Inspiring picturesque landscapes fill the high peaks of New York’s Adirondacks. Eric Ortner captured this timelapse video at Lake Colden Campground in New York’s Adirondacks. The Lake Colden area of this vast wilderness is particularly inspiring. The footage was captured beneath a sky full of stars on the night of August 16–17, . The mountain on the right side of the frame is Mount Colden. The mountain on the left side is the base of Algonquin peak.
Lake Colden is located in the Eastern High Peaks Wilderness area. This section of the Adirondacks holds the majority of the 46 peaks over 4000 feet high located in New York State. The weather this mid-August weekend was particularly beautiful. New York State was quite hazy during the summer of 2025 because there was a major wildfire in Newfoundland and Labrador. The wildfire had consumed more than 8,000 hectares as of August 18. Fortunately, the smoke abated the weekend that this video was captured. It made for great views on both the mountain summits and back at the Lake Colden campground.
The video was filmed using a GoPro Hero 13 camera. It was shot at 4K resolution with a frame rate of 30 Frames Per Second. One frame was captured every thirty seconds. The ISO was set to a maximum of 800 and a minimum of 100. The video spans the time from about 7:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
Capturing the recording was definitely a labor of love. To get to the location that featured a perspective of the lake centered between the two peaks required a bit of bushwhacking and mucky bog walking. However, the end result speaks for itself.
How the Sound Track Mongo’s Mangos was Recorded
But enough regarding the cinematography. Afterall this is the Harmonious Music blog, and not the adventureography blog.Eric Ortner wrote, performed, and recorded the backing track titled Mongo’s Mangos on August 13, 14, and 18. Mr. Ortner consumed a vast quantity of dried mangos during the weekend adventure to Lake Colden and Mount Skylight. This inspired the soundtrack title.
The track features the instrumentation of a SDrum drum machine pedal, modified Fender Stratocaster, and a Roland VCombo keyboard. The SDrum and Guitar parts were recorded simultaneously using a Presonus AR12c Mixer. The drum and guitar parts took about six takes to capture.
The guitar was processed through an effects rig prior to being recorded in Studio One. The signal chain followed a Zoom A2.1U effects processor for modeling; followed by a Zoom MS-50G chorus effect; and finally a TC-Electronic Hall of Fame Mini Reverb. The recording was not captured using an amplifier.
The bassline was subsequently recorded in two takes using the VCombo to trigger a MIDI file directly into StudioOne 7. The MIDI file uses a Presence bass sound. It is a good simulation of an electric bass in the artist’s opinion, and way easier to record than micing an electric bass rig.
Mongo’s Mangos is a ii7, iv, V7 progression in the key of Dm. This progression tends to provide a fair amount of suspense and moodiness on its own. However, the blues laden bassline, which also relies heavily on flat 5s, is intended to add a further sense of mystery to the composition. In the artist’s opinion, the soundtrack perfectly accompanies the video and commemorates an amazing weekend of adventure in the wilderness.
Thoughts on Lake Colden Campground
Hopefully you enjoy this video and soundtrack. If this video has inspired any memories of past adventures or maybe inspired you to go to Lake Colden Campground, we would love to hear about your experiences at this amazing location in the thread below.