Reflected Mountain Slopes

Reflected Mountain Slopes
Golden hour light on the lower slopes of a high Sierra peak is reflected by the surface of a lake

Reflected Mountain Slopes. Hoover Wilderness Area, California. August 6, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Golden hour light on the lower slopes of a high Sierra peak is reflected by the surface of a lake

On this evening our camp was at a large subalpine lake, improbably located directly on the summit of the ridge of the Sierra, albeit in a relatively low spot that was under 10,000′ of elevation. When I write “on the summit,” I mean it — this lake has two outlets, with one draining to the west into Yosemite National Park, and the other draining to the east, ultimately sending the water into Nevada.

It was a joy this year to once again to see the Sierra with snow on the peaks and filling the gullies. It was so nice that I even managed to avoid resenting the places where the trail was slightly obliterated by remaining patches of snow! As the evening arrived I found a high spot with a good view of the lake and surrounding mountains and made this photograph as the shadows of the last light of the day began to creep up the sides of this peak, with golden light reflecting off the surface of the lake.


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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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

2 thoughts on “Reflected Mountain Slopes”

  1. Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy the photographs and narratives.!

    This photograph was made right along the Sierra Nevada crest in the Hoover Wilderness on the Yosemite NP border. It isn’t actually in the basin and range country, but such places are easily accessible from there.

    Dan

  2. So gorgeous! Beautiful photograph and we enjoy your vivid and informative narrative. We plan on retiring somewhere in the Basin and Range and are enjoying this preview!

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