This was our best campsite ever. Perched on a knife-edge ridge high in Washington’s Goat Rocks wilderness, we had a dramatic, mirror-image view of Mt. Rainier on one side and of Mt. Adams on the opposite side of our camp.

On this moonless night I set the camera on a tripod to record the stars’ apparent movement in relation to the earth. I deliberately included the North Star (the bright center point of the circle of stars) in this composition, so that I could capture the almost tunnel-like effect of the star traces around it. The exposure was about half an hour.

It is one thing to learn about the Cosmos from books, TV, or a planetarium show, but there is nothing like experiencing the night sky in the wilderness. As we gazed up at the Milky Way and the camera captured the silent clockwork of the heavens, we rekindled the sense of wonder that is dulled by daily life.

LIMITED EDITION: This photographic print is part of a limited edition produced by photographer Lee Rentz. The edition consists of 250 prints, which includes all sizes and methods of printing.