Delicate Arch Light Painting

I was getting a bit nervous when the sun went down and the crowds left and I was the last one at the famous Delicate Arch. I had good reason. I had three light sources on me when I began the journey down. I got out my headlamp to use on the hike down. Dead batteries. No problem, I had an LED flashlight. Too dim. My last and greatest resource, the Q-Beam I used for light painting was in my day pack. It was great. It lit up have the county, until the battery pack fell out of the back of the light and hit the ground. My stomach fell when it happened. Not a good omen. I could not get it to turn back on, so had to revert to my little LED flashlight. Long story short, I lost the rock cairn trail and after crisscrossing several times and getting to within an 80 ft cliff drop, decided I was lost and made preparations to hunker down for the night until I could see well enough to find the path down. It's a 1.5 mile hike to Delicate Arch. I had a poncho and used it to create a makeshift tent with my tripod. I had a short sleeve shirt on, but had plastic lens rain covers for my telephoto lens, which I used to cover my arms and tightened them with drawstrings. I used my day pack as a pillow and wide brimmed hat to cover my head. My main discomfort level was that I knew enough about cougars to know that they are always very aware of where you are, so I kept one eye open all night hoping I wouldn't hear any growling in my ear. I kept my head tucked under the tripod tent as much possible, since cougars make kills at the head and neck. I figured it that wasn't visible, it would help the cause. After shivering in 50 degree weather and watching stars have the night, the sun finally rose enough for me to see my surroundings and I was able to rediscover the lost path a few hundred yards away. The lessons we always teach our Boy Scouts paid off for me. That evening, though I ended up wasting a paid night at a much more comfortable location. This picture will always remind me of that special evening.