I relearned two Photography 101 lessons on this one. We went to Camden, Maine where I had been many years before. I remembered the rocky beach in nearby Camden Hills State Park and I wanted to get a sunrise shot there. Rather than visit the site the night before, I thought I knew exactly where I would go the next morning. Up before dawn, I drove down to the park and walked down toward the beach. Mistake number one: I forgot to pack any light. It wasn't pitch black so I wasn't too worried. At the end of the trail, I hit a T intersection. Mistake number two, I didn't remember which way to turn because I hadn't scouted the night before. I seemed to think it was to the left and went that way. Couldn't find the trail and hit the end of the park. I quickly turned and went to the other end hoping that I would find the access point before sunrise (good thing it wasn't too long of a trail).
I finally found what I thought was the access point and quickly scrambled down to the beach. Only problem was, there were no rocks. I was able to shoot some images, turned around and saw the rocky beach about where I had originally looked.
I ran up the slope, and hurried back to the other end. Since the sun had already risen, I spotted a very small access point which got me to where I wanted to originally get to. Out of breath, I was able to get this shot while the light was still good.
I have relearned my lesson and will not make these mistakes again!