Have you ever been hiking and started to notice the sun might be setting a bit more rapidly than you were expecting. We all have been in that odd limbo of do we stop for the night or do we press on, can we make it to the car before dark or is it safe to keep going on this trail if there is no light?
I remember personally traveling in Arizona near the Arizona Hot Springs one afternoon. The hike was so beautiful and the hot springs were so inviting that time slipped away. By the time I realized just how late in the day it was I knew that I was going to be caught hiking back in the dark because I had not been prepared for an evening hike.
The rugged mountainside that had provided so much beauty, the slot canyon from which I passed and the dusty earth of the washes became a guessing ground as to where the path actually turned. I was more than a little worried to say the least when I realized my hike would now be one of instinct. Had I have only been able to tell how much daylight I had left I would have made different choices for the 3 mile hike back to the car.
This handy borrowed tip can be extremely helpful when determining just how much time you have remaining with daylight on your side before being met with darkness which you might not be fully prepared to endure.
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