Lost 2 hours of star trails to a car's headlights

Set up my camera at a pullout near Mount Rainier last weekend for a 3 hour timelapse of the Milky Way. About 90 minutes in, some guy parked right next to me and left his high beams on for 10 minutes while he fumbled with his gear. Ruined half the frames with this orange glow streak across the bottom. I moved my tripod 30 feet deeper into the lot and restarted, but I only got 45 clean minutes before clouds rolled in. Anyone else have a plan for scouting spots that are actually away from car traffic at popular overlooks?

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the_drew8d ago

Mount Rainier's Sunrise lot is a perfect example of this problem. People roll in at all hours and never think about who's mid-exposure nearby. I see it differently than you though. Blaming the other guy for using his headlights in a public pullout is a tough sell, since he has as much right to be there as you do. The real fix is picking spots where cars can't physically reach you, like hiking a quarter mile off the road or checking satellite view for side roads with no turnouts. Overlooks are convenience spots, and convenience always comes with traffic.

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