The Field Report: Practicing nature photography in my return to Mount Mitchell for the first time since Hurricane Helene

The Field Report is a detailed account of our outdoor excursions that breaks down our nature and landscape photography, along with our experiences on the trail, with a full photo gallery.

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Sunset, March 31

It was a cloudy Tuesday afternoon. I had just gotten home from a work trip to Atlanta the day before, so I decided to take the day off and finally make my long-awaited return to Mount Mitchell, one of my favorite places to hike and photograph. It had been almost two years since I set foot upon its hollowed ground. Within that time, Hurricane Helene had infamously laid waste to Western North Carolina, claiming large swaths of the Blue Ridge Parkway as one of its victims. One calendar year of repairs, a busy fall season, and winter closure meant I wasn't able to make it once it reopened in September of 2025.

Almost two years without the wilderness that had shepherded me along my journey as a photographer all these years. What would it look like? Would I even recognize the place I had grown to love through years of documentation? Surely, the legendary Mount Mitchell—a land whose power matches its stature, it being the highest peak east of the Mississippi—had tussled with and vanquished many a storm more powerful than Helene. I played this battle out in my head as I anxiously drove along the Parkway, bearing witness to the destructive power of Mother Nature as uprooted trees lay strewn alongside the mountains like toothpicks. Surely, though, not Mount Mitchell.

I turned into the park, unsure of what to expect. During the fall season, I had made it to another of my frequented trails that's only a few miles from Mount Mitchell, and it had been ravaged. Would Mount Mitchell greet me like an old friend with open arms, or would it be but a stranger in my eyes?

Caution tape warded off would be wanderers from work zones. Construction vehicles and heavy machinery occupied parking spaces at the Old Mitchell trailhead. Brush that normally inhabited the mountain was cleared and cleaned, like a wound before the salve is applied. Still, I was hopeful. I pulled into a parking space in front of the picnic area at the Deep Gap trail, and my first cursory inspection yielded great results. Everything was intact.

I gathered my gear, had one last sip of coffee, took a deep breath, and headed out onto a trail I had walked many times throughout the years. As I walked under the forest canopy, light fleeting, I instantly recognized the place I always knew it to be, and as I approached Mount Craig, I had never been happier to see those stairs, in all their steep glory, and I exhaled.

Mountain in the distance photographed from Mount Craig. Click to expand.

Shine Down Upon

Camera: Panasonic G9

Lens: Olympus M 40-150mm F2.8

Settings: Custom white balance, ISO 800, 150mm, f8.0 at 1/1000s

Color Profile: Standard, contrast 0, saturation +1, noise reduction +2, sharpness -2

Images from the early afternoon. Some photos might be cropped. Click to expand and view in full.

After taking my time photographing a few scenes and eating some lunch, I continued on with my afternoon, heading onto the Commisary Trail. It is here that I found new discoveries at Mount Mitchell, on a portion of this trail I had never been to before, typically beginning it at a different location that wasn't accessible. I explored as much as I safely could, and my efforts were rewarded with compositions I was thrilled to capture, but alas, I traveled too close to the sun. For all the rigor of my labor, the photos I knew I took were nowhere to be found. I surmised that during my scramble between bush and thorn, I must've continuously hit the delete button, and being one to never activate the operations lock on my camera, about 2 hours' worth of photos were lost, and no data recovery software could save them from the limbo in which they now resided.

The loss of those photos was a blow, especially because I could feel the toil aching throughout my back. Nevertheless, one must endure, so I made my way back toward Mount Craig to capture sunset. And the photography Gods must've known my pain at losing the images from Commisary Trail, because I was treated to one of the most spectacular sunsets I've witnessed.

Mountain in the distance photographed from Mount Craig. Click to expand.

Pastel Dreams

Camera: Panasonic G9

Lens: Leica DG 8-18mm F2.8-4.0

Settings: Auto white balance, ISO 800, 8mm, f8.0 at 1/100s

Color Profile: Standard, contrast +2, saturation +2, noise reduction +2, sharpness -2

The clouds and the sun danced romantically, and I was there, alone, a witness to their love. Hues transitioned as the minutes passed. Storm clouds approached, learning the rhythm, working in perfect harmony with the scene that was unfolding before me. The clouds opened, and rain fell, but only just enough to add a beautiful reflection and soft shimmer to elements in the scene.

If magic does exist, I was shown the might of its sorcery.

Images from the sunset. Some photos might be cropped. Click to expand and view in full.

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Sunrise, April 6

Given my disappointment at losing what I thought were sure-fire photos from the Commisary Trail, I decided to return to Mount Mitchell, but for sunrise. Having arrived just before 6 a.m., I once again trekked the Deep Gap trail to Mount Craig, this time in the dark. With only my headlamp and flashlight as a light source, I plodded through the forest, confident in my footing, regardless of the lack of light. What I didn't expect to see was what was flittering in my light: snow flurries.

As I broke through the treeline and the morning twilight ever so slightly illuminated the world, I noticed ice on branches. Then I saw more flurries. Then, I looked out into the distant Blue Ridge Mountains as dawn brought on the blue hour, and I saw a beautiful snowcapped mountain, clouds softly undulating through it. The faintest streak of purple kissing the clear blue sky. It was a sight to behold.

A frozen, snowcapped mountain during sunrise. Click to expand

Cold Tempest

Camera: Panasonic G9

Lens: Olympus M 40-150mm F2.8

Settings: Custom white balance, ISO 640, 150mm, f6.3 at 1/60s

Color Profile: Standard, contrast +2, saturation +2, noise reduction +2, sharpness -2

This photo was difficult to execute because wind gusts were reaching 30 to 40mph, and due to the size of my telephoto lens, not even my tripod could stabilize my camera enough to get it pin sharp. Handholding my camera did little to alleviate the issue, as the combination of wind speed and wind chill rendered me a shivering mess, unable to feel the tips of most of my fingers, and unable to keep still. Nevertheless, while not the sharpest photo, I still think it's great.

After a bit more time at Mount Craig, I tried my hand again at Commisary Trail. With conditions not as pleasing as they were the week prior, I was relegated to knowing that the rising morning light was too harsh for me to capture any woodland scenes that I'd be happy with. Still, I persevered and came away with one photo in the forest I was happy with, and as I made my way back to my vehicle, I was in lockstep with a Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), a small sparrow often referred to as a "snowbird" because they are frequently seen in winter, and came away with a photograph I'm happy with. I was also joined on the trail by a deer that darted out of the forest, and as it grazed, periodically glancing at me to gauge if I was the kind of person to interrupt its meal, I was filled with peace. After almost two years, I had returned to Mount Mitchell, and I recognized my dear, old friend.

The last image of sunrise on Mount Craig and images from the Commisary Trail. Click to expand and view full-screen

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Photography Gear Used on This Hike

Camera: Panasonic G9

Lenses: Olympus M 12-40mm F2.8, Olympus M 40-150mm f2.8, Leica DG 8-18mm F2.8-4.0

Tiffen Digital HT Circular Polarizer Filter

SmallRig L-Bracket

F-stop Lotus 32L Backpack

Manfrotto Globetrotter Tripod