Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Here is my story.
Everything aligned for me the early morning of March 3rd, 2026. But that does not mean acquiring this composite was nothing short of a long labor of love and joy. Starting the day before I cleaned my dirty kayak and began figuring out ways to load my gear into it. It’s small and not made for luggage. I got my camera gear all prepared, got my workout in and a few other things, and then headed top Walmart for supplies. It was around 8 PM at this point and my goal was to leave my home for the trip at 11. I ended up leaving the house just after my destined time. As I approached the spot I wanted to put off, I realized there was a massive mud sandbar between the launch and my destination. I would have to put off much further up the lake. Packing my kayak took a bit and it was after midnight as I pushed off shore. The full moon shone brightly over the Clark Fork Delta and snow capped peaks shown into the night.
Beneath my loaded boat I could see arms of branches and other things. It was creepy as I paddled, heading to the mouth of the lake. Upon the opening I seen the sandbars stretched on for a long ways and I had to follow the only deep passage out. Birds flew overhead and old stumps protruding from the sandbar shore looked more like large bears to me than reality. At one point I seen the water churning in front of me, fear gripped my soul and I calmed myself down as panic tried to turn me around. I continued on follow the flow of the lazy river into the lake. Soon I could see the point I was heading to but shallow water all over made the passage difficult. I somehow found a way to make it to shore without grounding my vessel on the sandy shallow reefs. The eclipse was just beginning but the moon still looked full. I unladed my gear and trekked it up to the petroglyphs.
After lighting two tiki torches on either side of the petroglyphs I photographed the scene in front of me all night and into sunrise. Then packed my boat and rowed back. The way back was much harder as the wind and current was against me. It took a full hour of rowing pretty hard to reach the boat launch just before 8am
Here is my story.
Everything aligned for me the early morning of March 3rd, 2026. But that does not mean acquiring this composite was nothing short of a long labor of love and joy. Starting the day before I cleaned my dirty kayak and began figuring out ways to load my gear into it. It’s small and not made for luggage. I got my camera gear all prepared, got my workout in and a few other things, and then headed top Walmart for supplies. It was around 8 PM at this point and my goal was to leave my home for the trip at 11. I ended up leaving the house just after my destined time. As I approached the spot I wanted to put off, I realized there was a massive mud sandbar between the launch and my destination. I would have to put off much further up the lake. Packing my kayak took a bit and it was after midnight as I pushed off shore. The full moon shone brightly over the Clark Fork Delta and snow capped peaks shown into the night.
Beneath my loaded boat I could see arms of branches and other things. It was creepy as I paddled, heading to the mouth of the lake. Upon the opening I seen the sandbars stretched on for a long ways and I had to follow the only deep passage out. Birds flew overhead and old stumps protruding from the sandbar shore looked more like large bears to me than reality. At one point I seen the water churning in front of me, fear gripped my soul and I calmed myself down as panic tried to turn me around. I continued on follow the flow of the lazy river into the lake. Soon I could see the point I was heading to but shallow water all over made the passage difficult. I somehow found a way to make it to shore without grounding my vessel on the sandy shallow reefs. The eclipse was just beginning but the moon still looked full. I unladed my gear and trekked it up to the petroglyphs.
After lighting two tiki torches on either side of the petroglyphs I photographed the scene in front of me all night and into sunrise. Then packed my boat and rowed back. The way back was much harder as the wind and current was against me. It took a full hour of rowing pretty hard to reach the boat launch just before 8am