“Lake, Meadow, and Alpenglow” — An alpine lake and alpenglow on Yosemite backcountry peaks.
Over the years I have visited this lake many times. I feel like I know it pretty well now, but I still discover new things each time I go there. My first visit was on a very long day hike in the early fall, in golden light and cooler temperatures. After that I made it a backpacking destination quite a few times, and from here I explored other higher lakes nearby.
On the trip when I made this photograph I had gone earlier in the season to set up a photography base camp. From here I hiked daily to higher lakes, where I photographed more alpine country. A special feature of this location is that it lies on the west side of a ridge running somewhat north-south, with a completely open vista to the west. Late in the day this landscape fills with colorful sunset light.
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Turtle Dave* climbing the west side of Mount Whitney near the end of the John Muir Trail.
There are several stories behind this photograph. One is specific to this man and this place, and another relates more generally to people like him that I have encountered in the backcountry over the years. The specific story: “Turtle Dave” (or was it “Turtle Don?*”) was his trail name on the John Muir Trail when we encountered him. He was soloing the JMT, and on this day he was going to reach the summit of Mount Whitney. I was part of a group of experienced backpackers who had come all the way across the Sierra from the west side to get here, and we felt like a pretty tough group… until we met him. He wasn’t fast, but he seemed as at ease in the backcountry as anyone I’ve ever met.
Perhaps because of this photograph, and perhaps because I’m considering some trips into the backcountry, and perhaps because I’m no longer a child (well, not in most ways) I’ve been thinking about a string of similar “mature” backpackers I’ve met over the years. Decades ago as Patty and I embarked on our first long backpacking trip we camped near “Sig,” an “older woman” (at least a decade younger than my age today!) who starting her solo of the JMT. On another trip out of Tuolumne Meadows I spoke with a 75-year-old fellow who was starting out on the JMT all alone. If you meet one of these folks on the trail, I urge you to stop and chat a bit — there’s a good chance that the conversation will be memorable.
* Update: My local research department (a.k.a. Patty) found some web references to “Turtle Don” and his adventure. I’ll leave this post with the current title, but it is good to know the right name for this guy!
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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
A late-spring storm clears along the Sierra Nevada crest near Bloody Canyon.
This photograph comes from an early-season trip across the Sierra crest a few years ago. It must have been quite a day. The first photographs from the set were in springtime Yosemite Valley. By the end of the day I had crossed Tioga Pass and headed out to the east of the range and into high desert near Mono Lake, the location from which I made this photograph late in the afternoon.
If only I kept a diary of these things! My hunch is that this was my “first trip of the season” across recently-cleared passes, on which I often take stock of the conditions at the beginning of a new summer season. From the looks of the clouds hugging the crest along the eastern Yosemite boundary, winter had not yet quite let go. There was still a decent amount of snow, clouds draped the crest, and it looks like there is some active precipitation.
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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
The view from an alpine wilderness lake overlooks high peaks of the southern Sierra Nevada.
Experiencing the high country brings all sorts of rewards — the thrill of high peaks, the beauty of a summer meadow, the (mostly) joy of traversing forests and crossing creeks, and much more. Many of these are immediately accessible, and you can enjoy them just by getting out of your car and walking a little. Some take a bit longer, perhaps requiring an overnight stay away from roads. Still others only come after a relatively long time on the trail — long enough to almost forget that there was another life before you started walking.
Some of these experiences are, at least for me, both remarkable and a bit difficult to put into words. This evening just west of the Southern Sierra crest was one of those times. I was part of a small group of friends who had grown comfortable backpacking together over the years. We were nine days out on a trans-Sierra trip, and we had fully settled into the routines of the trail. In the morning we would get up very early and ascend the highest peak in the range before making the 7000′ descent to the trailhead and the “real world.” But on this evening there was nothing more important to do than wander slowly around this lake and gaze at distant ridges as the day came to an end.
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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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