Day: March 6, 2026

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SOLAR LANTERNS, LED HEADLAMPS, and other cool gadgets | Alaska In Winter (off grid living)

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Living off the grid we use solar lanterns, LED headlamps and flashlights for everything. Especially here in Alaska in the winter!!! We wake up hours before the sunrise and then halfway through the day wonder what to vlog about.... So we made this poorly lit video to show you all what goes on around the lodge while it's still dark. The sun is in the sky for less than 4 hours so we have plenty of darkness to test out the good, the bad, and the handiest lighting gadgets.

I don't know, with 20 odd hours of darkness, I think I would want a bigger battery bank, more solar and a generator. Headlamps and solar lights are fine, but I can't imagine spending so much of my day in the darkness, without a little more light, especially a golden warm white light. 💡Maybe you get a bit of it from sitting next to wood stove.  Regardless, it has to be a heck of a life living off-grid in Alaska.

My winter sleeping problems return.

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This winter I’ve developed a problem I often have by the second half of the winter – trouble sleeping. I can get to bed at a reasonable hour but I still have problems getting to sleep and and then waking up early in morning and then not being able to get back to sleep.

Tired Dog

Spending time out in the wilderness is the best treatment I know of for sleeping troubles. I need to plan at least a night or two hot tenting before the month is done. March it might be mild enough to truck cap camp or maybe some time in a lean to. Real darkness, the light next to the fire helps enormously.

Roaring campfire

I’ve tried keeping the lights dimmed in my bedroom in the evening, using more red light to counteract the impact of blue and UV light from screwing with sleep. That helps as does having the lights dim automatically as the night progresses and it’s the time I should be getting to sleep. That feature is still being rebuilt on the new microcontroller.

But it’s still not as good as good natural air that you get with windows open or camping in the wilderness. I’m sure though it won’t be that long until those days return.

Open Window

Today’s Almanac for Friday March 6

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Today’s Almanac

Night before dawn is 5 hours and 54 minutes,
Dawn starts at 5:54 am and runs for 28 minutes,
Sunrise is at 6:22 am which is 5 hours and 37 minutes before noon,
High noon, the transit of the sun, is at 12:06 pm,
From twelve noon to the sunset at 5:51 pm is 5 hours and 51 minutes,
Dusk lasts for 31 minutes concluding at 6:19 pm,
Leaving 5 hours and 40 minutes until midnight.

Bright And White

Percent of Town Landmass Developed

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It varies a lot by town, by many of the Upstate towns are largely open space consisting of farms and forests. This analysis using NLCD 2016, includes only landmass and excludes waterways.

Percent of Town Landmass Developed