Waterfall And Late-Season Lupine. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Late-season lupines bloom in rocky terrain below a high country Sierra Nevada waterfall.
Our visit to this location, at 11,000′ in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, took place during the last few days of August and the first two days of September. Yes, we were there on Labor Day — and we watched lots more people show up on that last weekend! Most people regard this as the end of the backcountry season. The daylight hours decrease noticeably, and while the weather remains generally beautiful there may be a chill in the air a bit more frequently.
In a typical year the Sierra Nevada high country often becomes rather dry by this time. During August the meadows usually turn golden brown, stream flows diminish, and most wildflowers are just a memory. But in wet years – and this was one of those — there can be a colorful surprise for late-season visitors. We arrived to find lots of flowing water, meadows that still were green in many places, and even copious wildflowers. Here we found huge beds of blooming lupines, an unusual site for the start of September!
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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