Fremont Peak report for Friday 3 September

by Gilles Grosgurin


I went to Fremont Peak last night too! It was my first time so I left early and got to the Peak by 2:00pm. I had a hard time finding a camp site as they are apparently redoing the lower camp grounds. After setting up my tent I took a walk to the observatory and to the Peak itself. It was quite a view! I then decided to take a nap and after a nice little dinner I was ready to setup by the observatory. To my surprise the gate to the Ranger's house was locked and I also learned that you had to be a FPOA member to setup there. I decided to wait for a fellow TAC member to open the gate but as twilight approached I got too anxious so I set up my equipment at the Oak Point parking lot.

Although I had to deal with a lot of camping lights it was a productive evening for me. I've never taken my telescope (expresso machine!) out from my light polluted San Carlos backyard so it took me about 2 hours to figure out the logistics, mainly converting my car into a astronomy friendly vehicle.

By 9:00pm I was ready to do some serious observing but I had a hard time finding my way around the sky. I've never seen so many stars, It was quite confusing as I'm used to only see a few from by backyard! I'm sorry I missed you Jay, I certainly could have used some help nonetheless I had a great time and I look forward to going back soon, I will also become a member of FPOA.

A quick note for those going today. Traffic seemed terrible on 101 going south about 5 miles before Girlroy!