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South Rim Sunrise

The most memorable activity from my trip to Big Bend National Park last month was the 12-mile roundtrip hike to the South Rim where I captured this South Rim Sunrise. We got up at 2:00AM and begun our 6-mile trip up the Laguna Meadow Trail to the rim . The elevation change was 2,000 feet. All I remember about the hike up were the rocks on the trail that I was trying to avoid. It was completely dark but our headlamps illuminated the path. It was difficult to admire the scenery and not twist my ankle was high on my list… The wind was howling 25-40 miles per hour when we reached the rim.

Despite the high winds, the highlight of the hike was the spectacular sunrise and the resulting amazing array of colors that the clouds provided. The hike back  down the Boot Canyon and Pinnacles Trails was much more enjoyable and scenic than the hike up. We encountered amazing rock formations and maples changing color in Boot Canyon and some wonderful spires on Pinnacles Trail. I highly recommend this hike to anyone visiting Big Bend but I also recommend you get in shape beforehand. It was quite rigorous and we were all exhausted due to the exercise and lack of sleep.

South Rim Sunrise
South Rim Sunrise

This image was taken with my Canon EOS 5DS using my Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 Lens set on 24mm. The camera was set on Aperture priority mode with the aperture set at f/22, shutter speed at 1/4th of a second and the ISO set at 100. I used a tripod for stability. This is a single image processed in Lightroom then finalized in Photoshop using Nik Color Efex Pro.

You can access my Big Bend National Park collection by clicking here. Please use the section below to post your comments, questions or suggestions.

T. Kahler Photography
© 2016 T. Kahler Photography

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