Congaree National Forest Boardwalk 2-22
Did the boardwalk only. Boardwalk is high among the trees, it was really cool to see everything that is normally so far overhead. Absolute abundance of sunburst lichens and blister wart!! It was a delight to see something orange on almost every single tree.
Lots of really friendly people, helpful park rangers, clean bathrooms, ample parking. The boardwalk is handicap accessible for wheelchairs and strollers, but benches are pretty spaced out: will need to bring extra painkillers and salve next time. Trail is well maintained and well labelled. Area was free of litter. Many trails available, will have to go earlier in the day next time. Ended up going very quickly through the last 0.5 miles or so due to the light fading. Park ranger said it was okay to go off the trail a short distance, but to not get lost or stuck in the mud. Did get stuck in the mud. Twice. Need to invest in some taller waterproof boots.
Best combination for proper images thus far seems to be Shutter priority, an aperture of roughly 1/40-1/60, manual white balance, and manual iso control: kept mainly around 100-400, with exceptions for the undersides of certain lichens and mushrooms. Shutter priority seems to make a big difference in helping moderate the hand shake issue. Removed lens cap entirely. Exhausted one full set of batteries, will have to charge: have not reached anywhere near the limit on the SD card.
4.5 hours hiked, trail is labeled as 2.6 miles. 625 pictures taken, 429 saved after culling due to quality concerns or duplicate photos. Total of 109 observations posted
