REFRACTIONARY

In lieu of our accustomed Mainecation, this year we took three days to “glamp” at Tully Lake. The young master called it glamping anyway. I suppose when you’re used to a ten mile hike with just what you carry on your back as a minimum price of entry, the thought of wheeling your stuff along a broad, maintained trail in a cart feels pretty glampy. Honestly, I think this is all anyone had energy for in any case, and the first night offered a lovely sunset.

The next day J and I hiked out to a local hill with nice views of the area. The hike gave me some photo spotting opportunities, and that evening I had a chance to return to some of them.

The second day I hiked up to Royalston Falls, about six and a half miles north of the camp. I have to say, Royalston is a difficult falls to photograph. It lies at the far end of a canyon which meanders for a short distance not long, but enough to prevent one from getting any full view of the cascade from below. And since the canyon also is full of fallen trees that have wedged themselves between the canyon walls, compositions are just hard to find.

I wasn’t there long before thunder rolled in, at which sound I packed up my gear to head back. I didn’t really think I’d make the full six and a half miles back before the rain started and sure enough, two miles in the deluge had me drenched to the bone. I was worried that the waning light and my wet glasses would make my way difficult, but soon the rain let up. And as I turned a corner on the trail into a meadow, I was greeted by the first sight of the passing storm clouds and the mist rising over the trees. That night we were treated to one of the most stunning sunsets I’ve seen, and I was fortunate to have decent compositions to do it justice. I also took my first pano.

And so ended day three of our brief glamping trip. The morning of day four was special, though. I’m going to save that for its own post, for which I’ll have no words to add.