(SUTs are situations where gear that you carry with you on a hike or a camping trip, but that you may not always use, is tested under the actual circumstances for which they were designed.)
It is time once again to settle into the darkness. It’s always a funny couple of weeks as we struggle to reconcile our association of daylight with what time it is.
In the middle of summer, even at nine o’clock in the evening, we may find that we can finish one last game of bocce ball in the gathering twilight. By the end of August, eight p.m. seems to be the point at which we find the shadows lengthening. A month after that, as we prepare for October’s onset, seven thirty is when the darkness comes.
As the officials in charge of Daylight Saving Time continue to fiddle with exactly when they want us to plummet into ‘Fall Back’ mode, I have noticed that I am using my headlamp more and more.
I used to have a regular headlamp that I would wear to take out the garbage or recycling after dark. Then, for my birthday the other year, my brother sent me a super high-powered LED headlamp. It is five times as bright as my previous one, and it is perfect for the dwindling light at the ending of the year.
I use my headlamp all the time, but mostly for chores around the house that are being swallowed up in the darkness.
So, while scheming about when we would hike, friend Michael suggested that we ‘clock in’ on the trail at about five in the evening. We could give our respective headlamps a real test. I agreed to this adventure, feeling that we were both familiar enough with the well blazoned path to manage this hike.Our wives protested the outing, but we persisted against their claims of ‘having bad feelings about this.’
We arrived at our agreed time and set off down the trail. As we circled the eight mile loop, we enjoyed the twilight gathering under the trees and talked about walking out while using our headlamps.
About three quarters of the way through the circuit it became extremely necessary to unpack our lamps and slip them over our sweat speckled brows. Several times throughout, we would stop, switch off the bright little LEDs and let our eyes adjust to the complete and total pitch blackness of wilderness night.
And there is nothing blacker.
Most people are perhaps familiar with the fact that under the canopy of a forest, darkness creeps in faster. While it still may be light enough for you to see without needing any illumination accessories at your house, at the exact same time out in the woods it will be deep blue darkening to black. If you have the courage and the support to try this, spend some time in the woods during the night time. Wave your hand in front of your face. You won’t be able to see it.
Awed by the enveloping night, we marched on in silence, only stopping to swing our beams off the path to follow sounds. One sound was almost certainly a huge old owl that we disturbed by being on the trail ‘after hours’.
I felt a strange combination relief, disappointment and satisfaction upon arriving back at the parking lot. I was relieved that we had not suffered any mishaps brought on by the low and no light environment. Disappointed that we had been so close to the end when we put on the lamps, because it would’ve been neat to see certain parts of the trail under those circumstances. I felt satisfied that my personal headlamp had passed a ‘serious use test’ or SUT. We clicked off our lamps, jumped in the Jeep and headed home.
A little while after packing up my gear, I settled down to a nice sandwich and cold drink. As I munched, I reached up to scratch my forehead. My headlamp was still on my head. I had forgotten to remove it after I got home.
So, I scratched my itch and then put the headlamp on the table by my plate. Looking at it fondly, I knew it was my best asset for the coming dark part of the year. I also knew it would always be in my pack from now on, for all future hikes.
