Outdoor Tales & Trails: The longest day of the year

By Dave Beck

This coming Sunday is one of the best days of the year. Officially it is the astronomical beginning of summer, making it noteworthy. It is the greatest day of the summer because it is in fact, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s known as the Summer Solstice which basically means the sun reaches its highest point in the sky relative to the equator.

Just how long is the longest day of the year?  

On Sunday morning the sun will rise at 5:24 a.m. and will set at 8:59 p.m., giving us 15 hours, 34 minutes, and 53 seconds of total daylight. It’s important to bookmark June 21, no matter what your plans or activities are, because on this day you get to do it more and longer than any other day of the year.

If you want the Cliff Clavin explanation, it’s the day that marks the maximum tilt of Earth’s axis toward the Sun, bringing the longest period of daylight and the shortest night of the year.

When I was a young pup, we would play unorganized baseball almost every day of the summer and this day was the greatest for the reasons already mentioned. The unofficial rule was the first inning to start after 9 p.m. was the last inning. Every kid in town knew where the evening sun was going to touch the western river bluffs and that it was our baseball game’s version of “last call.”

There is no known exact date for when the first summer solstice was discovered or celebrated.  The best guess coming from my friend Google is that 7,000 years ago mankind noted that this date was recognized as planting time. Again, that’s just a theory but it makes sense in the same way the other end of the calendar was noted as harvesting time.

Given that this is the longest day of the year, it lends itself well towards a great day of fishing. For the same reason, if this date falls on a Monday thru Friday it’s worthwhile to use a vacation day to get away from the rat race and get the maximum out of precious PTO. If you need another reason to hit the links or the lakes, it’s also Father’s Day so if you’re a dad the entire 15-plus hours can be spent guilt free.

Here’s another interesting Cliff Clavin Summer Solstice fact. The historic and iconic Stonehenge is precisely arranged so that the monument’s main axis perfectly frames the rising sun on the longest day of the year. Also, the word solstice comes from Latin words sol (Sun) and sistere (to stand still).

Good luck on Sunday, however you decide to spend your day. Make sure to pick something fun to do and enjoy the day to the fullest. Now if you have something to do that you have been putting off or not looking forward to doing, just put it on the back shelf until Dec. 21, the shortest day of the year. 

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook or at  ottwithdavebeck on Instagram for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at [email protected] Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @thepiercecountyjournal