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Post by GaliWalker on Feb 28, 2015 20:38:37 GMT -5
Training hike, training hike and yet another training hike. My dislike of driving far from home in winter meant that all I'd done recently were boring closer-to-home training hikes. I needed a fun hike to get the juices flowing once more. So, early this morning (2:40am to be precise) I snuggled into the car and vended my way to the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia's pride and joy. North Fork Mountain and its snowy vistas were the tonic I was looking for.
I reached the northern trailhead a little before 6:30am and bundled up. Even though the day was supposed to warm up into the 20s, it was a chilly 8°F as I hit the snowy trail. There was a set of tracks, but at least a day old. I followed these up to the North Fork Mountain's spine, 2mi in, and the first of the impressive viewpoints. The tracks ended here.
I continued steeply up, along the ridge crest, now on virgin snow, sinking about 5-8in deep on every step. It wasn't too bad though; no snowshoes needed. Traction was good and not icy at all, so the spikes stayed in the pack. About 0.7mi later I left the trail and headed up the steep slope to hit the spectacular crags of Chimney Top.
Chimney Top has some of the finest views I've seen in West Virginia, but to see (and photograph) all of them one needs to scramble about a bit on the rocky outcrops. Unfortunately, this day snow draped the crags and the danger of breaking through the snow and not finding rock underneath was non-zero. Over-balancing in this scenario and tumbling down one of the sheer cliffs was a real possibility. I poked around a bit, but only found a single perch which I could use safely as a shooting location. Better than nothing!
I decided to not continue further, to keep it to a nice relaxed day. On the way down the mountain, now in gorgeous sunshine, I encountered numerous hikers also getting their fix in.
Cumulative stats (approximate): 6mi, 2100ft gain, 5.5hrs |
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Post by GaliWalker on Feb 28, 2015 20:40:37 GMT -5
On the way down I met rpcv and her posse heading up. Cool!
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Post by dunkard on Mar 1, 2015 5:14:45 GMT -5
You have a skill with the camera! Your photos never disappoint. Do you wait around for good weather days or use whatever the conditions throw at you. Seems like your out hiking pretty frequently and your photos are always great, seems like your never in bad weather. I'm guessing you've done your homework and know how to use your camera and knowledge of photography to the fullest and can make use of the subpar weather conditions.
When you get to your vantage point how long do you spend there? Do you wait around for everything to line up to your liking before getting the shot?
Than you
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Post by arfcomhkr on Mar 1, 2015 7:23:28 GMT -5
Great pics. It's worth the climb.
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Post by GaliWalker on Mar 1, 2015 9:29:19 GMT -5
You have a skill with the camera! Your photos never disappoint. Do you wait around for good weather days or use whatever the conditions throw at you. Seems like your out hiking pretty frequently and your photos are always great, seems like your never in bad weather. I'm guessing you've done your homework and know how to use your camera and knowledge of photography to the fullest and can make use of the subpar weather conditions. When you get to your vantage point how long do you spend there? Do you wait around for everything to line up to your liking before getting the shot? Than you Thanks dunkard. Yes, I constantly monitor the weather. I'll typically have more than one option planned, for different conditions. e.g. I usually schedule waterfalls for overcast days and vistas for sunny ones. (It used to be lakes or summits, for when I lived in Seattle.) In any case, even if the weather isn't conducive for the photography you want to do, there's usually something you can shoot.
I typically leave ultra early, so that I'm hiking by the first hint of light, or by headlamp for the first 30-40min. My aim is to get to my shooting location when the sun is low, so that you get the to capture the play of shadows, or red tones in the light. How long I spend at a shooting location is dependent on what's planned for the rest of the hike. In general, I'll spend as long as it takes to exhaust whatever compositions I have thought about, or the best of the light, or my turn around time. I think I spent about 1.5-2 non-hiking hours yesterday, which included poking around trying to get to some shooting locations.
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Post by GaliWalker on Mar 1, 2015 9:38:36 GMT -5
Great pics. It's worth the climb. Absolutely! One of my favorites. |
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ki0eh
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Post by ki0eh on Mar 1, 2015 13:34:58 GMT -5
The Mid State Trail guide (a portion written by the late Tom Thwaites) alleges that MST Section 2 (south of Everett, Bedford County, PA) has views some consider equivalent to North Fork Mountain. I'm wondering what your opinion is.
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Post by GaliWalker on Mar 1, 2015 15:30:58 GMT -5
I don't think I've hiked that section yet (will put it on my list for this year). I should qualify my statement that North Fork Mountain, and Chimney Top in particular, is maybe the best viewpoint I've seen in the mid-Atlantic: my opinion is always biased in favor of which spot offers the best opportunity for good photography, which does not necessarily mean that the views are the best, when just experienced in person. There are a whole host of other viewpoints that may be equally good as North Fork Mountain, but I can't not include photography when making my decision. The only other viewpoint I can think off that is almost as good is Big Schloss:
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ki0eh
Forum Elder
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Post by ki0eh on Mar 1, 2015 17:24:41 GMT -5
Do you find that viewpoints that offer a particular cardinal direction (i.e. looking north or east) are better for photos?
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Post by GaliWalker on Mar 1, 2015 18:09:24 GMT -5
Yes, partly. A viewpoint looking north-west opens up both early morning and late evening as options, otherwise you are limited to one or the other (either by shooting into the sun or with it, depending on the situation). I personally, feel that the best light is 90 degrees of a sunrise/sunset, which also works well with the north-south orientation. I will quite often look at an unfamiliar destination on a contour map to decide on which time to plan my visit.
However, more important than the orientation is if a view has an arresting feature to use as the point of focus. You can clearly see this in the Big Schloss photo (Tibbets Knob), as well as the 3rd and 8th photos in my North Fork Mountain trip report (one of the pointy highpoints on the ridge). My philosophy on landscape photography is to always choose a single point of emphasis, or subject, and then construct the rest of the photo around it. |
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rpcv
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Post by rpcv on Mar 2, 2015 16:09:46 GMT -5
It was great to meet you, Galiwalker!
The light was definitely better when you were up there. It flattened out a bit by the time we got to Chimney Top. I can't complain, though. It was such a nice day.
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Post by GaliWalker on Mar 3, 2015 11:14:02 GMT -5
Likewise. (By the way, I was still chuckling about your husband's comment about Niagara Falls on the drive home.)
And as you say, a spectacular day!
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