Another round of Star Trails over a smooth Lake Henshaw in San Diego County. I shot these after midnight on September 7, 2019. This is about 123 minutes of total exposure time. I shot 123 frames each at 60 sec f/4.0 ISO 2000 and stacked them using StarStaX. Canon 6D and Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens. Lake Henshaw is a Reservoir in San Diego County, California at the southeast base of Palomar Mountain, approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast of San Diego, California and 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Los Angeles. The lake covers approximately 1,140 acres (460 ha) and holds 55,000 acre feet (68,000,000 m3) of water when full (lowered in 1978 from its original capacity of 203,581 acre feet (251,113,000 m3) out of earthquake concerns), in addition to groundwater stored in its local basin. It drains an area of 207 square miles (540 km2) square miles at the source of the San Luis Rey River. The lake was constructed in 1923 with the building of Henshaw Dam, an earth dam 123 feet (37 m) tall and 650 feet (200 m) long. It is owned by the Vista Irrigation District and used primarily for agricultural irrigation.
I had known about this tower for some time, but finally got around to visiting it last night. I had tried to go to it a few nights ago, but had bad directions and kept encountering locked gates miles below. A phone call with a very nice and helpful person at Forest Fire Lookout Association San Diego-Riverside Chapter (FFLA-SDRC) helped me find the correct way up here. It's NOT an easy road to drive and requires a high clearance vehicle up about 13 miles of rough road. 4WD is recommended. Many of these towers were decommissioned in the 1990's, but in recent years this tower and several others have been reopened and staffed. It's been determined that human eyes are still among the best technology at spotting fires. I remember years ago when I posted some photos of another tower - the one on nearby Boucher Hill - in disrepair. After a couple of HUGE wildfires in San Diego County in 2003 and 2007, people would comment on my photos "They should start using these again!" Well now they are. The first Highpoint lookout tower was constructed on the site in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps for the US Forest Service. That tower was replaced by the current structure in 1964. A 13 x 13 foot CL-30 series steel cab sits atop an all-steel L-1600 series 67-6 tower. High Point Lookout is the tallest tower remaining in the Forest Service inventory in California. The Cleveland National Forest last staffed the tower in 1992. The cab exterior and tower are in excellent condition. The interior was removed due to vandalism in 2005. A security gate has since been installed on the tower. Tower restoration with new glass, cabinets and flooring was completed in 2009. The San Diego-Riverside Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association began staffing the tower with volunteers for fixed-point fire detection in 2009. FFLA-SDRC first achieved a 100% staffing during the 2013 fire season. FFLA-SDRC has achieved that same 100% fire season staffing for every year since with few exceptions due to weather.
But first, let me take a selfie. I shot this on August 28, 2019 after I finished several shots of this tower. Before heading home, I decided to take a selfie. Shot with a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG lens at 13 sec f/2.8 ISO 3200. I had known about this tower for some time, but finally got around to visiting it last night. I had tried to go to it a few nights ago, but had bad directions and kept encountering locked gates miles below. A phone call with a very nice and helpful person at Forest Fire Lookout Association San Diego-Riverside Chapter (FFLA-SDRC) helped me find the correct way up here. It's NOT an easy road to drive and requires a high clearance vehicle up about 13 miles of rough road. 4WD is recommended. Many of these towers were decommissioned in the 1990's, but in recent years this tower and several others have been reopened and staffed. It's been determined that human eyes are still among the best technology at spotting fires. The first Highpoint lookout tower was constructed on the site in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps for the US Forest Service. That tower was replaced by the current structure in 1964. The Cleveland National Forest last staffed the tower in 1992. The cab exterior and tower are in excellent condition. The interior was removed due to vandalism in 2005. A security gate has since been installed on the tower. Tower restoration with new glass, cabinets and flooring was completed in 2009. The San Diego-Riverside Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association began staffing the tower with volunteers for fixed-point fire detection in 2009. FFLA-SDRC first achieved a 100% staffing during the 2013 fire season. FFLA-SDRC has achieved that same 100% fire season staffing for every year since with few exceptions due to weather.
