Waking up at 2 AM is always a truly dreadful experience. You’re either doing it in an emergency – or you’re driven to photograph far-off landscapes at sunrise. On May 28th, I fell into the latter category. On that particular Sunday, I would end up hiking up Hi-Cannon – I just didn’t know it yet.
Round Rocks
Sophie & I arrived at the trail-head with just enough time to reach the lake for sunrise if we hurried. So hurry we did. We made great time, reaching the shore in just over 50 minutes (1.5 Miles & 1100′ feet of elevation gain later).
As the best of the light began to leave us we realized that if we left now we’d have only done a short hike – and given how lovely the weather was we made a split-second decision that I’m glad we made. We were going to summit Hi-Cannon.
Marshland
As we made our way along the marshy-edge of the lake, I noticed the bit of the light that was still fading complimented the small river-flow wonderfully, and I framed up this composition of a few lone trees and the water.
Eventually after admiring the light on the marsh we continued onward and began our ascent of the path towards the summit.
Snake & Fallen
These are the last two images to share before we reach the summit. For “Snake” (the left image) the colors of the almost underexposed fore-ground contrast brilliantly against the small brook reflecting the fresh morning sky.
Fallen is a simpler image – I don’t think the composition or subject is as strong as that present in Snake but I’m glad I shot it regardless. The main tree has nice light on it’s branches. They’ve broken free of the shade as the marsh next to it hasn’t allowed any other trees to grow.
Rim Trail
The last two images were shot on my film camera (a Nikon F3). I have a penchant whenever I go hiking to photograph the trail-markers or signs. This day was no exception. After Sophie and I finished climbing up the 55+% Grade last third of a mile, I took out my camera to take a few snapshots as we walked along the summit. This was the first shot show-casing the trail we’d be taking next (the Rim Trail).
Observation Tower
Once we’d reached the summit Sophie and I enjoyed ourselves. We sat and watched the traffic in the valley below, ate some PB&Js on stale bread and I told her about the book I was reading at the time (Pet Semetary).
From there, we visited the observation tower then began our descent. As we made our way down, I noticed this sign pointing where we’d just come from and took one more shot.
I hope you enjoyed tagging along for this trip. It may have ended up being farther than I originally planned, but I feel like this part of the world has a tendency of drawing you in (this isn’t the first time I’ve summited Hi-Cannon without planning to). Make sure to join me on the next story as well!