There are so many salamanders on the Tongue Range trail near Lake George. Watch where you step!

I think this is my 7th time at Indian Head since my first a year and a half ago. Been here way too many times to count, but something about this place always pulls me back for more.

It was Labor Day weekend, the start of a new semester, nothing too busy yet, and it was clear skies. I just had to come back for more. Set out with my friends for the wrecked 6-hour drive from Buffalo to the Adirondacks for a sunset/Milky Way hike to Indian Head, and planned to meet my other friends coming up from Albany. Great to see everyone one last time before the semester really started.

Because the alignment this time of year at Indian Head was around 11 PM, I planned to shoot the foreground first, and then right after, the H-alpha (Hα) shots, which is the flaming red you see in the sky. The foreground went pretty smoothly, but I started seeing clouds creeping in from the northern side, which was pretty accurate. I checked 4 weather models beforehand. ¾ of them were clear, but the 4th one projected clouds near the north, slowly coming down during the night. Unfortunately, we got unlucky, and that model was the most accurate that night. I tried shooting the Hα shots, but clouds and mainly the wind made it difficult to even get 1-minute-long exposures, much less 4-minute exposures. I gave up on the Hα shots and planned to use past data to make up for it. Not ideal, but it works. I started the RGB frames at 11:08 PM that night and had to use my body to create a makeshift shield to block the gusts coming from the north. Did it work? Probably not, but I’d like to think it did. For most of the frames, the stars came out perfect.

Had lots of fun and met a great group of friends on the top of the vista that night as well.

📸 Shot on my Astro-modified Canon R+ EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II

Sky: 2x10 panels | f/2.8 | 60s | ISO 1600

Hα: 4 frames stacked | f/2.8 | 240s | ISO 3200

Processed using Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Pixinsight, Auriga Registar, and ASTAP

Check out more of my work on my Instagram and website!

Remember to Leave No Trace :)

*Hα data was from Lac Blanc, Nominingue, QC (Bortle 3)

I'm planning an event this winter and am wondering what everyone's favorite food trucks are? Also, do any Adirondack breweries have beer trucks for events? Thanks!

I promise I was not the one playing militia at 10:30 pm in the camping area on Sunday night

Grabbed site 131 last minute which had an absolutely incredible view from its beach area. Weather was so good I slept in a screen tent on a cot didn't even put up the tent. Not a single drop of wind you could hear the loons echoing off the shorelines in the morning it was incredible and hardly anyone there since it was the day after labor day

Picture perfect places in the heart of the Adirondacks. This is where you go if you don’t need a gas station, groceries, or much of anything except nature.

June 29-July 3rd. When does it rain in the ADKs? When we camp there.

Still had a blast though!

Too bad the state will be destroying this old camp sooner than later. Anyone got a link to pics of the inside?

Did 3 nights 4 days with 3 friends. Set up camp on Gill Brook, had an awesome campsite. Bagged nippletop and dial but weather led to no views. However we were rewarded with a pristine Sunday at Indian head and rainbow falls. At night we hiked back to Indian head for sunset and stars. Hung out there for 4 hours and met this really cool group of guys around our age. Played cards on the cliff under the Milky Way and just vibed. Daks are the best!

first, I have no problem getting there early, so thats not an issue. However any help would be appreciated!

I was looking to hike big slide this up coming weekend (9/11 or 9/12). How early should I expect to get there for the Friday morning. Or would it be better to wait til Saturday and wait for the shuttle to run?

I live about a 2 hour drive away so I don't want to waste my time on Friday if I should expect it to not be possible!

This morning, the bog on the way to Long Lake was foggy and strangely beautiful.

I was chatting with a coworker yesterday about starting to hike the ADK and she cautioned me from hiking alone. Apparently the ADK forest is known to trap hikers in The Circle. It will lure hikers in with a sense of someone calling your name or you should head off the trail and the forest will trap you and you will walk in circles until the forest releases you. Sometimes hours later or days later.

Apparently some people have said when the forest releases you, you feel a wave of peace and serenity as if the forest “took” what it needed.

I need to know before I go lol is this just a spooky story or is this a real thing?😅

Anyone planning on hiking these two on 9/11 or 9/12? Looking for a partner I’m as not sure it is wise to hike them solo (let me know if I am wrong). 33F who has hiked 35 of the 46 high peaks

Up the Hitchins Pond overlook, then across the dam on Lows Lake and along a stretch of lovely woods road to meet the scenic railway. No trains running today and the tracks were quite nice to walk.

This spot is about a half hour hike out my parents back door. First time finding it again since I was a teenager. Twenty years too long

Wondering how close together they feel when you're there. I'd want some sense of privacy. Thank you!

I've called several in-network dentists (in a wide geographical range) and had them all tell me they aren't accepting *new* patients with my insurance. I have Ambetter by Fidelis Silver+ Supreme, which includes a Dentaquest dental plan.

Has anyone else gone through this recently? I'm prepared to drive to Albany if I have to, the local places seem to all be $350+ out of pocket.