For my birthday I just wanted to get outside and away from the apartment. Unable to drive and my birthday falling on a weekday this year, didn't lend to getting out. However, my wonderful husband did take us outside and away the preceding weekend! It was an adventure for sure! With gas prices soaring we've been opting to stay local if we venture out at all. My husband remembered a Preserve with a trail to hike we had passed by the year before on Otisco Lake so we opted to do that after lunch. I vaguely recalled reading that the trail to the lake was steep, so I planned to grab my hiking poles from the back of the car. Upon arriving my husband and I grabbed our camera gear. My camera bag doesn't have a space for a water bottle but my new purse does so I decided to take that with me too. While I was getting that my husband set his camera on the ground to help our son clean up a bunch of cans strewn about. Just then another party of hikers showed up and started backing up to park. I noticed and right away dashed over to rescue the heavy camera and lens. They apologized but honestly how could they see it on the ground. I held the heavy beast while my husband climbed back over the rail and put the cans in the the car. He locked up, I handed him his camera and we all three headed down the trail. It started gradually and then quickly turned to to a series of steep switchbacks. Half way down I remembered my hiking poles, which were still in the car. Rain had been predicted to start at about 5pm so we just hurried to the bottom. We could hear tiny waterfalls trickling around us on our hike but only one was visible. I figured I would try to photograph it on the way up. The other party had beaten us down to the small landing area on the lake. We enjoyed a brief visit and they enjoyed skipping stones on the water with our son. My legs felt weak after the climb down so I sat to rest on a log washed ashore. Most of the lake was still covered in ice but the edges had started melting. From my low perch I looked up and saw an Eagle fly from a huge nest. Of course I had the wrong lens on and by the time I switched the Eagle was long gone. From what the kind folks we met said the trail is often closed due to the pair nesting and this was a rare opportunity for them. As we chatted the clouds grew and pushed closer. They decided to head back to the car. I switched lenses and continued to try to capture some great shots, including some macros of shells in the shallows. As I was doing that it began to sprinkle. There was a cabin with a tree that had orange leaf buds in the distance jutting out into the lake that just screamed take my picture with those moody clouds and so I did. The rain was starting to come down a bit more than a sprinkle so I put my gear away. It was just a little after 3pm We headed up the stairs and the rain started pelting. It only took a moment for my husband and child to disappear before me. It was the wrong trail to do after a whole winter doing nothing. My legs were really weak in the steepness. I had to keep stopping to catch my breathe, I was trying hard to not have to use my inhaler. My eyes kept scanning the edges of the trail looking for a stick or branch to use as a walking stick. About half way up I finally found one to use! It was actually a bit too heavy but my legs were too weak and heavy or not it was my only option. The rain seemed to just come down harder and harder and the steepness of the rather short trail made it seem endless. When finally the ground seemed to flatten the car was still further away around the bend than I remembered. I was completely soaked. Then finally I rounded the last bend and saw my husband had moved the car right next to the trail head. Boy, was I ever grateful! While the hike back was unpleasant it was an adventure to remember, of course I won the wet tee shirt contest.. As we drove away the rain stopped. I wish I could have captured the fog rolling up from the lake on the other side but there was no where to pull over. Trust me it was beautiful. We need to return in better shape and remember the hiking poles! As we headed over to check on our property a huge rainbow streaked across the sky! I tried to capture it from the car on my phone. Then it disappeared as we dipped into the valley.
Please be sure to explore the available prints and gifts linked in the tab above as I have been busy switching out the photos to provide new options. I hope you like them! |
Julie MetottNature Photographer, wife, mother, lover of outdoor adventure! Archives
November 2022
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