Rant: That time I drove 3 hours to a dark sky site and forgot my tripod

I hauled my telescope and camera gear up to Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania last Saturday (supposed to be one of the best spots on the east coast). Got set up, looked for my tripod in the trunk, and realized I left it leaning against the garage wall back home. Has anyone else made a bonehead equipment mistake that ruined their whole night of shooting?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_uma18d ago

Sat there for a solid five minutes just staring at the empty spot where my tripod should have been. Ended up trying to balance my camera on a rock and a cooler, got nothing but blurry trash photos of the Milky Way. Cherry Springs is no joke though, you could see satellites zipping by with the naked eye. At least the drive home gave me time to mentally kick myself for an hour.

clark.iris18d ago

Oh man, I did the exact same thing at Big Bend last month, left my tripod in the trunk and cried inside for an hour.