Moose Cow

Day 5: 10/04/2017 We stopped long enough to re-take pictures of the wheel and then drove the scenic route Peak to Peak, back to RMNP. We stopped at the visitor center who showed us an area where there were lots of cascades and possible Moose. The first Moose jumped out in front of me as I was looking over my shoulder talking to Niala. She shouted to look out, I turned and there was a huge bull who ran across my path then turned on the trail and just stared at me then continued on up the trail. We took some great pictures of the cascades and as the day was ending we left the area only to come across 4 Moose Cows. In our excitement we both had problems with our big lenses but I was able to get off a few shots with my Sony, which had a polarizer on it from earlier in the day. Augh! Got the filter off in time to save the moment.

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Moose Cow #2

After all the problems with getting the camera set up I am amazed I was able to salvage these Moose pictures. What was the problem? The day was ending so our light was starting to diminish. We both picked up our Nikon D500's and both of us had the same idea, increase ISO to insure we had adequate shutter speed and deal with the noise in post-processing. My camera was set to auto ISO but like I said I was so excited to see Four Moose within 50 feet that I began cranking up what I thought was the ISO only later to realize that I was increasing the shutter speed to about 1/6400 of a second which let in absolutely NO light. I switched cameras hoping for the best while Niala caught her mistake and adjusted for it. She had done the same thing that I did. This picture took a lot of processing to recover because it was so dark. However it records our experience and proof that we saw the Moose.

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Hallett Peak Under The Stars

Hallett Peak: Bear Lake is a scenic trailhead and destination in Rocky Mountain National Park. Sitting at an elevation of 9,450 feet (2,880 m), the alpine lake rests beneath the sheer flanks of Hallett Peak at an elevation of 12,713 ft. and the Continental Divide at 40.31324°N 105.648222°W. Several trails, from easy strolls to strenuous hikes, start from the lake. The Bear Lake Road is open year-round, though it may temporarily close due to adverse weather conditions. An ample parking lot is provided close to the lake. The Bear Lake Road is approximately 10 miles long and starts close to the Beaver Meadows Entrance station of the Rocky Mountains National Park. The lake was formed during the ice age by a glacier. Several moraines can be found downhill of Bear Lake.

This is an OK image but not what we had hoped for. It was a full moon which did a great job of lighting the landscape but did a lot to damper our view of the stars. In addition our view was facing south-west so under the right conditions, like a new moon the Milky Way, should have been visible. Earlier in the week we shot this scene as the sun was rising and we got excellent images of the most fantastic setting you could hope for and that image I am saving for later but I am digressing so back to my story. Yes there is more to this story.

We arrive after dark around 9:00pm. After getting ready and with flashlights in hand we headed for the lake when out of the woods came a family consisting of husband, wife and child. They were hiking to Alberta Falls and missed their turn on the way back missing the parking lot where they left their car which was about a mile down the road from us. The wife did not want to hike the road back to their car and instead wanted to go back into the woods on the trail to where they had missed their turn. For the record it was 6/10 of a mile to the fork in the trail and then another 3/10 of a mile back to the trail head where they started. In my opinion since they only had head camper lights and a child I would have opted for the road at just 1 mile with a full moon and no clouds in the sky. But wait we decided to postpone our shoot and drive them to their car. Prior to them leaving Niala told them we would check out where they parked and if their car was still there we would 911 the Park Rangers then she called out to them to make the offer but they by then they had descended into the dark woods. We continued and set up but our minds could not leave the family in the woods with a child. For the record this image was taken at 10:13pm. We packed up and called it a night and headed to Glacier Gorge Jct. to where they had parked their car. We arrived and only saw one car and assuming it was theirs, Niala shined her car light onto the trail and placed a 911 call. In the meantime, with flashlight in hand I headed onto the trail in hopes of intercepting them. After going half the distance and with no luck locating the family I turned back to our car and decided to leave this search and rescue to the pros. The family did make it out. I had previously hiked to the falls earlier in the day while Niala hunted for wildlife. It had snowed the day before and the trail was snow and slush covered and slick. It was over a mile hike to the falls. This image was taken with a Nikon D810 and 20mm Lens.

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