When I was just starting my photography business, my sister was kicking off her senior year of high school. Naturally, my mom asked me to take her senior pictures, and of course, I said yes!

I asked my sister where she wanted to take her photos, and she said she wanted fall leaves in them. Instantly, my mind went to this incredible spot in Logan Canyon that I’d stumbled upon with a friend the year before. I didn’t remember the hike being bad, so I suggested it and showed her some pictures. She loved the idea and picked that location.

We waited for the leaves to change colors, and one Sunday evening, we packed up and headed out. It was my sister, my mom, my youngest sister, and me that went. The leaves along the trail were already stunning, but I was determined to get to the spot I had in mind.

What I didn’t account for was that my memory of the hike wasn’t entirely accurate. It was much longer and steeper than I remembered—definitely not the casual walk I had imagined. To make everything worse, my youngest sister was just getting over a sickness, so the hike was extra rough on her. At one point, my mom and my youngest sister decided to stop and rest while my other sister and I pushed on.

By the time we reached the spot, it was breathtaking. The leaves were full of reds, oranges, and yellows, and the view was absolutely worth the struggle. We shot photos until the light started to fade, and I couldn’t have been happier with how they turned out.

But then we had to hike back. It got dark a lot faster than I thought it would, and we still hadn’t ran into my mom and youngest sister. We were trying to get back to them before it got completely dark. We didn’t have cell service so we had no way to contact them. My sister and I started jogging down the trail—me clutching my camera and her in a dress and also carrying the extra outfit from her session. When we finally found them, it was pitch black, and let’s just say my mom and my sister were not happy. My mom half-jokingly said I had taken them on a “ten-mile hike” and even “grounded me”—which was funny since I was 19, living on my own, and was even in the middle of planning my wedding.

That session was a wild ride from start to finish, but those photos? Totally worth it. Although, I’d never take any of my clients to that spot unless I made them very clear about the hike and they still wanted to do it.