Sunrise Hiking (Again), and Car Stuff
Apr. 30th, 2010 02:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
softpawAfter my last sunrise hike, I decided on a whim to do it again earlier this week, with working camera batteries this time. So, I rapidly loaded up and headed out to Wolf Gap one more time in the middle of the night. For future reference, I really need to remember that it takes me like a half-hour to load up for a hiking trip :-P
About 5am, I made it to my destination, and started my trip. The environment definitely wasn't the same as before, though. Last time, the forest was so tranquil and deserted that it was almost creepy; this time, there were sustained winds so severe I was worried about downed trees. There was also a turkey hunter out there who was just getting started on his hunt for the morning. We said good morning, he seemed pretty nice.
The hike itself was fairly uneventful, though I noticed my stamina seemed better than before. Could've been because I wasn't moving at such a fast pace, but I definitely didn't make as many stops on the way up the mountain. After about 45 minutes, I made it to the first overlook, and while it's possible I could've made it all the way to the summit before the sunrise started to get photogenic, I decided not to try it, hoping the views would be as breathtaking as before.
Unfortunately, this sunrise was somewhat dull in terms of colouration, and the valley floor was a little too hazy for low-light photos. But, I did get photos, and some of them should be usable :-)
Next hike will be during daylight hours, because I came a little too close to frostbite for my tastes, particularly in my fingers. The temperature was the same as before (mid-to-upper 30s), but last time, there wasn't the slighest bit of wind the whole time. This time, there were sustained winds of probably 30mph, with gusts so severe I thought I was going to get blown off the mountain, especially while I was at the peak. So, the windchill was pretty severe, and by the end of my photoshoot, I was having to really work to keep feeling in my fingers. It wasn't too bad once I started my descent and once I made it to the parking area, thankfully. Definitely need to do this in warmer weather.
===============
On an unrelated note, I picked up a little something for my car, a 3-amp 5v DC to DC converter. What would I use such a thing for? Hard-wired USB ports! Between my PDA (which acts as my GPS, and needs a constant charge while in use), two cellphones (at least one of which usually wants to be charged during trips), my bluetooth GPS, and any devices brought into the car by passengers, a single non-splittable 1-amp USB port just doesn't cut it. So, the plan for this is to have dedicated, concealed cables for the PDA and GPS, since neither of them live near the console on trips, and two standard USB ports in my center console. I'll probably add a 12v port in there too, since the one I have is currently in the glove box and quite a pain to get to.
I haven't really done anything with my car in awhile, and this will be a huge help for road trips, so I'm looking forward to it. Plus, I can now use my existing solution (Palm Pre charger with a USB extension cable) in other people's cars, rather than having to carry around a bunch of traditional chargers.
If anyone's interested, I'll post pictures and a parts list once I do the install. It should be a fairly straightforward project, just with a bunch of wiring.
About 5am, I made it to my destination, and started my trip. The environment definitely wasn't the same as before, though. Last time, the forest was so tranquil and deserted that it was almost creepy; this time, there were sustained winds so severe I was worried about downed trees. There was also a turkey hunter out there who was just getting started on his hunt for the morning. We said good morning, he seemed pretty nice.
The hike itself was fairly uneventful, though I noticed my stamina seemed better than before. Could've been because I wasn't moving at such a fast pace, but I definitely didn't make as many stops on the way up the mountain. After about 45 minutes, I made it to the first overlook, and while it's possible I could've made it all the way to the summit before the sunrise started to get photogenic, I decided not to try it, hoping the views would be as breathtaking as before.
Unfortunately, this sunrise was somewhat dull in terms of colouration, and the valley floor was a little too hazy for low-light photos. But, I did get photos, and some of them should be usable :-)
Next hike will be during daylight hours, because I came a little too close to frostbite for my tastes, particularly in my fingers. The temperature was the same as before (mid-to-upper 30s), but last time, there wasn't the slighest bit of wind the whole time. This time, there were sustained winds of probably 30mph, with gusts so severe I thought I was going to get blown off the mountain, especially while I was at the peak. So, the windchill was pretty severe, and by the end of my photoshoot, I was having to really work to keep feeling in my fingers. It wasn't too bad once I started my descent and once I made it to the parking area, thankfully. Definitely need to do this in warmer weather.
===============
On an unrelated note, I picked up a little something for my car, a 3-amp 5v DC to DC converter. What would I use such a thing for? Hard-wired USB ports! Between my PDA (which acts as my GPS, and needs a constant charge while in use), two cellphones (at least one of which usually wants to be charged during trips), my bluetooth GPS, and any devices brought into the car by passengers, a single non-splittable 1-amp USB port just doesn't cut it. So, the plan for this is to have dedicated, concealed cables for the PDA and GPS, since neither of them live near the console on trips, and two standard USB ports in my center console. I'll probably add a 12v port in there too, since the one I have is currently in the glove box and quite a pain to get to.
I haven't really done anything with my car in awhile, and this will be a huge help for road trips, so I'm looking forward to it. Plus, I can now use my existing solution (Palm Pre charger with a USB extension cable) in other people's cars, rather than having to carry around a bunch of traditional chargers.
If anyone's interested, I'll post pictures and a parts list once I do the install. It should be a fairly straightforward project, just with a bunch of wiring.