Mitch's Milky Way Arch

**Warning: You might want to get yourself a cold drink before reading this post!** 

 

I very nearly cancelled this July Milky Way attempt. It was ridiculously hot. Dangerously hot. But I was on a roll and had taken photos of the Milky Way during the new moon every month this year starting in April, and hated to break my streak. Crazy, right??

 

But it's a dry heat!!🥵

 

4:30PM, my backpack is packed and I'm heading out the door. I've packed:

- Way more water that I think I'll need

- Small cooler with ice and a cooling towel, which can go over my head or around my neck

- Garmin InReach (in case of emergency)

- Camera gear 

-All the other stuff I usually pack

 

It's a heavy pack, but a very short hike (around 3/4 mile to the arch). I'm counting on the fact that I will be higher in elevation and it will be later in the day, so temperatures should be 5-10 degrees cooler. I likely won't have any shade.

 

One last check of the weather, thinking it's probably cooled off this late in the day (4:37PM). 

Nope, still crazy hot. I leave the house wondering if I am doing the right thing. As I head to the car, it feels like I've stepped out of my air conditioned house and into an oven!
 

Quack quack!!

 

I get out to the arch about 7:30PM (1/2 hour before sunset). It's hot, but not dangerously so. The hike out was easy and flat. I leave my pack by the arch and walk abound the area admiring the Joshua trees and photographing the sunset filtering through their weird, twisted branches. I see no other humans out hiking and only a few cars driving through the park. I pretty much have all of Joshua Tree National Park to myself on this hot, summer day!

Can you feel the heat??

 

 
The sunset at been beautiful, and I'm happy with my photos. It's time to head back to the arch for some foreground photos. I'm using an LCD light and headlamp to add some subtle lighting to the arch.

With my foregound photos done, I have nothing to do but wait for the Milky Way to rise to it's optimal position. I use PhotoPills to show me that will be about 1:30AM, so I have a lot of time to kill. It's a beautiful night in the desert under a starry sky, and the temperature is actually pretty comfortable. I'm glad I made the decision to come out tonight and take pictures. By about 10PM I find myself getting tired, so I put a tarp on the ground with a sleeping pad, lay on my back and look for shooting stars, and eventually drift off to sleep. My phone alarm wakes me up at 1AM.

 

July Milky Way, 1:18AM, Mitch's Arch

If your curious about the name, it's just a nickname I use because Mitch was the person who showed me the arch. 

 

Thanks for stopping by and joining me on this very hot hike to capture the July Milky Way!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.