Tag Archives: meadow

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Parsons Peak and Tarn, Sunset

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Parsons Peak and Tarn, Sunset

Parsons Peak and Tarn, Sunset. Yosemite National Park, California. September 7, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Alpenglow from sunset on Parsons Peak and surrounding rocky slopes reflected in a small rocky alpine tarn in an alpine meadow above Townsley Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

I photographed this small tarn at the end of the plateau above Townsley Lake right at sunset as the Sierra alpenglow began to appear on the nearby ridges and higher Parsons Peak. I’ve visited this small pond many times on the walk between Townsley and Ireland Lakes, but this was the first time I managed to be there right at sunset. (I “paid for” the experience with a dark walk back to camp and a dinner by the light of my headlamp. ;-)

(I’ve written a bit about how I get to and across this plateau here.)

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Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Boulder Strewn Meadow Near Townsley Lake

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Boulder Strewn Meadow Near Townsley Lake

Boulder Strewn Meadow Near Townsley Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 7, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light illuminates a meadow strewn with glacial boulders above Townsley Lake with ice fields of the Fletcher-Parsons ridge beyond in Yosemite National Park.

I made it up to this large plateau above Townsley Lake just before sunset on an early-September evening in 2008, and had the chance to quickly photograph several aspects of this area before (and slightly after) the sun went down. In this spot a large number of large glacial boulders are embedded in the level surface of the tundra and surrounded by late season dry grasses. Beyond the valley holding Townsley Lake is the high ridge between Fletcher Peak and Parsons Peak, and a number of permanent snow fields on this north face of the ridge.

keywords: boulder, rock, strewn, meadow, grass, plateau, vogelsang, fletcher, parsons, townsley, lake, peak, ridge, mountain, evening, sunset, glacial, yosemite, national park, california, usa, landscape, scenic, wilderness, hike, packpack, forest, tree, shadow, stock, ice, field, glacier

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Late Summer, Townsley Lake and Choo-Choo Ridge

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Late Summer, Townsley Lake and Choo-Choo Ridge

Late Summer, Townsley Lake and Choo-Choo Ridge. Yosemite National Park, California. September 7, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late season afternoon light shines across the lower slopes of Fletcher Peak and meadows surrounding Townsley Lake, with Choo-Choo Ridge in the distance. Yosemite National Park, California.

Townsley is a small open lake in an open valley a short walk up from Fletcher Lake in the Yosemite National Park backcountry near Vogelsang High Sierra camp. It is a spot fairly familiar to me from my many trips into this portion of the park, and my favorite time is near the end of the summer season and the start of autumn when the meadows go brown and golden and everything slows in preparation for winter. In this photograph the bushes are still green even though the grasses and small plants have begun to go dormant. Beyond the bench at the lower end of the lake and across the valley is Choo-Choo Ridge.

keywords: late, summer, season, townsley, lake, choo-choo, ridge, bush, tree, forest, grass, meadow, rock, boulder, ridge, mountain, alpine, wilderness, light, fletcher, vogelsang, high, sierra, camp, backpack, hike, yosemite, national park, california, usa, scenic, outdoor

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Shoreline Rocks, Fletcher Lake

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Shoreline Rocks, Fletcher Lake

Shoreline Rocks, Fletcher Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 8, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rocks along the shoreline of Fletcher Lake, with mixed forest and meadow rising up the lower slopes of Fletcher Peak – Yosemite National Park, California.

Yes, another in the series – again from my early September photography trek to the Fletcher Lake area in Yosemite. (For those who may wonder, I’m getting close to the end of this string of photographs of the shoreline of Fletcher Lake.) In this one it was not only the morning light and the interesting textures on the far shoreline that attracted me, but also the circle of rocks in the still water and just offshore.

keywords: fletcher, lake, vogelsang, peak, high, sierra, camp, nevada, morning, light, forest, tree, meadow, grass, rock, boulder, slope, shore, shoreline, water, still, yosemite, national park, california, usa, wilderness, mountains, hike, backpack, camp, scenic, landscape, stock