Chasing the Perseids: A Night Under the Stars
So Many Stars!
📍 Mt Laguna - Paso Picacho Campground
🚙 105 miles
📈 Elevation Change: 5,000 feet
Favorite moment: So many stars!!
There are camping trips where you spend your days hiking and exploring, and then there are trips where the night is the entire reason you came. My trip to Cuyamaca State Park for the Perseid Meteor Shower was exactly that.
When I pulled into my campsite, I immediately knew I had picked the right place. The campsite was enormous, giving me plenty of room to spread out my photography gear without feeling cramped. Surrounded by towering pines and open skies, it felt like I had my own private corner of the mountain. The views stretched for miles, and there was a peacefulness that settled in almost instantly. It was the kind of place where you could sit quietly for hours and never once reach for your phone.
As darkness fell, the real adventure began.
I spent the entire night under the stars, camera pointed skyward, waiting for the next streak of light to flash across the heavens. Every meteor was different—some faint and quick, others bright enough to make me smile before I even looked back at the camera. There is something incredibly rewarding about photographing meteor showers. So much of it is patience, knowing that the next spectacular shot could happen at any moment.
Just before dawn, the weather decided to add a little drama. Clouds slowly rolled in, hiding the stars I'd been watching all night. Rather than fight them, I climbed into my tent and grabbed about an hour of sleep during those quiet wee hours of the morning. It turned out to be the perfect break. When I woke up, the clouds had drifted away as quickly as they had arrived, revealing the stars once again. I hurried back to my camera, determined to squeeze every last moment out of the night.
There was another unexpected benefit to the trip. After fracturing my ankle, I had been frustrated by how much I needed to slow down. This camping trip reminded me that slowing down isn't always a bad thing. Instead of hiking for miles, I spent hours sitting beneath one of the most beautiful skies I've ever seen. My ankle got the rest it needed, and I never once felt like I was missing out. Sometimes the best adventures don't require covering a lot of ground.
By the time morning arrived, I wasn't ready to pack up. Mount Laguna had worked its way under my skin. The crisp mountain air, the breathtaking views, the peaceful campsite, and an entire night spent under a sky full of meteors created the kind of experience that's hard to leave behind.
As I drove home, I couldn't help but think that this is why I love photography and camping so much. They have a way of slowing life down just enough to remind you how incredible the world can be. And if I'm being honest, I would have happily stayed another day—or two—just to watch the stars one more night.
Thanks for journeying with me!
~ Bridget
