Melting Ice, Tenaya Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. June 18, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Ice begins to clear from the surface of Tenaya Lake in the high country of Yosemite National Park.
The annual opening of Tioga Pass Road through Yosemite National Park’s high country and over the crest of the Sierra is big news for Sierra fans every year, but in an unusual year like this one it is extra special. The road often opens by May, but because of this year’s record-setting snowpack, the road did not open until June 18. (The latest opening was in 1995 when it opened on June 30.) Many people are tremendously excited about the opening: those who want to get to the Valley from the east side of the range, those who want easier access to the east side of the Sierra, and those of us who feel like the heart of the park is in the high country that is accessible from the road. With this in mind, it was no surprise to find lots of people up there on Saturday for the opening!
This photograph was made as late-afternoon shadows began to fall across the ice still covering most of the surface of Tenaya Lake.
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Dan… it must have felt good to be back in the mountains again. The one time (so far) I was able to visit there made a lasting impression, and your photographs of this area always bring a smile to my face. Now, more than ever, I will be looking forward to your daily posts… more please :)
Gary, I held off on posting a photograph of the crazy sunset light… because no one is going to believe it is real. :-)
Dan
Dang, I seemed to have missed all the fun last weekend. I saw that sunset from my driveway in the Bay Area, and knew it was probably epic in the Sierra.
Well, I am sure when people were gasping, you were clicking off a few shots with a big smile. Can’t wait to see them. Probably need a bigger color space than srgb for web viewing those colors.
At Mono lake we didn’t see clouds as spectacular as your beautiful wall-hanger shot in your office. :)
Guess, it takes a few trips going there to get to experience something like that. ;)
And now thanks to you and YosemiteRanger’s beautiful Leidig meadow shots I need to go back soon again very early again on a day trip soon while its still flooded.
Wayne, I have a reputation with some people for doing insane one-day drives to the eastern Sierra and back, but I’m afraid that your story of starting before 1:00 a.m. tops my stories!
I did see that sunset. It was an exceptional example of what I think of as miracle light. I’ll repeat a description I offered earlier on Facebook. I was at Olmsted Point and almost left because earlier on the light was so unpromising and just plain drab. As I was about to pack up, I noticed that clouds over the crest were starting to break up a bit, and the summit of Mount Conness was occasionally peeking through the clouds dramatically… so I figured I’d stick around to see if that cloud-shrouded summit would provide any interesting material. But the light remained dull.
However, I’ve spent enough time in the Sierra to recognize the potential for a certain type of very special condition. Sometimes on a very dreary, cloudy evening the clouds will end to the west and as the sun reaches the horizon its light breaks through underneath the clouds and lights them from below with astoundingly saturated light. As we watched the clouds near Conness, nothing seemed to be happening, but then I started to see a slight pink glow on the clouds and summit from the west – and within minutes the sky turned almost unbelievable shades of red and orange. People around me were gasping audibly as it happened.
Yes, it was quite a sunset!
Thanks for the info on the wildflowers. Looking forward to shooting those corn lilies.
We started at 12:45 Sat morning, a little later than planned and then hit an unfortunate 1/2 hr robbing detour on 580 near Livermore. Decending top of Sonora pass in the predawn light with full moon and snow was spectacular, love that area up there but didn’t stop since we were trying to get to Mono before sunrise. Got to Conway summit overlook at sunrise but still had fun at Mono lake despite being a little late.
Did you see the spectacular fiery orange/red sunset on the way back around the hills shortly after 120 joins with 108?
Wonder if the sunset was also like that back in Yosemite?
And now, having fixed that date error, I’m back to read and reply to the rest of your message…
You must have started very early to make it over Sonora Pass for sunrise at Mono! I’ve done that drive quite a few times and it is a long one. I was up at 3:30 a.m. and on the road shortly after that. I arrived in the park and decided to forgo the chance to wait in line for the actual 8:00 a.m. opening, and instead drove on to photograph Cascade Creek in the morning light before starting up the pass a bit before 9:00 a.m. Fortunately, many of the roadside waterfalls and cascades were still (mostly) in shade, so I was able to photograph them later in the morning.
I do hike – and photograph – Gaylor Lakes basin regularly. I’m sure that the lakes are still completely ice-bound, but in a week or two that could be a wonderful place to photograph the thawing ice. (There are some photographs of ice at Gaylor rom on this blog.)
My hunch is that wildflowers will start to be interesting in the high country after mid-July and continue on into the first part of August. The last year like this one that I recall (1995) featured a very extended season – I distinctly recall encountering green grasses and blooming flowers up above Ireland Lake into September!
Dan
Hi Dan,
Nice shot! Was this taken on Sat afternoon or on Sunday.
I think you meant to say that the Tioga Pass road opened this year on Saturday June 18th at 8am.
We drove over Sonora Pass and made it to Mono Lake for sunrise and enjoyed shooting there for awhile.
We didn’t get to Tioga Pass till after 10am and by then there was a big line creeping in the entrance station.
By then the light was too harsh but still enjoyed the frozen lakes and beautiful scenery. Enjoyed shooting some of the various roadside waterfalls and rapids along the way to the valley. When it clouded over for a bit in the early afternoon it was perfect for shooting the lupine fields we found.Then made the mistake of going into the main part of the valley and got stuck in the horrendous traffic jam as we got redirected (sentinel bridge was being blocked) to Curry village loop around. Took 1hr to go to 1 mile.
Did you hike to any lakes like Gaylor lake? How long do you think it will be till wildflowers are blooming in Tuolumne Meadows?
Ah, you are right! Thanks for catching that. (Where would I be without blog readers who are willing to proofread for me! )
It was, indeed, Saturday afternoon on June 18, the day the pass opened.
Take care,
Dan