hike and length of day

2008-10-18 21:53:47.000 – Jeff Wehrwein,  Summit Intern

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With the colder weather over our past two shifts, it has been difficult to get outside for any length of time. For some reason I’m not motivated to go for a hike when it’s 20 degrees, 60 mph wind, and rime icing. Today the wind finally subsided enough so that 20 degrees didn’t feel so cold. I took the opportunity to get outside for a short hike before sunset, visiting Mount Clay briefly. All afternoon, the summit was in and out of a thin but dense layer of clouds forming a ceiling over the mountains. My goal was to hike low enough to be sure to see the sun set, and the cloud ceiling descended to obscure the summit as I hiked down. There was also a thick layer of clouds on the horizon, so the sunset itself was a bit lackluster. However, the moments preceding it were quite scenic.

Recently I’ve been startled to notice the effects of fall in terms of the length of the day. These days, I barely have to wake up early to see the sun rise, and sunset is a mid-afternoon distraction from work. Just a few months ago, sunrise occurred around the groggy hour of 4:00 am summit time, and sunset interrupted dinner when we could see it at all. It is nice to be able to keep a more normal sleep schedule, but it also means that opportunities for hiking during daylight hours are limited mostly to during the work day. Luckily, my schedule is flexible enough so that I can take a few hours out of the afternoon and get them back later. Tomorrow looks to be calm and sunny again, so perhaps I can enjoy the fall a bit more before the summit embraces winter completely.

Jeff Wehrwein,  Summit Intern