33 replies to this topic

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Nice work Mr Lighthawk! Very nice work!

[craig333]

Meat bees drove me off last weekend. They're like a very small yellow jacket. What I call a yellow jacket is much larger. And I wasn't camped anywhere near water. Riley is looking forward to meeting Callie.

[highz]

Whoa! Way cool composite! 

 

Based on what I see in the image, my hypothesis is the Perseids glow green as they enter the atmosphere, then as they enter a little denser atmosphere, the glow gets redder. It looks like you have a couple of sporadic meteors in there as well, and interestingly, they don't show strong coloration. Perseids are pretty speedy, entering the atmosphere at almost 60 km/s. That high kinetic energy no doubt enhances the excitation of atoms that cause the colors. A bluish or green color is usually associated with magnesium, orange and yellow with sodium and/or iron and red with atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen. It makes sense then, that as the meteors penetrate the atmosphere you would see more color from the atmosphere.

[ski3pin]

Nice work Mr Lighthawk! Very nice work!

Very nice work indeed! Impressive!

[ski3pin]

Whoa! Way cool composite! 
 
Based on what I see in the image, my hypothesis is the Perseids glow green as they enter the atmosphere, then as they enter a little denser atmosphere, the glow gets redder. It looks like you have a couple of sporadic meteors in there as well, and interestingly, they don't show strong coloration. Perseids are pretty speedy, entering the atmosphere at almost 60 km/s. That high kinetic energy no doubt enhances the excitation of atoms that cause the colors. A bluish or green color is usually associated with magnesium, orange and yellow with sodium and/or iron and red with atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen. It makes sense then, that as the meteors penetrate the atmosphere you would see more color from the atmosphere.

And this is way cool information! Thanks highz!

[Lighthawk]

Loon Lake 2016 Part II

 

Another glorious day and more paddling on the lake was our big audacious goal.  There's something to be said for knowing you are where you want to be and you don't have to work hard to enjoy yourself.  We figured we had paddled seven or eight miles the day before in flatwater kayaks and were moving a bit more slowly that morning.

 

I had stayed up late with the astrophotography and enjoyed stretching out in the bed while SR made coffee and took it up the hill to our sitting spot.  Our site was extremely deep and uphill with the picnic table set back about a hundred feet from the park spot.  But we got to like it and spread out.  We had our shower tent location (the bath), our sitting area (the patio), and the kitchen with the USFS picnic table and bear box where I stowed the BBQ away from the meat bees.  I  ate outside only once, to wolf down an egg burrito while being mobbed.  We ate dinners inside for simplicity and convenience away from the dratted wasps.

 

Callie is a denning animal and would burrow into the deepest brush, we thought to knock off the bees which bothered her, and keep her safe.  She would also paw the earth for little cool spots.  She had half a dozen favorite lays about camp.  It was the same at every beach camp where she would dig herself a hole in the sand.   We certainly get a kick out of her behaviors.

 

We moseyed down to the shore and started paddling towards Brown Mountain an interesting columnar basaltic peak.  We weren't sure if we wanted to go all the way back to Pleasant Lake.  Several Canadians went flying by.

 

 

 

An inviting shore with trees for shade beckoned.  We did a take out and quickly popped out our chairs enjoying the shade.  Several osprey had been hunting trout and one perched nearby.

I kept my eye on the osprey while noting another mid-sized bird had landed on the same tree.  I fired the shutter when the red-shafted flicker took off.  I didn't ID the bird until later.

 

 

The osprey continued up the shore flying nearly overhead.

 

 

We were just warm enough and thinking about taking a dip when an armada was sighted on the horizon.  We never figured out who this large (commercial?) group was, but there were many of them.

 

 

There were also motor boats running to the back of the lake with strings of kayaks in tow behind.  There's a boat-in campground at the back of the lake and we saw several large groups being towed in and out.

 

We decided to head back towards camp, since the masses were all heading to the back of the lake.  We went to what we call, Osprey Island where we found a number of folks already camping or beaching.  We circled the island then made a landing, only to find a family quickly walking towards that spot.  We put out again, thinking we might head elsewhere, but circled again and found our favorite beach had been vacated.  Weekends get busy during the summer months!

 

We set up a nice spot, only useable during the midday blaze with our trusty umbrella.  Swimming in the lee of the island was wonderful with slightly warmer water.  I set up my mini-tripod and took a few photos using ND filters to slow down exposures to 1/4-1/2 sec.

 

 

 

 

Loon Lake has a fair amount of air traffic, which is surprising.  We had seen helicopters running back and forth previous years and this year was no different.  Every morning, from dawn until about noon, including Saturdays and Sundays.  We couldn't figure out why they were shuttling back and forth, since they did not have any apparent cargo. 

 

 

 

 

Then the Navy had to make a showing.  I completely missed a low altitude flyover the lake at 50' off the water, but did catch this shot of their plane.

 

 

Did I mention we saw a drone?  They were there too.  

Sometimes, when we hear all the big Rubicon rigs going by, and throaty motobikes with the heli running overhead; we call it Loud Lake.  But, we're fans of quiet places and this is not one of those.

 

We swam several times and lolled in the heat.  Callie was encouraged to swim.

 

 

Our seclusion was temporary and soon enough the family we had seen earlier came our way.

We heard a child yell out, "Hey everyone, come over here!  There's a really nice place to swim."

 

We had enjoyed our stay and were ready to leave.  We packed up and moved along, marveling how quickly our beach camps become mobile. 

 

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Our last morning was a quick repeat with a  tour of the western islands near the powerhouse, then returning to a nice sandy cove with a bit of shade.  Our needs were simple and we had it down to a science.  Deploy dog, pop out chairs with shade, jump in lake and rinse and repeat!

 

 

 

We paddled back to the boat ramp and I made a quick sandwich.  I had popped the top and parked in the day use area above the boat ramp.  We moved the truck down to the ramp and loaded up our kayaks with our step ladder system and were on our way.  With only two hours travel, we were back home before 5pm with plenty of time to unpack and check out our garden before the weekend was over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lighthawk]

 

History can be found here -

 

Loon Lake & Dam 

 

Wow.  There's a lot of deep history there, Mr. Ski!  I'll have to add that link to my blog.

[ski3pin]

Wonderful weekend Lighthawk! And happy birthday to SR!

 

The helicopter is connected to private commercial events.  The large groups on the water can be from the private summer camp - Deer Crossing Camp.

 

Loud Lake - good one and very appropriate.

[Happyjax]

Lighthawk,

 

Love your meteor shower! I have been following Davin Kingham for a year or so because of his night photography. You did very well making that composite. I hope to do as well when I get the chance

 

Maybe one day we will shoot together!

 

Truck shopping this fall..... Stage 1

[ski3pin]

Lighthawk (and others), consider taking a look at Wrights Lake. It's a little more of a drive for you but still accessible from Icehouse Road. It is smaller, more intimate, and much quieter. Boating is non-motorized, the vistas outstanding, and trailheads for easy hikes into Desolation Wilderness are right there. As with any popular west slope campgrounds, you need to make reservations as far in advance as possible -

 

Wrights Lake Campground

 

Osprey and Balds come up from the lower large reservoirs. You will see fly casters in boats or tubes. Here is a nice overview I found -

 

Wrights Lake

 

One error in the article - that should be Chappelle Crossing. It is named after Roger, now passed, who was a long time local middle school teacher. He worked summers for the USFS, many spent at Wrights. He was also a friend. A couple of those old stinky outhouses at Loon - Roger built them. They do need to be replaced.