Sierra Time Starts Now

In many ways the best time to visit the Sierra Nevada starts right about now.Half Dome, Dusk - Olmsted Point

The period after the Labor Day Holiday brings wonderful changes to the Sierra. The number of visitors decreases tremendously, and this trend continues through mid-October. The mosquitos – including those who drove me mad at Young Lakes in July! – have virtually disappeared. Almost all of the lush green growth and wildflowers of a month or two ago have gone now – except in a few in wet area – they has been replaced by the beautiful tan, brown, yellow, red, and golden colors of the late season, and these will very soon be augmented by the astonishing colors of the aspens and other fall foliage. The hottest days are behind us, and most days are sunny and comfortable with softer light. The occasional dusting of snow on the peaks reminds us of how close the Sierra winter is.

It is hard to put my finger on precisely the cause, but I always have a feeling that everything relaxes and slows during this period between the end of the summer growth season and the coming of winter. It seems quieter and more peaceful, as if the mountains are settling in to wait for the snow to arrive.

I’ll be there several times during the next two months. I have one very short pack trip scheduled for late September, and I hope to chase the aspens at the end of October and during the first weeks of October. Later in October I plan to go to Yosemite Valley for its beautiful fall color season. And very soon I hope to join a group of photographers who even now are camped on the trail a day out from Tuolumne.

(Photo: Half Dome, Dusk – Olmsted Point. Yosemite National Park, California. October 7, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.)

17 thoughts on “Sierra Time Starts Now”

  1. I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t get his full name, but I’m virtually certain it was Keith Something. I’ll get his name in the next few days or so and I can tell you. By the way, who is Tim Fitzharris?

    When I first ran into Keith I was shooting at Townsley Lake when as walked by on his way to the next lake up the valley. I was a bit stunned by the huge pack he was carrying and the additional photo gear strapped onto his vest and/or belt. Turns out that at this point he was only carrying two of the systems – DSLR and MF digital. ;-)

    Take care,

    Dan

  2. Well Dan, you do the kind of photography I would love to be able to do and you do it with minimal equipment that you hump yourself.

    You have plenty to be proud of, Sir!

  3. Funny you should mention mules…

    I just returned last night from a short backpack trip to the Fletcher Lake area in Yosemite NP. (I carried all of my own gear. Groan…)

    In addition to doing my own photography, another goal was to meet up with a group of five well-known Yosemite (and other) photographers who were going to be there for a week. (Turns out that they weren’t at Fletcher, but instead at nearby Booth Lake – which I figured out the day before I left. I did make a social call yesterday at around lunch time.)

    In any case, the five of them were packed in for the week via pack animals. Lucky guys! When I met them they had five chairs set up on a bench with a nearby table holding lunch at the ready. Of course, they were carrying more gear than I do. Instead of my “mini backpack tripod” they brought their full size units. One of them was carrying three complete camera systems – DSLR, MF digital, and 4×5 film!

    Dan

  4. Well, IIRC, some of those guys, (maybe even Ansel) carried their 8×10 gear on mules. I wish I had a mule. ;-)

  5. Michael, I’m impressed with the amazing work folks brought back in the days of LF in the backcountry. I’m spoiled, and I can’t imagine carrying all that stuff around myself!

    As far as saving weight goes, I use a different setup in the backcountry, including some stuff I’d almost never use in other photography. My tripod is one example – a much smaller model than I’d otherwise use. But I’m not as young as I was once either (kinda’ obvious, no?) and I rather carry a bit less weight up and down those trails.

    Dan

  6. Yes, will be staying around Thousand Island Lake and want to do some day trips including Ediza. Looks like a great spot, first visit other than some day hikes fishing along the river going up that way. Going mid week, hoping for that much more quiet.

    Will let you know how it goes!

    Doug

  7. 20 years ago I used to hump around a Zone VI 4×5 field camera, buncha big heavy lenses on lensboards, film holders, dark cloth, spot meter, and a big solid wooden tripod with big steel spiked feet.

    Now I’m old and fat and feeble and out-of-shape and find myself wondering if going from a Manfrotto 055MF3 carbon tripod to a Gitzo to save a pound would make sense. ;-)

  8. Doug:

    Devils Postpile? Heading up toward the Minarets? There is a lot of great country to photograph up that way: the traverse from Minaret Lake to Ediza, Ediza and the surrounding area, and of course Thousand Island Lake – sounds great!

    I hear you about the weight… and the age. I’m not so young either – at least not like “back in the day” when I would sometimes carry 70-75 pounds! No thanks.

    Dan

  9. Dan, your pictures sure inspire me! I am heading up for a few nights on a trip out of Devils Postpile in a few weeks. I can’t wait. Going to hike in 8-9 miles and do some base camping. This is the first trip with all the photo gear, sure make you think of pounds you can save elsewhere. Add some fishing gear, yikes! Not a young guy anymore either. Diet to shave a few pounds? Should be a lot of fun either way and am really looking forward to some great Eastern beauty. Thanks for reminding us how special these mountain are…

    Doug

  10. Thanks, Rob and Cynthia:

    I guess I should tell the story of that photograph, too.

    As seems to be a pattern in some of my photographs, this was the result of another happy coincidence. I had been on the east side of the Sierra and was heading back home over Tioga Pass. I had some ideas about some shots closer to the pass, and I know I stopped and shot some of them as I came across. The light was going, so I packed up and got back in the car with a plan to drive straight through to the Bay Area.

    I saw this very beautiful – and very dim! – light as I came around the corner at Olmsted. I thought that if I worked fast I might get something, so I quickly pulled over and got our the camera and tripod and set up right behind my car at the edge of the parking lot. I think that the other photographers there probably thought I was completely nuts – trying to make photographs in the dark. They were all coming back to their cars, stowing their gear, and getting read to leave.

    But one thing I’ve learned is that some of the most beautiful light appears after the sun is gone, and I’m glad I stopped for this photo.

    Dan

  11. Oh Dan, I want to be in the Sierras already! I just spent some considerable $$$ buying an L plate for the XPan and a second Really Right Stuff ballhead for my older tripod. And I bought a Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter and the Singh-Ray Tony Sweet Soft-Ray filter. And so I am going to have two tripods going shooting both film and digital when I finally get there. I just wish it was now and you are making me wish I could be out there with you filming Yosemite! Oh man! I love your picture with this post. Beautiful!!!

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