Haeckel Col tarns – Aug. 16-17, 2025
It’s been a while since I’ve made an update about hiking trips, so I figured it best to start with a short one. I wanted to return to the Haeckel Col area for some astrophotography after passing through with my friend Paulina on our Ionian Basin trip. My plan was to camp somewhere on the ridge between Hungry Packer Lake and Midnight Lake and photograph the Milky Way over Picture Peak.
I don’t remember much on the hike in since I had my headphones in almost the entire time — I’d hiked the Sabrina Lake trail twice this summer already so the trail was nothing new. There were storms forecast for the afternoon which I luckily avoided. The parting storm clouds over the Sierra crest made for an excellent sunset with swirling thick clouds and the occasional distant clap of retreating thunder.
Milky Way photography went well. The good thing about late summer is that the Milky Way is usually to the south when it first becomes visible, so any photo spots along the crest facing southwards (of which there are surprisingly many!) don’t require one to stay up too late. Unfortunately, sunrise was a very muted affair due to the angle of the sun not quite being enough to hit the crest with alpenglow. I think this location is best photographed in early summer for the best chance to see proper alpenglow. I’m already scheming!
—Justin
