Eclipse Journey

It was March of 1970.  I was penned up in my New Hampshire dorm rooms when a partial solar eclipse darkened the skin over Hanover.  It wasn’t the spectacular drama of a total eclipse, but I do remember looking out of my window to see the mass of my fellow “scholars” pounding pots and pans to encourage the weakened sun to return.  I could have travelled to see the total eclipse – the Southeast coast of the US would have served, but, at the time, I was barely 20 years old, and it didn’t seem that important to make the effort.

 

Path of Totality April 8 2024

As eclipse day approached, I planned to travel to the Burlington Vermont area, but within a day or two it looked like that region might be on the approaching edge of overcast skies.  It began to make sense to move my target northeast to the northern border of New Hampshire.  Monday morning, eclipse day, Susan, Benjamin Pierce (our wonderful Goldendoodle) and I Headed for Colebrook New Hampshire.  Predictions of nightmare traffic led us to leave at 6:30AM, but the trip north was a breeze.  We arrive in Colebrook with five hours to kill before the beginning of the eclipse and had plenty of time to find a good place to settle in for the show.

 

Eclipse Necessity

With Susan doing the planning we had most of what we needed, our folding chairs, sandwich fixings, lots of terrible but delicious snacks, water, food for the dog, eclipse glasses and an eclipse filter for my 400mm lens.  As we searched for a spot, we had only two additional criteria, an unobstructed view of the sun and porta potties.  We found both in a parking area set aside by the nice people of Colebrook. 

First Bite of the Moon

I had plenty of time to get my camera set up.  I focused the 400mm lens on the trees of a distant mountain ridge and then used gaffer’s tape to fix my focus on infinity.  Exactly as predicted beginning at 2:16PM, the moon began nipping larger and larger pieces of the sun.  The process took about one hour so I grabbed images about every five minutes.  As the sky slowly darkened, it took on an eerie grayish twilight and the temperature dropped.

Totality Lower Exposure Reveals Solar Prominences

Suddenly, as if by flipping a switch, totality blinked on.  Despite all my planning, panic set in.  I rushed to capture a range of exposures, but then I realized I was at risk of missing the experience while trying to capture it. For the last half of totality, I just settled back and enjoyed the view. It was spectacular and must be experienced to be appreciated.  I haven’t seen any photograph that fully captures the phenomenon. In addition to the bright corona, I was especially struck by the brilliant red of a solar prominence that peaked around the lunar disc.

 

 

Nearly 3 Minutes of Totality

In Colebrook the duration of totality was just under three minutes, but it seemed like 30 seconds.  Shortly after totality, we packed up and hit the road.  I felt a little guilty not waiting for the full process of the reemergence of the sun, but, like most everyone in the world, we knew what a nightmare the traffic would be heading south.

First Sliver of the Sun's Return

And it WAS a nightmare! Normally it should take about 3 hours to make it home, but it ended up taking 8 hours before we staggered back to Spofford NH. 

Route 91 - The Crawl

We initially found a few less congested back roads, but quickly, every path was clogged and the main route south, on Route 91, was a languid parking lot. We left Colebrook at 4PM and finally got home at about midnight.  There were a few saving graces, including the chance to listen to some fun music, and the blessing of a wonderfully relaxed dog. Benji actually handled the slog with far fewer complaints than either Susan or I. (And without drugs!)

 

We have now recovered from the journey, and I’ve had a chance to review my images.  In just a few days, the pain has faded, and the wonders of the experience are growing. The long journey has become just part of the whole remarkable experience and will blend with our memories of this amazing, once in a lifetime event.  I’m very glad that I made the effort to check this one off my list.

Jeff Newcomer
www.partridgebrookreflections.com