Tag Archives: forest

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Nevada

Wheeler Cirque, Autumn Snow

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Wheeler Cirque, Autumn Snow
Evening light and autumn snow on the walls and towers above Wheeler Cirque, Great Basin National Park

Wheeler Cirque, Autumn Snow. Great Basin National Park, Nevada. September 28, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light and autumn snow on the walls and towers above Wheeler Cirque, Great Basin National Park

I often return to national parks and other places with which I have developed a personal relationship over a long period of time. But sometimes I do get to visit a brand new place, and I did just that during the last week or so of this year, when I spent five days making the long trip out to Great Basin National Park and back. When I go to a new area like this I intentionally avoid trying to find out too much about it ahead of time, preferring to begin a process of learning the place on my own terms. I already knew a bit about the Great Basin and the basin and range country, and I did look up the location on maps, though I did not take a detailed look at the maps of the park itself. I knew that the park is near the Nevada-Utah border, with Baker, NV being the closest “town,” that Wheeler peak is the second tallest point in Nevada, that there is a glacier nearby, that there are famous caves, and that I could camp along the main road into the park. I left the rest for discovery.

As I drove across highway 50 from California I was surprised to find recent snow on all of the major mountain ranges in Nevada, and by the time I got to Great Basin NP I knew that I would see it there, too. I made this photograph on my final day in the park. I spent the morning exploring a less-visited area accessible via a long gravel road. (Where I discovered, at the wrong time of day, where to find a lot of fall color!) After lunch I went up to the summit of the park road at 10,000’+ and hiked out to the bristlecone pine grove, traveling a good portion of the distance on snow. It was cold — up here in the upper 30s at times during the day — and the sun goes down earlier this time of year, so I set a turn-around time that would get me back to my car before nightfall. I made this photograph within five minutes of the end of my hike, as the late light was slanting across the peaks and cirque walls from low in the west, and as clouds were forming above the summit ridges.

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Clearing Evening Clouds

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Clearing Evening Clouds
The moon above clearing evening clouds over the John Muir Wilderness

Clearing Evening Clouds. John Muir Wilderness, California. August 28, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The moon above clearing evening clouds over the John Muir Wilderness

We covered a lot of ground on this afternoon and evening, and this was almost the last photograph I made on this day. Earlier we had climbed above the forest surrounding the lake where we were camped, emerging into a big, open meadow with expansive views in all directions. From here we took off, individually and in small groups, to explore higher areas, walking cross-country over the glaciated granite landscape to ascend ridges and reach various lakes. I noticed that the sun was about to pass behind mountains to the west, so I descended back into the valley I had come from and worked my way back down the course of the creek that drained it.

Before long we were back in the alpine meadow areas where we had started, and I found a high spot with an open view and started making a few final photographs as sunset came to the highest peaks and the clouds thinned as they passed in front of the moon. Since the light wasn’t going to last much longer, we pushed on to the main meadow, stopped for a couple of final photographs of alpenglow on peaks across the valley, and then continued on down through forest, arriving back in camp at twilight.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Crossing The Stream

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Crossing The Stream
Two backpackers (and their dog) negotiate a stream crossing in the John Muir Wilderness.

Crossing The Stream. John Muir Wilderness, California. August 31, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two backpackers (and their dog) negotiate a stream crossing in the John Muir Wilderness.

I was out photographing around the lower end of the lake above this stream when two backpackers passed by. I was fascinated by watching them as they came through here, and their progression to and across the stream reminded me of some aspects of backcountry travel that are important and quite different from how we live our typical day-to-say city lives. They were moving efficiently as they approached the obstacle of this stream at the trail crossing. At first glance the crossing seemed obvious, with the trail clearly arriving and departing from opposite sides of this wide spot in its course. But, as is frequently the case, the crossing wasn’t as simple as it first looked — the water was unusually high for this time of year – and no ideal crossing was apparent. They stopped, looked around, tried a few options, finally settled on stepping across on slightly submerged rocks, and they crossed. The first hiker got across fine, and the dog followed, but the second hiker slipped into the water just a bit and then apparently lost a set of glasses. They pondered a bit, realized that they couldn’t get them back, and then set off, once again moving with a purpose across the meadow and on toward a higher lake.

I now think of something else when I see such backpackers, younger (to me, anyway!) backcountry visitors who seem in many ways like me a few decades ago. I envy their ability to carry large loads and to move quickly. I can still carry what I need to, but it is harder and slower than it once was! I also think about how much they cannot yet know about their potential future in these places, including the prospect that their appreciation and connection to the wilderness will grow and mature in ways that they cannot yet foresee. Sometimes I want to stop and tell them… but I never do.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lupine-Filled Meadow, Evening

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Lupine-Filled Meadow, Evening
Lupine blooms carpet and alpine meadow against a backdrop of evening light on Sierra Nevada peaks

Lupine-Filled Meadow, Evening. John Muir Wilderness, California. August 28, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Lupine blooms carpet and alpine meadow against a backdrop of evening light on Sierra Nevada peaks

This was an unusual and exceptional year in the Sierra Nevada, primarily because the range finally — after five years of drought! — had not only good winter precipitation, but record-breaking precipitation. After watching the range dry out in very scary ways for the paste half of a decade, it has been tremendously gratifying to see a summer season that felt more normal. Because of the heavy winter storms, the high country snow melted out later than usual, and many places that typically might open by June or earlier were still closed well into July. And when the high country did open, there was still snow everywhere and creeks and rivers continued to run high well into the summer.

A side effect of all of this was that the short high country season of growth was delayed and extended, as we clearly saw during our week-plus backcountry photography excursion at the end of August and into the first few days of September. In a typical year I usually begin to sense autumn coming on by this point in the season, but this year it felt like full-blown summer: the creeks were still flowing strongly, there were snow fields in the higher mountains and we still had to cross them to get over passes, meadows were lush and green, and there were wildflowers everywhere. this meadow was a wonderful example. Located only a short walk away from our camp, it was absolutely filled with flowers, but especially with one of the largest displays of lupine that I’ve seen in the range.

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.