Pure Lights by Adam Dorn
July 12th was a long day. Hiking to Grand Portal Point at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, I ended up getting lost on the trail. Hiking 25 miles later with 25lbs of camera gear I made my way back to my car. Exhausted and in pain I drove back to my tent. It was a struggle to make it from my car to the tent. A few moments later some new found friends I had met on the trail invited me over to their campfire just down the road to the next campground. Even though it was painful to walk I didn’t want to just let the night get away from me.
I packed up my gear and made my way to their campground. Welcomed with a fire and a beer we sat around the fire sharing stories of our trip. Checking my app for the northern lights I had discovered that they were beginning to fire up. I asked them if they would like to see the lights as excitement rushed through me. Neither of them had seen the lights before and both excitedly said yes. We dashed to the car and made our way to Au Train beach near Au Train, MI.
Parking the car we made our way down the split rail fencing trail to the shore of Lake Superior. We stumbled upon a couple, asking them if they were enjoying the northern lights. They had no idea they were even out. After my first exposure they were so excited they traveled back to camp to get the rest of their family. As they returned the lights began to pinnacle and dance through the night sky. The brightness and color intensity picked up as they began to push south over Lake Superior commanding the entire northern horizon.
It was such a rush of excitement as goosebumps and a sense of awe took over. Most of the company around me had never seen the lights before. Boy were they in for one hell of a show, spoiled on their first night they couldn’t believe their eyes. Looking at this shot, I was so happy that I was able to share this moment with the few lucky people around me. It is something so powerful. The pain faded and the thought of being lost on the trail left me. I was completely consumed by the northern horizon and the light show it put on. We sat for hours into the late night, watching the epic show along the shores of Lake Superior in the heart of Upper Michigan. Enjoying some of the darkest skies this world has to offer.
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Thank you, share with your friends, and I hope you enjoy!