Battling the Elements on a Beautiful Day
I know, right? But how?
Turns out, if it's 85 degrees out, with no clouds in the sky, it's only a facade. So on my camping trip around the Southeastern United States, I stayed for 3 nights in Cloudland Canyon State Park in Northern Georgia. It's a massive park that sits on top of a mountain, in a U-shape. So if you're at the tip of one side, you basically can't walk to the other tip, it's a few miles by car.
The morning of March 3rd, 2017 I set out on my daily photography hike. I packed up all my gear with the goal of going to the bottom of the canyon. I spent the previous day exploring the top side getting this view:
I had learned thus far to always pack for the worst. I carried a backpack, so I could just load it up with anything and everything I could possibly need in a day. Cameras, lenses, drone, cold weather gear, wet weather gear, snacks, etc... I don't know why, but the only thing I never pack is water (which is incredibly stupid). I have this thought in my head that thinks:
“I’m not thirsty now, surely I won’t be later”
Stupid. I know. Luckily though I survived, not because I didn't die of thirst but because I brought cold weather gear. As I scaled down the hundreds of steps to the lower section of the canyon, the temperature seemed to drop maybe 10 degrees every couple hundred steps. When I reached Cherokee Falls, everything was frozen. It was in the process of melting, but it was still frozen. It was maybe 40 degrees, a drop of almost 50 degrees from 30-45 minutes ago.
So...
the first thing I did was this:
It was a blast. Then I tried to take some photos, and it was damn near impossible. The mist from Cherokee Falls was dense. I was wet, my clothes were wet, my bag was wet, my cameras were wet. However, nearly all the electronics I had brought were waterproof. The pain in the ass was mist on my camera lens. It doesn't damage it (if you don't know), but it does make taking photos and videos very very difficult.
Look at it.
Look at it!
I had to wipe my lens with two cloths before each photo.
I couldn't put up with it for long.
I took a few photos, and continued on with my day. That's really the story, I know it's not much but it's a story I'll remember.
I'll get better at writing posts, this is only my second real post, and the first that I ever spent time to compose. My wife is the one that suggested writing this because I was complaining about how I really didn't have photos of this falls because of the terrible time I had combating the mist.
I'm now learning the difficulty of being an online personality... Can I be called that this early? I have a literal handful of YouTube followers, and less than a thousand Instagram followers, but hopefully it'll grow.
I guess that's what I'm betting on, becoming an internet personality. I have the know-how, I just need to find a way to budget my time. It's tough to run a website, actively create content, make sure all the links work, AND make videos to upload AND edit multiple photos per day.
Oh well, stick with me and we'll see how this turns out.
