Trips can go according to plan. Most often, they don’t (and that’s what makes them fun), but sometimes they do. This was one of those times.

On a trip to Tettegouche State Park last summer, I was greeted by a fog rolling off the water. Lake Superior is a frigid, frigid being. It’s rare that the water is warmer than the air this time of year. It happens during the winter, often, but not so often in September. Some work photos needed to be taken on Shovel Point, and I was hoping the fog would cooperate. I planned on the fog cooperating for my upcoming trip.

If I really wanted to get into weather forecasts and compare them with water temps and wind direction, I could probably find a way to predict Shovel Point fog. But the nearest publicly viewable weather station is five miles away. There really was no way to predict anything. So I just planned on it happening (not an effective nor recommended strategy).

Waking up in Finland–six miles inland–to a clear sky, didn’t do much for my hopes. As my Subaru crested the range on Highway 1 toward Superior, I saw the low, lazy clouds. Subie was parked at the visitor center, then I started the mile-long hike/spring to the top of Shovel Point. Mist hung in the firs. The sun was clouded. Light was flat.

Then things started to break when I reached the top. I had to hurry. I also had to enjoy the fog while lasted as I set up my props. It was easy to get swept up in the view and lose track of time. Low clouds rolling over Palisade Head to the southwest were hypnotic. I would stop for a second and look over the lake only to realize it was a few minutes later. Fog has a way of doing that to a view you’ve seen countless times prior.

The shot was taken, the fog eventually lifted. I’m planning on fog the next time I visit my favorite Tettegouche.