day, there's no transition to make when I'm hiking. OTOH, the early DST does cramp me from the standpoint that I have to get my hour or so of exercise in and still make it to work to match up with the folk who've been hitting the snooze button several times. I still don't like it. I don't think it saves energy, and I think, after an interval, it will be repealed. The data behind it is "junk science."
freefall
03-19-2007, 01:56
I still don't like it. I don't think it saves energy, and I think, after an interval, it will be repealed. The data behind it is "junk science."
Do you have sources tha it is "junk science"?:-?
freefall
03-19-2007, 02:03
I doubt if all the rest of us -- 99.99 % -- of the total, won't notice the difference.
That's the way with laws.
Weary
While I respect most of what you say, I disagree with the 99.99% issue. There are a lot of hikers from places other than the east coast and they have to "acclimate" to the daylight time change. It is not a "flip the switch" thing, so at the beginning, the time change does help hikers that are not from the east coast.
smokymtnsteve
03-22-2007, 14:34
Alaska has daylight savings time for some reason unknown to me..we already have about 14 hours of day light here in Healy now and we're gaining about 7 minutes a day until we have over 21 hours of DL by solstice,,so why do we have DL savings time..stooopid:rolleyes:
You missed the point...the extra hour gives you an extra hour each day to get more stuff done. Hence making it earlier this year gives you that much more time to get even more stuff done. Some how this is all supposed to help the economy.....for us it just means more hiking time. Right? :-? :rolleyes:
It's a bitch, isn't it. I can't believe the number of uncomprehending readers participating in these forums. They don't notice my sarcasm either.
Weary
Its a bitch all right.
DLST means that NOBOs get kicked out of their B&Bs earlier, and are forced back to the Trail for more hours in the rain.
Better for SOBOs. But mostly because they aren't addicted to clean sheets and TV so much.
Like usual, Weary speaks the truth.
TIDE-HSV
03-22-2007, 19:45
the whole idea of backpacking is to set one's self free from artificial constraints of civilization to the greatest degree possible. One of those constraints is the artificial "time zone" method, which ignores, basically, when the sun comes up and goes down. Sun time is backpacking time. End of that story. Anyone needing clock time for anything other than measuring cooking time, or determining civvy time for things like post office closing time, has missed the entire point of "when shall I eat; when and where shall I sleep; when and where shall I crap." Don't look at your watch for the answer. Look at the sun and sky...
saimyoji
03-22-2007, 20:12
It's a bitch, isn't it. I can't believe the number of uncomprehending readers participating in these forums. They don't notice my sarcasm either.
Weary
Hmmm??? I don't get it. :-?