Shoreline and Evening Reflection. Hoover Wilderness Area, California. August 6, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Sunset colors reflected from high peaks along the rocky shoreline of a backcountry High Sierra lake
The second evening of this brief eastern Sierra pack trip was much different from the first. On the previous day, as we began our hike, it was already cloudy early in the morning. By mid-afternoon it was apparent that we were in for some weather — thunder clouds were building and spreading across the sky, and soon we began to hear distant thunder. I was at the back of the pack as we headed towards a high lake. I switched from boots to water shoes to wade a river, briefly considering whether to make camp right there before crossing. As I reached the other side and got back into my trail shoes the light sprinkles began. Another ten minutes up the trail I came to a second, deeper and faster crossing just as the rain began in earnest. A choice: Spend 10-15 minutes doing the footwear switch and getting into full rain gear for self and pack? Or make a stand right there and set up camp? I chose the latter, quickly finding a tiny flat (enough) spot to set up my tent in the rain — always an “interesting” task! — and then climbing inside. It rained for the next three hours!
The next morning — the day I made this photograph — I got up slowly, waiting until a few minutes before sun reached my camp and I could start the work of drying things out. I finally packed and headed on up the trail, planning to rejoin my group at the lake where we planned to camp on the second night. Clouds began to appear once again, and it briefly looked like the weather might repeat the show of the previous afternoon, but by the time I arrived at this lake, found the rest of my party, and set up camp… the skies were clearing, and we ended up having a beautiful and peaceful evening. After dinner I took my camera equipment and headed to a high point over the shoreline to photograph. Our camp was a distance above the shoreline at the left side of the photograph, and from this spot I could trace the rocky edge of the water towards the far side of the lake. The blue of evening light and reflected sky contrasts with the warm, saturated color of the reflection from peaks still in the evening sun.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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