Day 3 September 16, 2020

I woke up after another wonderful night of wilderness sleep and was determined to do as little as possible today. I had three liters of filtered water and another four in the gravity filter, so I wasn't even going to get in the canoe today. Again, I know not for everybody, but I enjoy my lazy camp days. The clouds and haze finally lifted around noon, and it just became absolutely beautiful. A group of four people in two canoes paddled by about that time, but those were the first people I had seen since two evenings before on Gillis.

I had a clear night and sat facing south with my panoramic view to watch the stars come out. I made notes to remind myself of the wonderful experience of watching the landscape and night sky as the sun sets and we move from civil to nautical to astronomical twilight and finally into as dark as it's going to get. Jupiter was the first object to pop in the south once the sun set, and then it was just a slow progression of beautiful blues and pinks yielding to ever more noticeable celestial bodies. Amid the waves intermittently lapping on the shore, the occasional cry of a loon, and moments of seemingly complete silence, it became clear that I had a pretty good seat for the show.

Once astronomical twilight ended, I took a few shots of the Milky Way, admired the countless stars, and retired. It got cold that night, but I was (once again) snug as bug. I was zipped up in my sleeping bag in my full base layer all night, so I'm guessing it might have gotten down close to freezing. I felt grateful and fortunate all day and night.

These guys were fishing near my campsite as it was still hazy from the smoke.

The haze started to lift around noon.

By 3 PM I had to seek some shade under my tarp.

Vista view from campsite 819 looking east.

Same vista view, a little more north.

I guess this is why they call it “golden hour.”

It was shaping up to be a calm, beautiful night.

Finally a little payoff for lugging the tripod and heavy glass through the wilderness!