Less daylight every day now

[Ear Drum]

I'm planning a trip to hike and camp at Moose Brook SP with my adult kids and their significant others next weekend. Looked up the sunset time, and while I know and observe that it's been changing rapidly, it's somewhat astonishing to see how fast the time is changing now -- from 7:24pm today to 7:11pm in just a week. Enjoy the light while it's here.

From https://sunrisesunset.willyweather.com/nh/coos-county/gorham.html

 

[DayTrip]

There's always that moment for me somewhere in mid August where this inescapable truth sneaks up and hits me over the head. "Aw crap. Summer is over."

 

[Hachi]

Loving the cooler weather, hating the shorter days because I am a slow hiker. (I don't do anything particularly fast, but I tend to dawdle when I hike.)

 

[DavidG]

For me it's when I wake up and the birds have stopped singing in the morning.
The silent mornings drive it home.

 

[Nessmuk]

We're on a sine wave curve with slowest change peaks and velleys at the solstices. Near the equinox we are on the steepest fastest changing slope portion of the sine curve where the change is in one direction only.

 

[sierra]

Fine by me, tough summer on the trails for my dog, too hot. Cold temps, K10's and fast hikes here we come. I don't even take vacations in the summer anymore.

 

[Ear Drum]

There's always that moment for me somewhere in mid August where this inescapable truth sneaks up and hits me over the head. "Aw crap. Summer is over."

Indeed, my summer ended this past Tuesday at 2pm with teaching my first class...

 

[Ear Drum]

Loving the cooler weather, hating the shorter days because I am a slow hiker. (I don't do anything particularly fast, but I tend to dawdle when I hike.)

Gotta start early! I also dawdle, and considered Dawdler for my screen name here.

 

[Ear Drum]

For me it's when I wake up and the birds have stopped singing in the morning.
The silent mornings drive it home.

I have a rooster. He doesn't shut up until I go open his pen.

 

[Ear Drum]

We're on a sine wave curve with slowest change peaks and velleys at the solstices. Near the equinox we are on the steepest fastest changing slope portion of the sine curve where the change is in one direction only.

Yes, I love that visualization of the differing rates of change.

 

[Ear Drum]

Fine by me, tough summer on the trails for my dog, too hot. Cold temps, K10's and fast hikes here we come. I don't even take vacations in the summer anymore.

For sure, much prefer the winter weather for hiking. I also have an Aussie who prefers the cold too.
I have many days blocked off for potential hiking trips to the Whites this winter, to attempt to wrap up my winter 48 (have 18 to go, so it's within reach -- keeping in mind I have a 4-5 hour drive each way).

 

[JoshandBaron]

For me it's when I wake up and the birds have stopped singing in the morning.
The silent mornings drive it home.

I have a rooster who can fix that problem.

 

[DavidG]

I have a rooster who can fix that problem.

When it migrates let me know

 

[DayTrip]

Fine by me, tough summer on the trails for my dog, too hot. Cold temps, K10's and fast hikes here we come. I don't even take vacations in the summer anymore.

The heat was definitely a factor this Summer. It impacted some of my plans.

I generally like all the seasons and the pluses and minuses each offers But those long days where it's light after 9PM and again before 4AM are special. Love putting in a huge day and having it be light out the whole time or being able to bivy on a mountain and get a sunset, moonrise and sunrise in a span of about 6 hours.

For me mid-August to the end of September is the perfect time of year. Still a good amount of daylight, it's drier but still warm during the day with cooler crisp nights, and bugs have largely gone away.

 

[Grey J]

I've usually had good luck with NH weather when visiting in mid-August over the years. For several years, I visited in September and the days were shorter and the air was cooler. The last 10 years or so, I've had hotter weather than in the past. I got seriously fried on The Baldfaces on a hot day. Nice temps in the mid-70s on my visit this year with just a little rain. No problem with short days in August but then my day hikes are not much of a risk for being out late. We hit 100 here on Thursday and it was 96 yesterday. Could use some cool mountain air.

 

[Lone Stranger]

Getting ready for a SOBO Long Trail in a few weeks. This quote is from the top of my trail plan

Sunrise/sunset for N Troy on Sep 19th 2024 are 6:33am-6:54pm 12h20m. Sunrise/sunset for Manchester Center on Oct 11th are 7:01am-6:17pm 11h15m.

Even heading south I will lose over an hour of daylight over those three weeks. Definitely different from going in June as the notes from my '22 hike reflect.

Sunrise/sunset for Jay on June 5th 2022 are 5:04am-8:32pm. Sunrise/sunset for Manchester Center on June 26th are 5:14am-8:36pm or about 15.5 the entire 3 weeks.

 

[NH2112]

Same here, I’ve started to look longingly at my snowshoes when I go in my gear room and I’m packing a training pack for winter very soon. With the temps going down I’ll be able to go climb some hills with it after work without sweating myself the rest of the way to death after a brutal day in the shop.

 

[TomK]

The gumment has been making us "save daylight" since the middle of March, right? If you are running short of daylight, why not just withdraw some of that saved daylight, and you should be all set. Right?

TomK

 

[Daniel Eagan]

Better without bugs.

I really like Moose Brook SP.

 

[Ear Drum]

Better without bugs.

I really like Moose Brook SP.

Yes, much nicer without bugs.
I recently stayed at Moose Brook SP for the first time, and really liked it - very clean, tidy, good conversations with the rangers in the office - they noted the place tends to draw hikers who go to sleep early. Talked with some good fellow campers, inc two Quebecers who'd been coming there for 40 years. Not too noisy, aside from some engine-breaking trucks early in the morning (overall much less highway noise than over at Dry River Campground where I often stay).
We'll be back - tomorrow in fact. My adult kids are slowing working through the 48.