Young Trees, Dark Forest. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Small, young trees growing at the end of a dark and dense forest.
After decades of hiking, camping, backpacking, photographing, skiing, (and in an earlier life occasionally climbing) all over the Sierra, there are odd little unexpected places that have some personal significance to me. In a few cases they are associated with a specific, memorable — there are several, for example, for each of my “kids.” (The “kids” are now all grown, but i remember!) Others connect to travels with backcountry friends or to events that occur there. In some cases, the development of a connection seems to be almost random, and there is nothing at all that points to them in any particularly objective way.
This is one of those latter spots. It isn’t far from a road, and I’ve always been attracted to the views for a mile or two on either side of the spot. But this place? There’s barely a turnout along the road. There is a narrow strip of meadow that runs quickly into thick, high-elevation forest, and it usually has a dark and impenetrable appearance. Logically I know what is beyond it, but it never quite feels like I do. And every year, more than once, I stop again and look at it and perhaps make a few photographs.
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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