"Mr. Sharf, this is D---- at the Echo Mountain Lodge, and we think someone has turned in your camera."
So apparently the raccoons got tired of trying to figure out how to retrieve the batteries, and left it on the trail for someone to pick up.
"No, he wouldn't leave a name or any contact info, just wanted to turn in the camera."
And Sunday morning was spent trekking out to Mt. Evans, to retrieve a hopelessly broken camera. After all the thing had sat out in the increasingly harsh weather for weeks, after having bounced down the side of the mountain. The optics would be out of alignment, if not outright cracked; the zoom motor might not even work. Maybe - maybe - the flash card would still be in there, so I might get back the photos.
So up early and off to the lodge. Too early. It was like a scene out of Casablanca: "I'll be there at 7:00." "We'll be open at 9:00." Which meant that I had an hour or so to kill hiking the same trail and taking time-lapse photos of the prior month's scenery.
Lo and behold! The camera didn't seem the worse for wear; although the zoom toggle had broken off, it was still useable. No batteries, so the crash testing would have to wait for home. But the flash card was there. And something I had forgotten about: the screw-in base for the tripod.
And, yes, the camera seems to be working fine. Maybe Lowell Thomas is available for a testimonial.
